In this latest episode, GBRI join Malter as he visits his first horse in training in Britain, a colt by Bucchero named CYCLONITE who has recently joined the yard of Group 1 winning trainer James Ferguson in Newmarket.
Cyclonite is a homebred yearling out of Malter's winning mare Compact Powder (Street Cry). Having arrived in the UK in October, Cyclonite was pre-trained by Matthew Mackley and joined Ferguson at the beginning of December.
Having seen Cyclonite for the first time in the UK, Malter commented:
“To have had the dream of standing Bucchero as a stallion after running at Royal Ascot and thinking it would be great to have a yearling here, to see him [Cyclonite] here and to be a homebred is even cooler.
“It is super exciting to see him under James's watchful eye. He looks like he fits right in, and I am excited to see how he can compete with the horses here.”
Ferguson echoed the enthusiasm of the US-based owner:
“It is the first time we've had a horse with this sort of pedigree in our yard. It is not something that is done very often by English trainers but it's great to see what the stallion [Bucchero] has done over in America and it would be wonderful if we can reciprocate that over here in the UK.”
Watch the video here:
The complete series of An American Dream: The Return to Royal Ascot can be found on GBRI's YouTube channel.
A half-dozen years ago, a chestnut colt named Solomini (by Curlin) finished first in the (then) Grade 1 Los Alamitos Futurity. In the 2017 race, the first two home were trained by Bob Baffert, and the margins were small, as Solomini prevailed by three-quarters of a length over McKinzie (Street Sense), who had a head advantage over Instilled Regard (Arch).
After a stretch drive notable for its contentious nature, the stewards disqualified Solomini from first to third for interference, and this past Saturday, Dec. 16, Solomini's son Wynstock won the 2023 Los Alamitos Futurity (G2) by a half-length from Stronghold (Ghostzapper), who was a half-length ahead of the odds-on favorite, Coach Prime (Quality Road). Like the 2017 renewal, there was a stewards inquiry, but this time the original result was allowed to stand.
Wynstock is the third stakes winner and first graded stakes winner from the first crop of foals by Solomini, and the irony of the situation is that, after the 2017 Futurity, Solomini never again finished first in a stakes.
Prior to the 2017 Los Alamitos Futurity, Solomini had been second in the G1 FrontRunner to Bolt d'Oro (Medaglia d'Oro) and second again in the G1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile to subsequent divisional champion Good Magic (Curlin), with Bolt d'Oro third. Coming into the fourth renewal of the Futurity staged at Los Alamitos, Solomini would have been reckoned one of the very best of his crop of juvenile colts (he was one of the three finalists for the Eclipse Award in the division), but he started second favorite to the unbeaten McKinzie, who had won his debut by 5 ½ lengths the previous month.
Solomini lost little regard with his defeat to the stewards, but the colt's failure to continue improving and win a major race became a major hurdle for him as a stallion prospect. Although he finished second in the G2 Rebel Stakes and third in the G1 Arkansas Derby, his first two starts at 3, Solomini placed in only one subsequent stakes.
Racing through the end of his 4-year-old season, Solomini was the forgotten horse among the stars of the crop. Whereas Justify sold to stand at Ashford, Good Magic went to Hill 'n' Dale, and McKinzie came to Gainesway, Solomini went to stud in New York.
McKinzie (inside) was awarded the win in the 2017 Los Alamitos Futurity after stewards ruled that Solomini (outside) interfered with runner-up Instilled Regard
The handsome chestnut was acquired to stand at the McMahon family's McMahon of Saratoga Thoroughbreds, which stands some of the most successful stallions in New York, including this year's top state sire, Central Banker (Speightstown).
Ranking eighth overall among all New York sires, Solomini has stepped to the front of the class with three stakes winners from his freshman crop. Among the national freshmen of 2023, Solomini ranks seventh behind the Spendthrift quartet (Mitole, Maximus Mischief, Vino Rosso, and Omaha Beach), Flameaway (Darby Dan), and Audible (WinStar).
Solomini's son Wynstock is the 14th winner of the Futurity for trainer Bob Baffert. He has trained the winner of the Futurity at Los Alamitos eight times from the 10 renewals at the track; previously contested as the Hollywood Futurity, the race had six times been won by racers conditioned by Baffert when run at Hollywood Park.
When Solomini went to stud at the McMahon family operation, “We had very high expectations for him because he was a son of Curlin and beat some really nice horses,” said John McMahon. “But this weekend has brought tons of interest in the horse and inquiries about breeding to him.
“From the way his 2-year-olds were training and the maiden special winners, we knew he was in a good position,” John said. “We were hoping December was going to be a big month, and it all came together really well this weekend.”
In addition to the Los Alamitos Futurity, Solomini's offspring won the New York Stallion Stakes (filly division) with My Shea D Lady on Saturday and got second place in the colts' division with Heavyweight Champs after the disqualification of the original runner-up.
Bred in New York by Empire Equines LLC, Wynstock is out of the Flatter mare Timberlea. She had been a $50,000 September yearling at Keeneland in 2016, but from eight starts at 3 and 4, she managed only a third-place finish and earnings of $11,554.
So, she must have been a more than satisfactory individual when presented as a broodmare prospect in the Keeneland January sale of 2020, because she brought $10,500 as a young mare suitable for mating.
The buyer was McMahon and Hill Bloodstock, agent for Empire Equines, “which is the entity of John and Sandy Crowe,” Mike McMahon said. “They are longtime clients and keep the mare at my parents' farm in New York.”
John Crowe said, “We bought a share in Solomini, and looking back, I wish we'd bought two. Then we needed a mare for him. Mike and I had jointly decided that an A.P. Indy-line mare would suit Solomini quite well and ended up buying two Flatter mares, with both going to Solomini.”
Wynstock was the first foal of the mare, Timberlea, who was barren for 2022 but has a Mo Town filly of 2023. She was bred back to Solomini for a 2024 foal.
That prospective foal is now a full sibling to a graded stakes winner and won't be shuffled into the third thousand of the Keeneland September sale, like Wynstock, who nonetheless sold for $50,000 as a yearling to Gerardo Barragan and then resold for $700,000 as a juvenile in training at this year's OBS April sale, where he was consigned by Caliente Thoroughbreds. Los Alamitos owner Dr. Edward Allred and track executive F. Jack Liebau were the buyers.
At the preview for that auction, Wynstock breezed a furlong in :09 4/5 and showed a stride length of slightly more than 27 feet, one of the longest strides of the breeze season, and earned a BreezeFig of 80, which is a massive number for a 2-year-old sales horse.
With Wynstock and other promising performers from his first crop, “Solomini's first crop has put him in the national spotlight,” John McMahon said, “and we're very excited about his prospects for the future.”
Frank Mitchell is author of Racehorse Breeding Theories, as well as the book Great Breeders and Their Methods: The Hancocks. In addition to writing the column “Sires and Dams” in Daily Racing Form for nearly 15 years, he has contributed articles to Thoroughbred Daily News, Thoroughbred Times, Thoroughbred Record, International Thoroughbred, and other major publications. In addition, Frank is chief of biomechanics for DataTrack International and is a hands-on caretaker of his own broodmares and foals in central Kentucky. Check out Frank's Bloodstock in the Bluegrass blog.
At the December 12 meeting of The New York State Thoroughbred Breeding & Development Fund's Board of Directors, a motion was unanimously approved to increase the breeder award rates for all New York-breds competing in New York starting January 1, 2024.
The increase in breeder award rates was approved by the Fund board due to projected revenue increases expected by the Fund in 2024.
An increased holdback rate from 10 percent to 15 percent will also be implemented to ensure that the Fund can pay out awards up to the new advertised rates. We anticipate being able to return the holdback in its entirety upon completion of the fiscal year.
The new breeder award rate schedule for New York-breds in 2024 is as follows:
2024 New York-Bred Program Breeder Awards
New York-Sired* '24 Award (% Earned) 2023 Rate
First Place 40% 30%
Second Place 20% 15%
Third Place 10% 15%
Cap per Award $40,000 $40,000 Non-New York-Sired* '24 Award (% Earned) 2023 Rate
First Place 20% 15%
Second Place 10% 7.5%
Third Place 5% 7.5%
Cap per Award $20,000 $20,000
*A breeder is the owner of the mare at the time the mare foals in New York State. There are two tiers of breeder awards for all races run in New York State:
*A New York-sired New York-bred is sired by a registered New York stallion. A non-New York-sired New York-bred is sired by an out-of-state stallion or a non-registered New York stallion.
The New York Thoroughbred Breeding and Development Fund Corporation administers program awards and incentive programs for thoroughbreds foaled in New York who race on New York tracks. The program, which provides incentive awards to participants and purse enhancements for races restricted to New York-breds, was developed in 1973 to encourage the establishment of thoroughbred farms in New York and to protect and expand green space.
In North America's commercial stallion game, they don't tend to keep you around unless you're doing something right.
Every year, we see an exodus of stallions to regional and international markets, or the pensioner life, when farms believe a horse can no longer hack it as either a sire of commercial prospects or runners. The process of becoming the type of “made man” who isn't playing for his job every season is different for every farm and every sire, but one way or another, every one of them must prove himself.
With that proven status often comes a higher stud fee to show that some of the risks and question marks have been removed from a stallion's resume. If you know roughly what you're going to get, that's worth something.
Though the “proven” status often comes at a premium, there are still plenty of veteran stallions out there standing for $20,000 or less who have shown over the years that they can put a winner on your mare's produce record. This time around, we'll take a look at two divisions of the All-Value Sire Team known for their reliability – The Veteran and The Sprinter.
To see who else has made the team this year, click here.
To view the extensive chart I've used to track 159 value sires by 51 different statistical categories to aid in my decision-making process, sign up for our Patreon.
Let's get on with the show.
The Veteran:A sire with at least five crops of racing age in 2024. His reputation is pretty much set in terms of what kind of foal he can get you, which means it's easier to plan what kind of mares might work best with him.
Ch. h., 2006, Unbridled's Song x Fleet Lady, by Avenue of Flags
Standing at Darley, KY, $15,000
Midshipman
The year might have changed, but the song remains the same – Midshipman is one of the safest bets on the board.
If you're looking to get a winner under your mare's produce record, Midshipman tracks at 58 percent winners from horses of racing age, which trails only The Factor (62 percent) and Take Charge Indy (59 percent) among significant value sire contenders. It's also a higher percentage of winners from horses of racing age than all North American stallions standing for $70,000 or more except Tapit (62 percent) and War Front (58 percent).
Though Midshipman was himself a champion juvenile, this is not an indication that his runners are “one and done” types when it comes to winning. His progeny win 16 percent of their total races, which ties him for the highest among significant Kentucky stallions standing for $20,000 or less, and his WOW figure (wins divided by winners) of 3.44 wins per winner trails only First Samurai (3.65) among Kentucky value sires.
I know what you're thinking: Wins are fine, but can Midshipman take you to the next level? His six percent stakes winners from foals of racing age is tied for the highest among significant North American value sires, and it puts him in the mix with stallions standing for multiples of his fee.
The ways that Midshipman's runners have won those stakes races suggest he can cook with whatever ingredients the mare brings to the recipe. Amidst Waves and Ship Cadet did damage in the 2-year-old sprint ranks during this year's Saratoga meet, while 3-year-old Back To Ohio has won eight of nine career starts and absolutely dominated the state-bred stakes scene, going around one turn and two.
As a son of Unbridled's Song, Midshipman could have easily fallen prey to having a fine-boned appearance, but he has plenty of substance, likely helped along by his broodmare sire Avenue of Flags, a stout son of the equally stout Seattle Slew who was extremely fast out of the gates as a juvenile.
Though Midshipman was a Breeders' Cup winner around two turns, his frame skews more toward a sprinter's, with a relatively compact, strong build and solid bone, and his best foals have tended to follow in that notion.
We've seen that carry on through future generations, as well. One of Midshipman's best runners was Lady Shipman, who came within a neck of beating the boys in the 2015 Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint. Lady Shipman is herself the dam of the elite turf sprinter Golden Pal, who has since become North America's busiest stallion. Lady Shipman is a carbon copy of her sire, with all of the substance you'd ever want in a mare, and Golden Pal adds a bit of refinement from his own sire, Uncle Mo.
But enough about the present, let's talk about the future. Darley has been very careful with its pricing of Midshipman over the years, and breeders have responded with lots of support. He has a pipeline of 190 registered 2-year-olds, yearlings, and weanlings, which is on the higher end among veteran value sires, and he consistently covers a healthy book of mares.
There is so much value in knowing what you have when it comes to planning a mating. Midshipman can give you a consistency that few others in the stud book can offer at any price.
Second Team: Sky Mesa
B. h., 2000, Pulpit x Caress, by Storm Cat
Standing at Three Chimneys Farm, KY, $10,000
Sky Mesa
The exacta stays the same from last year in this category, but in a position where consistency is king, that shouldn't come as a surprise.
Midshipman and Sky Mesa are practically in lockstep when it comes to lifetime percentages: dead even by winners from foals of racing age (58 percent) and stakes winners from racing-age foals (six percent), and Midshipman holds a slight lead by percentage of total wins from progeny starts (16 percent to 15 percent).
Sky Mesa has 17 crops of racing age, which ties Mineshaft for the most among active North American value sires, so we have about as much data on what the stallion can get for you as we could possibly collect. He gets his foals to the track and into winner's circles.
As an A.P. Indy-line horse through his own sire Pulpit, Sky Mesa retains many of the hallmarks of that line, with a big shoulder and powerful backside propelling a frame that's not overly tall.
We have the formula on what makes a good Sky Mesa runner about as well as any stallion in North America. At a $10,000 stud fee, he should be on the list for any breed-to-race operation.
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The Sprinter:A veteran sire who either has a proven track record of getting successful sprinters, or a young sire who has the racetrack performance or pedigree to suggest his foals will excel around one turn.
Gr. or ro. h., 2012, Tapit x Fast Cookie, by Deputy Minister Standing at Darley, KY, $10,000
Frosted
Believe it or not, I don't enter the selection process with any preconceived notions of who I plan to end up where on the team. My first year of doing these in 2022 proved that who I thought might be a sure thing in a certain position would be anything but a sure thing once I sat down with all the evidence.
With that being said, there was never a point where I thought Frosted would ever put a dent in this category. Nothing about his race record, and very little of his pedigree, says “sprinter,” but Frosted has turned out to be an incredibly potent source of successful one-turn runners.
Over the past two years, Frosted has gotten 3.26 percent stakes winners from total sprint starters, which stacks up better than a lot of Kentucky sires whose modus operandi is one-turn races. He's been especially good in 2023, where his eight sprint stakes winners (of 10 total stakes winners) tie him for fourth among Kentucky sires at all price points behind the likes of Into Mischief (18) and Munnings (12). His 4.35 percent sprint stakes winners from starts in 2023 is also in the pantheon of sires this season.
His top sprinter is Jasper Krone, who has become a millionaire in Japan as a four-time stakes winner, including scores in the Group 3 CBC Sho and the Kitakyushu Kinen.
Domestically, Frosted's sprinters have been led in 2023 by Ice Dancing, who started the year with a convincing victory in the G3 Santa Ynez Stakes, going seven furlongs. He has also had nice stakes winners in Post Time (City of Laurel Stakes at Laurel Park), Flakes (Game Face Stakes at Gulfstream Park) and Frosty View (Northern Lights Futurity at Canterbury Park).
Buyers have also responded with overwhelming positivity to Frosted's lower fee. The median sale price from his yearling crop conceived in 2021 – the first year he stood for $25,000 – rose to $40,000 after finishing at $30,000 the previous season. His weanling crop, conceived on a $20,000 fee, also saw year-over-year improvements in median sale price this fall.
Darley seems to have found a good balance with supply and demand with their pricing on Frosted, and in doing so, they might have unlocked a skill in the stallion that we couldn't have seen coming. Frosted is by no means “just” a sprint sire because of his lofty placing in this category, but knowing what a sire can be good at can be helpful in planning matings. At $10,000, Frosted offers a ton of value, no matter what you're trying to do with him.
Ch. h., 2009, Distorted Humor x Hookedonthefeelin, by Citidancer
Standing at Spendthrift Farm, KY, $10,000
Jimmy Creed
Last year's First-Teamer in this division doesn't stray far from that spot in 2023, thanks in large part to his ability to get a stakes winner around one turn.
Over the past two years, Jimmy Creed has gotten 3.73 percent sprint stakes winners from starters, which puts him above a lot of his contemporaries, and especially those known as one-turn sires.
Jimmy Creed's best runner is the determined turf miler Casa Creed, who has had a history of big efforts when he scales back to one turn, including a win in last year's G1 Jaipur Stakes. He also has Private Creed taking the G2 Franklin-Simpson Stakes at Kentucky Downs and Joey Freshwater winner winning the G3 Bay Shore Stakes at Aqueduct. All six of Jimmy Creed's graded stakes winners earned that status in sprint races.
Jimmy Creed remains a trusted name with breeders, who sent 113 mares to him in 2023, marking a 19-mare increase.
A breeder has to know what they want when they send a mare to Jimmy Creed, but if they do, and it matches up with what the sire can offer, there are paths to success.
Check in for future installments to see who made the All-Value Sire Team among stallions of various ages and specialties, including freshman sires of 2024, sires awaiting their first yearlings, regional sires, and more.
