Tag: stallion

From Stallion Families, Early Voting and Jack Christopher New to Ashford

Among Ashford Stud's new stallions for 2023, two members of the Coolmore quintet boast standout sire-making families. GI Preakness S. hero Early Voting (Gun Runner – Amour d'Ete, by Tiznow) is out of a half-sister to perennial top sire Speightstown while Jack Christopher (Munnings – Rushin No Blushin, by Half Ours), a 'TDN Rising Star' who raced to three Grade I victories, is out of a half-sister to Darley's Street Boss.

Jack Christopher is also the first son of Munnings to join his sire at Ashford Stud. After carrying the Coolmore silks to a trio of graded stakes wins, Munnings stood his first five seasons at Ashford for under $15,000, but steadily produced one elite runner after another. A top 10 North American sire in 2022, Munnings will stand for his highest fee yet this year at $100,000 while his highest-earning son Jack Christopher is advertised at an introductory fee of $45,000.

“It's always very fulfilling when you have a stallion and are able to stand one of his sons,” said Ashford Stud's Adrian Wallace. “I think that is particularly true of a horse like Munnings, who was really a rags-to-riches story. He was a very fast horse over six and seven furlongs and I think you see that with a lot of the Munnings stock including Jack Christopher.”

Earning the 'Rising Star' nod with a 8 3/4-length debut score at Saratoga, Jack Christopher followed that effort with an easy win in the GI Champagne S. Owned in the partnership of Jim Bakke, Gerald Isbister, Coolmore Stud and Peter Brant, the Chad Brown trainee scratched from the GI Breeder' Cup Juvenile due to a shin problem, but returned to the track at three to remain undefeated in the GII Pat Day Mile S. and GI Woody Stephens S. He ran third in his lone defeat while stretching out in the GI Haskell S., but got back to his winning ways at seven furlongs in the GI H. Allen Jerkens in his final career start.

“The thing about Jack Christopher is that he's all about speed,” Wallace explained. “He was quick out of the gate. He could get to the front and dominate his races. He was also very tactical in the way he raced. Chad Brown is quoted as saying he's one of the fastest horses he has ever trained.”

“He is very like his sire Munnings,” he continued. “He's a balanced horse and a good mover. He's probably a better-looking horse than his sire, so if he can become as good a sire as Munnings, we'll be very happy.”

Jack Christopher's grandsire Speighstown jumps out on the pedigree of another new Ashford resident, Early Voting. The Classic winner was bred by Three Chimneys Farm and his dam Amour d'Ete is not only a sibling to Speightstown, but also to MGSW Irap (Tiznow).

Early Voting stands out among this year's class of incoming stallions as one of the first two sons of remarkably fast-starting sire Gun Runner to go to stud. Along with Early Voting, Gun Runner's six Grade I winners include Cyberknife, who will stand at Spendthrift Farm after making his career finale in the GI Pegasus World Cup on Jan. 28.

“With Early Voting being one of the first sons of Gun Runner to stand at stud, it's a huge privilege to be able to get his career off to a good start,” said Wallace. “Gun Runner is widely perceived as one of the best young stallions in America and now we're excited to stand one of his best sons. I think Early Voting has the size and balance of Gun Runner, but in many ways he looks like his damsire Tiznow. He's got the big hip and shoulder.”

On the racetrack, the Klaravich Stables-campaigned colt made a good impression in his winning debut late in his juvenile season and then returned to the winner's circle in the GIII Withers S. He ran second to future GI Belmont S. winner Mo Donegal (Uncle Mo) in the GII Wood Memorial S. before scoring his signature victory in the GI Preakness S., where he earned a 105 Beyer as he defeated his eventual studmate Epicenter (Not This Time), a leading consideration for top 3-year-old of 2022.

“Early Voting had speed and he was able to carry that speed,” Wallace noted. “He also had great heart and there was no better reflection of that than his race in the Preakness. He ran a superb race that day. His speed took him to the front and he kept going. His form was very strong throughout the year and a horse like him has been very popular with breeders so far.”

Early Voting will stand for $25,000 and was awarded the silver medal on Chris McGrath's Value Podium for new sires in 2023.

Find our feature on Ashford Stud's other new residents, and more on this year's class of incoming stallions, here.

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Regally-Bred, Grade I-Caliber Homebreds Join Darley Roster

Speaker's Corner (Street Sense – Tyburn Brook, by Bernardini) and Mystic Guide (Ghostzapper – Music Note, by A.P. Indy), both Grade I-winning homebreds for Godolphin, have joined the Darley America stallion roster for 2023.

The newcomers hail from impressive Godolphin families. Speaker's Corner, who will command an initial stud fee of $20,000, is out of a daughter of GI Breeders' Cup Distaff victress Round Pond (Awesome Again), while Mystic Guide, a 'TDN Rising Star' who will stand for $15,000, is a son of five-time Grade I winner Music Note.

“We couldn't be more excited to have Mystic Guide and Speaker's Corner join our stallion ranks,” said Darley Sales Manager Darren Fox. “Speaker's Corner is a horse that has been held in the highest esteem right from the get-go. In the mold of a lot of the Street Senses and Street Sense himself, he has a great mind. He wanted to train and was very straightforward. Mystic Guide was another one that showed a lot of talent from the start. [Trainer] Mike Stidham was high on this horse from the early days of his 2-year-old season, so it was very satisfying to see him live up to the potential and the esteem in which he was held from the early stages of his career.”

Trained by Bill Mott, Speaker's Corner broke his maiden as a juvenile at Belmont against a field of five additional future stakes winners. He made two trips to the winner's circle as a lightly-raced 3-year-old, but then blossomed at four when he cut back to a mile. The bay dominated in this year's GIII Fred W. Hopper S. and GII Gulfstream Park Mile S. before getting his signature victory in the GI Carter H., where he earned a 114 Beyer Speed Figure. Also in 2022, Speaker's Corner ran third behind Flightline (Tapit) and Life Is Good (Into Mischief) in the GI Metropolitan H. and second to Life Is Good in the GII John A. Nerud S. In 13 career starts, he collected seven triple-digit Beyers.

Out of the unraced Bernardini mare Tyburn Brook, Speaker's Corner is bred on the same cross as fellow Darley sire and Grade I winner Maxfield. The Street Sense-Bernadini mating also produced Godolphin's MGSW Shared Sense.

Fox said that the Speaker's Corner reflects the best of both sides of his pedigree.

“He has a good shoulder and good depth like we've come to know and expect from the Street Sense and Street Cry (Ire) sire line. He's a correct horse with plenty of quality to him and he has been extremely popular with breeders these past couple of months.”

Street Sense has been one of Darley America's top stallions in recent years, but from his early crops, his first five Grade I winners were all fillies. Now, the Jonabell Farm resident has the opportunity to make his mark as a sire of sires. In the past three consecutive years, he has had a new Grade I-winning son take up stud duty. Street Sense's leading earner McKinzie stands at Gainesway Farm and will be represented by his first yearlings in 2023, while Maxfield will see his first foals next year as his studmate Speaker's Corner begins his own stallion career.

Jonabell Farm's other new resident Mystic Guide has been a popular addition to Darley's roster. Fox said that much of the G1 Dubai World Cup winner's appeal is in his elite racing pedigree.

Mystic Guide's dam Music Note raced to Grade I victories in the Mother Goose S., Coaching Club American Oaks and Gazelle S. as a 3-year-old and then added the GI Ballerina S. and GI Beldame S. at four. The daughter of A.P. Indy is a half-sister to multiple Grade I winner Musical Chimes (In Excess {Ire}). Their second dam It's In The Air (Mr. Prospector) was a champion 2-year-old filly and a five-time Grade I winner.

“It is rare to have a stallion that is a direct son of an elite race mare like that,” Fox explained. “A lot of times a stallion may profile as being out of a winning or an unraced daughter of such a mare, but it is not often that you get an elite-performing stallion who is a direct son of an elite mare. This female family is so deep and there really is nothing but blacktype all the way down his pedigree page.”

On the racetrack, Mystic Guide followed in the footsteps of the many talented performers on his pedigree page. He earned 'TDN Rising Star' status in his second start as a 3-year old and later that year, scored his first stakes victory in the GII Jim Dandy. Also at three, he finished less than a length behind Happy Saver (Super Saver) in the GI Jockey Club Gold Cup S. and placed in the GIII Peter Pan S. At four, he earned a 108 Beyer in the GIII Razorback H. before going on to win the G1 Dubai World Cup.

That win marked the ninth Dubai World Cup score for Godolphin, but the first one earned from their U.S.-based racing stable. It was also the first winner outside of the U.S. for trainer Michael Stidham.

“For Godolphin to win the Dubai World Cup with a homebred and with a horse shipping over from the United States was extra special,” Fox said. “It was Michael Stidham's first time with a horse for Godolphin shipping to Dubai, so that was extra special for him to come away with the big win on his first attempt. Mystic Guide has done us proud at every step of his career and the Dubai World Cup was certainly the pinnacle of that.”

Fox added that he believes that Mystic Guide has all the qualifications to reproduce his own success on the racetrack with his future progeny.

“It's fair to say that Mystic Guide was bred for the dirt, being by Ghostzapper out of an A.P. Indy mare, and it was certainly very pleasing to watch him on the track. He had a very efficient way of going, a real daisy cutter action. He's a big, flashy chestnut with a good length of body and a good hip to him. He certainly looks like he has all the attributes to be a top dirt sire.”

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Mandaloun Picks Up Torch for Juddmonte USA

Representing a Juddmonte pedigree through and through, Mandaloun (Into Mischief – Brooch, by Empire Maker) carried Prince Khalid bin Abdullah's esteemed green, pink and white silks at the highest level of the sport during his racing career. A 'TDN Rising Star' on debut and the promoted 2021 Kentucky Derby winner, the homebred has returned to his birthplace at Juddmonte's American division to begin his stud career.

“For Juddmonte to bring in a horse like Mandaloun is very special,” said Aaron West, who joined Juddmonte USA this fall as Nominations Manager. “He was born and raised at the farm and got his early lessons here. Mandaloun reflects 40 years of work, and while there have been plenty of other horses along the way, to have a Classic-winning homebred here has always been the dream for Juddmonte.”

Seven years after Prince Khalid purchased his operation's American division in 1982, Juddmonte bought Queen of Song (His Majesty) for $700,000 in foal to Seattle Slew at the Keeneland November Sale. The Grade II winner was a full-sister to dirt Grade I winner and Classic sire Cormorant.

Queen of Song's stakes-placed daughter Aspiring Diva (Distant View) produced three stakes winners by Juddmonte sire Dansili (GB) in Irish Highweight Emulous (GB), Group victor First Sitting (GB), and Daring Diva (GB), the dam of blacktype winners Caponata (Selkirk) and Brooch (Empire Maker).

Trained by Dermot Weld, Brooch debuted at three and was undefeated in her first four starts including the G2 Lanwades Stud S. as a 4-year-old. Retired to stud back in Kentucky, Brooch produced Mandaloun as her second foal.

West reflected on Mandaloun's storied female family and said, “His pedigree is unique for us in that it's 11 generations of blacktype horses. In the first four generations on his female side, it's a Juddmonte mare to a Juddmonte stallion. It's a Classic dirt pedigree from the fourth generation all the way through now to Mandaloun.”

Making his juvenile debut going six furlongs for Brad Cox at Keeneland's fall meet, Mandaloun came from near the back of an 11-horse field to fight his way to a half-length victory and earn the 'Rising Star' nod. The next three finishers included future Grade III victor Bob's Edge (Competitive Edge) and 2021 GI Cigar Mile H. winner Americanrevolution (Constitution).

West points to that promising debut, as well as the GI Kentucky Derby and the GI Haskell–both of which Mandaloun was elevated to first place–as the colt's three most impressive races.

“You go down the list of the horses that finished behind him in the Derby–Essential Quality, Hot Rod Charlie, Midnight Bourbon–it's a who's who of that 3-year-old crop,” West said. “Then he came back in the Haskell to be right there and beat that same group again.”

Mandaloun's resume also includes the GII Risen Star S. and the Pegasus S. at three, plus the GIII Louisiana S. at four.

“He has always been the same horse that we have here today,” West said. “He was very sound throughout his career and is a classy individual with a good mind. He is easy to be around and always does his job. When you see foals like that and you start training them, you hope they turn out to be a horse like Mandaloun.”

Mandaloun will stand for an introductory fee of $25,000. He is one of four sons of leading sire Into Mischief to enter stud this year and is the only incoming stallion in Kentucky out of a mare by Juddmonte homebred Empire Maker, who passed away nearly three years ago. When Mandaloun got his first graded score in the GII Risen Star, he became the 24th graded winner out of a daughter of the influential stallion.

The Into Mischief-Empire Maker cross has produced four additional stakes winners including Laurel River, another Juddmonte homebred who won the GII Pat O'Brien S. this year, and Grade III victor Center Aisle.

West said that Mandaloun reflects the best of both sides of his pedigree.

“He brings out the power and strength of Into Mischief with the elegance, stretch and scope of Empire Maker. He had the precocity and the ability to show speed and win early, as he did at six and seven furlongs, but then also stretch out and carry that speed a route of ground. He's a perfect blend of the two [stallions] and I think that has been the biggest selling point for breeders.”

Juddmonte has a roster of five stallions led by champion Frankel (GB) at Banstead Manor Stud in Newmarket, but Mandaloun will stand as the operation's lone representative in its stud barn in Kentucky for 2023.

Following a time of great loss for Juddmonte's American division after the death of Arrogate in 2020, but then an immeasurable loss for the Juddmonte dynasty in its entirety with the passing of Prince Khalid last year, Mandaloun represents the legacy of the many accomplished generations to go before him, as well as the next chapter in a renowned international operation's history, as he picks up the torch for Juddmonte USA.

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Airdrie-Bred Girvin Fillies Meet Again in Starlet

Born just a day apart in the same foaling barn, two daughters of Girvin once roamed the same Bluegrass fields in their early days at Airdrie Stud. On Saturday, the duo will meet again as 'TDN Rising Star' Faiza and stakes-placed Blessed Touch enter the starting gate for the GI Starlet S. at Los Alamitos Race Course.

The Brereton C. Jones-bred fillies represent two of the 20 winners this year for fast-starting first-crop stallion Girvin, who has relocated from Ocala Stud to Airdrie for the 2023 breeding season. With four stakes winners including GII Saratoga Special-winning 'Rising Star' Damon's Mound already on his list of progeny, a Grade I score on Saturday could be the bow on top of a spectacular season for Girvin as the year comes to a close.

Faiza will be the clear favorite in this weekend's lone graded contest. The Bob Baffert-trained, Michael Lund Petersen-campaigned filly earned 'Rising Star' honors on debut last month at Del Mar going six furlongs.

Out of the Smart Strike mare Sweet Pistol, who is a half to MGSW and Spendthrift sire Thousand Words (Pioneerof the Nile), Faiza has improved at every step of her career. A shrewd $90,000 purchase for Bet Racing at the Fasig-Tipton July Sale, she was sent to Paul Sharp and went on to fetch $725,000 at this year's Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Sale.

“She was a beautiful filly from the start,” Airdrie's Bret Jones recalled. “We always thought she was right at the top of that foal crop and we had her in the July Sale to try and show off what the stallion was producing. Everyone who has ever had the filly has been pretty over-the-top with her. The reports along the way have been a lot of fun to hear about and then to see it all come to fruition in that first race had us really pumped. She has the look of a very special filly.”

Blessed Touch will be another top choice in the Starlet's field of seven. The elder of the two Girvin fillies by one day, she is out of the Street Boss mare Blushing Touch and is from the family of champion Left Bank (French Deputy). A $32,000 Keeneland September purchase for Julie Davies, Blessed Touch went on to sell for $140,000 at the OBS April Sale to Pierre and Leslie Amestoy and Roger Bersley.

Trained by Tim Yakteen, the bay broke her maiden at second asking by nearly nine lengths and then ran second to talented 'Rising Star' Justique (Justify) in the Desi Arnaz S.

“Unfortunately Blessed Touch's dam has passed away, but she left behind a very nice filly,” Jones said. “She ran a winning race in the Desi Arnaz and just ran into a really good filly that day. If she can take a step forward, she has the chance to be really competitive.”

In comparing Faiza and Blessed Touch, Jones said that the two juveniles share their sire's athleticism.

“When Girvin is on the shank, I think it's his athleticism that really stands out,” Jones explained. “Both of these fillies fit that same description when they were with us. They were really athletic types and looked like they could do the job.”

Girvin raced to three graded stakes victories, including the 2017 GI Haskell Invitational S., for Brad Grady before retiring to Ocala Stud. He stood his first four years there as property of Brad and Misty Grady's Grand Oaks Farm in partnership with Airdrie Stud.

“It was a partnership that was very attractive to us,” Jones said. “It was as much about who we were partnering with as it was the horse that we were partnering on. Brad has done everything he can to help the stallion and we have done our part by sending mares down to Florida every year. Ocala Stud did a remarkable job promoting him and making sure the horse had every opportunity.”

Girvin will stand for $25,000 in 2023 | EquiSport

Girvin stood for an introductory fee of $7,500 in Florida and bred 149 mares. When that first crop hit the racetrack this year, Jones said that Girvin didn't give his partnership much of a choice when it came to where he would stand in 2023.

“We've been run over by mare submissions and the horse is essentially full. He's now at a price point of $25,000, so the mare quality that he's getting is fantastic. These are some of the top breeders in the industry that want to send mares to him. We will be breeding some of the absolute best mares in our band and Brad Grady will be doing the same, just as he has from the start.”

Jones credits Girvin's early achievements at stud to the quality of mares his partners have supported him with and the athleticism the son of Tale of Ekati showed on the racetrack that he is now passing on to his offspring.

“He's this beautiful, talented and athletic horse that maybe didn't have the sire power that people perceived as being needed to stand initially in Kentucky,” he explained. “But if you go back now after the horse has had some success, it's not too hard to see why success was always possible.”

Girvin currently ranks a close seventh on the list of leading American first-crop sires by earnings. A productive turnout from his two Starlet-bound fillies could give him an extra boost before the end of the year.

“It's a loaded group of first-crop stallions this year,” Jones said. “When you come in with a $7,500 stallion, it's going to be a tough group to compete with. But if he could put up a Grade I winner and combine that with the body of work he already has, it would be the icing on the cake of a pretty phenomenal freshman season and hopefully a harbinger of some very special days ahead.”

Bob Baffert has won the last five editions of the Starlet, and his 7-5 morning line favorite Faiza will make her two-turn debut alongside stablemates Doinitthehardway (Street Sense), an improving maiden adding distance in her fourth start, and Fast and Shiny (Bernardini). The field also includes Repole Stable's Uncontrollable (Upstart), the runner-up in the GII Chandelier S., and Pride of the Nile (Pioneerof the Nile), who makes her main track debut after three promising starts on turf.

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