Since the Breeders Cup Championships first were run back in 1984, they have been a major force in determining world standings of top-class racehorses. This year’s winners will include no doubt a number of colts who will prove popular at stud.
But has the Breeders Cup played an equal role in shaping the modern day thoroughbred? Over the years, there have been a number of Breeders Cup winners who have gone onto fulfil expectations at stud, but there have also been a number of high-profiled failures.
The first ever Breeders Cup race, the Juvenile, run in 1984 was won by Chief’s Crown. Subsequently named a champion at two, Chief’s Crown went on to capture four more G1 races at three.
At stud, Chief’s Crown had a rather uneven career. His first crop, born in 1987, included three G1 winners in Be My Chief (Racing Post Trophy), Azaam (Sydney Cup) and Chief Honcho (Brooklyn Handicap). However, it was until his fifth crown (born in 1991) were born that further G1 winners were produced. That crop numbered Epsom Derby winner Erhaab and G1 St James Palace Stakes winner Grand Lodge. The latter became a successful sire himself, producing champions such as Sinndar, Grandera and Queen’s Logic. Chief’s Crown became one of a handful of Breeders Cup winners to sire another Breeders Cup winner (his son Chief Bearheart won the Breeders Cup Turf). Another son of Chief’s Crown, Concerto, sired the leading young US sire, Bellamy Road.
The Juvenile has also been won by successful sires Capote (sire of 60 stakes winners ) and Gilded Time (sire of G1 winners Barely A Moment, Mandy’s Gold, Elloluv and Gayego). However, while the majority of winners have failed at stud, the race has produced an outstanding sire in Unbridled’s Song.
Without doubt one of the best stallions to have won a Breeders Cup race, the big, grey Unbridled’s Song has been consistently one of North America’s leading sires, both in terms of racetrack success and sales success.
Unbridled’s Song to date has sired 92 stakes winners, including the Breeders Cup winners Unbridled Elaine (Distaff) and Midshipman (Juvenile). He is the sire of 13 G1 winners to date, including Songandaprayer (Fountain of Youth), Political Force (Suburban Hcp), Buddha (Wood Memorial) and Magnificent Song (Garden City BC Stakes).
He stands for a fee of $100,000 and is one of the highest priced sires currently at stud in the US.
One of the races with the best tradition of finding top sires is the Classic. It’s very first winner was Wild Again, who established himself as one of the US’s very best sires over the next decade. Sire of over 80 stakes winners, Wild Again sired Breeders Cup Sprint winner Elmhurst, as well as such G1 winners as Sarava (Belmont Stakes), Wild Event (Turf Classic) and Offlee Wild (Suburban Handicap),. His son Wild Rush subsequently established himself as a leading sire prior to being exported to Japan.
The Classic has also produced the likes of Sunday Silence (13 times champion sire in Japan), Awesome Again (sire of four Breeders Cup winners), Tiznow (consistently among the top US sires) and the highly influential stallion Unbridled (sire of Unbridled’s Song among others).
However, arguably the most successful sire to ever come out of the Breeders Cup was the 1992 Classic winner, A P Indy. Twice champion sire in the USA, A P Indy has sired over 100 stakes winners since he retired to stud in 1993. Recently pensioned A P Indy’s list of stars include G1 winners and champions Secret Status, Mineshaft, Tempera, Bernardini, Rags To Riches, Aptitude and Golden Missile . He is also sire of leading sires Pulpit, Malibu Moon, Bernardini and Stephen Got Even. A P Indy is also broodmare sire of 2010 Kentucky Derby winner Super Saver.
The Sprint has not produced as many top sires as the other Breeders Cup races, in part because it has been won by a number of geldings and fillies recently. In 1988, however, the race was won by Gulch, who went onto establish himself as one of Mr Prospector’s better sire sons. His top horses include 1995 Kentucky Derby winner Thunder Gulch, who was champion sire in 2001 when his son Point Given carried all before him.
The Mile is another race with a mixed history. Won in 1987 and 1988 by the great Miesque (subsequently dam of top sire Kingmambo), only one winner (Cozzene back in 1985) has gone on to head the US sires list. It has however, produced champion sires of Brazil (Royal Academy) and Australia (Last Tycoon). Both Royal Academy and Last Tycoon achieved successful globally, and Royal Academy himself sired 2001 Mile winner Val Royal.
The Turf, run over 2400 metres, has a very poor record when it comes to finding subsequent champion sires. Not once, in 26 years, has the race been won by a champion sire. The only winners to prove consistently successful at stud were Theatrical and In The Wings. Theatrical sired over 20 G1 winners in productive stud career, and is the broodmare sire of 2007 winner English Channel – a horse who has made a bright start to his stud career.
In The Wings did well during a brief stud career, siring over 60 stakes winners . His G1 winners include champion and leading sire Singspiel, as well as the likes of Winged Love (Irish Derby), Soldier Hollow (Horse of the Year), Central Park (Derby Italiano) and Adlerflug (German Derby). Another son, dual G1 winner Act One, sired South African champion Dancer’s Daughter. The Breeder’s Cup Championships are clearly a great way of finding the world’s top horses. Unfortunately it is not as easy to find the world’s top stallions.
SA’s Breeders Cup connections
There were a number of horses competing at this past weekend’s Breeders Cup championships with strong SA ties. Court Vision (Gulch), upset winner of the Breeders Cup Mile, is from the same family which produced SA sires Tiger Ridge and Mambo In Seattle.
Regally Ready (More Than Ready), winner of the G2 Breeders Cup Turf Sprint, is out of a mare by the Somerset Stud sire, King Of Kings. Drakenstein Stud’s Trippi was represented for the second straight year by a runner in the G1 Breeders Cup Juvenile Fillies, where his 2yo daughter Candrea lined up for Bob Baffert.
