With Blame, Quality Road, Super Saver and Lookin at Lucky leading this years new stallions to stand next year, I thought it was a good time to look foward to next year's Freshman. The question is, can they top this years?
I mean Bernardini, Congrats, Bluegrass Cat, War Front, and Sharp Humor make up five of the Top 6 (only CAN stallion Old Forester ruins an all KY based Top 5. Although Congrats will be standing in KY for the first time in 2011). Add in Rockport Harbor, Silver Train and Flower Alley also having good starts to their careers. All, but 2 of the top 10 have stakes winners with the Top 4 (plus Flower Alley) having graded stakes winners. Bernardini and Congrats have G1 winners (with Bernardini having 2 of them).
With that being said, they could be topped. Why? These following stallions will have their first crops at the track next year.
Any Given Saturday
Corinthian
English Channel
Flashy Bull
Hard Spun
Invasor
Jazil
Purim
Shakespeare
Stevie Wonderboy
Street Sense
Sun King
And many more! I do think of this list, Corinthian, Hard Spun and Street Sense will get out to fast starts. Stevie Wonderboy might take a little bit of catching up. English Channel should take the lead in turf races along with Purim. One horse I didn't mention was Discreet Cat and that's because I don't think he'll have that great of a career.
Of course anything can happen in the topsy turvy world of horse racing!
I don't know what kind of mares he's been getting, but I've got a really good feeling about Hard Spun. If he doesn't hit in Kentucky, it's a safe bet he'll end up being the best sire in whatever smaller-market state he lands.
ReplyDeleteHis first crop is impressive.
ReplyDeleteAccording to my spreadsheet, he got the dams of the following:
Hot Dixie Chick
Sharp Humor
Banshee Breeze
Albert the Great
Lost in the Fog
War Chant
Dance Daily
Havre de Grace
Miss Finland
Defer
Friendly Island
Reading Colliery
Take the Ribbon
To Honor and Serve
Rockport Harbor
Too Much Bling
Sinister Minister
I am definitely looking forward to seeing Hard Spun and Street Sense runners the most, especially Hard Spun, he was such a throwback runner and his pedigree is superb.
ReplyDeleteEnglish Channel could also do very well and I'm curious about Invasor, Jazil and Corinthian.
The problem is that even though a horse is a great performer on the track, it doesn't always carry over into the breeding shed. Then again, some horses who are under the radar now because of very short careers may turn out to be great sires, like Danzig was in the past.
ReplyDeleteWhich is why I think Discreet Cat and Invasor are not going to be that great of sires. Jazil has a fantastic female family (and not just through his half sister. A half to their dam is the dam to Peeping Fawn who was a top filly in Europe).
ReplyDelete