Bill Oppenheim: Kentucky November Covering Sires

Even a young sire as sensational as Coolmore Ashford's Uncle Mo, leading North American freshman sire and leading North American sire of 2-year-olds of 2015, is not immune to the second-crop blues. He had 155 2-year-olds of 2015, including 28 2-year-old winners, seven black-type 2-year-old winners, and two Grade I winners, including unbeaten 2015 2-year-old champion Nyquist. This year he had only 68 2-year-olds–fewer than half his first crop–and ranks #36 on the North American 2-year-old sire list, with eight 2-year-old winners, and no 2-year-old black-type winners.

Meantime, Uncle Mo has nearly four times the earnings as number two Twirling Candy on the 2016 North American second-crop sire list (click here), and ranks second only to runaway leader Tapit on the 2016 North American General Sire list (click here). Uncle Mo rebounded to 121 yearlings of 2016 (according to TDN Sales Statistics [click here], 73 sold for an average of $218,095, off a 2014 stud fee of $27,500). As we saw last week he has 49 foals catalogued to the November Sale, from what recent Jockey Club figures disclosed is 161 foals of 2016 (bred off a $25,000 stud fee). The recent report of mares bred says he covered 253 mares this season, which was off a stud fee which began at $75,000 but probably ended up at double that by the time Nyquist beat Exaggerator in the GI Kentucky Derby. So, not surprisingly, Uncle Mo is the leading sire of in-foal mares catalogued to the November Sale, with 35 total. He's also the leading sire of in-foal mares in Fasig November and Keeneland Book 1 combined, with 22 (Click here for an alphabetical list of sires with in-foal mares catalogued for Fasig-Tipton November and Keeneland November).

By the way, there is technically a difference between 'covering sire' and 'sire of in-foal mares'. Last year there was a mare covered by Dubawi but listed in the Tattersalls December catalogue as not in foal. She was sold for 26,000 guineas, as I recall, and that sale was included by TJCIS (The Jockey Club Information Systems) in Dubawi's results as a 'covering sire'– which, technically, he was. It took us at least a month to get the parameters changed so that actually only mares in foal were included in a covering sire average. The figures compiled by TDN's Heather Anderson for this column are in-foal mares only.

Ramsey Farm's Kitten's Joy, seemingly the perennial leading turf sire in North America but more importantly the leading sire on the North American General Sire list in 2013 and the leading sire of 2-year-olds in 2011, is second by number of mares catalogued in foal, with 32, and in number of in-foal mares in Fasig plus Keeneland Book 1 (17).

As exciting as it is for Ashford and, really, the entire North American breeding industry that Uncle Mo has made such a sensational start, equally exciting is Ashford's other star attraction, 2015 U.S. Triple Crown winner, and newly-christened Grand Slam winner (including the GI Breeders' Cup Classic, which didn't exist the last time there was a Triple Crown winner), American Pharoah (Pioneerof The Nile). He covered 208 mares, according to TJCIS, and has 15 catalogued for November–four at Fasig, eight in Keeneland Book 1, and three in Keeneland Book 2.

Thirteen other first-year sires have more catalogued during the November sales than American Pharoah. WinStar's Carpe Diem (Giant's Causeway); Gainesway's Karakontie (Bernstein); and Three Chimneys' Palace Malice (Curlin) have the highest number catalogued, with 30, 29, and 28 respectively. Carpe Diem, a $1.6-million 2-year-old owned by WinStar and Stonestreet, won two Grade I's at Keeneland, the Breeders' Futurity as a 2-year-old, and the Blue Grass S. as a 3-year-old. His first mares in foal sell in Book 2, with 23 of his 30 total catalogued in Books 2-3. Karakontie, who is from the family of Kingmambo, won three Group 1 races: the Jean-Luc Lagardere as a 2-year-old in 2013; and the Poule d'Essai des Poulains (French 2000 Guineas) and the 2014 Breeders' Cup Mile at Santa Anita as a 3-year-old. Karakontie was head-hunted by Antony Beck, who reckons much of John Gaines and Gainesway's early success was due to successfully standing such top European-raced sires like Lyphard, Riverman, and Blushing Groom. Karakontie is poised to benefit from a growing recognition–especially among veteran European buyers who have been avoiding the American sales–that American-breds have always, and continue to, regularly win top European races. A horse like Karakontie, who has a real pedigree, real form, and went to stud for a reasonable $15,000 ticket, should benefit from the return to commercial respectability of American-breds in Europe, because like many of the top European-raced Gainesway sires in the past, Europeans know who he was. I've personally had a lot to do with Karakontie (though no direct financial interest), who has 29 catalogued in the sales, but that doesn't affect one way or the other the fact that the timing is better now commercially for horses like him.

Palace Malice was from Curlin's first crop, and though it's hard to remember now, up until 2015 (the year he had his first 5-year-olds) he was Curlin's only Grade I winner. He won the GI Belmont S. as a 3-year-old, but really got good early in his 4-year-old year, in 2014, winning the GII New Orleans H., the GIII Westchester H., and the GI Met Mile, and running successive Beyers of 112-114-112. Of the 28 mares catalogued in foal to him, 25 are catalogued in Books 2-3, with one each at Fasig and in Book 1.

Lane's End retired a powerful corps of three stallions this year with strong representation in Books 1-2 at Keeneland. The beautifully-bred Honor Code, from A.P. Indy's last crop and winner of the 2015 GI Met Mile and Whitney S., has 20 catalogued in Books 1-2, with another three in Book 3. Liam's Map (Unbridled's Song), who ran Beyers of 113-114-114 in his last three starts–second to Honor Code in the Whitney, followed by easy wins in the GI Woodward and GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile–has 19 mares in foal catalogued in Keeneland Books 1-2, of 26 catalogued in foal, total; and Tonalist (Tapit), winner of the 2014 GI Belmont S., and the GI Jockey Club Gold Cup and GI Cigar Mile last year, has 16 mares in foal catalogued in Books 1-2, among 22 in-foal mares catalogued in total.

The other seven first-year covering sires with more than 15 catalogued are mostly represented in Books 3 and later: Ashford's Competitive Edge, winner of the GI Hopeful from Super Saver's first crop, has 26 catalogued. Three Chimneys' Fast Anna (Medaglia D'Oro) and Darby Dan's Tapiture (Tapit), 20 each; Lane's End's Mr. Speaker (Pulpit), 19; WinStar's Daredevil (More Than Ready), 17; and Hill 'n' Dale's 2014 GI Breeders' Cup Classic winner, Bayern (Offlee Wild) and Claiborne's versatile Lea (First Samurai), 16 each.

Among non-first crop sires, another nine have between 25-30 mares each catalogued in foal in the sales. First-crop sires with runners (freshman sires, with their first 2-year-olds this year) include WinStar's Gemologist (29) and Bodemeister (27); Gainesway's Tapizar (28); and Darby Dan's Shackleford (25). Lane's End's second-crop sire Twirling Candy has 27; Ashford's Verrazano (first foals), 26; and Darley's Animal Kingdom (first yearlings 2016) and Discreet Cat (now Darley Japan) have 25 each, as does Spendthrift's Into Mischief, #2 sire of North American 2-year-olds this year with his first big crop.