stallion

The year 2024 could be a defining season for Hill 'n' Dale at Xalapa stallion Violence. Not only must he continue to make his mark as a sire with a limited book of 125 mares, but the son of Medaglia d'Oro will now take the first steps towards becoming a sire of sires. He got off to a fast start doing just that last year as his young son Volatile made headlines with his first crop of yearlings. From just a $17,500 initial stud fee, the Grade I-winning Three Chimneys...

Verifying (Justify--Diva Delite, by Repent), winner of the GIII Indiana Derby and a half-brother to Eclipse winner Midnight Bisou (Midnight Lute), will stand at Pleasant Acres Stallions in Florida for an introductory fee of $10,000 in 2024. Trained by Brad Cox after selling for $775,000 as a KEESEP yearling, Verifying began his career at two with a win in his first asking at Saratoga before placing in the GI Champagne S. at Belmont at the Big A in his second start. In addition to winning the Indiana Derby, he placed...

After playing a starring role in a story that the racing world--and many circles outside the equine industry--will not soon forget, Cody's Wish will now work toward cementing his legacy as he takes up stud duty at Darley's Jonabell Farm. With a $75,000 initial fee, the son of Curlin is the priciest newcomer to join the Kentucky stallion ranks this year, but also the only one to boast five Grade I victories. His resume is further enhanced by a Grade I-winning dam--a distinction that only one other incoming stallion can...

Last year's Eclipse Champion 3-Year-Old Epicenter is the first stallion that Coolmore's Ashford Stud has stood for Winchell Thoroughbreds and the partnership got off to a blazing start as the son of Not This Time was one of the most popular stallions in Kentucky this year, covering 262 mares in his debut season. Now, Coolmore has teamed up with the same racing and breeding operation to debut another Grade I-winning stallion--this time a homebred son of Winchell's own Gun Runner. Gunite, who claimed the GI Hopeful S. as a juvenile...

The Breeders' Cup issued a press release Tuesday reminding that all North American stallion nominations to the Breeders' Cup program for the 2024 breeding season are due by Friday, Dec. 15 at 11:59 p.m. ET. A $100 initial payment must accompany the nomination form at the deadline.  All stallions standing in North America are eligible to be nominated to the Breeders' Cup program on an annual basis. The nomination fee is equal to the advertised stud fee, but not less than $1,000. Following the receipt of the initial $100 deposit,...

Elliott Walden has nothing but confidence in WinStar Farm's two new stallion recruits for 2024 and he has the numbers to show it. The speedy Two Phil's (Hard Spun) posted some eye-catching figures this year as a 3-year-old, including 105 Beyer Speed Figures in both the GIII Ohio Derby and his runner-up performance in the GI Kentucky Derby. Meanwhile his new studmate Country Grammer (Tonalist), winner of the G1 Dubai World Cup, retired as the third highest-earning North American-bred horse of all time--behind great company in Arrogate and Gun Runner--...

GI Woody Stephens S. hero Hog Creek Hustle (Overanalyze) was relocated to War Horse Place for the 2024 breeding season where the 7-year-old will stand for $5,000 LFSN, the farm said in a release Friday. Joining recent arrival GI Preakness S. champ Rombauer (Twirling Candy), Hog Creek Hustle was campaigned by Something Special Racing and trained by Vickie Foley. Retired in 2021, he earned $774,546 over the course of his racing career which spanned 24 starts with 13 in-the-money finishes and included a thrilling runner-up effort to MGISW Mind Control...

The commercial travails of turf stallions in Kentucky have become notorious. But there are a couple of aligning trends that give Up to the Mark every right to make a breakthrough when he starts his new career at Lane's End in 2024. For one thing, there appears to be a growing consensus that opportunities for grass horses will only increase over the years ahead—even as those coming round to that opinion find their options much reduced by the loss of Kitten's Joy and English Channel. At the same time, Up...

From clipping Curlin's stallion tag onto Broadway's Alibi's halter before the mare went into the breeding shed to celebrating in the winner's circle at Santa Anita six years later for the GI Breeders' Cup Sprint, Aaron West has been along for the ride almost every step of the way as the foal that resulted from that mating back in 2017 came to be known as Elite Power, a two-time Breeders Cup champion and the newest addition at Juddmonte Farm. West was working at Lane's End Farm when Broadway's Alibi (Vindication),...

It didn't take long for champion Forte (Violence - Queen Caroline, by Blame) to settle in at Spendthrift Farm and after just a few weeks of breeder inspections, the 'TDN Rising Star' is already booked full for his first year at stud. "Any time you get a chance to show a champion off to your breeders, it makes the sales team's job pretty easy," said Spendthrift's Mark Toothaker. "He has been hugely popular and is completely sold out. Most every mare that he got is a blacktype mare, so he's...

WinStar's Grade I-winning millionaire Paynter, whose story of perseverance captivated the racing world in 2012, had to be euthanized on Friday, Nov. 10, due to lameness, the farm said in a release Friday morning. The 2009 son of Awesome Again captured the 2012 GI Haskell Invitational S. and finished a close second in that year's GI Belmont S. en route to career earnings of $1,101,924 for owner Zayat Stables and trainer Bob Baffert. After nearly wiring the field in the 2012 GI Belmont S. and winning the GI Haskell Invitational,...

Bucchero (Kantharos), the sire of the current 2-year-old stakes winners Book'em Danno and Mattingly and of the stakes-placed and GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint fifth-place finisher Shards, will take up residence at McMahon of Saratoga Thoroughbreds for the 2024 breeding season for a fee of $7,500. After breeding 471 mares while standing for five seasons at Pleasant Acres Stallions in Florida, Bucchero will join a powerhouse New York stallion lineup alongside Central Banker and Solomini. "Traditionally, New York breeders have not had the opportunity to breed to a new...