Sweeter Still

In bloodstock circles, plenty of air is devoted to rueing the unforgiving nature of the market, not least the tendency to toss a mare out with the bath water should she fail to sparkle with her first few foals. When Kameko (Kitten's Joy) won the G1 2000 Guineas on June 6, he made a fairly strong case for perseverance. His dam, the well-bred graded stakes winner Sweeter Still (Ire) (Rock Of Gibraltar {Ire}), had been the co-second highest priced lot at Keeneland's January Sale in 2014 at $750,000 in foal...

It's hard to know quite what Kitten's Joy has to do in order to gain a commercial standing commensurate with his achievements. As it is, the champion North American sire of 2018 once again proved unable to crack the top 30 sires ranked by the average value of their yearlings in 2019. Not that he should take it personally. We all know that the American industry talks a good game about the growing importance of the turf program, but won't follow through when young stallions as well-bred and accomplished as...