LEMON DROP KID is also the sire of two promising Triple Crown hopefuls in Grade 2 winner Charitable Man and Grade 3 winner Break Water Edison, both stakes winners on the dirt in New York last season.

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CURLIN, BELONG TO ME’S FOREVER TOGETHER, HONORED AT ECLIPSE AWARDS

Jan. 30, 2009: On the heels of a another ground-breaking season, SMART STRIKE’s superlative son CURLIN was honored with a second Horse of the Year title at the Eclipse Awards, held at the Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami Beach. CURLIN became the first horse to win back-to-back titles since Cigar. It was fitting that CURLIN matched Cigar’s feat, as it was Cigar’s mark that Curlin surpassed when he became racing’s all-time leading money earner with a bankroll of $10,501,800. CURLIN, whose victories in 2008 included the G1 Dubai World Cup and three other Grade 1's, was also honored as Champion Older Male. CURLIN raced for Jess Jackson’s Stonestreet Stables and Midnight Cry Stable.

George Strawbridge received a well-deserved Champion Turf Mare statuette for his GI Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare turf heroine Forever Together. In addition to her Breeders’ Cup win at 1 1/4 miles, Forever Together, a daughter of BELONG TO ME, also won the one-mile G1 Diana S. and the nine-furlong G1 First Lady S. Forever Together has won seven of her 14 starts and earned over $2 million. BELONG TO ME is the sire of ten Grade 1 winners.

Return to Stallion News 2009

MINESHAFT’S NEW GOLDEN PROSPECTS

Jan. 30, 2009: We are just one month into the new year, and a trio of runners by MINESHAFT have already announced themselves as top prospects on the sophomore scene. On Jan. 2 at Santa Anita, Bill Farish’s Woodford Racing’s three-year-old colt Shafted, a son of Grade 1 winner Twist Afleet, captured a 1 1/16-mile allowance. The win prompted The Blood-Horse’s Steve Haskin to enthuse, “...You’re not likely to see a better turn of foot than what was demonstrated by this son of MINESHAFT out of the top-class Twist Afleet, who turned on the afterburners around the far turn and blew by his opponents, while going from the three-quarters to the eighth pole in :23 3/5. He then drew away from the tough, hard-knocking Massone with authority to win by 2 1/2 lengths.” Shafted is a Lane’s End sales grad.

Fifteen days after that win, another three-year-old son of MINESHAFT impressed. At the Fair Grounds Jan. 17, Stonestreet Stable’s Nuclear Wayne powered home to a daylight victory in a six-furlong allowance dash. The colt, a $650,000 weanling, stopped the clock in 1:09.87. The resulting Beyer Speed Figure was a strong 96.

On the same day that Nuclear Wayne was winning in New Orleans, the three-year-old filly Rock Candy, another Lane’s End sales grad, was earning her first stakes victory at Tampa Bay. Bred and owned by Lane’s End in partnership with Mrs. W.S. Kilroy, Rock Candy was given a 4-1 chance in her first try at black-type in Tampa’s Gasparilla S., and looked sharp as she got through traffic to win by a widening 2 1/4-length margin.

And the hits keep on coming. MINESHAFT’s three-year-old daughter Platinum Girl romped by a dazzling 12 1/4 lengths in a one-mile-and-70-yard event at Philly Park Jan. 24, while Lane’s End sales grad son Cool Coal Man, winner of last year’s G2 Fountain of Youth S. at Gulfstream, kept his record at that track perfect with a sharp allowance victory (106 Beyer) Jan. 29.

One month, five red-hot runners by MINESHAFT. The best is yet to come!

Return to Stallion News 2009

PERFECTION TIMES FOUR

Jan. 30, 2009: Edward Evans’s homebred Light Green, a daughter of PLEASANTLY PERFECT who ran second and then third in a pair of 5 1/2-furlong dashes in New York last summer, returned from a brief holiday to break her maiden sprinting six furlongs at Gulfstream Jan. 3. The bay earned a 94 BRIS figure for the win.

PLEASANTLY PERFECT’s sophomore daughter Shared Account improved her record to two-for-two with an eye-catching seven-length win at Laurel Jan. 17. The Lane’s End sales graduate was the 4-5 favorite when she broke her maiden at first asking going at mile at Laurel Oct. 31, and was the heavy 2-5 pick in her return, a 1 1/16-mile allowance event. Confidently handled by Jeremy Rose, Shared Account was taken in hand in the early stages, but was given her head on the turn and quickly rolled clear en route to an easy victory for owner Sagamore Farm.

Three days after that, PLEASANTLY PERFECT’s three-year-old son Perfect Song, yet another Lane’s End sales grad, made a big splash in his debut at Philly Park. Offered a 7-2 chance over the six-furlong trip, Perfect Song was put on the lead and, after a half in a sharp :45 1/5, opened up at will to prevail by 6 1/4 lengths. The chart comment read “won in hand,” and the BRIS awarded the handsome colt a 100 speed figure for the effort.

And on Jan. 22, PLEASANTLY PERFECT’s son Pitched Perfectly earned a 99 BRIS fig with a snappy wire-to-wire allowance victory at Aqueduct.

PLEASANTLY PERFECT now has 13 individual winners from his first crop that have won in four countries--the U.S., Canada, France, and Russia. Importantly, all have won in maiden special weight company. And, another very important figure is that from his first crop, he is siring 15% stakes horses from starters.

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AFTER MARKET: HIGH EXPECTATIONS

Lane’s End is home to some of the best stallions in the business, like A.P. INDY, KINGMAMBO, and SMART STRIKE, who are carrying on in the tradition of their own greats sires Seattle Slew and Mr. Prospector. Beginning this spring, a son of another preeminent sire, the great Storm Cat, will be joining the ranks at Lane’s End, and if his pedigree and race record are anything to go by, the accomplished, handsome dual Grade 1 winner AFTER MARKET will have every chance to be a star at stud, as well.

AFTER MARKET carries with him impeccable credentials for stallion duty. At two and three, the strapping dark bay captured his first four career starts with consummate ease. The skein was capped with a pair of wins in the G3 Lexington S. and the G2 National Museum Racing Hall of Fame S. at Saratoga for trainer Bill Mott.

Things would only get better as a four-year-old of 2007. Moved to John Shirreffs’s barn on the West Coast, AFTER MARKET annexed the G3 Inglewood H. by two lengths, winning the 1 1/16-mile race in a blistering 1:39 3/5. He faced a stiff challenge in the G1 Charles Whittingham Memorial H. when asked to tackle 10 furlongs and the reigning champ Lava Man, but AFTER MARKET came through with flying colors, gamely defeating Lava Man by 1 ½ lengths in 1:58 3/5. It was much of the same in the nine-furlong G1 Eddie Read H., when AFTER MARKET won his third straight, and his seventh race in 11 starts, in 1:47 1/5. In late August AFTER MARKET continued his march to the Breeders' Cup with his fourth consecutive graded stakes win in the Del Mar H. as the heavy favorite.

AFTER MARKET, clearly, would deserve a spot in the stallion barn even if his pedigree was ordinary. But, of course, it isn’t.

With six of the top 36 stallions in the country by Storm Cat, there can be little argument over  the grandson of Northern Dancer’s influence as a sire of sires. Perhaps Storm Cat’s best representative at stud is Giant’s Causeway, the “Iron Horse” who made a name for himself on the turf before going on to become the sire of horses like My Typhoon and Lane’s End’s own dual Grade 1 winner ARAGORN.

Importantly for breeders looking to target the next big stallion, there are several similarities between AFTER MARKET and Giant’s Causeway. Both were produced by top-class, hard-knocking daughters of Rahy, and AFTER MARKET, like his paternal brother, could stretch his miler ’s speed to the Classic distance of 1 1/4 miles with no trouble.

AFTER MARKET is a son of Tranquility Lake, the brilliant racemare who banked over $1.6 million for Marty and Pam Wygod, AFTER MARKET's breeders. Tranquility Lake was a versatile filly whose seven graded victories included a pair of Grade 1 triumphs, the Yellow Ribbon S. and Gamely BC H. on turf, as well as a win in the G2 Clement L. Hirsch H. on dirt.

Tranquility Lake has thus far lived up to her race record in the breeding shed. AFTER MARKET, her first foal, has earned the title as the best turf horse on the West Coast with a sterling 2007 season, while her second foal, a full-brother to AFTER MARKET named Jalil, made headlines before ever stepping onto the track. So impressed was Sheikh Mohammed with Jalil’s conformation and pedigree that he purchased the colt for $9.7 million at the 2005 Keeneland September sale, the highest price paid for a horse at auction that season.

AFTER MARKET’s second dam is the MGSP Danzig mare Winter’s Love, meaning that Tranquility Lake is a half-sister to the very good young stallion Benchmark, the sire of, among others, Brother Derek. Winter’s Love, meanwhile, is a half-sister to G1 Belmont S. winner Caveat.

This combination of speed and stamina in AFTER MARKET’s pedigree, and the combination of turf and dirt influences, makes AFTER MARKET a dynamic prospect, whether you’re breeding for dirt, turf or synthetic surfaces.

Some horses, when retired to stud, need clever marketing to garner attention or a bit of hyperbole to shine a light on their accomplishments. With his sterling race record, good looks, and impeccable pedigree, AFTER MARKET needs neither.

Return to Stallion News 2009

ARAGORN: THE OUTSTANDING MILER

It’s often said that milers make the best sires, and if that’s the case, ARAGORN has every right to be a star at stud. A regally bred colt with the looks and race record to match, ARAGORN entered stud at Lane’s End in 2007 after a stellar campaign wich saw him win two Grade 1 events and finish second in the Netjets Breeders' Cup Mile-G1. The son of Giant’s Causeway, out of the Mr. Prospector mare Onaga and from the immediate family of champions One Cool Cat and State Shinto, has been tested again and again on the track and is rarely found wanting. Possessed of a brilliant turn of foot, he has thus far won six of his 14 career starts, with five seconds and one third for earnings of $1,529,325. Impressively, five of those victories–three at the eight-furlong distance--have come against graded competition, including a pair of Grade 1 tallies in important California events.

After ARAGORN won Del Mar’s G1 Eddie Read H. this past July, the Daily Racing Form’s Jay Privman enthused, “ARAGORN was sent off the favorite based on his victory last out in the Grade 1 Shoemaker Mile at Hollywood Park, but few could have anticipated just how dominant he would be in the Eddie Read. ARAGORN bounded clear to win by four lengths in 1:44.79 for 1 1/8 miles on the firm turf, besting the previous course mark...by more than one second. He completed a mile in 1:33.54, and ripped through the final furlong in a torrid 11.25 seconds.” It was, according to Privman, an “electrifying performance,” and few could argue with the assessment.

ARAGORN began his career in England, where he earned black type in a Newmarket stakes before coming to the U.S. late last summer. Since then, he’s been one of the most consistent horses in the country. In his second start in the States, Aragorn gamely asserted to win the nine-furlong G2 Oak Tree Derby in 1:46 2/5. Runner-up by a hard-fought head to champion Milk it Mick (GB) in the G1 Frank E. Kilroe Mile H. in his four-year-old debut earlier this year and second in the G2 San Francisco Breeders' Cup Mile S. in April, Aragorn hasn’t tasted defeat in four subsequent starts.

In May, he took his first Grade 1 in the Shoemaker Breeders' Cup Mile S. at Hollywood, where he sprinted the final quarter mile in :22 1/5 while completing the distance in 1:32 4/5. His regular jockey, Corey Nakatani, said afterwards, "He's just a tremendous horse. He's always laid his body down every time you ask him to go out on the racetrack, and that's really all you can ask."

After his record-breaking Eddie Read victory at 3-2 odds in July, ARAGORN was the heavily favored odds-on pick in his next two, the G2 Del Mar Breeders' Cup H. and G2 Oak Tree Breeders' Cup Mile S. Aragorn easily won both. At Del Mar, he drew off to win the one-mile contest in 1:32 3/5 and offered up a repeat performance in the Oak Tree Mile, stopping the clock in 1:32 4/5.

“Once again demonstrating an explosive burst of speed, ARAGORN made it four in a row yesterday,” raved the Thoroughbred Daily News after the Oak Tree. “The chestnut...inhaled the leader as they neared the stretch and was under a hand ride to the wire.” Aragorn’s accomplishments on the track fall right into line with his impressive page. Aragorn is from the first crop of six-time Group 1 winner Giant’s Causeway, himself a son of Storm Cat and perhaps that great sire’s most accomplished racehorse. Giant’s Causeway was a dynamic competitor in Europe who showed he could handle dirt racing in the U.S. when he ran second by a nose to Tiznow in a thrilling renewal of the G1 Breeders’ Cup Classic. With the likes of First Samurai, Oonagh Maccool (Ire), Shamardal and ARAGORN to his credit, Giant’s Causeway’s offspring have been brilliant on both dirt and turf.

ARAGORN’s female family shows similar versatility. His dam Onaga, by the immortal Mr. Prospector, is a daughter of Savannah Dancer. By another legendary sire in Northern Dancer and out of champion *Valoris II, Savannah Dancer ran fifth in the G1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies and won the Santa Ysabel S. on the dirt, and collected three stakes wins on the turf, including the G2 Del Mar Oaks. Savannah Dancer’s daughter Sha Tha, a full to Onaga, ran second in the Poule d'Essai des Pouliches (French 1000 Guineas) and won the G2 All Along S. on grass, while her son State Shinto, highweighted three-year-old at 7.5-9 furlongs in France in 1999, is a group winner on both turf and dirt. Tacha, another full-sister to Onaga, has produced One Cool Cat. By Storm Cat and thus a close genetic relative to Aragorn, One Cool Cat won the G1 Phoenix S. and was Europe’s Champion Two-Year-Old Colt in 2003.

An outstanding physical specimen, ARAGORN is a prime example of what breeders look for in a stallion prospect. His dynamic speed could be stretched beyond sprints, and his durability and gameness are traits he’s sure to pass on to his offspring. Add that to a pedigree that features some of racing’s most prominent sires, and ARAGORN is an enticing choice as a sire, whether you’re breeding to race or for the sales ring.

At the end of 2007 as the first mares in foal to ARAGORN went up for auction, they brought such prices as $542,246, $450,000, and $390,000.

His first foals are on the ground and are looking great!

Return to Stallion News 2009

CURLIN - WORLD’S BEST RACEHORSE

One measure of a great horse is what he was able to accomplish against the odds. Put another way, did he do something horses aren’t supposed to do? For instance, are horses supposed to win at first asking by 12 3/4 lengths? Are horses supposed to place in the Kentucky Derby in their fourth career start? Are they supposed to re-rally to beat the Derby winner in the Preakness in their fifth? Are they supposed to romp over one of the deepest fields in Breeders’ Cup Classic history with relative ease? To come back at four, fly 7,000 miles and win the world’s richest race without turning a hair?

SETTING NEW STANDARDS

Not generally, they’re not. Yet, that’s what CURLIN did in two historic seasons on the track. He set a new standard as to what it means to be a World Champion in the modern-day era. He was fast. He was durable. He danced every dance and he never backed down from a challenge. He was a truly unique horse on the racetrack, and there’s every reason to think the son of SMART STRIKE will be a truly unique sire now that he has retired to Lane’s End to stand stud.

TDN “RISING STAR”

It took CURLIN exactly one minute, 22 and one-fifth seconds to announce himself as a potential superstar. That’s the amount of time it took him to cover seven furlongs in his debut at Gulfstream Park in February of 2007. CURLIN won the race by a pole despite racing greenly and drifting very wide in the stretch. The Thoroughbred Daily News tabbed him a “TDN Rising Star.” Track announcer Larry Colmus exclaimed simply “Curlin--wow!”

STEPPING UP IN CLASS

The victory caught the eye of Stonestreet Stables’ Jess Jackson and his bloodstock advisor, John Moynihan. Stonestreet and partners purchased a majority interest in the colt, who was then transferred from the barn of Helen Pitts to trainer Steve Asmussen. Asmussen knew the caliber of horse he had, and asked the big chestnut to take the steep step up in class in the G3 Rebel S. at Oaklawn. In just his second career start and his first race around two turns, CURLIN captured the Rebel by a professional 5 1/4 lengths. In his next, the GII Arkansas Derby, he simply toyed with the competition, bounding home by a 10 1/2-length margin.


THE CLASSICS

Asmussen now asked even more of the colt, sending him into the toughest challenge a young horse can face: the rough-and-tumble mile and a quarter of the G1 Kentucky Derby. CURLIN lost little in defeat, overcoming a rough start with a rallying third-place effort to Juvenile Champion Street Sense and the tough-as-nails Hard Spun. It wouldn’t take long for CURLIN to settle the score.

In the G1 Preakness S. next out, CURLIN was commencing a rally on the far turn when Street Sense came flying past on his inside. With a furlong left to run, few gave him a chance against the Derby hero, who had opened up by a length. But CURLIN showed his grit, re-breaking under regular jockey Robby Albarado, and in the final jump he got up to defeat Street Sense by a head, with Hard Spun back in third.

CURLIN’s next race was one for the ages. In the third leg of the Triple Crown, the G1 Belmont S., CURLIN engaged with A.P. INDY’s superlative daughter and Lane’s End sales grad Rags to Riches and battled the length of Belmont’s long stretch. In the end it was Rags to Riches by a head, but it was a defeat that took little sheen off what CURLIN had accomplished in just six career starts.

JOCKEY CLUB GOLD CUP

Given a bit of time off, CURLIN returned in the G1 Haskell Invitational at Monmouth, where he finished third to Any Given Saturday and his old rival Hard Spun. But CURLIN was back to his best in his next, the historic G1 Jockey Club Gold Cup. It was his first start against older horses, and in the field was the menacing presence of LANGFUHR’s son Lawyer Ron, who was coming off a pair of huge wins in Grade 1 company at Saratoga. It was another battle for the ages, with each horse fighting for every inch of ground. CURLIN proved too good, though, asserting by a quarter length in deep stretch to the approval of a thrilled Belmont crowd.

BREEDERS’ CUP CHAMPION

If CURLIN showed the fight of a bulldog in the Jockey Club Gold Cup, he displayed the brilliance of an unqualified champion in the G1 Breeders’ Cup Classic four weeks later. The race had drawn arguably the best field ever assembled for the Classic. Street Sense. Hard Spun. Any Given Saturday. Lawyer Ron. George Washington (Ire). Tiago. All Grade 1 winners, all top-notch race horses. But over the soupy mud at Monmouth, it was all CURLIN. With dusk approaching and the crowd huddled together, CURLIN unleashed a dazzling display, powering to the fore nearing the quarter pole and splashing home 4 1/2 lengths clear of Hard Spun.

ECLIPSING THE COMPETITION

“Curlin, who had not raced before February, completed a sensational, ambitious campaign...at Monmouth Park with an emphatic victory in the $5-million Breeders' Cup Classic,” enthused Daily Racing Form’s Jay Privman. CURLIN was an overwhelming choice for Horse of the Year and Champion Three-Year-Old Colt, and was surely one of the most coveted stud prospects of the year.

SPORTING GESTURE AND A TICKET TO FLY

But Jess Jackson, in a sporting gesture rare in racing these days, kept CURLIN in training at four. Following in the hoofsteps of brilliant Breeders’ Cup Classic winners like Cigar and PLEASANTLY PERFECT, CURLIN made the trip to deserts of Dubai to contest the world’s richest race, the $6-million G1 Dubai World Cup. First sent out to an easy handicap win at Nad Al Sheba in February, CURLIN was the overwhelming choice in the World Cup, which had also attracted the good horses Asiatic Boy (Arg) and Well Armed, among others. CURLIN lived up to advance billing, swooping to the front in upper stretch and striding home with authority to the delight of the crowd. “It was as comprehensive a win of the world’s most valuable race as you expect to see and confirmed CURLIN’s status as the world’s best Thoroughbred,” wrote The Blood-Horse magazine.


A GRADE 1 CAMPAIGN

While many a talented runner falter after the long trip to and from Dubai, CURLIN was as good as ever upon return. He captured the G1 Stephen Foster H. in June of 2008, ran second to Breeders’ Cup champ Red Rocks (Ire) in a grass experiment in the G1 Man O' War S. in July, then took the show on the road to Saratoga, where he annexed the G1 Woodward S. in August.

In his penultimate start, CURLIN was looking to become the first two-time winner of the Jockey Club Gold Cup since Skip Away. Favored at 40 cents on the dollar, he joined the esteemed company of five-time hero Kelso with a measured victory over Wanderin Boy, as well as dual Gold Cup winners Nashua, Shuvee, Slew o’Gold, and Creme Fraiche.

NORTH AMERICA’S RICHEST HORSE

The win was historic for other reasons, too. With the purse earnings of $450,000, CURLIN became racing’s first $10-million earner, pushing past Cigar’s previous record of $9,999,815. Sent off the chalk to take his second renewal of the Breeders’ Cup Classic, too, CURLIN made an eye-catching move on the far turn to take command in upper stretch. His early exertions appeared to take its toll, however, and he came home fourth in a game effort. It wasn’t the win his connections had hoped for, but it was yet another example of CURLIN giving it his all, even in defeat.

Consider this: in the span of 13 short months, CURLIN went from an unraced maiden to a Classic winner, to a Breeders’ Cup Classic winner, to a Dubai World Cup hero. Over his full 20-month career campaign, CURLIN won 11 of 16 starts and missed the frame just once while earning $10,501,800. He registered huge Beyers, and in August of 2008 was honored as Timeform Global Rankings’ best horse in the world with a rating of 134.

MIND AND BODY

One of CURLIN’s biggest attributes, of course, was his mind. He took everything in stride, didn’t get excited by the screaming crowds, didn’t lose his composure as foes around him became unglued. Trainer Asmussen had this to say about his star performer, “CURLIN made his mark in the history books in so many ways: as a classic winner, as a colt who traveled to Dubai and captured the World Cup and who returned to take three more Grade 1 races and tally record earnings. His physical and mental attitude is unparalleled and he retires perfectly sound.”

THE REAL DEAL

CURLIN’s professionalism was matched only by his impeccable good looks. He had the heavily muscling of a sprinter, with the scope, range and bone of a true route horse. In a recent Daily Racing Form column titled “It’s always tough to see great ones go,” Jay Hovdey wrote this tribute to CURLIN, “It must be hard to let go, to climb down from the giddy heights of campaigning America’s best, most consistent racehorse for two solid seasons. And let there be no doubt . . . in an era of one-hit wonders, this horse was the real deal . . . CURLIN laid his big, gorgeous body down every time he ran, under all manner of circumstance, leaving behind a trail of loyal admirers to go along with an impressive pile of beaten opposition.”

BREED APART - FAST, STRONG, DURABLE

Even hardened rail birds readily admitted that this indeed was a special horse, a throwback to the days of Secretariat, Dr. Fager and Buckpasser. In short, if one were asked to compose a sketch of the perfect race horse, the result, in all probability, would look a lot like CURLIN. Majority owner Jess Jackson said, “After a stellar racing career, CURLIN is now in a position to carry on his iron horse bloodlines at Lane’s End, the premier stallion farm in the nation. He is one of the best examples of the breed - fast, strong, and durable. I predict he will make a substantial contribution to our sport through his gene pool and I am looking forward to seeing his foals compete and possibly exceed his unequaled race record.”

Will Farish said “The Jacksons are due great credit for allowing our sport to enjoy this great champion as a four-year-old. Many would have retired him after winning the Breeders’ Cup Classic and Horse of the Year honors as a three-year-old. CURLIN’s performance on the track, his pedigree, and his conformation make him the most exciting sire prospect to retire in many years. We are honored to have him join his champion sire SMART STRIKE at Lane’s End.”

HE’S GOT OUR VOTE!

Perhaps Steven Crist, Chairman and Publisher of the Daily Racing Form, summed CURLIN up best with this comment, “CURLIN is a first-ballot cinch for the Hall of Fame in 2014.”

ECLIPSE AWARD #4

At the January 26 ceremony, CURLIN cinched Champion Older Horse and Horse of the Year with an overwhelming number of votes!

Return to Stallion News 2009

Few families in the stud book pack the pedigree punch of MINGUN’s. By leading sire A.P. INDY out of the superlative racemare and producer Miesque, MINGUN was a group winner who counts one of the world’s best sires, KINGMAMBO, as a half-sibling.

As a racehorse, MINGUN tussled with some of the best in Europe and proved himself to be a top-notch competitor, winning three of his four starts at age three.

In his debut at two, he finished second by a neck in a seven-furlong Curragh sprint to Alberto Giacometti (Ire)–who won the G1 Criterium de Saint-Cloud in his very next start. MINGUN returned the following May to easily beat a full 19-horse field in a one-mile Leopardstown maiden, then, facing older horses in just his third career start, won the one-mile Celebration S. by 2 1/2 lengths.

“The beautifully bred MINGUN, relatively unexposed going into this race, won in the style of a smart colt,” said Racing Post after the Celebration.

Odds-on to take his first try at the group level, MINGUN won the G3 Meld S. in determined fashion, and, in his next, was a very good fourth behind Group/Grade 1 winners Falbrav (Ire), Magistretti and Nayef, in the G1 Juddmonte International S. Trainer Aidan O’Brien commented that MINGUN “definitely had the ability to win G1 races.”

MINGUN’s ability, and his Hollywood good looks, were no surprise given his relations. His dam, 10-time Group/Grade 1 winner Miesque, became the first horse ever to secure back-to-back Breeders’ Cup races when she won the 1987 and 1988 editions of the G1 Breeders’ Cup Mile, the former in course-record time of 1:32 4/5 at Hollywood Park. With nine championships to her credit, expectations were high when Miesque went to the breeding shed, and the French superstar didn’t disappoint. Her first foal was the Mr. Prospector colt KINGMAMBO, who won the G1 Poule d’Essai des Poulains (French 2000 Guineas), G1 Prix de Moulin and G1 St. James’s Palace S. before being retired to a remarkable stud career at Lane’s End. Miesque went on to produce champion miler East of the Moon, heroine of the G1 Poule d’Essai des Pouliches (French 1000 Guineas), group winner Miesque’s Son and stakes winner Moon is Up. Another daughter, Monevassia, was the dam of Rumplestiltskin (Ire), herself a three-time champion.

In the same year that KINGMAMBO was hinting at his ability when running second as a two-year-old in the 1992 G1 Prix de la Salamandre, MINGUN’ s sire A.P. INDY was engaging in a brilliant three-year-old campaign. The G1 Breeders’ Cup Classic, G1 Belmont S., and G1 Santa Anita Derby were all collected by A.P. INDY that year, earning him Eclipse Awards as Horse of the Year and Champion Three-Year-Old Colt. Since then, A.P. INDY has sired some 90 stakes winners, 17 Grade I winners and Horse of the Year MINESHAFT and has led the General Sire List. John Ferguson, bloodstock agent for Darley Stable, recently commented to Daily Racing Form, “There is no better sire on the planet for American runners than A.P. INDY.”

With a gene pool this deep, MINGUN is sure to make a big splash at stud. Make an appointment to inspect MINGUN at Lane’s End and you’ll agree that his looks match his “perfect” pedigree.

At the 2007 breeding stock sales, MINGUN’s first weanlings sold for up to ten times his stud fee and a mare in foal to him topped a Keeneland session at $520,000.

His first yearlings sold in 2008.

For Alan Porter’s Mating Analysis, click here.

Return to Stallion News 2009

PLEASANTLY PERFECT: A ‘PERFECT’ OPPORTUNITY

In many ways, PLEASANTLY PERFECT was everything that a trainer dreams of. He was big, handsome, and rugged--a dead-game performer who relished a route of ground and who had the natural speed to be tactically placed.

By the time he retired to stud, PLEASANTLY PERFECT had put together a resume that every owner dreams of. The Diamond A Racing Corp. colorbearer had won America’s richest and arguably toughest race, the $4-million G1 Breeders’ Cup Classic. He had shipped to Dubai to capture the world’s richest event, the $6-million G1 Dubai World Cup, won the $1-million G1 Pacific Classic, added two renewals of the G2 Goodwood Breeders’ Cup H., and earned $7,789,880, good for fourth on the list of all-time leading Thoroughbreds in purses won, behind Cigar, Skip Away, and Fantastic Light. He is also the leading earner ever sold at the Keeneland September sale.

Now, as a young stallion at Lane’s End, PLEASANTLY PERFECT is a composite of what most breeders dream of: an awesome individual with an impeccable race record who hails from an exceptionally strong female family. In short, the perfect opportunity.

Before he had ever even hit the track, PLEASANTLY PERFECT had shown he was a special horse. As a two-year-old, he contracted a heart virus that seriously affected his training and caused him to spend a year on the sidelines. Trainer Richard Mandella, who had purchased the handsome colt for $725,000 as a Keeneland September yearling in 1999, persevered with the colt, however, knowing what sort of latent ability PLEASANTLY PERFECT had.

And once PLEASANTLY PERFECT got back on track, Mandella’s patience was rewarded. In 2002, PLEASANTLY PERFECT followed a late-rallying fourth to Came Home in the G1 Pacific Classic with his first graded score, the G2 Goodwood Breeders’ Cup H. His effort in the Goodwood prompted The Blood-Horse’s Steve Haskin to write, "[This] son of Pleasant Colony is getting good so quickly we really have no idea just what we're dealing with. When Alex Solis pulled the trigger nearing the half-mile pole, Pleasantly Perfect took off, circling horses, then inhaled the leaders in a matter of a few strides. He quickly drew off to win by 3 1/4 lengths in 1:46 4/5, closing his final five furlongs in a blistering :59 1/5."

A year later, PLEASANTLY PERFECT showed people just exactly what they were dealing with. After adding a second renewal of the Goodwood in what Haskin called "one of the most breathtaking performances of the year," the bay was ready for the biggest test of his career in the 2003 G1 Breeders’ Cup Classic. Looking to give Mandella an unprecedented fourth win on the day, PLEASANTLY PERFECT rallied down the center of the track, overhauled a talented pair Medaglia d’Oro and Congaree, and finished with a flourish to secure the 1 1/4-mile event in 1:59 4/5. It was an sublime effort that came against a top-class field.

PLEASANTLY PERFECT’s brilliance was confirmed a few months later, when he once again defeated Medaglia d’Oro, this time in the sport’s most lucrative race, the $6-million G1 Dubai World Cup. Running without Lasix, PLEASANTLY PERFECT tracked in third, engaged a game Medaglia d’Oro about a furlong out and asserted late. The winning time of 2:00 1/5 was the second-fastest World Cup on record. Daily Racing Form’s Steve Anderson exclaimed afterwards, "There can be no doubt that Pleasantly Perfect is the world's top-ranked dirt horse. Five months after winning the Breeders' Cup Classic at Santa Anita, Pleasantly Perfect scored a gutty victory over Medaglia d'Oro in Saturday's Dubai World Cup at Nad Al Sheba on a warm desert night in the Middle East."

A tally over Perfect Drift in the 2004 G1 Pacific Classic and a third to Ghostzapper in that year’s Breeders’ Cup Classic would solidify PLEASANTLY PERFECT’s standing as one of the most accomplished horses of recent years.

PLEASANTLY PERFECT, who as a son of G1 Prix Morny heroine Regal State (Affirmed) is a half to French group winner Hurricane State (Miswaki), got off to a quick start in the breeding shed when the Storm Cat mare Contrive, dam of champion Folklore, sold at the 2005 Fasig-Tipton November sale for $3 million while carrying a foal from his initial crop. Moreover, his first weanlings and now yearlings are attracting rave reviews from breeders, consignors, and buyers alike. "I have seen some outstanding foals and early yearlings by Pleasantly Perfectly," said respected bloodstock agent Reynolds Bell. "He is a great cross for our current concentrated gene pool, particularly the Northern Dancer line, and I find myself often recommending him to my clients."

The same qualities that made PLEASANTLY PERFECT so formidable as a racehorse are the same that make him such an exciting stallion prospect. Please take the time to visit PLEASANTLY PERFECT at Lane’s End and you’ll see why breeding to him is the ‘perfect’ opportunity for success.

PLEASANTLY PERFECT’s first yearlings went under the hammer in 2007 and brought such prices as $490,000 (session topping filly), $250,000, $240,000, etc.

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Jan. 28, 2008: Astute breeders have long considered SMART STRIKE one of the best sources in the business of tough-as-nails, fast race horses who could compete on a variety of surfaces. But after a record-setting 2007, there is no doubt that SMART STRIKE has taken his rightful place alongside the sport's elite stallions.

The point was hammered home on Breeders' Cup day. First, the five-year-old English Channel romped over an accomplished international field in the G1 Breeders' Cup Turf. That was followed by Curlin's dazzling effort in the G1 Breeders' Cup Classic, where he beat one of the best fields ever assembled for the race with a powerhouse performance.

The point was further hammered home on Eclipse Awards night, when both English Channel and Curlin were recognized with championships. Curlin was named Horse of the Year and Champion Three-Year-Old Male, while English Channel walked away with Champion Turf Male honors.

The exploits of those horses--and of his 14 others stakes winners in 2007--helped boost SMART STRIKE's progeny earnings to more than $14,4 million, which set a new mark for single-season record for earnings by a sire, eclipsing the great Danehill's 2001 record of $13,542,612.

SMART STRIKE's year has drawn superlatives from industry experts. In the Thoroughbred Daily News, Bill Oppenheim enthused:

"Since I think Distorted Humor deserves to stand for $300,000 [in 2008], I must think SMART STRIKE is still a bargain at $150,000. In his case, the numbers led the market by a long ways. For probably five years, breeders have been breeding to SMART STRIKE for a fee that never reflected the numbers he was racking up."

SMART STRIKE's feat of two Breeders' Cup winners on the same day came four weeks after he achieved the rarest of feats by a stallion. Over the span of 107 minutes at Belmont Park on Sept. 30, sons of Smart Strike won a trio of prestigious Grade I races: Fabulous Strike romped by 5 3/4 lengths in the G1 Vosburgh S., English Channel wouldn't be denied a second renewal of the G1 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic, and Curlin won the G1 Jockey Club Gold Cup.

Bloodhorse.com quoted historian Richard Sowers as saying SMART STRIKE became the first sire ever to have three Grade 1 winners at the same track on the same day.

Afterwards, the Thoroughbred Daily News' Andrew Caulfield wrote:

"You could say that SMART STRIKE’s performance of siring Grade 1 winners over six, 10 and 12 furlongs on the same day encapsulates the brilliance and versatility of the Mr. Prospector line."

Caufield added:
"KINGMAMBO has been Mr. Prospector’s greatest Classic force in Europe, but there is no reason why SMART STRIKE--a good sire of turf performers--shouldn’t ultimately prove as effective in Europe as his illustrious companion at Lane’s End."

In hindsight, there was every reason for SMART STRIKE to become a star at stud. Firstly, the colt was backed by a page that featured a score of top performers. His dam, Classy ‘n Smart, was a champion three-year-old filly in Canada who was produced by Broodmare of the Year No Class, also the dam of four-time champion Sky Classic, champions Regal Classic and Grey Classic, and Grade I winner Always a Classic.

In addition to sporting an impeccable female family, SMART STRIKE is by the great Mr. Prospector, one of the most important sires of the past half-century and one of the most important sire of sires, as well.

SMART STRIKE's race record reflected his pedigree. He broke his maiden as a three-year-old in his second career start at Keeneland's spring meet in 1995 and would go on to win his next five races by an average of nearly 3 1/2 lengths. His wins included a seven-furlong allowance victory at Woodbine that saw him set splits of :44 2/5, 1:08 4/5 and 1:21 1/5, as well as a driving tally in the G3 Salvatore Mile H. at Monmouth in his stakes debut. His biggest victory came in Monmouth's G1 Philip H. Iselin H. Facing a field that included the brilliant Serena's Song, as well as Eltish, Petionville and Our Emblem, SMART STRIKE handily won by 2 1/4 lengths in a sharp 1:41 2/5 for the 1 1/16 miles.

Retired to Lane's End with a record of six wins in eight lifetime starts, SMART STRIKE sired early crops including the likes of the speedy G1SW Soaring Free, Canada's Horse of the Year in 2004 and an earner of $2.1 million; Canadian champions Eye of the Sphynx, Portcullis, Gold Strike, and Added Edge; MGSW and millionaire Tenpins; the promising but ill-fated GSW Midnight Cry; 2003 Japan Cup Dirt hero Fleetstreet Dancer, who banked over $1.7 million in his career; and Lane's End's own Shadow Cast, winner of the 2005 G1 Personal Ensign H. at Saratoga. In 2006, on Keeneland's Polytrack, SMART STRIKE's juvenile daughter Bel Air Beauty didn't let her maiden status stop her from upsetting the G2 Darley Alcibiades S.

The star parade continued in 2007 with horses like Pleasant Strike (G3 Arlington Classic S.), Strike Softly (G2 Nassau S., G3 Hendrie S.); Tungsten Strike (G3 Woodcote Stud Sagaro S.), and Super Freaky (G3 ProvIdencia S., third in G1 Del Mar Oaks); as well as MGSP and G1 Kentucky Derby fifth Sedgefield. In all, SMART STRIKE sired 16 stakes winners in 2007.

The star of the year, though, was Curlin. After an eye catching 12 3/4-length win at Gulfstream to begin his career, Curlin secured easy wins in the G3 Rebel S. and G2 Arkansas Derby, both at Oaklawn Park. Coming into the G1 Kentucky Derby with just three lifetime starts to his credit, Curlin rallied from the back of the pack to get up for third in the Run for the Roses, an outstanding effort considering what the Steve Asmussen-trained colt had going against him.

Still, he properly exacted his revenge against Derby winner Street Sense in the G1 Preakness S. Looking like a beaten horse in upper stretch when that rival blew past to his inside, Curlin refused to give up, clawing his way back into contention and, with a final surge, getting up in the shadow of the wire.

In the third leg of the Triple Crown, the G1 Belmont S., Curlin lost little in defeat when he and A.P. INDY's super filly Rags to Riches put on a show for the ages. With neither horse giving an inch through a stretch-long duel, it was Rags to Riches, on the outside, who narrowly got the best of Curlin late. PLEASANT TAP's Tiago completed the Lane's End trifecta.

Given such exploits, it wasn't surprising that SMART STRIKE's yearlings were popular at the Keeneland September Sale: there was a $775,000 colt purchased by John Ferguson and another colt purchased by Asian Bloodstock Services Ltd. for $700,000!

Looking to make a tactical strike in racing and breeding? The smart choice, of course, is SMART STRIKE.

Return to Stallion News 2009

WANDO: WHY WE THINK HE'S SO "WANDO-FUL!"

When Gustav Schickedanz retired his homebred WANDO to Lane’s End, the striking chestnut had accomplished what few Canadian-breds had. A graded stakes winner at two, Wando became the first horse in a decade and only the seventh ever to win Canada’s Triple Crown when he swept the 2003 Queen’s Plate, Prince of Wales S., and Breeders’ S. Through a career that saw him amass over $2 million in earnings, WANDO won 11 times at ages 2, 3, and 4, hit the board in 11 of his 14 dirt starts, won a major stakes on the grass and became a fan favorite for his durability and tenacity.

WANDO is a descendant of another great Canadian, the inimitable Northern Dancer, and is a grandson of one of the most prolific sires in the last 30 years, Danzig. By one of the most promising young stallions around today, G1 Met Mile winner LANGFUHR, who also stands at Lane's End, WANDO is out of Grade 2 winner Kathie's Colleen, by Woodman, herself a half sister to Grade 1 winner and millionaire Beau Genius.

At two, WANDO was quick to come to hand, winning his first start at Woodbine by two lengths for trainer Mike Keogh. He added a 7 3/4-length victory in the Vandal S., then showed his versatility by finishing a game head second to subsequent G2 Arlington Classic S. winner Lismore Knight in the G2 Summer S., his turf and route debut.

Returned to the dirt in his next outing, WANDO easily captured the G2 Grey Breeders’ Cup S. by 3 3/4 lengths despite getting stepped on by another horse. After the race, winning jockey Richard Migliore commented, “When I started to ask him at the five-sixteenths pole, it took him about a sixteenth of a mile to get in gear, but he exploded when he got in the clear, and then he just idled. He's a very good colt."

The victory solidified WANDO’s status as one of Canada’s most promising young horses, and he confirmed that notion at age three. After beginning his sophomore season with a second in the Achievement S. at Woodbine, he won the Woodstock S. in determined fashion over I’m the Tiger, later the winner of the G1 Frank J. De Francis Memorial Dash S. Favored at 3-5 in his next, WANDO captured his second graded event with a 4 1/2-length tally in the G3 Marine S., setting himself up perfectly for a run at the Canadian Triple Crown.

When he left the gates in the first leg of the Triple Crown, the historic $1 million Queen’s Plate, WANDO was the crowd’s 7-5 choice. Jockey Patrick Husbands didn’t waste any time putting him right on the lead, and the colt clicked off honest splits as he maintained a daylight lead up the backstretch. Turning into the Woodbine stretch to the deafening cheers of the crowd, WANDO began to lengthen away as Husbands looked around for competition. Finding none, the pair cruised under the wire well clear of runner-up and stablemate Mobil, winning the 1 1/4-mile race by nine lengths.

The overwhelming margin of the victory equated to short 2-5 odds in the second leg of the series, the $500,000 Prince of Wales S. Again, WANDO lived up to advanced billing, taking the Prince of Wales by a convincing four lengths over a muddy Fort Erie track.

It was back to Woodbine, and to the grass, for the $500,000 Breeders’ S., the final jewel of the crown. Now clearly the horse to beat, WANDO faced a field of seven foes who were intent on making sure he wasn’t given a free ride. But just like in the first two legs, WANDO rose to the challenge. Laying close to the pace, he muscled his way to the front in upper stretch, then dug in determinedly as he charged home Canada’s newest Triple Crown winner.

At the Sovereign Awards that December, WANDO was the easy choice for Champion Three-Year-Old Colt and Horse of the Year.

At age four, WANDO returned to take three of six starts, including the Mt. Sassafras S. and an allowance race at Keeneland in front of Kentucky breeders.

WANDO now joins Imperialism (third in the 2004 G1 Kentucky Derby) as the first sons of leading sire LANGFUHR to retire to stud. Like his sire, WANDO displayed the traits breeders find most attractive in a racehorse–speed, durability and desire. Combined with exceptional conformation and an attractive pedigree, WANDO offers great value for any breeder. Call for an appointment to inspect WANDO at Lane’s End and you’ll see what makes him so, well, “ Wando-ful.”

At the 2007 breeding stock sales, the first weanlings by WANDO brought up to eight times his stud fee and in foal mares brought up to $150,000.

For Alan Porter’s Mating Analysis, click here.

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WAR PASS: GET READY FOR “WAR”

Sept. 18, 2008: Last November, we were pleased to announce that Robert LaPenta’s talented three-year-old WAR PASS, undefeated winner of the G1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile and 2007 Champion Two-Year-Old Male, would stand stud at Lane’s End upon his retirement. Well, he's here! Hall of Fame trainer Nick Zito escorted him to the farm on Saturday, September 6.

WAR PASS has the pedigree to be a top sire. He is arguably the best son of GI Breeders’ Cup Sprint winner and champion Cherokee Run, who in turn was the best son of the versatile and very good sire Runaway Groom. Cherokee Run has thus far been represented by runners like champion Chilukki (G1), Yonaguska ( G1), Zanjero (G2), Kafwain (G2), Sir Cherokee (G2), etc. And his sire sons have gotten off to a fine start at stud. Yonaguska was a leading second-crop sire last year with six stakes winners while Kafwain was represented by five stakes winners from his first crop, including graded stakes winner Massive Drama, in 2007.

WAR PASS has a serious female family, too. His first three dams are by some of the very best sires of the past half-century. His third dam Bayou Blue, who was produced by the Champion Three-Year-Old Filly Bayou, is by the incomparable Bold Ruler, the eight-time leading North American stallion who sired a remarkable 22 percent stakes winners. Hoist the Flag, sire of WAR PASS’s second dam Harbor Flag, sired 20 percent stakes winners. WAR PASS’s first dam, meanwhile, is by Mr. Prospector--15 percent stakes winners--who helped change the face of American breeding with an infusion of class and speed few other sires can compare to.

That pedigree has shone through on the track for both WAR PASS and his relations. Graded winners like Great Intentions and Country Light can be found under his second dam, while his own dam Vue was a classy stakes runner who has now produced a pair of Grade 1 winners. Vue showed early on what kind of broodmare she was when her daughter Oath, by Known Fact, won the G1 Spinaway S. at two. Oath later sold as a broodmare for $2.7 million and is the dam of the progressive Honest Man, winner of the 2008 G3 Philip H. Iselin S. Another daughter of Vue, Vision of Beauty, by Danzig, was a Grade 2 performer.

Then came WAR PASS. In July of 2007, he burst onto the scene with a rousing 2 1/2-length score sprinting six furlongs at Saratoga. Knowing that Zito rarely gets them cranked up at first asking, horsemen knew well that WAR PASS was a horse to watch. The striking dark bay handled his next with ease, taking an allowance sprint at Saratoga by 5 1/2 lengths a month later, and it was time for a test in deeper waters. Stretched to a mile for his stakes debut, the G1 Champagne S. at Belmont Park, WAR PASS beat some of the best juveniles on the East Coast, cruising home to a clear-cut 1 1/2-length tally over the likes of Grade 1 winner Majestic Warrior and the highly regarded Pyro.

The victory earned WAR PASS favoritism in the G1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile and, with the Monmouth Park track a sloppy stew of mud and water, WAR PASS turned nary a hair. Put on the lead from the start, he ran grueling fractions of :22 3/5, :45 2/5 and 1:09 3/5, but just kept on running under jockey Cornelio Velasquez, splashing home a 4 3/4-length winner with hardly any mud on LaPenta’s silks. Runner-up was Pyro, who subsequently flattered WAR PASS’s win with a trio of graded wins at three, with eventual Canadian Champion Two-Year-Old Colt Kodiak Kowboy back in third.

WAR PASS was rewarded with a 113 Beyer, the highest ever given to a winner of the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. It was the second-highest winning Beyer of the day, behind Curlin’s 119, and ahead of Sprint winner Midnight Lute (108), Distaff winner Ginger Punch (104), Juvenile Fillies winner Indian Blessing (95), etc.

That meant tallying the votes for Champion Juvenile Male was, for all intents and purposes, a mere formality, and at the Eclipse Awards, WAR PASS became the first champion for the deserving LaPenta. WAR PASS received all but three of the 265 votes cast.

At three, WAR PASS opened his sophomore campaign with a facile victory against Gulfstream allowance horses on Feb. 24. In his final start, WAR PASS finished a close second in the G1 Wood Memorial S. He enters stud with five wins and a second in seven starts and earnings of over $1.5 million.

Five wins by a total margin of 22 lengths. Two wins sprinting, three wins routing, including two at a flat mile. A pair of Grade 1 victories. A record Beyer in the toughest race of the year for two-year-olds. A championship. By a tough-as-nails sire, a half to a Grade 1 winner, produced by a daughter of the great Mr. Prospector and a championship.

Maybe now you can see why we might be a little excited . . . about WAR PASS.

Return to Stallion News 2009

ALAN PORTER'S MATING ANALYSIS

Another free addition to the Lane’s End website is a mating analysis on each Lane’s End and Lane’s End Texas stallion written by pedigree expert Alan Porter. To access this free information, click on any stallion’s name and follow link on the right.

STAKES SUCCESS

We hope this list of 2009 stakes horses sired by Lane's End and Lane's End Texas stallions, which is updated daily, will be helpful to all of you selling horses sired by or in foal to those stallions.

LANE'S END STALLIONS

A.P. INDY

EL CRESPO (G3W)
EYE OF THE LEOPARD (LW)
FLASHING (G3W)
FRIESAN FIRE (G2W)
LORD JUSTICE (SW)
MARCHFIELD (G3W)
WITH FLYING COLORS (SW)
A. P. MAGIC (LPl)
ADMIRAL'S CRUISE (SPl)
JUST AS WELL (G1Pl)
SERENADING (G3Pl)
SHE'S INDY MONEY (SPl)
TELLING (SPl)