All Equine All The Time

Four years after his sire Storm Cat was pensioned, Giant's Causeway is keeping his legacy alive by once again leading the Thoroughbred Times General Sires List in the middle of the racing season. The 1997 son of Storm Cat out of the Rahy daughter Mariah's Storm was the Champion Sire in the United States in 2010 and 2011. In addition, the stallion earned the Champion Freshman Sire title in Europe in 2004 and Champion 2yo Sire in the U.S. title in 2005.  While his success is no mystery, his ability to stay at the top of the list over sires such as Street Cry (IRE), Distorted Humor and others is impressive. Giant's Causeway's career was mostly spent in Europe, as the horse only ran on this side of the pond once. In his final start before retirement, Giant's Causeway came to Kentucky to race in the 2000 edition of the G1 Breeders' Cup Classic.  The stallion's only start on dirt would prove to be successful as he would finish second by only a neck to Tiz...

In a sport that should be known for the majestic animals that step onto the track every day, it's better known for the small group of people that bring more attention to the track due to drugs and other newsworthy infractions. From the last two almost- Triple Crown winning trainers shady pasts to a prominent racing family in Texas recently sending a group of broodmares to an auction known for its attraction to kill buyers, it's little surprise that the general public does not have a good image of the sport. However, unlike previous attacks on the sport that went pretty much ignored, the sport is finally starting to realize that action is needed to combat the growing black eye. Last week, the New York Times posted yet another article attacking racing. Earlier this year, the newspaper had a series based around breakdowns of racehorses and they were again on the attack with an article questioning I'll Have Another's soundness between the Preakness and Belmont....

In a 2011 freshman crop that included many of the superstars of 2007, multiple names were put in the hat for top freshman sire. From Street Sense to Any Given Saturday, all the horses came with dreams of monumental success in the shed. However, in the discussions, few people remembered one of the original superstars of that year, G1 Florida Derby winner Scat Daddy. The son of Johannesburg never returned to the track after his disappointing 18th place finish in the G1 Kentucky Derby and was overshadowed by thoughts of other horses in that crop.  Scat Daddy retired with a record of 9-5-1-1 and earnings of $1,334,300, but in a year that included Curlin, Rags to Riches and others, he was shoved to the back of many minds. But last year, Scat Daddy returned to the forefront when his foals burst onto the scene and earned him the Leading Freshman Sire title. The stallion ended the year with 29 winners from 63 starters, five stakes wins and three graded stakes wins for a win pe...

After two eye-opening performances at Royal Ascot a few weeks ago, the word "Great" was thrown around more than ever when it came to Frankel and Black Caviar, but for two very different reasons. Frankel's performance in the first race of the Royal Ascot meet caught everyone's attention when he romped home 11 lengths in front to keep his unbeaten streak alive. The race once again started up the "greatest horse in the world" chant that accompanies almost all of his victories. Black Caviar's performance on the last day of the meet also caught the attention of the world but in a very different way. Unlike Frankel, who had it his own way the entire race, Australia's Superwoman not only had to overcome a ship from Australia and a total change in seasons, she also had to overcome her jockey's bad ride. After this, both horses were called "great", which in my estimation is a good title for them. But in this age of calling everythin...