Sires to Watch: North America's New Fathers

Every year hopes and expectations are high in breeding sheds around the world with the biggest weight placed on stallions whose first foals are arriving. While there are 11 months until breeders can first see how the foals are received as they go under the hammer for the first time at the fall breeding stock sales, how the first foals look in the first few months of the year can affect a sire’s book in his second breeding season.

Foals by new stallions can make or break stallion owners' dreams.

Over 150 stallions in North America are listed on Blood-Horse as entering stud in 2015. Here are 12 of the major stallions whose foals breeders and fans should look out for this year.

Standing in New York, multiple Grade 1 winner Alpha bred 68 mares in 2015. During his career, Alpha called New York home and loved the state’s tracks with all his wins and placings coming at Saratoga, Belmont and Aqueduct. Alpha won the Grade 1 Travers in a dead-heat with Golden Ticket (Speightstown) at Saratoga then returned to the track's winner's circle a year later when he won the Grade 1 Woodward Stakes. In all, he won or placed in eight stakes races during his 22 race career. Owned by Darley Stud, Alpha stands at Sequel Stallions New York for a fee of $8,500.

The winner of four of his five starts including two Gulfstream stakes races, Atreides stands at Hill ‘n’ Dale Farm in Kentucky. A son of the red-hot Medaglia d’Oro, Atreides is out of multiple Grade 1 winner Dream Rush, making him a half-brother to Grade 1 winner Dreaming of Julia (A.P. Indy). A Stonestreet-bred stallion, Atreides’ smallest margin of victory was three lengths with his two stakes wins won by a combined 22 lengths. Standing for $5,000 in 2016, Atreides bred 73 mares at a fee of $6,500 in 2015.

A new stallion in the California ranks, Boisterous is a Grade 1 winning son of Distorted Humor from a deep female family. Boisterous raced until he was seven and won 12 of 35 starts for $1.4-million with eight stakes victories including seven graded stakes. Racing for the famous Phipps family during the early part of his career, Boisterous was sold for $350,000 at the Keeneland November sale in 2013 and spent the last year of his career racing for Gary Barber. Standing California, where the average book of mares for the state’s 154 stallions in 2014 was 16.4 mares according to The Jockey Club, Boisterous bred 72 mares in 2015. The number was the third most of any stallion in California that year. He will be standing his second year in California in 2016 at a fee of $5,000.

The only son of Pioneerof the Nile (Empire Maker) standing in 2015, Cairo Prince attracted 148 mares. A two-time Grade 2 winner in his five starts, Cairo Prince beat some of the biggest names of his generation including Wicked Strong, Intense Holiday and Mr Speaker and was one of the early favorites for the Kentucky Derby. Sidelined after an injury in the Grade 1 Besilu Stables Florida Derby, Cairo Prince never raced again and currently stands at Airdrie Stud under a partnership between that farm and Darley. He stood his first season for $10,000, a fee that is being raised to $15,000 in 2016.

Making all his starts in 2014 at 4 years of age, Cross Traffic was a solid older horse. In four graded stakes, the Unbridled’s Song stallion won the Grade 1 Whitney Invitational over Successful Dan, Mucho Macho Man, Ron the Greek, ect. and finished second in the Grade 1 Metropolitan Handicap and Grade 3 Westchester Stakes. Out of the multiple Grade 1 winner Stop Traffic (Cure the Blues), he is a half-brother to three stakes winning or stakes placed horses. Last year Cross Traffic bred 123 mares and he’s standing for a fee of $10,000 in 2016.

From an immediate family that includes Tale of the Cat (Storm Cat) and Johannesburg (Hennessy), Fed Biz raced successfully on all surfaces. The Giant’s Causeway son won stakes races on the all-weather track at Del Mar and the dirt in addition to finishing third in the Grade 1 Frank E. Kilroe Mile Stakes on turf. In his career he won four stakes races and hit the board in six others for $770,496 in earnings. Fed Biz bred 147 mares last year and will stand for a fee of $12,500 this year.

Fed Biz

The first two-time winner of the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile, Goldencents played a major part in making his sire Into Mischief the hit he is today. Consistently running at the stakes level all three years he raced, Goldencents won a Grade 3 Kentucky Derby prep at two, two Grade 1 races at three (and a Grade 3) and two graded stakes at four. In addition, the stallion also placed in six other graded stakes including five Grade 1 events in his 18 starts. Goldencents was fully booked within days of his second Breeders’ Cup victory and bred 179 mares, this year he will be standing at $15,000.

The only classic winner to stand his first year at stud in North America in 2015, Magician won the Group 1 Tattersalls Irish 2,000 Guineas on the front end of his season before taking the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Turf that November. The son of Galileo won four group stakes races in his career and finished second in four Grade or Group 1s at 4 years of age, defeating horses like Treve (Motivator), Dank (Dansili), The Fugue (Dansili), Point of Entry (Dynaformer), Trading Leather (Teofilo) and Big Blue Kitten (Kitten’s Joy). From the family of Henrythenavigator (Kingmambo), Magician is one of seven Galileo sons standing in the United States. Standing for a fee of $10,000 in 2016, Magician covered 130 mares in 2015.

Magician

Joining his sire Macho Uno at Adena Springs last year, Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Mucho Macho Man retired after a five-season, 25 start campaign. The stallion won or placed in at least one stakes race during each year of his career, with placings in the 2011 Grade 1 Kentucky Derby and the 2012 Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Classic before winning the race in 2013. Overall, Mucho Macho Man won five graded stakes races and placed in eight others. His resume includes beating horses such as Justin Phillip (First Samurai), Shackleford (Forestry), Brilliant Speed (Dynaformer), Stay Thirsty (Bernardini), Ron the Greek (Full Mandate), Game On Dude (Awesome Again) and Flat Out (Flatter). Breeding 99 mares in 2015, Mucho Macho Man will stand for $15,000 in 2016.

A full brother to Frankel, Lane’s End landed a major stallion prospect in 2015 when Noble Mission (Galileo) joined their roster. Europe’s 2014 champion older horse, Noble Mission won a Group 3 at 3 years of age and a listed stakes at 4 but the stallion’s best year came at five. That year, Noble Mission won five group stakes and finished second in two others with three Group 1 wins. Those victories included the QIPCO Champion Stakes over a group that included Al Kazeem (Dubawi), Free Eagle (High Chaparral), Cirrus des Aigles (Even Top) and Ruler of the World (Galileo) and the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud over Siljan’s Saga (Sagamix), Narniyn (Dubawi) and Flintshire (Dansili). Noble Mission is one of two Frankel siblings standing in the United States and stood for $25,000 in 2015, breeding 146 mares. In 2016, Noble Mission will stand for the same fee as last year.

Noble Mission

One of the most talked about horses during the 2013 Kentucky Derby season, Verrazano (More Than Ready) won the Grade 1 Wood Memorial and Grade 2 Tampa Bay Derby on the Derby trail. While he didn’t fare well in the Kentucky Derby, his 3-year-old season also saw him win the Grade 1 William Hill Haskell Invitational and Grade 3 Pegasus Stakes in impressive style. Verrazano was supposed to retire at the end of that season but instead was transferred to Aidan O’Brien in Europe where he raced three times in 2014. While he never won on the turf, Verrazano didn’t embarrass himself when he finished second by three quarters of a length to Toronado (High Chaparral) and third to Olympic Glory (Choisir). Breeders didn’t hold Verrazano’s delayed retirement against him, sending him 185 mares in 2015. In 2016 the stallion continues his residency in Kentucky, standing for $20,000.

The 2013 champion 3-year-old colt, Will Take Charge (Unbridled’s Song) was the iron horse of his generation. The stallion ran 21 times in three seasons with 11 of those coming during his 3-year-old year. Will Take Charge danced nearly every dance there was in his career, winning two Grade 1 races and finishing on the board in five others. Overall, Will Take Charge won or hit the board in 11 graded stakes races for nearly $4-million in earnings. Will Take Charge is one of the best bred stallions to have first foals in North America this year. His dam Take Charge Lady was a multiple Grade 1 winner who also produced Grade 1 winner Take Charge Indy (A.P. Indy) and Charming (Seeking the Gold), who is the dam of champion Take Charge Brandi (Giant’s Causeway). Will Take Charge bred 144 mares in 2015 and stands for $30,000 this year.

Will Take Charge

Join All Equine All The Time again next week for the European stallions whose first foals are hitting the ground in 2016.