New Stallion Lucky Speed

An Irish-bred six-year-old, Lucky Speed created a big resume for himself in a short three seasons of racing.

Making his first group stakes start in late April of his 3-year-old year, he finished second in the Group 3 Fruhjahrs – Preis des Bankhauses Metzler behind the multiple Group stakes winner Vif Monsieur (Doyen). But it didn’t take Lucky Speed long to get a stakes victory, taking home the Group 3 ONEXTWO.com Bavarian Classic in his next start. A little over a month later, he joined a list of Group 1 winners when winning this century's fastest Group 1 German Derby. While he didn't race again after that victory, his four 3-year-old races were enough to name him the Top Rated German 3-Year-Old (11-13 furlongs) that year.

Lucky Speed wasn’t seen again until June of his 4-year-old year when he finished third in the Group 2 Grosser Preis der Badischen Unternehmer. Two starts later, he again hit the board in the Group 1 124th Grosser Preis von Berlin but in four starts that year, he wasn’t able to get back to the winner’s enclosure. 

In his final season at the track, Lucky Speed spent his season in the United States.

Starting at Woodbine, he ran in the Grade 2 Nijinsky Stakes against eight other horses going 1 1/8 miles on the turf. The colt barely missed hitting the board, finishing fourth by a nose. His next stop was Chicago, where he lined up in the Grade 3 American St. Leger at Arlington Park. Racing at 1 11/16 miles, he was content to sit about 10 lengths behind the leader for the first three calls before making his move. By the stretch call, he was in second behind Panama Hat (Medicean), taking over the lead and winning by ¾-length in a course record time of 2:46.50. Returning to Woodbine a month later, Lucky Speed duplicated his previous start at the track when finishing fourth in the Grade 1 Northern Dancer Turf Stakes Presented by HPIBet.

Winning the American St. Leger 

Retired after that start, Lucky Speed ended his career with four wins and three other on-the-board finishes in 11 starts for €639,251 (approx. $710,943US/£497,563) in earnings.

Lucky Speed is by German’s high weight older horse Silvano (Lomitas). Silvano won at the same North American track his son did when winning the 2001 Grade 1 Arlington Million, one of his seven wins in 18 starts. Now standing in South Africa, Silvano has produced 10 champions and 55 stakes winners. As of Feb. 17, he has 480 winners from 739 starters for a 65 percent strike rate according to Equineline.

Lucky Speed is out of the Monsun mare Lysuna. While not a stakes winner, the mare did place in the Group 3 Grosser Jubilaumspreis Jungheinrich Gabelstapler. From her six foals to race, Lysuna has produced five winners including Lucky Speed and multiple stakes placed Lyssio (Motivator). In addition to her horses on the track, Lysuna has a 3-year-old unnamed Lando filly and an unnamed 2-year-old Scalo filly.

Lucky Speed

Lysuna is out of the winning Slip Anchor mare La Lyra. That mare produced six winners, including the stakes placed Lysuna and her half-brother Lymond (Bakharoff), who was Group 3 placed and had 13 wins during his career.

One generation farther back, Lucky Speed’s female family sees its first United States-bred with his third dam La Luna. By Lyphard, La Luna raced in France and produced eight winners. The best of those was the Spectrum mare Corrine, who won the Peugeot Pokallob Hopper before producing three winners from her five foals to race so far. A fairly young mare at 17 years old, Corrine still has a chance to update her branch of the family with an unraced 2-year-old Kyllachy colt named Prince Monolulu and an unnamed yearling Finjaan colt.

Lucky Speed after the American St. Leger

La Luna’s Group 3 placed daughter Etoile (Kris) is also the dam of winners but La Luna’s biggest success as a producer is the unraced Danehill mare Close Regards. A 15-year-old mare, Close Regards’ five foals to make it to the track so far are all winners with a gelding by Hurricane Run named Magic Hurricane winning the Group 1 McGrath Estate Agents Metropolitan and her 10-year-old daughter by Hawk Wing a stakes placed mare. Close Regards also has a 3-year-old unraced Canford Cliffs filly named Lieoftheland and an unnamed yearling colt by Camelot.

Lucky Speed’s fourth dam is the French-bred winner Belga (Le Fabuleux), who is a half-sister to leading sire *Belmont. Belga had no problem producing stakes winners with four of her eight winners winning graded or group stakes. Her Lyphard colt Bellypha was the second high weight at two on the French Free Handicap in addition to a champion sire in France while a Riverman colt was a multiple Group Stakes winner and a Danzig colt was a Group 1 winner in Peru. Her Green Dancer filly Brillante was also a stakes winner but it was three other Belga fillies who produced stakes horses. Blanche Reine gave Belga a Group 3 winner with her Kaldoun son Balleroy in addition to the stakes placed Alleged filly Maison Blanche. Two other daughter produced horses who placed in stakes, including United States runner Grey Chandon (*Grey Dawn II), who was third in the Tyro.

Lucky Speed

Free of both Sadler’s Wells and Danzig/Danehill, Lucky Speed provides a nice outcross for the mares who will be visiting him in Ireland. The stallion’s closest inbreeding is the German-bred Surumu (Literat) in the fourth generation on both sides of his pedigree with Northern Dancer in the fifth generation on both sides, pushing him completely off the page in any resulting foals.

Described by trainer Peter Schiergen as “a top class horse, with huge speed who could handle any ground,” Lucky Speed commences stud duties at Sunnyhill Stud in 2016.