All Equine All The Time

Girolamo With the new year upon us, racing is slowly heating up for the 2017 Triple Crown while breeding sheds prepare for breeding season. While no doubt stallions across North America will be busy this year, a few look like they’re poised to grab even more interest from breeders in 2017.  Here are seven U.S.-based stallions with anywhere from one to four crops of three-year-olds on the track who look like they’ll be ones to watch in 2017. When both Shackleford (Forestry) and Dialed In (Mineshaft) retired to stud at Darby Dan Farm in 2013, it was probably believed that the Preakness winner would have an advantage at stud. But three years later, Dialed In isn’t just the King of the Freshmen at Darby Dan, he’s taken home the title over all the freshmen in this year’s exceptional crop. Dialed In looks to have a nice colt in two-time graded stakes winner Gunnevera with Ms Locust Point and Ruffenuff both representing his fillies at the stakes level with 19 sires winning for ...

Paddy O'Prado As the racing season starts to ramp up, eyes are turning to last year’s First-Crop sires to see if their runners can continue on as 3-year-olds. There are over 300 stallions listed on Blood-Horse as having their first 3-year-olds this year but here are six in North America that the racing industry should have an eye on in 2016. While Uncle Mo (Indian Charlie) set records in 2015 as the leading First-Crop sire and has the most 3-year-olds nominated to the Triple Crown of any sire, there are skeptics about how his 3-year-olds will train on this year. While the doubts make sense as a number of good first year sires haven’t had a lot of success in subsequent years and Uncle Mo wasn’t as brilliant as a 3-year-old as he was at 2, I personally don’t see any reason why his horses won’t step up this year. While not as brilliant as he was at 2 Uncle Mo himself was a good 3-year-old, even with his illness knocking him out for a decent chunk of the year, winning the Gra...