Strength in depth

American racing has been blessed this year to have a filly of the quality of Rachel Alexandra gracing our tracks.  Seemingly every time she runs she provides further evidence of her merit – and seemingly every time she doesn’t run, the winner advertises her form.  She has truly done enough already to be ranked among the all-time greats.  However, Rachel Alexandra’s achievements should not allow us to overlook that she is not the only outstanding distaff performer currently active in the States, because last year’s Breeders’ Cup Ladies’ Classic heroine Zenyatta continues to extend her unbeaten record.  And from a Darley point of view, of course, the really exciting thing is that both fabulous females are daughters of Darley sires.

Ask any breeding pundit to compile a list of the boom sires in the States at present, and you could guarantee that Medaglia D'Oro and Street Cry (sires respectively of Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta) would figure very highly on that list.  Interestingly, a current list of active American stallions ranked by Average Earnings Index would include two old stallions (A P Indy and Smart Strike) and three young ones – and two of these three are, unsurprisingly, Street Cry and Medaglia D’Oro.  With his first crop still only aged five, Street Cry has already sired an astonishing nine individual Grade/Group One winners, with Zenyatta being supported by the likes of Breeders’ Cup Juvenile and Kentucky Derby winner Street Sense, brilliant Californian sprinter Street Boss (now also a Darley sire) and Seventh Street, twice a winner in Grade One company already this year.

Medaglia D’Oro has similarly been showing a remarkable ability to produce talented runners in quantity.  While Rachel Alexandra has been his brightest star this year, she is certainly not his only star, with the likes of the dual Grade One winner Gabby’s Golden Gal, the Grade Two winner Payton D’Oro and the Stakes-winning juvenile Dashing Debby also flying the flag for their sire with distinction.  The result is that Medaglia D’Oro is currently lying second in the North American General Sires’ Table.  Furthermore, the future looks equally bright with numerous promising young horses working their way up through the ranks to represent him on both sides of the Atlantic, including the exciting Al Zir, the colt who was the sale-topper (at $1,600,000) at Calder this spring and who has been a facile winner of his only start (at Newmarket) in England to date.

Darley’s roster, however, certainly isn’t only about these two horses.  There are no weak links in the line-up, with senior stallions Elusive Quality, Quiet American, Holy Bull and Cherokee Run continuing to embellish their already impressive records.  Elusive Quality enjoyed a tremendous 2008, with Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Raven’s Pass heading his list of stars, and this year is also proving one to remember for the sire of 2004 Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner Smarty Jones.  Elusive Quality’s Grade One-winning three-year-old son Quality Road is the star of his current batch of runners, which collectively have placed him in 12th position on the 2009 General Sires’ List of stallions standing in North America.  He too continues to sire good winners all around the world, and his unbeaten two-year-old son Elusive Pimpernel currently ranks as one of the most exciting juveniles in Europe, having broken the juvenile course record for seven furlongs at York (1:22.45) when winning the Group Three Acomb Stakes on his most recent start.

Quiet American remains ever dependable, having come up with yet another Grade One winner this year: Seattle Smooth, whose victory in the Grade One Ogden Phipps Handicap was her fifth straight Stakes success.  Quiet American’s lifetime black type performers to runners’ ratio currently stands at 15 per cent, and he is, of course, now as respected as a sire of broodmares as of racehorses, with his daughters having produced Grade One winners in America (Saint Liam, Bernardini), Europe (Cherry Mix) and Australia (Mentality).

Holy Bull, five years Quiet American’s junior, is also a continuing source of good winners as both sire and broodmare sire.  He currently has an astonishing 70 per cent lifetime ratio of winners to runners, as well as a hugely creditable average earnings per starter of $66,000.  He has sired six Grade One winners, and is now being represented as broodmare sire by a swag of Stakes winners, including this year’s Tom Fool Handicap winner Munnings.

Cherokee Run's lifetime winners to runners’ ratio (75 per cent) is even higher than that accrued by the stock of Holy Bull – and higher too than the figures for the likes of Smart Strike, A P Indy, Unbridled’s Song, Tiznow, Dynaformer and Giant’s Causeway.  He too continues to churn out Stakes horses: ten so far this year, including the very smart French Stakes winner Soneva.

Of the younger division, E Dubai is quietly accumulating some very impressive figures.  This year he has shown a strike rate of 56 per cent winners to runners, with his Stakes horses including the likes of the Graded Stakes winners Accredit, Mr Fantasy and Desert Code.  The last-named is proving a particular star and, following his win in the Daytona Handicap, currently tops the turf sprint division with an NARC rating of 111.2.

Darley’s two first-season sires Offlee Wild and Consolidator are both getting good results with their initial batch of juveniles.  Offlee Wild is currently third in the national table of first-season sires (by progeny earnings) thanks to his seven individual winners (from 17 starters) including three Stakes horses.  Consolidator is proving even more prolific with nine individual winners so far, and currently ranks third in the table of first-season sires in terms of number of winners.

And don't forget to look out for the first yearlings by Bernardini, Henny Hughes and Rockport Harbor at the sales this fall.