Daily Racing Form National Digital Edition
FREUD CONTINUES TO DOMINATE AMONG N.Y. SIRES
No matter the year, the racing surface, or the competition that comes to his home state, Freud continues to hold sway in New York with no signs of slowing down.
The durable Storm Cat horse, who stands at Sequel Stallions, continues to thoroughly dominate his niche of the stallion market, leading New York’s general sire list with progeny earnings of $5,168,822 in 2016, the ninth straight time he has finished first or second on the list among those with state-sired runners.
Freud edged out two newcomers to the state, both at Dutchess Views Farm, who figure to have an impact on the list in years to come – Bellamy Road ($4,819,450) and Big Brown ($3,648,427). Neither has state-sired progeny on the track as of yet, with Bellamy Road’s first New York crop arriving now and Big Brown’s first statesired crop running next year.
Freud, a full brother to Giant’s Causeway, also easily led New York’s turf sire rankings for the ninth straight year, with a bankroll of $2,079,103 to Big Brown’s $1,040,440.
Although Freud has dominated New York’s turf rankings, he has sired horses who have successfully competed against open company on dirt throughout his career, including Grade 1 winners Giant Ryan and Franny Freud. The latest to join that lineup is Sharp Azteca, who won last year’s Grade 3 Pat Day Mile and finished second in the Grade 1 Malibu Stakes by a half-length to New York-bred Mind Your Biscuits, who has continued on to be a world-class sprinter.
Sharp Azteca earned a career-best Beyer Speed Figure of 106 in the Malibu, which he matched in winning the Grade 2 Gulfstream Park Handicap by 4 1/2 lengths to start this season. He most recently finished a close third in the Group 2 Godolphin Mile in Dubai.
Leading Freud’s turf runners in 2016 was his all-time leading earner, Lubash, who has perfectly embodied the sire’s tendency to produce durable runners who compete creditably in the stakes ranks season after season. At age 9, Lubash won the Grade 3 Tropical Turf Handicap to push his career earnings
past $1.4 million; it was his third graded stakes win and his 12th stakes score overall. Lubash remains in training this year at age 10 and – along with Sharp Azteca – provides a chance for Freud to continue his dominance.
Beyer Sire standout: Big Brown
Whether based on traditional or new metrics for evaluating stallions, dual classic winner and champion Big Brown has proven a solid and competitive addition to the New York market.
Standing at Dutchess Views Farm, Big Brown factors prominently on the general and turf sires earnings lists behind state stalwart Freud – no small accomplishment. However, Big Brown comes out on top based on Daily Racing Form’s Beyer Sire Performance Standings – an exclusive metric to examine stallion progeny performance in depth, often highlighting under-the-radar sires.
Beyer Speed Figures were incorporated into DRF’s past performances in 1992 and are now an industry standard for the comparison of horses’ performances. The Beyer Sire Performance Standings provide the breeding industry with an additional metric to compare stallion progeny performance beyond wins and earnings. The standings provide totals and percentages for progeny who surpass specific Beyer benchmarks in North American races.
While traditional sire lists based on earnings can be slanted by one or two major runners – or casino-inflated purses on some circuits – the Beyer Sire Performance Standings look beyond these factors. Beyers are assigned to all runners in a race, allowing DRF’s sire lists to include all performances.
Among active New York sires, Big Brown led the way by the percentage of his runners who earned Beyers of 90 or above, a benchmark for quality performance, with 5.8 percent of his runners hitting that mark. He also led New York sires by the number of individuals to run triple-digit figures.
Big Brown’s leading runner in 2016 was again Dortmund, who emerged from a 2015 campaign in which he was active on the Triple Crown trail to become a player in the older horse ranks. The massive chestnut came off an eight-month layoff to finish second in the Grade 2 San Diego Handicap to champion California Chrome, earning a top-level Beyer of 110. He matched that number when finishing third in the Grade 1 Pacific Classic to California Chrome and champion Beholder.
Big Brown’s other triple-digit runners were Send It In, who earned a 104 for winning an optional claimer in March at Aqueduct, and Baby Bear’s Soup, who posted a 100 in winning a claiming race in October at Parx Racing.
Leading 2-year-old sire: Frost Giant
Frost Giant was New York’s leading freshman sire of 2012, establishing a state record in progeny earnings for that category. He has continued to show prowess with the juvenile set, finishing as New York’s leading 2-year-old sire of 2016.
Frost Giant, who stands at Keane Stud, sired 17 juvenile winners in 2016 for earnings of $727,319. That was enough to edge out Sequel Stallions freshman Mission Impazible, with eight winners and $653,108 earned.
Frost Giant’s youngsters were led last year by Miss Freeze, a 6 1/4-length winner of the Lynbrook Stakes at Belmont in her career debut. Bobby On Fleek was second to the well-regarded Syndergaard in the Funny Cide Stakes at Saratoga. The stallion also was represented by stakesplaced Passport to victory, Remstin, Frosty Nurse, and Sonido.
A multiple Group 3 winner in Ireland, Frost Giant recorded his biggest victory in the Grade 1 Suburban Handicap in 2008. The Giant’s Causeway horse is from the extended family of Grade 1 winners and sires Bluegrass Cat, Girolamo, and Super Saver.
Leading freshman sire: Mission Impazible
Sequel Stallions stands New York’s perennial leading sire in Freud and now has an up-and-coming horse behind him in the Empire State’s leading freshman.
Mission Impazible, a multiple Grade 2-winning millionaire by Unbridled’s Song, sired eight winners from his first crop on the track for earnings of $653,108. That was more than enough to overpower freshman class runner-up Boys At Tosconova, with three winners and $103,201. Moreover, Mission Impazible finished a close third on the juvenile sire list to established stallion Frost Giant.
Mission Impazible’s top runner last year was the New York-born Silver Mission, who was bred by and races in partnership for Sequel and Twin Creeks. The latter outfit campaigned the sire. Silver Mission won the Tremont Stakes at Belmont by 6 1/4 lengths against open company and finished third in the Rockville Centre Stakes.
Mission Impazible also is the sire of the stakes-placed runners Ethan Hunt and Paz the Bourbon from his first crop.