VIOLENCE REWARDING HIS EARLY SUPPORTERS

One of the hottest sires at yearling sales in 2017 was Violence, whose first foals had just reached the races, and some people questioned if the unabashed love for his progeny was warranted. At sales in 2017, yearlings by Violence sold for an average of $123,840, or 8.3 times his $15,000 stud fee, a very high multiple for the commercial market.

As it turns out, the answer was in the affirmative, and those who believed in him early are reaping the rewards.

Violence, who stands at Hill ‘n’ Dale Farms in Lexington, Ky., finished 2017 as the second-leading freshman sire in North America, and in 2018 he went one step further, becoming the leading second-crop sire in North America, with progeny earnings of $5,441,805. He also finished fifth on the 2018 juvenile sire list, with earnings of $1,905,214.

The mark of a good stallion is not solely how he does with juveniles, but how his progeny perform as they get older and as the distances of races stretch out. In that regard, Violence showed he will be a sire to be reckoned with – on the general sire list, he appeared at 44th. He has the highest earnings for any horse with just two crops. Only third-crop sire Dialed In, who is 35th on the list, has higher earnings with fewer runners than Violence.

In 2018, Violence was represented by eight stakes winners, with his highest earner being the filly Cosmic Burst, winner of the Grade 3 Honeybee Stakes at Oaklawn Park and $385,200 for the year. His second-highest earner also was a filly, Talk Veuve to Me, winner of the Grade 3 Indiana Oaks and $349,067. His third-highest earner also was a filly, stakes-placed Vibrance, second in the Grade 1 Chandelier Stakes and third in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies. Medaglia d’Oro originally had something of a reputation as a “filly sire” after getting such outstanding runners early in his stud career as Rachel Alexandra, Songbird, Plum Pretty, Marketing Mix, and Bar of Gold without a comparable male of such caliber, but he put that theory to rest with subsequent crops and a number of outstanding male runners.

And before anyone gets the same idea about Violence, it should be noted that two crops is a small sample size, and that seven of his 12 stakes winners are males.

Leading sire Medaglia d’Oro, who stands at Darley for a fee of $200,000 and is by sire of sires El Prado, is 20 and his best sons at stud either do not yet have foals of racing age or are just starting their stallion careers. His best racing sons at stud include Talismanic, Mshawish, Bolt d’Oro, Vancouver, Astern, and Fast Anna.

Violence is the clearly the best racing son of Medaglia d’Oro with foals of racing age, and if that is any indication of future performance, Medaglia d’Oro may turn out to be a top sire of sires.

Out of Violent Beauty, by Gone West, Violence is from the immediate family of champions Sky Beauty (his third dam), Dayjur, and Gold Beauty. Bred by Dell Ridge Farm, he was sold for $600,000 at the Keeneland September yearling sale in 2011 and sent to trainer Todd Pletcher.

Campaigned by Black Rock Stable, he won his first three starts, including the Grade 1 CashCall Futurity at Hollywood Park. In his fourth and final start, the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth at Gulfstream Park in February 2013, he finished second as the 3-5 favorite to eventual Kentucky Derby winner Orb, sustaining a careerending injury in the race while beaten a half-length.

Retired to Hill ‘n’ Dale for the 2013 breeding season, he stood for a fee of $15,000 his first four years at stud, and the fee increased to $25,000 in 2018 after his first crop showed such promise on the track. Violence also stood two Southern Hemisphere seasons in Argentina, in 2015 and 2016.

For the 2019 breeding season, Violence’s fee will be $40,000.