By Elaine Belval

Haynesfield easily won the G2 Suburban H. last weekend, spoiling the return of 2009 G1 winner I Want Revenge. Haynesfield is the ninth individual unrestricted SW for Champion Speightstown in 2010. Also winning over the long holiday weekend was the Speightstown colt Essence Hit Man, winner of a second Woodbine stakes.

This could easily be a breakout year for this third-crop sire. Speightstown is the second-leading third crop sire of 2010 (behind Medaglia d’Oro) and is among the top 15 sires on the General Sire List. Of his nine 2010 SWs, six are new SWs in 2010 (second only to the same farm’s Distorted Humor with 10). And, so far in 2010, his leading earner has less than 10% of his total earnings, indicating he is siring a wide range of high-quality horses.

Speightstown is a rare, and lucky, individual. His owner, Eugene Melnyk, never gave up on him. As an attractive individual by leading sire Gone West out of the Champion Silken Cat, by Storm Cat, he sold for $2 million at the 1999 Keeneland July Sale. He made one start at 2 and showed some promise at 3, winning at maiden at Gulfstream Park early in the year and finishing second in the G2 Amsterdam S. to City Zip. However, minor ailments kept him off the track his entire 4-year-old season and into much of his 5-year-old year. With his pedigree, Speightstown could have been sold as a minor stallion prospect. But, Melnyk allowed the horse time, and was rewarded by a 6-year-old campaign that included five victories in six starts, including the G1 Breeders’ Cup Sprint and a track-record-equaling performance in the G2 Alfred Vanderbilt H. at Saratoga.

Speightstown retired to WinStar Farm in 2005 for a solid fee of $40,000 considering his race record and pedigree. His first crop had 21 individual winners, including two SWs. One of the more surprising aspects (at least to this analyst) is Speightstown’s success in Europe. One of his two SWs in 2008 was G2 Mill Reef S. winner Lord Shanakill (he would add the prestigious G1 Prix Jean Prat at age 3). And despite Speightstown’s never racing on turf, four of his SWs have won on the surface (including Bridgetown – second in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf). Another four SWs have won on artificial surfaces.

From 195 foals of racing age (not including 2010 2YOs), Speightstown has more than 80% starters and more than  50% winners (which is remarkable considering his oldest progeny are only four!). He has 16 unrestricted SWs (an excellent 8% SWs to foals). However, it should be noted, from his 100 2YOs of 2010, he already has 15 starters and four individual winners.

It speaks to both careful management and excellent stud fee evaluation that despite the overall drop in stud fees over the last few years, Speightstown stood for $35,000 in 2010. Click here for his sire stat page, courtesy Thoroughbred Times.

(Elaine Belval is senior pedigree analyst at WTC.)

By Elaine Belval

Just Louise prevailed in the G3 Debutante S. this weekend at Churchill Downs, defeating two rivals by less than a length in a long stretch dual. Ridden by Robby Albarado, the filly is trained by the red-hot Dale Romans. The six-furlong Debutante is one of the first graded stakes races for 2-year-olds in 2010, and Just Louise got her sire off the mark quite nicely in the 2010 juvenile stakes department with the win.

Just Louise is by the brilliant sprinter Five Star Day. Unlike many sons of Carson City, Five Star Day did not race at 2. But once he reached the track, he had no trouble making his mark. He won the G3 Vernon Underwood at 3 and finished second to Forestry in the G1 King’s Bishop S. and second to Successful Appeal in the G3 Kentucky Cup Sprint. At 4he won the Phoenix Breeders’ Cup at Keeneland and at 5 he won the Vanderbilt H. at Saratoga. Through three years of racing, Five Star Day showed the typical characteristic of his sire line, brilliant speed. And Five Star Day appears more than willing to carry on that characteristic. Like his sire Carson City, Five Star Day sires precocious sprinters. From 18 total SWs, almost half are 2-year-old SWs. The average winning distance of his SWs is 6.5 furlongs (which is the average winning distance of his overall progeny). Almost 40% of his runners start at 2, and a very solid 16% win at 2.

Five Star Day’s first crop raced in 2005. He had six SWs from 61 named foals (10% SWs to foals), led by GSWs Dance Daily (winner of the G2 Santa Ynez S.) and Starforaday (winner of the G3 Maryland Sprint H. on the 2008 Preakness undercard). His second crop had another four SWs including GSW Eternal Star (G2 Commonwealth S.) and Day Pass (winner of the G3 Nashua S.). This year may be Five Star Day’s best year yet. Through June, he has four 2010 SWs, led by Just Louise. The others are 5.5-furlong winner Chantilly Nayla, 8-furlong winner Helen Belen, and 4.5-furlong winner Gabriel’s Smile.

Just Louise was bred by Paul F. Gardner and is owned by Eldon Farm Equine. She is a half-sister to the GSW Sara Louise (best known for defeating Rachel Alexandra in the G3 Pocahontas S. at two). Just Louise is a daughter of a Mt. Livermore (by Blushing Groom) mare. She is now the third SW that Five Star Day has with Blushing Groom-line mares (the others being Gabriel’s Smile and Helen Belen). Carson City is out of a Blushing Groom daughter, so all of these SWs are inbred to that blazing fast French Champion and leading sire. For breeders looking for a solid return on investments (especially those people with Blushing Groom-line mares), Five Star Day is a bargain. Five Star Day stands at Wintergreen Stallion Station and his 2010 fee was $5,000.

(Elaine Belval is senior pedigree analyst at WTC.)

By Elaine Belval

I would argue that the week’s racing at England’s Royal Ascot meeting is the best week of racing in the world. The highlight of Saturday’s card was the G1 Golden Jubilee S. at six furlongs.

Royal Ascot is perfectly situated on the racing calender. At the end of June, the Southern Hemisphere racing season is wrapping up. Several years ago, Australian invaders decided to take on the Royal Ascot challenge. In 2003, Australian sprinter Choisir shocked the English by winning both the then-G2 but now G1 King’s Stand S. at five furlongs in the Golden Jubilee S. within the five-day Royal Ascot meeting. Choisir had won the G1 5-furlong Lightning S. in February before going to Ascot where he defeated such horses as Airwave, Acclamation and Oasis Dream.

This past Saturday, Choisir’s son Starspangledbanner under jockey Johnny Murtagh led from start to finish in his victory in the Golden Jubilee. The Racing Post wrote the Golden Jubilee was “arguably the classiest sprint ever run in this country.” Among the defeated, G1 Golden Shaheen winner Kinsale King, 2009 G1 July Cup winner Fleeting Spirit, 2009 Prix de la Foret winner Varenar, and multiple G1 winner Marchand d’Or.

In Australia, Starspangledbanner won the G1 Caulfied Guineas and the G1 Oakleigh Plate in February. He was bred by Emily Krstina and raced by a syndicate in Australia before he was purchased by Coolmore, and is now trained by Aiden O’Brien, who had targeted this very race from the time Coolmore paid A$10 million for him.

Starspangledbanner is the third foal of the stakes-placed Gold Anthem, a daughter of Made of Gold (himself the son of Green Forest). Her first foal is the stakes-placed Gold Chant. Under his third dam is the another G1 Royal Ascot Australian conqueror in Haradasun, winner of the Queen Anne S. in 2008 and another Coolmore sire in Australia.

Starspangledbanner’s sire Choisir has 25 SWs, including 12 Group winners, but Starspangledbanner is his first G1 winner.  Choisir sires precocious (almost half of his SWs are 2YO SWs) sprinters (all but one of his progeny’s stakes wins comes under nine furlongs).

Choisir stands at Coolmore Australia for a 2010 fee of A$35,750.

As a final note, in 2008, Werk Thoroughbred Consultants started offering our “Best of Sale” for major Australian sales. Starspangledbanner sold at the 2008 William Inglis Melbourne Premier Yearling Sale for $120,000. He was a 1-Star Best of Sale.

Click here to see video of Starspangledbanner’s Golden Jubilee, as well as his sire’s performance in the same race from 2003.

(Elaine Belval is senior pedigree analyst at WTC.)

By Sid Fernando

Jerry Crawford and partners’ Paddy O’Prado, third in the Kentucky Derby, and Chuck Fipke’s Lady Shakespeare had memorable weekends, and we couldn’t be happier for the two gentlemen because they epitomize what’s best about this business: the passion for racing (and breeding) horses.

Iowan Crawford purchased Paddy as a yearling for $105,000, and after winning the G2, $500,000 Colonial Cup, his earnings now stand at more than $750,000, with the promise of more stakes wins to come. Click here to read about the owner and his horse from the Des Moines Register.

Canadian Fipke’s Lady Shakespeare, a homebred for the owner-breeder, won the Grade 2 New York Stakes at Belmont, and she now has earnings of nearly a half-million. Click here to read Frank Mitchell’s pedigree piece from the Paulick Report.

We are particularly pleased for Messrs. Crawford and Fipke because they are retained clients of WTC. And in the case of Paddy, he was a WTC “Best of Sale” recommendation for Jerry and his team, which includes trainer Dale Romans, while Lady Shakespeare’s dam, Lady Shirl, was purchased by Chuck with WTC founder Jack Werk signing the ticket at auction.

Both horses will have careers after the track. Paddy is by the emerging sire of sires El Prado, whose sons to date include Medaglia d’Oro and Kitten’s Joy. Lady Shakespeare, by Theatrical from a G1 winner and a sibling to a multiple G1 winner, is made as a broodmare and will join the strong Fipke band at the conclusion of her career.

Both the colt and the filly are leaders in their respective divisions—turf 3yo and turf filly or mare—and join WTC recommended mating (for breeder Gulf Coast Farms LLC) Lookin at Lucky as another division leader as top 3yo colt to date. We wish them racing luck for the remainder of the year.

By Elaine Belval

Call me strange. I’ll admit it. Nothing captivates me more than the great Cup races of Europe or Australia. And nothing epitomizes a great Cup race than the G1 Royal Ascot Gold Cup, run Thursday. After 19 furlongs, two horses battled head to head in the final furlong! Oh, to have races like that in the US!

Proving triumphant in the race was the well-bred Rite of Passage, owned by Dr. R. Lambe and bred by Newsells Park Stud. Trainer Dermot Weld was quoted as saying, “I’ve always believed in this horse and that he had the potential to win a Gold Cup since I bought him as a yearling.” The Melbourne Cup is a tentative spot to end his 2010 campaign.

Rite of Passage is the second foal of Dahlia’s Krissy, a daughter of leading sire and broodmare sire Kris S. Rite of Passage’s great-granddam is the great Nelson Bunker Hunt champion Dahlia—twice winner of the prestigious G1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth S. and dam of four G1 winners.

Rite of Passage’s sire is Giant’s Causeway. And there doesn’t appear to be anything this sire can’t do. His first crop had 15 SWs in it, led by Champion and classic winner (and now a promising young sire) Shamardal. His second crop had G1 winners as diverse as Heatseeker (10 furlong on poly) and First Samurai (G1-winning 2yo at seven furlongs on dirt). In 2009, Giant’s Causeway sired Man of Iron, winner of the 14-furlong Breeders’ Cup Marathon, so he’s quite capable at 10 furlongs and up. Now he has sired the winner of an Ascot Gold Cup at 20 furlongs. Giant’s Causeway stands at Coolmore Stud’s US operation, Ashford Stud. Coolmore had even more reason to celebrate in the Gold Cup, as their Ireland-based sire Galileo had the runner-up Age of Aquarius (a 4YO colt that should be early favorite for the 2011 Gold Cup) and the third-place finisher in solid Cup runner Purple Moon (another contender for the 2010 Melbourne Cup in November). As a final note, Rite of Passage represents the same Storm Cat/Kris S. cross as US Champion Sweet Catomine and Breeders’ Cup winner Life is Sweet.

Click here to see a video of the race.

(Elaine Belval is senior pedigree analyst at WTC.)

By Elaine Belval

Byword won the 10-furlong Prince of Wales’s S. at Royal Ascot on Wednesday, the highlight of the day’s card. He is now the 14^th G1 winner for his sire, Peintre Celebre, who has quietly enjoyed a successful career, and he’s another homebred G1 winner for Juddmonte Farms, which also won the Epsom Derby with Workforce.

Peintre Celebre is one of numerous champions by the great sire Nureyev. He is best known for his dazzling racetrack performance in the 1997 Prix de l’Arc de Troimphe, where he set a new course record, winning by five lengths over such G1 winners as Pilsudski (Breeders’ Cup Turf), Swain (multiple G1 winner), Helissio (1996 Arc winner) and Borgia (German Derby winner).

Peintre Celebre retired to stud at Coolmore. His first Northern Hemisphere crop contained three G1 winners including multiple champion Pride and German Derby winner Dai Jin. His second crop contained US G1 winner Castledale (Santa Anita Derby).

He has hardly slowed down since, with G1 winners in Europe, Australia, South Africa and Hong Kong, even if he hasn’t enjoyed the biggest of profiles. Peintre Celebre has been a consistent source of middle distance ability. While he has SWs from six to 12+ furlongs, his best runners are in the 8-12 furlong range.

Byword is out of a daughter of Woodman. Peintre Celebre has 17 foals with daughters of Woodman, with three SWs. They are G1 winners Byword, Sudan (Gran Premio di Milano) and G2 winner and multiple G1-placed Super Celebre. The Peintre Celebre/Woodman cross is a perfect example of the A+++.

Peintre Celebre stands at Coolmore Stud in Ireland and his 2010 fee was €17,500.

Click here to see Byword’s Royal Ascot race. Click here to see videos of each of the G1 races at Royal Ascot through Thursday.

(Elaine Belval is senior pedigree analyst at WTC.)

By Elaine Belval

Blame earned his first G1 victory in the Stephen Foster H. at Churchill Downs Saturday on the same day that Rachel Alexandra gained her first win of the year. Most of the attention was on the filly Horse of the Year, but Blame actually won the main event of the day. Owned by breeders Adele B. Dilschneider and Claiborne Farm, the 4yo colt is now one of the top handicap horses in the country, and he’ll likely have a say in some of the races that will determine the championship this year. Trainer Albert Stall is pointing towards a couple of races at Saratoga where his colt may meet early Eclipse favorite Quality Road.

Blame is by the Claiborne stallion Arch. Perhaps no stallion has had it so lucky as Arch. This son of leading sire Kris S. is out of the stakes winning Danzig mare Aurora. She has produced another three SWs including 2009 GSW Acoma, by Empire Maker. His second dam is champion Althea and his third dam is the elite mare Courtly Dee.

Arch proved immensely talented, with 5 victories in 7 starts. However, his great pedigree and race record didn’t help his first crop run that first year at age 2. At the end of 2002, he had six winners and less than $150,000 in progeny earnings. In fact, Arch didn’t even hit the top 50 on the 2002 freshman sire list. And, the stallion market is generally unforgiving to stallions that don’t hit it big with their first crops. By some standards, Arch could have been sold overseas or could be standing for a moderate fee in a regional market today.

Luckily, Arch stands at Claiborne Farm, celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2010. A long-time stallion nursery, the horsemen at the farm recognized potential in Arch’s first crop of 40 foals. Despite that first crop’s lack of precocity, 5SWs eventually emerged, including champion Les Arcs, winner of the Golden Jubilee at Royal Ascot in 2006. Other SWs from that crop include South African champion sprinter Overarching and GSW Chilly Rooster. And Arch hasn’t slowed down since that first quiet year. He sires 77% starters and over 50% winners. He has 26 SWs.

One thing that defines Arch as a sire is his versatility. He has 72YO SWs, and 15 SWs on turf (5on artificial including Blame). Over half of his SWs are Graded stakes winners. Two of his SWs won at 5 and 6 furlongs and four won at 10 and 11 furlongs. Of his three champions, two are sprinters but Canadian champion Arravale won the 10f (on the turf) E. P. Taylor Stakes. His average earnings per starter is more than $70,000. And he is one of the few stallions that “improves” his mares, with an average earnings index of 1.78 and a comparable index of 1.66. Arch continues to stand at Claiborne Farm and his 2010 stud fee was $25,000.

(Elaine Belval is senior pedigree analyst at WTC.)

By Elaine Belval

It is said that sometimes sires just fit their environment, or perhaps the environment fits the sire. The question can reasonably be asked, “Would Talc have been as good a sire as he was if he didn’t stand in New York? Or Baldski in Florida?”

This weekend, at Hollywood Park, two California-based sires showcased their appeal to California breeders.

First, Cost of Freedom won the G3 Los Angeles H. at 6f on the artificial surface. This 7yo gelding had won the G1 Ancient Title at Santa Anita in 2008, along with placing in the 2009 G1 Breeders’ Cup Sprint.  Owned by Gary and Cecil Barber and trained by John Sadler, he was bred by Harris Farms, which stands Cost of Freedom’s sire, Cee’s Tizzy.

Cee’s Tizzy is a rarity among successful stallions. He showed considerable ability in three wins in Southern California, but his only black type is a third in the G1 Super Derby in 1990 to Home at Last. However, Cee’s Tizzy is by leading sire Relaunch (90 SWs, including With Anticipation, Skywalker and Waquoit), so Cee’s Tizzy was given an opportunity at Harris Farms.

His first crop of 39 foals in 1992 produced 20 winners and 1 SW. His second crop of 45 foals produced 28 winners and 2 SWs, most notably Budroyale – a GSW and second in the G1 Breeders’ Cup Classic to Cat Thief.

Cee’s Tizzy laid claim to a truly special horse when Tiznow came around. In the 2000 Breeders’ Cup Classic, American eyes were on Kentucky Derby winner Fusaichi Pegasus and European eyes were on multiple G1 winner Giant’s Causeway (along with yours truly with a great deal of money!), while Tiznow was allowed to sneak off at a generous 9-1, despite wins in the G1 Super Derby (in a new track record) and G2 Goodwood Stakes; he held off Giant’s Causeway by a head in the BC.

In 2001, Tiznow would win the Breeders’ Cup Classic for the second time. That same year, Cee’s Tizzy had the winner of Eclipse Awards for Champion Older Male (Tiznow) and Champion Older Female, as Gourmet Girl racked up victories in the G1 Apple Blossom H. and G1 Vanity that year.

The switch to synthetics hasn’t bothered Cee’s Tizzy either, as Cost of Freedom shows. Cee’s Tizzy is in his golden years (23 in 2010), but has proven a long-time friend to breeders in California. He stood at Harris Farms for a 2010 fee of $6,500.

Later that same day, Acclamation won the G1 Charles Whittingham Memorial at 10f on the turf. Acclamation is owned by E. W. and Judy Johnston and trained by Donald Warren. He was bred by Old English Rancho, the home of Acclamation’s sire Unusual Heat. A multiple SW in Europe, Unusual Heat is by leading sire Nureyev out of the Swedish Champion Rossard, by Glacial (a stallion tracing back to Pharos). His unusual pedigree and his turf performances (mainly in Europe) made Unusual Heat a hard sell in California. His fee remained under $5,000 for his first several years.

But, perhaps no stallion in California has relished the switch to synthetic surfaces more than Unusual Heat. Recent GSWs on the synthetic surfaces include Golden Doc A, Lightmyfirebaby and Pretty Unusual. His other GSWs are turf performers (both long in Acclamation and short like Unusual Suspect, winner of the G3 Hollywood Turf Express H.).

Unusual Heat was the leading sire in California 2008 and 2009 and is well on his way to be leading sire in 2010. And with average earnings per starter of over $80,000, he is well on way to being one of the best stallions to ever stand in California.  He stood at Old English Rancho for a private fee in 2010.

(Elaine Belval is senior pedigree analyst at WTC.)