The year 2018 highlighted the impact of the loss to breeding of Scat Daddy and Street Cry.
2002 Dubai World Cup – Street Cry (photo: Dubai Racing Club)
Sarah Whitelaw writes that Scat Daddy (Johannesburg), who died at the age of 11 in 2015, made history in 2018 when his unbeaten son Justify won the US Triple Crown, with another son, No Nay Never, stamping himself as a potentially top class sire in his own right.
Street Cry, one of two sons of Machiavellian to have won the Gr1 Dubai World Cup, achieved the rare feat of having two daughters named Horse Of The Year in a single season – with Winx named Australia’s Horse Of The Year for 2017-2018 and Oh Susanna, taking top honours in South Africa for the same season.
Scat Daddy and Street Cry (who died in 2014) both feature in the pedigree of 2018 Cartier Champion 2yo filly Skitter Scatter – who is a daughter of Scat Daddy and the Street Cry mare Dane Street. Skitter Scatter won four of seven in 2018, with her major victory being a two length win in the Gr1 Moyglare Stud Stakes.
A Pivotal Broodmare Sire
Outstanding stallion Pivotal confirmed his status as one of the finest broodmare sires in the world in 2018.
The evergreen son of Polar Falcon was responsible for no fewer than 10 Gr1 winners as a broodmare sire, with his daughters responsible in 2018 for the winners of all of the Gr1 Lockinge Stakes, Gr1 Coronation Cup, Gr1 Champion Stakes, Gr1 Prix Ganay, Gr1 French 2000 Guineas, Gr1 Prix de l’Abbaye, Gr1 Prix de la Foret, Gr1 British Champions Fillies’ & Mares’ Stakes, Gr1 Cheveley Park Stakes, and Gr1 Phoenix Stakes.
Pivotal in his racing days
Sire of well over 100 stakes winners, Pivotal is also the sire of top class French sire Siyouni – whose remarkable daughter Laurens won four Gr1 races in 2018 including the French Oaks.
Locals Shine in South Africa
South African bred stallions continue to make their presence felt her in 2018, with deceased Captain Al continuing to make his mark through Gr1 winners Captain America, Snowdance, Sergeant Hardy and Undercover Agent, and former Horse Of The Year Dynasty enjoying Gr1 success in 2018 with the likes of Eyes Wide Open and Front And Centre.
Two other South African bred sires, Pomodoro and Master Of My Fate – both sons of the South African bred Jet Master – were South Africa’s Leading First Crop Sire by stakes and individual winners respectively for 2017-2018, while Equus Champions Capetown Noir and Vercingetorix have both quickly got off the mark with impressive 2yo first crop winners.
Pomodoro has made a great start
Both Jet Master and Captain Al are enjoying success as a broodmare sires, with Jet Master damsire of top class 3yo’s Silvano’s Jet, Ronnie’s Candy, and Hawwaam, as well as leading Sun Met hope Rainbow Bridge, while Captain Al features as the broodmare sire in 2018 of impressive Gr2 Premier Trophy winner Head Honcho, Gr3 Champagne Stakes winner Freedom Charter, Gr3 Fillies Mile winner Ghallaa and Gr2 SA Nursery winner William The Silent.
Champion Farewell
The world lost two stalwart champion sires in 2018, with the passing of Giant’s Causeway and Encosta De Lago, both of whom not only became champion sires but also went on to enjoy success as sires of sires and broodmare sires.
A former Horse Of The Year – and the best son of Storm Cat – Giant’s Causeway was Champion Sire in the USA on three occasions – 2009, 2010, and 2012 respectively, and his 180 plus stakes winners were headed by more than 30 Gr1 winners.
Giant’s Causeway (photo: Coolmore)
A top-class broodmare sire – his daughters’ progeny include US Horse Of The Year Gun Runner and short-lived South African champion Soft Falling Rain – Giant’s Causeway also left his mark as a sire of sires, with his son Shamardal enjoying top class success at stud. His progeny include fellow top class sire Lope de Vega. Other successful sire sons of Giant’s Causeway include Footstepsinthesand and First Samurai – his triple group winning son Await The Dawn showed promise in South Africa in an all too brief innings at stud.
Encosta De Lago, the best sire son of Fairy King, was both a Champion Sire and Champion Broodmare Sire, and he left behind more than 20 Gr1 winners. Unfortunately, his potentially outstanding sire son Northern Meteor died young – but not before producing the very exciting young stallion Zoustar – whose progeny ran 1-2-3 in the 2018 Gr1 Coolmore Stud Stakes.
Encosta de Lago (Fairy Creek – Shoal Creek)
Another son of Encosta De Lago, Manhattan Rain, is the sire of Golden Slipper winner She Will Reign as well as 2017 Gr1 Sun Met victor Whisky Baron, while current Hong Kong star Beauty Generation was sired by Encosta De Lago’s dual Gr1 winning son Road To Rock.
Both Giant’s Causeway and Encosta De Lago’s progeny enjoyed success in South Africa, with Giant’s Causeway responsible for SA Gr1 winners Our Giant and Blueridge Mountain, and Encosta De Lago is sire of champion and dual G1 winner Delago Deluxe, and Gr1 Rising Sun Gold Challenge victor Mac De Lago.
