This year marks what would have been the 50th birthday of one history’s greatest thoroughbred stallions – Mr Prospector.
A son of the unbeaten Raise A Native and high-class racemare Gold Digger (she won 10 races including back to back runnings of the now Gr3 Gallorette Handicap), Mr Prospector outperformed expectations when he retired to Aisco Farm in Florida and went on to become one of the most influential stallions in history.
Mr Prospector
Sarah Whitelaw writes that Mr Prospector, who, like fellow outstanding stallions Seattle Slew and Tourbillon, traced back in female line to 2000 Guineas/Derby winning mare Shotover, won seven times, including the Gravesend and Whirlaway Handicaps, during a career which saw him set track records over six furlongs at both Gulfstream and Garden State.
The horse, who was sent to Claiborne in 1980, sired 182 stakes winners (46 Gr1) during his lengthy stud career.
Mr Prospector remained active at stud until his death at age 29, with his top liners headed by US classic winners Conquistador Cielo (Belmont Stakes), Tank’s Prospect (Preakness Stakes) and Fusaichi Pegasus (Kentucky Derby).
While ‘Mr P’ sired such champions as Afleet, Aldebaran, Conquistador Cielo, Eillo, It’s In The Air, and Rhythm, it is as a truly exceptional sire of sires and broodmare sire that he will forever be remembered.
Breeders Cup winner Gulch
He sired top-class stallions Carson City, Fappiano, Forty Niner, Gone West, Gulch (sire of, among others, champion US sire Thunder Gulch), Hussonet, Machiavellian, Miswaki (also broodmare sire of Galileo and Sea The Stars), Seeking The Gold and Smart Strike (as well as a plethora of other successful sire sons), while Mr Prospector’s broodmare daughters produced nearly 220 graded stakes winners!
Among the high-class stallions out of daughters of Mr Prospector are Congrats, Flatter, Malibu Moon, Mineshaft, Pulpit, Scat Daddy, Silver Deputy, Storm Boot and Tale Of The Cat, while current top class stallions descended in male line from Mr Prospector include Candy Ride, Curlin, Distorted Humor, Dubawi, Lookin At Lucky, Lord Kanaloa, Munnings, Quality Road, Speightstown, Street Sense, and Trippi.
Other recent top sires, now deceased, descended in male line from Mr Prospector include Unbridled, Roy, Street Cry, Empire Maker and South African multiple champion sire Western Winter.
Western Winter (Gone West – Chilly Hostess)
The dominance of Mr Prospector is well seen in the results of America’s Triple Crown races. Since 1990, the Kentucky Derby has been won by 14 descendants of Mr Prospector, while, in the same time frame, the Preakness has been landed 15 times by Mr P’s descendants and the Belmont Stakes 16 times.
Mr Prospector remains a potent force in thoroughbreds today with a number of his grandsons and great grandsons continuining to their presences felt. His great grandson Dubai (Dubai Millennium) remains one of the world’s elite stallions, with Dubai also now making his mark as a sire of sires through the likes of Night Of Thunder and Makfi.
US Triple Crown winner American Pharoah, North America’s Leading First Crop Sire of 2019, is a prominent young sire descended in male line from Mr Prospector -with American Pharoah’s sire Pioneerof The Nile a great, great grandson of Mr P.
At the time of writing, North America’s General Sires List is headed by Mr Prospector line descendant New Year’s Day, with another Mr P line horse, Midnight Lute, in second place.
Speightstown
Five of the top ten sires on this list – New Year’s Day, Midnight Lute, Speightstown, Curlin, and Munning – are descended in male line from Mr Prospector.
Multiple champion sire Tapit (his outstanding young sire son Constitution has 3 lines of Mr Prospector in his pedigree) is inbred to Mr Prospector as was ill-fated star sire Scat Daddy.
Both unbeaten winners of this year’s Gr1 Arkansas Derby, Nadal (Blame) and Charlatan (Speighstown) are inbred to Mr Prospectotr, and they further underline the impact this magnificent stallion has had on the thoroughbred.
Nadal’s sire Blame is out of a mare by Seeking The Gold, and his broodmare sire Pulpit was produced by Mr Prospector’s Gr1 winning daughter Preach, while the brilliant Charlatan is a son of Mr P’s grandson Speightstown (Gone West) and his G2 winning Authenticity was sired by Mr Prospector’s G1 winning grandson, and top-class broodmare sire, Quiet American (Fappiano).
