In the 14 years since his death, the great Seattle Slew has continued to make his presence felt on the stud book, writes Sarah Whitelaw.
Seattle Slew
Not only has his son A P Indy founded a strong and thriving dynasty, but Seattle Slew’s maternal grandsons, Stormy Atlantic and Lemon Drop Kid, have both continued to make their mark.
Another out of a Seattle Slew mare is the sadly deceased Sail From Seattle (Gone West), whose son, Gulf Storm, won the recent G1 Betting World Cape Flying Championship.
World Cup
Three of the top four in the betting (California Chrome, Frosted, Effinex) for the 2016 Dubai World Cup are Seattle Slew line descendants, and it certainly looks likely that the winner of that race could emerge from that foursome.
The Slew male line has well and truly come to the fore already in 2016, with no fewer than four of the top ten sires on the US general sires list (Tapit, Bernardini, Congrats, Flatter) by either A P Indy or Pulpit.
Another son of A P Indy, Mineshaft, is the sire of one of US’ top older horses in Effinex, and is also the sire of impressive recent G3 Southwest Stakes winner Suddenbreakingnews, who could well give this powerful male line yet another US classic contender.
Tapit
Tapit, who has headed the US General Sires List for the past two years, with his progeny smashing the all time record for prize money earned, is once again on top of the sires list, with his offspring including Mohaymen and Frosted.
Bernardini
Darley’s Bernardini, arguably A P Indy’s best son on the track, had a break out year in 2015 when represented by no fewer than 5 Grade One winners, and is currently the third leading sire, by stakes; the 2006 Preakness Stakes winner looks set to have another good season.
Bernardini
It could be another big year for the former US Champion 3YO, who also has 2016 classic prospects Greenpointcrusader, Shagaf and Zulu to his name. While Bernardini has certainly been given every chance to succeed at stud, with the sire covering outstanding books of mares early on in his stud career, his ability to come up with Grade One winners cannot be denied –he is currently responsible for 13 top level winners.
Brothers Congrats and Flatter (A P Indy out of Praise) occupy fourth and tenth spots on the list, with former Leading First Crop Sire, Congrats, enjoying a particularly good run with his 3yo fillies. Congrats’ sophomore fillies this year include brilliant UAE 1000 Guineas winner, Polar River, Saturday’s G2 Rachel Alexandra Stakes winner, Venus Valentine and Gr3 Santa Ynes Stakes victress, Forever Darling. North America’s Leading First Crop Sire in 2010 (when Bernardini was third) Congrats, who was placed in both the Gr1 Santa Anita Handicap and Gr1 Hollywood Gold Cup, is very much a “filly” sire, with his six top performers to date all members of the fairer sex.
Very Flattering
In contrast, Congrats’ own brother, Flatter, who has built up a reputation as a consistently successful sire (33 stakes winners -5%SW to foals) is best known as the sire of top class horse, Flat Out, a dual winner of the Gr1 Jockey Club Gold Cup, who is currently standing at Spendthrift Stud.
Interestingly, Congrats and Flatter continue to spread the great run of success of sire sons of A P Indy out of Mr Prospector mares, with this cross having also produced the likes of Pulpit and Malibu Moon.
The Slew male line is also making its mark on North America’s Leading Second Crop Sire List, where, remarkably, five of the top sires (Friesan Fire, First Dude, Trappe Shot, Wilburn and Girolamo) are male line descendants of the former Horse Of The Year.
This male line is also succeeding as broodmare sires, with A P Indy leading the list in North America in 2015.
1992 Breeders Cup winner, A.P. Indy
Damsire of over 130 stakes winners to date, A P Indy is represented as the broodmare sire of G1 Gulfstream Park Handicap winner, Lukes Alley (Flower Alley) this year. He is also the damsire of one of North America’s most exciting young sires in the form of Super Saver (Maria’s Mon), whose first crop included three Grade One winners, most notably champion sprinter Runhappy.
Another champion son of Seattle Slew to succeed as a broodmare sire is the ill-fated 2yo champ, Vindication. The unbeaten Gr1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile winner has just 60 daughters active at stud but they have already produced eight stakes winners (13%), including Gr1 Malibu Stakes winner and young sire, Shakin It Up (Midnight Lute) and 2016 Triple Crown hope, Exaggerator (Curlin).
Inbreeding to Slew is also becoming increasingly successful and trends suggest that this pattern will continue to grow and flourish.
Present Day
Some of the top current racehorses are inbred to the 1977 Triple Crown winner, with this list including Gr1 Wood Memorial Stakes winner and leading Gr1 Dubai World Cup hopeful, Frosted (Tapit), Gr1 Los Alamitos Futurity winner and Kentucky Derby prospect, Mor Spirit (Eskendereya) and unbeaten 3yo and Kentucky Derby strong fancy, Mohaymen (Tapit).
Frosted wins Gr2 Penn Derby
Both Mor Spirit and Mohaymen are out of mares by the very successful Dixie Union (who is from the same family as champion SA sire, Fort Wood), whose dam is by Seattle Slew’s Champion 2YO, Capote.
Other grade one winners inbred to “Slew” include Condo Commando (Tiz Wonderful), Constitution (Tapit), and Morning Line (Tiznow).
With the growing number of Tapit sons at stud, Super Saver’s growing prominence at stud, added to the growing success of the likes of Tiznow and Lemon Drop Kid as broodmare sires, the number of top flight horses inbred to one of North America’s greatest racing sons is still likely to grow significantly.
