As for stallions born in 1992: Tejano Run has only 1, Mecke only 1, Timber Country only 1. Well at least the winner of the ’95 Derby, Thunder Gulch, has 3. While those Derby runners were the cream of the 1992 crop Smart Strike has had 4 since 1998. And, what am I talking about? Howsabout Millionaire offspring. Now the question is who the hell is Smart Strike? Racing fans of New Jersey might remember him winning the Iselin (and you thought Ghostzapper made that race famous) and the Salvatore Mile in 1996, but he’s made the most news in the breeding shed and people across the country are realizing what I’ve known (being married to one) for going on 6 years: Canadian breds are hot!
Smart Strike comes from a tail female line that is the pride of Canada (on the lines of Gretzky and alcoholic content in beer, yeah that’s a lot of pride). Coming from 3 great producing mares in a row, he is related to champion producers and runners of different ages, surfaces, and countries. It started with the misnamed No Class (1969), and Avalyn Hunter writes a very interesting account of the family here. But, not everyone is reading every pedigree post on the internet so you can excuse people who didn’t find him when he started his stud career at Lane’s End at $15,000. I mean winning 2 New Jersey stakes doesn’t really grab people’s attention, but throwing 9% stakes winners does, and one our Bloggers did note his value and attributes this past December (Warstone Farm).
As for being a son of Mr. Prospector I’d say he’s having the career many hoped for FuPeg, whose career hasn’t quite panned out so far. It’s gotta be a real thorn in the side of Ashford as Lane’s End is a close neighbor in Kentucky, and Ashford is looking like they got the lemon. Smart Strike’s fee has gone up accordingly as more people are drawn towards his exceptional stats: I have a call into Lane’s End wondering where he started his fee, but here are the last few years, trolled from the internet might not be 100% accurate:
20,000 In 2004
30,000 In 2005
50,000 in 2006
75,000 in 2007
Who can you add to your virtual stable for this season? Well here are a few of his winners currently age 3 and male, mostly on the turf, but many of these horses show the ability on both surfaces, and could be great on the synthetic surfaces: Brooklyns Smart (recent winner noted by Alan), Dan McGrew a 250k who just broke his maiden by 10 lengths, Pleasant Strike, Richland Creek 135k bred by LaPenta, Sedgefield 300k 2nd in the Tropical Park Derby, Strike a Deal 350k Laurel Futurity winner, 2nd in the Pilgrim, Strong Strike, Twilight Meteor 1st in the Bourbon. So, there you go.
Really just not a lot to blog about other than Barbaro right now and I have to admit it bummed me out more than I thought it would, hence the light posting. Big weekend coming up at Gulfstream, I’ll have to get to Monmouth to do a little simulcasting. |
