When Pioneer of the Nile retired to stud, his fee was no higher than $20,000 (and was soon to fall to $15,000). Even so, Churchill Downs on the first Saturday in May seemed likely to become embedded in the DNA of his best progeny. Pioneer of the Nile had himself made it to the GI [...]

“And the winner is…” is a phrase we hear a lot at this time of year, including in some pretty esoteric categories of the movie industry. So forgive me for introducing a new award for the best broodmare daughter of Unbridled's Song. [...]

Bearing in mind that last week's weather truncated the action in the U.S., I hope you will forgive me for taking an unscheduled wander down memory lane, prompted by a news item in yesterday's TDN. In a brief couple of paragraphs, it was reported that Mill Reef's son Creator (GB), winner of the G1 Prix [...]

Do any of you remember “He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother,” a song which was successful for such as The Hollies, Neil Diamond and Rufus Wainwright? Well, it certainly had nothing to do with horse racing but the opening verse always springs to mind about this time of year, as the build up to the [...]

When TDN published a list of the most prolific sires of this year=s Triple Crown nominees on Feb. 1, the list- -naturally enough–read pretty much like a Who=s Who of American stallions. [...]

With his 5-year-old sons Mshawish and Valid pulling off a fine graded stakes double at Gulfstream Park three days ago, Medaglia d'Oro earned my vote for stallion of the week. [...]

What to write about? The obvious choices include Callback, who led home a one-two for Street Sense in the GI Las Virgenes S., and Pulpit's son Lord Nelson, who used his five-pound concession to narrowly get the better of Texas Red in the GII San Vicente S. [...]

Lightning doesn't strike twice in the same place, or so it's said, but it occasionally does in the world of Thoroughbred breeding. Over the years there have been plenty of examples of full-brothers enjoying Grade I success as stallions, sometimes with two, three or even four brothers involved. [...]

As last week was quiet on the racing front, now seems an ideal chance to catch up on one of the Eclipse Award winners who had previously slipped through the Caulfield net. As American Pharoah (Pioneerof the Nile) will surely be adding to his pair of Grade Iwins in the coming months, perhaps I should [...]

Santa Anita's GIII Sham S.–named in honor of the GI Santa Anita Derby winner who chased home Secretariat in the GI Kentucky Derby and GI Preakness S.–has built an impressive record since it achieved Grade III status in 2006. [...]

“Upgrades his mares” is a proud claim often made of stallions, but the reality is that most stallions are only as good as the mares they receive. There are exceptions, of course, such as the $150,000 War Front and the $300,000 Tapit. These two currently rank first and third on the Blood-Horse's table of leading [...]

Over the years Airdrie Stud has helped develop several very successful stallions, prime examples being Silver Hawk, Harlan's Holiday and Indian Charlie. But even a stallion station of Airdrie's proven track record can find it hard to establish a young stallion whose resume is a little light–either on the score of fashionable bloodlines or performance [...]