| SID FERNANDO COLUMN |
THE GRASS IS GREENER STATESIDE necdotally, you’ve noticed more and more grass racing nowadays, so I asked researcher Chris Rossi to provide some facts, and he did. The conclusion: Over the last 25 years, opportunities for turf horses in the United States of America have never been greater than they are now. Since 1953, when Chilean-bred Iceberg ll was crowned the first American turf champion, America has had a lucrative turf stakes program, mostly for older runners. Let’s quantify it over the last quartercentury: In 1993, 148 of 448 Graded races, or 33 percent, were on turf. Last year, 178 of 455 Graded races, or 39 percent, were conducted on turf. While the 2017 numbers are six-percent higher than from 25 years ago, the uptick is modest in relation to the double-digit gains all around for turf racing beneath the Graded stakes level. In 1993, six percent of all races (excluding jumps racing) were on turf; in contrast, that figure was 17 percent in 2017 – a significant increase. The effect has been amplified as racing has contracted over the same time frame, from 65,123 races to 37,483, while the foal crop in America has shrunk from the mid30,000 range to the low 20,000 mark. And how about this startling statistic? There were only 58 maiden special weights on turf for two-year-olds 25 years ago, but last year there were 265. And the percentage of all maiden special races on turf has risen from eight to 22 over the same time span. This indicates there’s a program in place now to develop American turf horses from the get-go, instead of a haphazard route to grass. Before, poor dirt performers running out of options were tried on turf as a last resort, or older dirt horses were switched to grass for the money on offer in turf stakes races.
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WHAT THIS MEANS
There’s now more money to be made on U.S. racetracks by patronizing turf horses at stud. And because turf is largely synonymous with distance, the profile of the breed will be affected, too. Before, at various times in
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recent history, these types were used either by commercial breeders and owner-breeders at the top end of the spectrum or largely ignored and/or sold abroad. If a turf horse made it here it was because he got good dirt horses, or because his sons and daughters were in high demand for European racing and were sustained by the elite commercial marketplace, as happened in the 1980s when some of the best turf sires in the world stood in America. Some turf stallions made the transition to dirt, others didn’t, but now that the racing landscape Stateside is more turffriendly, more horses with turf form or breeding are entering stud at an increasing rate at various price points. And they are now viable options for breeders and buyers alike at all levels.
THERE’S NOW MORE MONEY TO BE MADE ON U.S. RACETRACKS BY PATRONIZING TURF HORSES AT STUD. Kitten’s Joy, the 2004 champion turf horse, is an important figure in this transition. A son of the imported Sadler’s Wells horse El Prado – who got dirt and turf runners – Kitten’s Joy did the unthinkable in 2013 when he led the general sire list as primarily a sire of American turf and all-weather horses. Unlike other turf champions from the past that have led the general sire list, like Round Table in 1972, T.V. Lark in 1974, and Dr. Fager in 1977, Kitten’s Joy doesn’t get many high-quality dirt runners. All 11 of his G1 winners to date are turf horses, and he has essentially demonstrated that a living can be made on American grass alone. That was implausible in the past. In 1993, the champion turf horse was the ex-European Kotashaan, a French-bred son of Darshaan. He was sold to Japan
at the end of his racing career, as was the 1994 champion, U.S.-bred Paradise Creek, a son of the imported Irish River. Neither was considered viable enough to stand at stud here, especially versus the money to be made by selling abroad. The 1995 champion was Irish-bred Northern Spur, a son of Sadler’s Wells who did stand in America, but not successfully, and he seemed to prove the point. Of course, back then his progeny didn’t have the opportunities that the Kitten’s Joys do now. Between this group and Kitten’s Joy in 2004 came the foreign raiders – European-raced or -bred turf champions Singspiel (1996), Daylami (1999), Kalanisi (2000), Fantastic Light (2001), and High Chaparral (2002 and 2003), none of which entered stud in the U.S. The 1997 champion was Chief Bearhart, a Canadianbred who was sold to Japan, and the 1998 champion was Buck’s Boy, a gelding. Since Kitten’s Joy, most turf champions, excluding geldings Wise Dan (2012 and 2013) and Main Sequence (2014), have been given an opportunity at stud in America – an example of the cultural shift that’s represented by the statistics noted here. Brazilian-bred Leroidesanimaux (2005) started here and transcended turf by getting Kentucky Derby winner Animal Kingdom. English Channel (2007) has become an excellent turf sire who gets the good dirt horse now and then, too. Gio Ponti (2009 and 2010) got a Queen’s Plate winner on the all-weather and a champion dirt sprinter in his first crop. Irish-bred Cape Blanco (2011) started here before going to Japan, and Big Blue Kitten (2015) and British-bred Flintshire (2016) have begun their stud careers in Kentucky. Only Miesque’s Approval (2006), who was sold to South Africa, and Irish-bred raider Conduit (2008) did not enter stud here. Aside from the turf champions noted here, there are a number of other stallions with turf profiles that are now at stud too, and their assimilation into the population will be beneficial for the long-term development of the breed. That makes the grass greener here in more ways than one.