With triple stakes winners for Constitution coming just one weekend after American Pharoah was represented his first European group winner, it seems an appropriate time to look at the second season stallions which has been headed by this dynamic duo.
Constitution (by Tapit ), who retired at a fee of $25,000, was runner-up on the freshman sires list. He now has five graded stakes winners from his first crop headed by Tiz the Law , whose victories include the Belmont Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets (G1), Runhappy Travers Stakes (G1), Curlin Florida Derby (G1), and Champagne Stakes (G1). He's also represented by other graded scorers Laura's Light, Amalfi Sunrise, Independence Hall , and By Your Side, with graded-placed Strongconstitution becoming the sixth stakes winner from the crop when taking the Let it Ride Stakes at Del Mar Nov. 1.
Constitution was also represented by juveniles Alexandria, who added the John W. Galbreath Stakes to two previous Ohio-bred stakes wins, and Stephen, who broke his maiden when capturing the Coronation Futurity at Woodbine on Sunday.
There aren't many particularly strong trends emerging yet among preferred crosses for Constitution. Perhaps the most notable is with daughters of Tiznow, which has supplied Tiz the Law and three other stakes-placed horses. Both Dixie Union and Cape Town appear as broodmare sires of a graded winner and a stakes-placed horse. Muqtarib, Empire Maker, Spring at Last, Cherokee Run, and Harlan's Holiday are other successful broodmare sires here.
We should also mention that Constitution has been on fire with his first Chilean crop—foals of 2017—which has already produced five stakes winners, three of them grade 1. Those have been produced out of daughters of Kitten's Joy, Giant's Causeway, and Seeking the Dia. Having been advertised for $25,000 the year before his runners hit the track, Constitution will serve at $85,000 in 2021.
American Pharoah (Pioneerof the Nile) ended 2019 as leading freshman sire, and he has continued apace this year, although some of his success may have been overlooked since it has been spread globally with black-type winners in North America, England, Ireland, France, and Japan. While last year was particularly marked by the speedy 2-year-olds Four Wheel Drive—successful in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf (G2T)—Maven, Turned Aside, and Another Miracle, this year has seen Harvey's Lil Goil take the nine-furlong Queen Elizabeth II Stakes Challenge Cup Stakes Presented by Dixiana (G1T), Pista capture England's Bet 365 Park Hill Stakes (G2) at 9 1/2 furlongs, and Ocean Atlantique take a 10- furlong French classic trial. All of those horses have scored on turf, as has American Pharoah's second crop juvenile group 1 winner Van Gogh, a wide-margin victor of the Criterium International (G1).
This predominance of class on turf came, to us at least, as something of a surprise since American Pharoah seemed the epitome of the long-striding, high-speed cruising dirt horse that has generally not proved best-suited to turf, particularly in Europe where the emphasis is on acceleration. These statements also very much apply to the Fappiano line in general including the branch from which American Pharoah stems, that of Unbridled/Empire Maker. The success reflects, perhaps, an unusually large percentage of turf mares bred to American Pharoah for a horse of his type. He's already showing an affinity for turf influence Sadler's Wells including Galileo and Medaglia d'Oro , as well as for War Front , and has two stakes winners out of More Than Ready mares. Perhaps Europeans are coming to realize that this kind of horse can be effective on grass if ridden to take advantage of his strengths.
That's not to say that American Pharoah hasn't shown potential to sire a top-class dirt runner, and he has two very talented runners on that surface in Japan in Danon Pharaoh, successful in the Japan Dirt Derby, and Café Pharoah, who has taken the Sirius Stakes (G3) and Unicorn Stakes (G3). Overall, we're tending to believe that American Pharoah is a horse whose runners tend to take after the distaff side of the pedigree in aptitude, and that he's more of a factor for class than specific attributes.
In 2019 Daredevil (More Than Ready) stood for just $7,500 and attracted only 21 mares. No surprise then that 2020 found him at stud in Turkey. Few grieved at the end of last year when Daredevil ended his first term with runners in sixteenth position on the freshman list with 12 winners, and one stakes scorer. That sole stakes performer was the gelding Deviant, successful in the El Joven Stakes at Retama Park and the Sunday Silence Stakes at Louisiana Downs. Ten months on, Daredevil is represented by the top two sophomore fillies in the country in Swiss Skydiver, who defeated the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) victor Authentic in an epic Preakness Stakes (G1), and Shedaresthedevil, who upset Swiss Skydiver as the paternal half sisters ran first and second in the Longines Kentucky Oaks (G1). Daredevil is now back in Kentucky and in 2020 will cover for $25,000 at Lane's End Farm, where he will stand as the property of the Turkish Jockey Club.
Liam's Map (Unbridled's Song) retired with disappointing record of Unbridled's Song as a sire of sires to overcome, and the Las Vegas Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1) hero has gone a long way to achieving that. A half brother to red-hot freshman Not This Time , Liam's Map was represented by Runhappy Hopeful Stakes (G1) winner Basin and Frizette Stakes (G1) scorer Wicked Whisper last year. Both are graded scorers again this year, Basin taking the Arkansas Derby (G1) on the disqualification of Charlatan , and Wicked Whisper the Miss Preakness Stakes (G3). In 2020, he added two more stakes winners from that crop, specifically Rushie, who was successful in the Pat Day Mile Stakes Presented by LG and E and KU (G2). There are two more stakes winners in Liam's Map's second crop, including Crazy Beautiful, who was also runner-up in the Darley Alcibiades Stakes (G1).
Tapiture is the second of three Tapit sons among the top 10 second crop sires. Winner of five graded stakes at 2, 3, and 4, and runner-up in the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile, Tapiture has been the most prolific "winner-getter" of this group this year with 71 individual winners (he has 69 winners from his first crop and already another 20 from his second). He has six stakes winners in his first crop including Hopeful Growth, successful in the Monmouth Oaks (G3), as well as the Preakness third Jesus' Team. He also has stakes winner Chicks Dig Scars in his second crop.
Leading regional sire on the list is Khozan , a Distorted Humor half brother to champion Royal Delta who was 2-for-2 before injury ended his career. He's already had 15 stakes horses and five stakes winners and has 45 winners from 62 starters in his first crop.
A.P. Indy's last major sire son, Honor Code, comes next. He has a pair of high-class colts in his first crop in Honor A. P. , who took the Runhappy Santa Anita Derby (G1) and who will stand alongside his sire in 2021. He also has Max Player , a winner of the Withers Stakes (G3) and finished third in the Belmont Stakes and Travers Stakes.
Below these, we'll also give a call to Tonalist (Tapit), whose first crop includes Tonalist's Shape, winner of the Davona Dale Stakes (G2) and Forward Gal Stakes (G3) and Country Grammer , successful in the Peter Pan Stakes (G3); Summer Front, a turf runner by War Front, already has three graded winners including Ete Indien, who took the Fasig-Tipton Fountain of Youth Stakes (G2) on dirt, and Speaktomeofsummer, winner of the Lake Placid Stakes (G2T); another turf horse, Karakontie (Bernstein), who has five stakes winners, including group/graded winners Sole Volante (on dirt) and Kenzai Warrior (who respectively are out of mares by Kingmambo and his son, Lemon Drop Kid, Kingmambo being a three-quarters brother to the granddam of Karakontie with both out of the fabulous Miesque); Palace Malice who has a first crop that has yielded five stakes winners—three graded—including the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Presented by Coolmore America (G1T) winner, Structor, and Risen Star Stakes Presented by Lamarque Ford (G2) winner Mr. Monomoy; and Mr. Speaker (Pulpit), responsible for Central Bank Ashland Stakes (G1) winner Speech.
