Successful Crestwood Farm stallion Get Stormy died unexpectedly March 6 at the age of 16 from a condition that appeared to be heart related, according to the farm. The son of Stormy Atlantic was bred and owned by Mary A. Sullivan, who raced him in the name of her Sullimar Stables.
"Get Stormy was an amazing racehorse and came to us with all the credentials and a tremendous following. He was such a great physical, and was a pleasure to be around," said Pope McLean of Crestwood Farm. "He was poised to become a top sire, as his best bred crops have yet to race. We are sorry and shocked; he is a great loss to our farm and Storm Cat's legacy."
Tom Bush trained Get Stormy during most of his five-year racing career that included wins in seven graded stakes. He became a winner at 2 and at 3 strung together three consecutive stakes wins in the Lure Stakes at Saratoga Race Course, Bryan Station Stakes (G3T) at Keeneland, and the Commonwealth Turf Stakes (G3T) at Churchill Downs. He would go on to win graded stakes at 4-6, capturing his first grade 1 in the 2011 Marker's Mark Mile Stakes (G1T) and following that effort with a victory in the Woodford Reserve Turf Classic Stakes (G1T). At 6, Get Stormy won the Gulfstream Park Turf Handicap (G1T) and placed in two other graded stakes. From 31 career starts, he compiled a record of 11-5-4 and earned $1,606,812.
"It's incredible, he was a horse I thought would be finished breeding in another four or five years, and then he'd probably live another 10. I thought he'd live to 30. He was such a big, strong, healthy horse. I was shocked that he had something like that happen to him," Bush said.
"He had that magnetism about him...he took a lot of special attention to keep him relaxed and (he had to be) trained like he needed to be trained. He loved to travel, he went all over the place on the airplanes with us and he was a big part of my relationship with Ms. Sullivan too. That's what makes the horses so special; it's the people that you're associated with that make such a big difference."
Get Stormy was popular his first year at stud when he arrived at Crestwood Farm, breeding 120 mares in his first season. Get Stormy's first crop included nine-time stakes winner Fifty Five, who won the Florida Oaks (G3T) on her way to earning $1,088,288 and being named New York champion 3-year-old filly for 2017 and New York champion turf female in 2019. The first crop also included multiple grade 3 winner Storm the Hill.
Get Stormy's most prolific runner is multiple grade 1 winner Got Stormy, owned by Spendthrift Farm and My Racehorse Stable, who earned $2,468,403 racing from 2-6. Bred in Kentucky by Mt. Joy Stables, Pope McLean, Marc McLean, and Pope McLean Jr., the 7-year-old mare won the Fourstardave Handicap (G1T) in 2019 and 2021 for trainer Mark Casse. In her initial win in the Fourstardave, she set a Saratoga course record of 1:32 for the mile, while defeating males. In December 2019 Got Stormy added the Matriarch Stakes (G1T) at Del Mar to her tally of six graded stakes wins overall.
As of March 5, Get Stormy has sired 123 winners and 11 stakes winners, which include six in graded stakes company. Got Stormy's top performers also include Get Smokin, Storm the Hill, Go Noni Go, and Getmotherarose. His progeny have earned a combined $12,188,748 and averaged $53,229 per starter. While eight of his stakes winners thrived on grass, he also sired three stakes winners on dirt, led by multiple stakes winner Raintree Starlet.
"I think this 2-year-old book is one of his bigger books, a few nicer kinds of mares too so maybe he'll give us a few more runners in his next crop," Bush said.
