Fiber Sonde, a nine-time leader in West Virginia and prominent Mid-Atlantic sire, has died at 21, according to a Sept. 28 Facebook post by Cyndy McKee with Beau Ridge Farm, where the stallion stood his enter stud career.
"With deepest regret Beau Ridge Farm announces the passing of Fiber Sonde my heart is not broken, it's shattered. The greatest gift that God entrusted us with he has taken home," McKee posted.
The big gray unraced son of Unbridled's Song and half brother to prominent sire and champion Speightstown punched well above his market weight, having never stood for more than $1,000. He would sire 239 winners from 15 crops to race, which is 82% winners from starters. He sired 24 black-type winners led by graded stakes winners Runnin'toluvya, who won the 2019 Charles Town Classic Stakes (G2), and Late Night Pow Wow, who won the 2018 Charles Town Oaks (G2). His top performers also included five-time stakes winner and millionaire Muad'dib.
"We've lost a backbone of West Virginia racing," posted Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races on Facebook. "From his stall at Beau Ridge Farm, just down the road from us, he built a legacy you can see on our track almost every night we run.
"Late Night Pow Wow. Muad'dib. Penguin Power. Duncan Idaho. And many more who've won races for West Virginia owners, breeders, trainers and fans. If you've cashed a ticket on a WV-bred at Charles Town in the last decade, there's a good chance you were betting on a Fiber Sonde.
"He was bred in Kentucky, but he belonged to West Virginia. He was the most influential stallion here for nearly two decades," the post continued. "Thank you to the McKee family and everyone at Beau Ridge who cared for him. And thank you, Fiber Sonde, for everything you gave this place."
Aaron and Marie Jones bred Fiber Sonde out of the Storm Cat stakes winner Silken Cat, who also is the dam of 2017 Blue Grass Stakes (G2) winner and Pennsylvania Derby (G1) runner-up Irap. Beau Ridge Farm owner John McKee bought Fiber Sonde in 2007 for $8,000.
Fiber Sonde started out strong by becoming West Virginia's leading freshman sire in 2011 and stayed on top through his second-crop and third-crop years. In 2017, he ranked third among all the state's sires with progeny earnings that exceeded $1 million for the first time in a calendar year, but was the co-leading sire by number of black-type winners with three alongside leading sire Windsor Castle.
Fiber Sonde first became West Virginia's general leading sire in 2018 and held that position through 2023. In the Mid-Atlantic, he rose as high as third among all the sires in region in 2019 when his runners collectively earned $3,859,836. He was the leading Mid-Atlantic sire that year by number of graded stakes winners with two, which included Runnin'toluvya. He was among the Mid-Atlantic's top five sires in 2018-21.
For his stud career to date, Fiber Sonde's progeny have earned $26,514,250 and average $91,428 per starter, which is nearly 2.8 times higher than the average per starter ($32,959) in the United States for 2025.
Despite Fiber Sonde's consistent success, John McKee told BloodHorse prior to the 2021 breeding season that he's never been tempted to increase the stallion's stud fee.
"I have had people ask me why they aren't paying more for a stud fee," McKee said with a chuckle. "I also have people who contact me and tell me they have a nice mare and want to know what kind of break they can get."
McKee recalled when he first started breeding horses, he had asked for a break on a $500 stud fee.
"I was told that everyone pays $500 then found out later that some people were paying $100," McKee said. "I told myself, if I'm ever in this position, I'm not going to do that. I haven't to this day. I charge a fee that's fair and everyone pays it."
