Freshman Sire Contest
Sponsored by David L. Mullins of Doninga.com

The deadline to enter the Freshman Sire Contest was April 1, 2006. The winner will be announced in January 2007.

To see your selections, enter your email address and press the Submit pushbutton

In the February 4 issue of THOROUGHBRED TIMES, four experts each selected the stallion that they think will become the leading freshman sire in North America in 2006.

You can check out the experts’ selections here:

• Barry Berkelhammer 
• John B. Prather
• Tim Ritchey 
• Murray Smith 

$250 up for grabs in Freshman Sire Contest

YOU ARE INVITED to test your skill at predicting the performance of this year's crop of freshman sires by entering the online Thoroughbred Times Freshman Sire Contest.

To enter the contest, you must choose the stallions you think will become the leading first-crop sires of 2006 from three lists based on initial stud fees:

•     $10,000 and higher;
•     $5,000 to $8,500; and
•     $2,500 to $4,500.

Only those stallions that appear on the lists below can be used in making selections for the purposes of this contest. Deadline for entering is April 1, 2006. The winning entry will contain the names of the number one stallion in each of the three categories of stud fees, with the winner being paid $250.

If no entry includes the three correct names, the winner will be determined by using the year-end rankings on the Thoroughbred Times freshman sire list of 2006. For each individual entry, the final sire ranking for each of the three sires will be added together, with the entry with the lowest total number of points being the winner. In the case of a tie for first, the highest combined progeny earnings for the three selected stallions on a given entry will serve as the tiebreaker. If there is still a tie, a blind draw will be used.

The winner will be announced in Thoroughbred Times in January 2007. For more information and complete contest rules, visit www.thoroughbredtimes.com. There will be a link to the contest on the left side of the page that contains an index of all the contents, plus a button on the right side that provides a link.

The deadline to enter the Freshman Sire Contest is April 1, 2006. You can follow the progress of the year’s freshman sires by visiting the Sire Lists section of www.thoroughbredtimes.com. For complete contest rules, click here.

Freshman sires with first crop of two-year-olds in 2006 (Adobe pdf format)

In order to view Adobe pdf formated files, Adobe Acrobat Reader is required. To download your free copy click below.

2006 Freshman Sire Contest Rules

   1. The deadline to enter the Freshman Sire Contest is midnight April 1, 2006. All entries must be made on THOROUGHBRED TIMES’S Web site (www.thoroughbredtimes.com).
   2. Each entry must contain the entrant’s complete name, mailing address, and e-mail address.
   3. Only one entry per individual will be accepted (if more than one is submitted, the earliest one will be used).
   4. No fax or regular post office mail entries will be accepted.
   5. Eligible stallions for this contest are those whose names appear on the provided table and whose names appear in the drop-down boxes to be used for selections. No other freshman sires of 2006 can be used for the purpose of this contest.
   6. All entries must contain a selection in each of three categories based on initial stud fee range—$10,000 and above, $5,000 to $8,500, and $2,500 to $4,500—all with different sire’s names.
   7. The entry that most correctly predicts the top-ranked stallion in each of the three stud fee ranges on the final THOROUGHBRED TIMES Freshman Sire List of 2006 will be chosen as the winning entry as determined by THOROUGHBRED TIMES judges.
   8. In the event that no entry selects the top-ranked stallion in each of the three stud fee ranges, the numbers at which each stallion ranked on the final THOROUGHBRED TIMES Freshman Sire List of 2006 will be added together for each entry, with the lowest total number determining the winner.
   9. In the event of a tie for first, the highest combined progeny earnings for the three selected stallions on the entry will serve as the tiebreaker. If there is still a tie, a blind draw will be used. All decisions of the judges are final.
  10. The winning entry will be announced in January 2007, with $250.00 awarded to the winner.
  11. By entering the contest, the winner hereby gives permission to THOROUGHBRED TIMES to use his or her name in promotional materials in announcing the results of the contest.
  12. Employees of and/or regular contributors to THOROUGHBRED TIMES are not eligible.
  13. To obtain results of the contest, send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to: THOROUGHBRED TIMES Freshman Sires Contest Results, P.O. Box 8237, Lexington, KY 40533.
  14. For more information about the Freshman Sires Contest, call Amy Owens at THOROUGHBRED TIMES at (859) 260-9800, ext. 114, or e-mail her.

Came Home for early success and two turns

Florida horseman Barry Berkelhammer consigned two-year-olds for years through his Abracadabra Farm, but he acquired greater fame through his purchase of multiple champion Ashado and Grade 1-winning millionaire Harlan's Holiday for his clients, which include Jack and Laurie Wolf's Starlight Stable.

Berkelhammer's selections for the leading freshman sire of 2006 are:

1. Came Home
2. Street Cry (Ire)
3. Yonaguska
4. Jump Start
5. Graeme Hall

I loved Came Home as a racehorse. His pedigree, being by Gone West, he was precocious, had a lot of speed and had the pedigree to carry that speed over a distance of ground. I think he'll throw good two-year-olds that can carry it two turns.

Street Cry (Ire) is a great outcross for our American pedigrees. Again, he had natural speed but could carry it across a route of ground. I always thought he was a very scopey horse with a lot of speed, and he should do well with our American mares.

Being a Cherokee Run-[Yonaguskas] have a lot of speed-Yonaguska had a lot of speed himself. I was very impressed by his babies I saw at the yearling sales. They looked a lot like him and had some scope to go with it. I think he'll be a good sire of two-year-olds, but they might be a little limited in how far they'll go.

Jump Start is a very good-looking horse, for one. He fits the same criteria: He was a fast two-year-old himself, and he's an impressive-looking horse with a great pedigree, and I think he'll pass it on.

Graeme Hall I saw at the races on several occasions, and I was very impressed with his looks. I always liked [his sire] Dehere, and there aren't a lot of them out there. I always thought Dehere would be a good sire of sires, though it looks like he'll not have too many chances. Graeme Hall has not been on the commercial radar and has a limited crop, but I think he has a very good chance of producing precocious two-year-olds.

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Freshmen with the *La Troienne factor

John B. Prather began his career as a pedigree analyst with Lee Eaton, but he earned lasting fame as the man behind the pedigree of 2003 Kentucky Derby (G1) winner Funny Cide as an adviser to the gelding's breeder, WinStar Farm.

Prather's selections for the leading freshman sire of 2006 are:

1. Yonaguska
2. Buddha
3. Came Home
4. Officer
5. Jump Start

My top five list includes four stallions that were good two-year-olds. Four of the five stood for no more than $15,000. My early years working for Lee Eaton instilled in me the importance of speed in the breeding game, and it is speed that I first look for in the mating game.

The 2000 Hopeful Stakes (G1) winner, Yonaguska, is my first choice. He is a Blushing Groom (Fr)-line stallion that has no Northern Dancer in his pedigree. Yonaguska has five strains of the influential mare *La Troienne and should do well with mares that return this strain to him. I think this stallion got a lot of mares that fit him and reinforce his pedigree well.

Buddha is by Unbridled's Song, who is gaining in popularity, out of a Storm Cat mare. His second dam is by The Axe II, and his third dam is a half sister to Damascus. Buddha has four strains of *La Troienne and should do well with mares that return this strain. This stallion was well supported by his farm in his mates.

When Came Home was a top two-year-old in 2001, I forecast that he would be the leading freshman sire of ‘06, and I certainly like his chances now. Came Home's win in the Pacific Classic Stakes (G1) at three silenced those who doubted he could get 1 1/4 miles in a Sallee van (including me), and he is by the sire of sires Gone West. His pedigree is laced with speed elements, which I think will allow him to upgrade most mares for speed.

Officer is another top two-year-old who won major juvenile races on both coasts. Officer also has a plethora of speed strains, and I expect him to upgrade most mares for speed. Officer has four strains of *La Troienne and traces tail female to that mare, as his fifth dam was a half sister to Buckpasser.

Jump Start was a good two-year-old with an all-star pedigree, by A.P. Indy out of a graded stakes-placed Storm Cat daughter of a full sister to the very good sire Miswaki. I think this horse received a good number of mares that nicely reinforced his rich pedigree. Jump Start has four strains of *La Troienne, something not required in the pedigree of successful stallions, but it sure doesn't hurt.

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Good looks from Johannesburg

Tim Ritchey plucked the biggest prize from the two-year-old sales of 2004, paying only $75,000 for eventual champion three-year-old male Afleet Alex at the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic May sale of two-year-olds in training at Timonium, Maryland. Ritchey garnered nationwide attention for his unorthodox methods with Afleet Alex, but he also has trained graded winners Smart Guy, Fancy Freda, Cat Be Nimble, and $802,704 earner Docent.

Ritchey's selections for the leading freshman sire of 2006 are:

1. Johannesburg
2. Came Home
3. Orientate
4. Officer
5. Jump Start

Johannesburg was a very good two-year-old, obviously, and his pedigree is full of sires of two-year-olds. The ones that I've seen have been very good-looking individuals and look like they'll be good two-year-olds. I have one filly [Miss Goodnight] in my stable I purchased at the Fasig-Tipton [Midlantic Eastern fall] yearling sale out of Night Fax, who was a multiple stakes winner.

Came Home is very similar; he gets very well-made individuals. I couldn't afford any of the ones by him that I liked. Gone West is obviously a very good sire of sires, and they're very well-balanced horses, the ones that I've seen.

Orientate was a very fast horse, and typically fast horses can get fast two-year-olds. He has a lot of foals out there, and numbers-wise, he'll be very well represented. Mt. Livermore is one of my favorite lines, and he's a horse I would expect to excel as a two-year-old sire.

Officer is a little more of a stretch, but I have one in my barn that I like quite a bit. He was a very good two-year-old who obviously had some problems and couldn't go on, but the few babies I've seen by him look like they'll be very quick and be early.

Jump Start was a very affordable sire with a $5,000 stud fee. The pedigree is outstanding on him. He was cut out to be a very good horse but got injured. The ones I've seen by him I liked a lot. They have more size, so they could be a bit later, but they all have great walks. At that fee, I don't know what kind of mares he got, but the offspring have a good quality look.

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Impressed with Include

Murray Smith gained nationwide fame in 2001 when Monarchos, a colt she pinhooked as a yearling and sold as a juvenile, captured the Kentucky Derby (G1). She enjoyed an even better year in 2005, when she sold ill-fated Grade 2 winner What a Song for a sale-topping $1.9-million at the Barretts March sale of selected two-year-olds.

Smith bought back Wild Fit for $240,000 at the same sale, but after the daughter of Wild Wonder captured the Del Mar Debutante Stakes (G1) and ran second in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G2), Smith and Brewer Racing Stable sold her for $3-million at the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky November sale.

Smith's selections for the leading freshman sire of 2006 are:

1. Include
2. Yonaguska
3. Buddha
4. Officer
5. Snow Ridge

My number one pick is Include. If I saw 20 of them at the yearling sales last year, I wanted to buy 18 of them. They had good bone, were very well balanced, they had big hips, and they had scope. They looked to me like they could be early but also looked like they could go two turns. Every one of them scoped good, which is huge these days.

Broad Brush [Include's sire] is classic two turns, and [Include's broodmare sire] Stop the Music made them pretty. I was very impressed with them.

Yonaguska, they're very well-balanced horses and look like they'll run early but not be just sprinters. They looked like the good Cherokee Runs [Yonaguska's sire]. A lot of them were good looking; not too big, an average size. A lot of real big horses don't run early.

The Buddhas that were from the right type mare were outstanding, and there were enough of them that were good ones. They were very athletic. I've always been a fan of Unbridled's Song, and Buddha himself was on my short list at the yearling sales that year.

Officer was such a gorgeous individual and a gorgeous racehorse, and they all looked good. He was such an outcross to anything, it seemed like you could breed him to anything and get a nice horse. The ones I saw seemed to resemble him.

When I saw Snow Ridge at the stallion show down here, he was most impressive, and I looked forward to seeing his yearlings. I've got one that's the spitting image of him. I paid $200,000 for him, and he's very precocious and good-minded and fast.

Two other horses that I like a lot-Outofthebox, all of them I've seen are big and strong, he's kind of my sleeper, and Three Wonders, I haven't seen a ton of, but he's worth mentioning.

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