He was fast on the track
But American Pharoah’s $200,000 dates with destiny could define his career
The great thoroughbred American Pharoah claimed the Triple Crown last year, the first to accomplish horse racing’s greatest feat in nearly four decades.
But his biggest performance lies ahead — in the breeding barn.
Sometime in the next week or so, as the breeding season gets underway (and the mood is right), the legendary animal will be led to a small chute-like stall at Ashford Stud, an elegant, white-fenced farm in Kentucky’s fabled Bluegrass Country.
Once there, absent soft lighting or the mellow tones of Barry White, he will mount — or to use the somewhat Victorian parlance of horse breeding, he’ll “cover” — a broodmare, as a fleet of attendants and grooms hover nervously.
Thirty seconds or so later, having dispatched his equine DNA for the first time, he’ll be led away, a new horse.
The brief dalliance will have come at a price for the mare’s owner. But because American Pharaoh — sometimes called “the Pharoah” or “AP” around the barn — is untested, his owners are offering a two-for-one deal to entice breeders. At least initially, $200,000 buys two covers.
Expectations are high. If the Pharoah’s offspring prove themselves on the track in the coming years, that figure could climb to $1 million or more per pop.
Or it could plummet.
There are no guarantees in the world of equine unions. Some of the greatest racehorses of all time, in fact, have been disappointments in the breeding barn, while some relative no-namers have turned into record-breaking studs.
The great Cigar, for example, galloped his way into history, becoming the highest-earning horse ever. But his coverage, so to speak, was a bust. He never impregnated a mare. Shot blanks.
Secretariat, like the Pharoah, a Triple Crown winner and considered one of the best racehorses of all time, was also a disappointment. Perhaps expectations were unfairly high, breeding experts say, but Secretariat’s offspring never equalled their sire.
Then there’s Storm Cat. A relatively unimpressive colt with faulty knees who won only a couple of races, his owners practically had to beg for mares when he went to stud. Then, within a couple years, his offspring began doing magical things on the track, sending his stud fees around the clubhouse turn.
By the time his breeding career ended in 2008, he’d sired nearly 1,500 foals, a third of which sold at auction for a total of nearly $320 million. At the peak of his studding career, Storm Cat commanded $500,000 per encounter. He’s widely considered one of the best stallions of all time. (He’s also the Pharoah’s maternal great grandsire.)
But the top studding honor, many racing experts say, goes to Storm Cat’s paternal grandsire, Northern Dancer, an unlikely Canadian-bred stallion who broke records with a $1 million stud fee — a figure that hasn’t been topped yet.
Northern Dancer won the 1964 Preakness and Kentucky Derby, an accomplishment that surprised some racing cognoscenti. He stood only 15.2 hands — short by racing standards — and had a choppy, ungainly stride.
“He’s so little, a cat would chase him,” wrote Los Angeles Times sportswriter, Jim Murray. “But he’s so plucky there’s barely room in him for his heart. His legs are barely long enough to keep his tail off the ground. He probably takes a hundred more strides than anyone else, but he’s harder to pass than a third martini.”
He went on to sire more winners than any horse in the 20th century and completely transformed thoroughbred breeding. An estimated 50% to 75% of today’s thoroughbreds carry his blood — including American Pharoah.
In his Jockey Club records, the Pharoah was originally listed as a “ridgling” — a colt with an undescended testicle. But his bits seem to be in order now, and even if they weren’t, his ancestors clearly overcame some structural challenges.
Now the racing world is just watching to see if he can pass on the speed.
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