Desert Crown wins the Derby

Does injury-plagued Derby winner Desert Crown deserve a place at stud?


Let me begin by emphasising the only thing that matters is Desert Crown making a full recovery from his recent injury at home.

What happens thereafter is frivolous and quite frankly irrelevant by comparison. Positive affirmations and manifestation are common practice today and can only help, so this analysis is written with unwavering belief and optimism that a full recovery is on the cards.

As Desert Crown receives the best possible veterinary care in the world, the racing public has been debating a scarcely believable question – does last year’s emphatic Derby hero deserve a place at stud?

In years gone by, such a proposition would be met with widespread outrage. Now, in years gone by, there has not been a Derby winner who only made it to the racecourse on four occasions. Equally, there haven’t been many who have passed the famous 'piece of wood' in front to maintain an unbeaten record either, nor are there many who took York’s key Derby trial with such ease on only their second start.

Setbacks and injuries callously denied the opportunity to put three-year-old Desert Crown to the test against the older brigade. As a four-year-old he has made just one start, succumbing only to the revitalised and now multiple G1 winner Hukum in a captivating race at Sandown, losing only his unbeaten record in defeat.

Fragility is the only apparent chink in Desert Crown’s armour, yet he appears to have been labelled an undesirable stallion prospect by some. As the oldest saying in the book goes, think before you speak.

Here are four breed-shaping sires whom without their existence and opportunity at stud, the thoroughbred would be a very different animal indeed.


WATCH: Re-live Desert Crown's sumptuous Derby success in 2022

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Danzig

It may surprise you to read that Danzig made just three starts, none of which were in stakes company. The combined winning distance of his victories amounted to almost 22 lengths so although injury plagued Danzig and cut short a career that promised so much, his raw talent and natural ability were thankfully obvious.

Whilst preparing for his debut, an unfortunate training incident resulted in a chip in his knee. Fortune favoured him elsewhere though in the shape of his trainer, Hall of Famer Woody Stephens, who convinced Claiborne Farm he deserved a chance at stud and the rest truly is history. Danzig’s influence on the breed as a sire of sires would need a book to do him justice.

From the brilliant sprinter Dayjur on these shores to eight-time Grade 1 winner Chief’s Crown across the ocean, there isn’t an accolade Danzig failed to achieve at stud.

Sheikh Hamdan’s Dayjur held the 5f track record at York from 1980 until the lovable rogue Battaash lowered it 39 years later carrying the same blue and white silks. Danzig had an imprint on Battaash’s rapid bloodlines being the Great Grandsire of Battaash’s damsire Lawman.

If the Prix du Jockey Club winner Lawman isn’t one of the most prolific sires to emerge from Danzig, his sire and grandsire most definitely are. Grandsire and July Cup winner Green Desert has carried on the speedier Danzig dynasty through his sprinter sons Invincible Spirit (sire of Lawman) and Oasis Dream.

Far from a one trick pony, Green Desert can also lay claim to evergreen miler Cape Cross who when mated with Prix de l’Arc winner Urban Sea, produced one of the greats of the modern era in Sea The Stars. Green Desert has also made his mark on the supremely talented Derby winner who sparked this very discussion – Desert Crown’s dam Desert Berry is a daughter of Green Desert making him a grandson of the great Danzig himself.

Impressed? We have only scratched the surface.

It is of course subjective and cases could be made for many, but Danzig’s greatest achievement may yet have gone unmentioned. Haydock Sprint Cup winner Danehill’s truly global influence is unparalleled. Equally effective either side of the equator, Danehill was Champion Sire on multiple occasions in multiple jurisdictions (GB/Ireland, France, and Australia). He was Champion Broodmare Sire in both North America and in GB/Ireland despite his stallion career coming to a premature end aged 17, a very rare accomplishment.

Exceed And Excel and Fastnet Rock are just two decorated sire sons, but his most widely recognised influence of all might be his achievements as a broodmare sire. His daughter Kind ‘kindly’ gave us the gift of Frankel (Galileo), one of 422 stakes winners as a broodmare sire from 9010 foals in both hemispheres – a staggering 5% stakes winners to foals of racing age.

A brief shout out to War Front and Hard Spun who are successfully heading efforts to keep Danzig’s legacy intact in North America. The former began his stud career at $12,500 rising to a high of $250,000 and the latter can lay claim to 15 individual Grade 1 winners and having never stood for more than $60,000.


Into Mischief

Into Mischief made three starts as a juvenile between October 21 and December 22 and he made them count. Winning on debut, he was second next time out in a Grade 3 before taking the G1 Futurity just in time for Christmas.

His three-year-old debut resulted in a defeat at G2 level and he was not seen again until next October. Not unlike Desert Crown, he reportedly suffered from foot problems and as a result he did not line up in the Triple Crown races.

In the meantime, a stallion deal to stand at Spendthrift Farm was made and regardless of the outcome if and when he returned to the track, he would not race on as a four year old. A subsequent Listed win and second in the Grade 1 Malibu Stakes won’t have enhanced his stallion prospects too much and he began life at a diminutive opening fee of $12,500. A low of $7,500 is very distant memory now as Into Mischief has held Champion Sire honours since 2019 and a career high fee of of $250,000 since 2022.

His oldest foals are just 13 years old so it is too soon to determine whether he can produce a son or several as good as himself, but the early signs are good. Third Crop sire Practical Joke is second only to sensation Gun Runner and already has two Grade 1 winners to his name to date. Florida Derby winner Audible has his first runners this year whilst Kentucky Derby and Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Authentic has his first yearlings go under the hammer this year.

From 21 offered to date, 16 have sold for an average of $430,312 with the highlight so far being an $875,000 colt out of the Grade 3 placed mare Golden Domer (Quality Road) at Fasig-Tipton Saratoga. Into Mischief’s foot problems and sparse visits to the racetrack are a thing of the past. Seventeen Grade 1 winners and counting are the present.


Tapit

Very recently the most expensive stallion standing in North America, things were not always so rosy for three-time Champion Sire Tapit. He won his first two starts at two by a combined 12 lengths including a Grade 3 but was subsequently sidelined for four months due to lingering shin issues.

Purchased for $625,000 as a yearling and already a stakes winner over an extended mile, connections had their sights firmly set on the Kentucky Derby. A rushed preparation resulted in an off the board finish on his three year old bow, the G1 Florida Derby, with a lung infection was cited as the reason for his subdued effort.

One month later and Tapit lined up in the G1 Wood Memorial for his fourth lifetime start reportedly still not quite fit. He battled to a half-length success to secure that crucial Grade 1 success and ensure his place at stud in Kentucky. Two more below par performances followed in the Kentucky Derby and Pennsylvania Derby and Tapit was retired to stud duties.

With shin issues and a persistent lung infection interrupting Tapit's stop-start career, he made just six starts in all, winning half of them. His pedigree and fleeting moments of brilliance secured his second career at Gainesway where he began stud duties at $15,000.

Count exactly 10 years on and his opening fee was a thing of the past. Why? In 2014, Tapit sired no less than three Grade 1 winners, two of them in Classics. Leading sire Constitution was first up when winning the G1 Florida Derby and whilst injury prevented him from taking his well-earned placed in the Kentucky Derby, Untapable was a very able deputy in winning the Kentucky Oaks by four and a half lengths, the first of her five Grade 1 wins.

Fast forward to the third G1 winner from the crop and second in a Classic when Tonalist became the first of Tapit's record breaking four Belmont Stakes winners.

Following the remarkable achievements of Tapit's 2011 crop (bred off $50,000), Tapit's fee doubled from $150,000 to $300,000 and he became the most expensive sire in North America. It was only on his 20th birthday in 2021 when his fee was revised and reduced to $185,000 to account for his seniority.

So, whilst minor setbacks interrupted and ultimately cut short Tapit’s career on the track, his success at stud can be attributed to a team of visionaries’ belief in his untapped raw talent, and the breeders who supported him. Three wins from six starts, $15,000 to the most expensive stallion in the US.

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Raise A Native

Racing in an era where the leading colts could easily race more than twenty times, Raise A Native’s four race career was remarkably short, most notably in comparison to his own sire Native Dancer’s 21 victories from 22 starts. Brief but brilliant might be the best way to describe Raise A Native’s racing career but perpetual influence is just one of the many ways to describe his resounding impact on the thoroughbred today. Foaled in 1961, in four starts he was never passed, set two new track records and earned (joint) Champion Juvenile honours in 1963.

Retiring as a three year old in 1964 due to a tendon injury, Raise A Native’s natural speed and talent were abundantly clear to anyone who witnessed his short career on the track. More than sixty years later, both traits are still prevalent today amongst a multitude of descendant sire sons who look set to carry on his legacy for years to come.

Though his son Mr. Prospector is often the one credited with the sire line, lest we forget the sparsely raced but exceptionally talented Raise A Native is the one who sired him. Raise A Native’s fragility was reportedly attributed to his heavy topped, short coupled physique, something he has passed on quite visibly, particularly in our reigning Champion Sire.

The most expensive sire in GB/Ireland at £350,000, Dubawi is a direct descendant of the breed shaper and distinctly recognisable for his strong, short coupled physique. Somewhere along the way the fragility has dissipated as Dubawi’s progeny are hailed around the world for their durability and tenacity.

Raise A Native’s sons Exclusive Native and Mr. Prospector were each crowned Champion sire on two occasions. Exclusive Native sired 1978 Triple Crown winner Affirmed whilst Mr. Prospector’s current hold on the thoroughbred is difficult to consolidate into a few sentences. From Curlin to Wootton Bassett, aforementioned Dubawi to American Pharoah, none of the above would exist had the lightly raced, fragile Raise A Native not been given an opportunity at stud.

Longevity and soundness are two desirable traits in a sire but so are brilliance, balance, speed, and acceleration - four traits Desert Crown displayed in each of his four starts. There is no one size fits all formula for predicting a stallion’s future success at stud. The only guarantee with thoroughbreds is that there is no guarantee. When it comes to our cherished and mysterious thoroughbred, history suggests it is wise to reserve judgement before condemning one so spectacular.

Get well soon Desert Crown, a worthy place at stud surely awaits.


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