IS this the start of a racing dynasty?
Triple Crown winner American Pharoah extends his legacy with the birth of his first foal on Jan. 3 at Brookdale Farm, Kentucky.
The foal out of Tizway mare Kakadu is said to be doing well. Photos in the barn taken by American Pharoah’s jockey Victor Espinoza show a handsome bay colt with a white blaze and four socks.
Brookdale Farm’s Fred Seitz Jr. says, “For a first foal, he’s a very nice, very attractive type. Personality-wise, I think he seems like he’s going to take after his dad with that mellow-type personality. Most babies are kind of skittish and want to run around behind their mother but he’s not that type. You walk in the stall and he comes right up to you and starts chewing your hand. He seems to be real bold and have that fun personality.
“He’s what you look for if you’re breeding Thoroughbreds, I think.”
The colt, as yet unnamed, is owned by the Sumaya US Stable of Jerusalem-native Oussama Aboughazale, who made his fortune as a major fruit producer in Chile.
American Pharoah covered 2018 mares in 2016, his first season, at Coolmore’s Ashford Stud, with a fee of $200,000. His fee for the 2017 season has now been listed as private. It seems that demand for this champion’s bloodline might have driven up the costs to acquire his covetable DNA.
With 47 Grade 1 winners and producers in foal to American Pharoah at the end of breeding season, expect a herd of his progeny to compete against each other two or three years hence.
Will any of them be as powerful as their sire? As the breeding credo goes, “Breed the best to the best and hope for the best.” Meaning, of course, the best that you can afford, because few horseowners can plunk down hundreds of thousands of dollars for the services of the top-class sires or to purchase the elite broodmares.
The rule of thumb is that the best runners make the best sires and broodmares, in general, and there are studies that support this. American Pharoah certainly is an impressive racehorse. During his career under Bob Baffert’s trainership, he not only copped the Triple Crown, he also won the G1 races Breeders’ Cup Classic, Arkansas Derby, Front Runner Stakes, Del Mar Futurity, and William Hill Haskell Invitational. In 2015, he received Horse of the Year honors. He won nine out of 11 starts and earned $8.65 million.
Kakadu had only one start and career earnings of $400, but she has good blood in her pedigree. Her great-grandsire’s sire was Relaunch, and she also has Seattle Slew and Danzig on that side. Her dam Alpha Spirit is by AP Indy, giving the foal a double dose of Seattle Slew, and Alpha Spirit’s dam Wild Spirit, who was champion 3YO in Chile, has won G1 and G2 races in Chile and in the US.
We look forward to the career of this new colt, and to more news of American Pharoah’s other progeny later this year.
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Dr. Ortuoste is a California-based writer. Facebook: Gogirl Racing and Jenny Ortuoste, Twitter: @gogirlracing and @jennyortuoste, and Instagram: @jensdecember