2014 Freshman Sire Profiles – Fort Larned

Fort Larned

E Dubai – Arlucea, Broad Brush

Enters Stud 2014 at Adena Springs for a fee of $15,000

Fort Larned was slow to develop as a racehorse.  In tens starts at ages two and three he won three times yet earned less than $100,000.  Something popped when he turned four and by the end of the season he would bank over three and one half million dollars and be an Eclipse finalist.  He began the season winning a listed stakes at Tampa Bay Downs but followed that up with a win in the G3 Skip Away Stakes at Gulfstream Park.  He added victories in the Prairie Meadows Cornhusker Handicap G3 and the Whitney Invitational G1 over the summer before finishing third in the Jockey Club Gold Cup G1, his final prep for the Breeders’ Cup Classic.  He took that race in wire to wire fashion battling the length of the stretch with Mucho Macho Man (who of course would go on to win the 2014 version of that race).  Fort Larned ran a 117 Beyer Speed Figure in that run.  His exploits were good enough for him to finish runner up in Eclipse voting behind Horse of the Year Wise Dan in the Champion Older Horse category.  Fort Larned’s five year old campaign got off to a bumpy start – literally.  He started as the heavy favorite in the Gulfstream Park Handicap G2 and demolished the field to cross the wire first but along the way lost his jockey and was disqualified.  He wouldn’t return to the winner’s circle until June when he stormed home the winner of the Stephen Foster Handicap G1 over a strong field.  He prepped for a return to the Breeders’ Cup in a listed stakes at Churchill Down which he won easily but could not replicate his victorious form from a year earlier in the big dance.  Fort Larned retired with ten wins from twenty five starts and over four and one half million dollars in the bank.

Fort Larned is a son of E Dubai, a regally bred G2 winning son of Mr. Prospector – Word of War, Lord At War.  E Dubai entered stud with high hopes attached to his stellar pedigree and solid race record and while he has not been a homerun success story he’s done well as a breed to race sire at the right price.  He currently stands in Pennsylvania.  Fort Larned is the only grade one winner sired by E Dubai but he has sired over 30 stakes winners and champions in Italy, Panama and Slovakia.  Fort Larned’s dam Arlucea is a young daughter of Broad Brush.  From seven foals she has produced two stakes placed runners in addition to Fort Larned, including Izarra, a daughter of Distorted Humor who hit the board in two G1s as a two year old and was highly thought of before retireing due to injury.  Fort Larned’s second dam is the dual champion Bayakoa.  Bayakoa won twelve American G1 races in her career (which started in Argentina) and almost three million dollars.  She became only the second horse to win back-to-back Breeders’ Cup races, taking the Distaff in 1989 and 1990.  Bayakoa only produced four foals as a broodmare and none of them had half of her talent on the racetrack but in addition to Arlucea she also produced G1 producing mare Trinity Place. Fort Larned is inbred 4×5 to Nashua and 5×5 to Fleet Nasrullah.

E Dubai started his sim career at a very high rating and has sired 10 G1 winners already in the game but none since 2009.  In fact during that time period he has only sired three graded winners from 207 runners.  The graded winners he have sired have come mostly from Northern Dancer-line mares with a special preference for mares by Storm Cat and his sons.  This holds true to form for E Dubai’s real life statistics, he has produced stakes winners from both Storm Cat-line mares but also Danzig-line mares and Dixieland Band-line mares.  So obviously these and other branches of the Northern Dancer-line should be considered for Fort Larned.  Fort Larned is also free of Seattle Slew so that line should be considered as well.  A.P. Indy mares have crossed very well in real life with Mr. Prospector line stallions (and vice versa) so that is a strong cross to consider.  If a breeder wanted to double up on the Mr. Prospector daughters and granddaughters of Unbridled could be considered.  A son of Mr. Prospector’s son Fappiano it would put the inbreeding further back and the cross of Mr. Prospector-line studs with Unbridled-line mares has been quite successful in real life.