Regional Sire Analysis – Maryland

Working our way down from New York which I highlighted last time in my regional sire analysis series we enter the great state of Maryland, which although a smaller state, is home to some truly spectacular horse country. The interested breeder is able to find some off beat bargains here by some big name stallions. None of the stallions in Maryland stand for over $5000 in real life so they will be easy on your pocket. Maryland has a full compliment of SIM local races however so there is no reason that the regional breeder shouldn’t take a long look at some of these lesser known stallions.

For the 2018 season the top ten Maryland stallions based on earnings (Bloodhorse) are Friesan Fire, Great Notion, Not for Love, Orientate, Street Magician, Petionville, Redeemed, Freedom Child, Lion Hearted and Despite the Odds. Unfortunately three of them have passed away or been pensioned (Not for Love, Orientate and Lion Hearted). Orientate was just pensioned this year so you have a few more months to breed two year olds to him. One of the things that immediately stand out are that all of these sires hail from a major stallion – A.P. Indy (Friesan Fire), Elusive Quality (Great Notion), Street Cry (Street Magician), Seeking the Gold (Petionville a rare STG source from the sire line he usually being found in the DS position), Malibu Moon (Freedom Child) and Speightstown (Despite the Odds). Only Redeemed does not hail from a major sire being a son of Include, but even Include is an incredibly honest stallion who has a long legacy of producing horses who are sound and can win. Five from our list (the top 5) have over 50 runners this season which is a respectable amount for the price range of stallions indicating Maryland breeders are taking advantage of their local stallions. 

Friesan Fire costs 164 and provides good value at this price point. He has 77% winners and 4.7% stakes winners. He has two graded winners in the SIM. He already has two highly successful local stakes runners in Royal Fire (by Royal Academy scratch bred mare) and Fire One Up (by Conquistador Cielo also scratch bred). Friesan Fire does not have Mr. P or Northern Dancer in his first four generations offering intriguing outcross potential. Great Notion is dirt cheap at 39 and while his numbers are lower than Friesan’s he has seen a lot less mares never getting over 21 and averaging about 15 mares a year. With this limited sample size Great Notion still has sired two stakes winners and is currently getting 67% winners.  Great Notion also has produced a stakes winner as a dam sire which is impressive considering he has only had 44 chances. With Not For Love departed we look at the last chance for Orientate runners. If you have not used him, you really should give him a look he has produced outstanding runners in the SIM for his price point of 125. He produces 74.4% winners and a whopping 6.8% stakes winners along with 1.4% graded winners. In fact Orientate has a G2 winning two year old filly this season (from a Mr. Greeley mare). He also has a G1 winner (from an Arch mare). Just a ton of value here and he presents brilliant outcross chances being free of both Mr. P, Northern Dancer, Storm Cat and AP Indy. He is my top pick from the Maryland stallions and should not be missed in his final months of 2018. Rounding out the top five Street Magician costs 67 and looks like another under used sire with some juice. He only gets about 20 breedings a year yet has two stakes winners to go along with his 71.4% winning rate.  Mr. P is back in his fourth generation and he, like many of these Maryland stallions is free of Northern Dancer.

Although he is sixth on the Maryland sire list I would place Petionville as my second choice in the SIM. He is very similar to Orientate providing sneaky good black type value at a low cost. He will set you back 106 and for this small fee he gets 5.5% stakes winners and 1.2% graded winners. He is a bit more of a boom or bust stallion recording only 69.3% winners but you can’t deny his stakes offspring including G1 winner Petioningbo (from a Dansili mare – turf runner). Petionville has Buckpasser in his fourth generation making him a good match with Indy mares you want to play around with and of course, continuing the trend, he is free of Northern Dancer. Redeemed has barely been used in the SIM having only 54 total runners and his totals from the last three seasons, including 2018, are 1, 6 and 7. Despite this he does have one stakes winner (by a Sky Mesa mare). He only costs 18 so he is a candidate for both Bargain Bowl series and a no risk chance at one of your pedigree’d mares you don’t use. No Mr. P or ND here so nothing to limit the breeding but your imagination. Freedom Child has three local track champions, one of them, Mareeba Mossman, also being a G2 winner. Freedom Child has a rather draft sexy pedigree being out of a Deputy Minister x Carson City mare and has the best pedigree on paper of this group. He costs 74 and delivers 70% winners with 2% stakes winners. Despite the Odds stands for only $1000 in real life and costs 19 in the SIM. He leans toward a turf bias and has produced one stakes winner. His winning rate is a rather dismal 56% so I would proceed cautiously here. 

Maryland is also home to some newer stallions that deserve mention; Bandbox, a son of Tapit costs only 36 and I’m proud to say I have the current best in SIM of his, stakes winner Wrigleyville. Blofeld, new this year, sports a nifty James Bond inspired name with a strong pedigree of Storm Cat x Pleasant Colony on the bottom for 40. He only has 14 runners this year but has a win rate of 42.6%. Bourbon Courage is certainly one to keep an eye as he will have runners on the track soon and he has four stakes winners thus far in the SIM. Costing 60, he too has a strong pedigree coming from a Carson City x Danzig mare. Dortmund is well known from the Derby trail a couple years ago and therefore will cost more coming in at 166. This is his first season at stud and he has 22.2% winners from 45 runners. He could go either way, Big Brown (his sire) is above average in the SIM and Dortmund has a worthy female line of Tale of the Cat x Danzig so there is every reason to believe he will get stakes winners in the SIM. Looks like his initial offspring may need some time and/or distance. For Kobe Bryant fans there is Kobe’s Back who costs only 10 for his first year at stud. That’s basically free making him a must for any Black Mamba devotees. Finally Imagining is one of my favorite Maryland sires costing only 62 and he is a G1 winning son of Giant’s Causeway. He was a turf runner so he may not get a ton of real life support but does not hinder SIM breeders. I bred him to a Sadler’s Wells mare his initial season in the SIM and got a high end allowance horse who has made over 250K. He has produced four stakes winners and is well used by breeders thus far getting 65 and 69 runners in his first two seasons before dropping off a bit this year. His bottom end is all blue blood, AP Indy x Mr. Prospector. While he is still seeking is first graded winner it likely won’t be too far off. 

Maryland has some stallions worth checking into who can get you stakes winners and provide a local bred outcross destination for your mares. Drop in, book a breeding and sample crab cakes while going on a destination tour of  The Wire.