Golden oldies
To say that the progeny of Medaglia d’Oro are like good wine in that they get better with age may sound a bit cliché. But cliché or not, it’s hard to argue against. Most in our industry are aware of the meteoric rise that Medaglia d’Oro has experienced as a sire but a recent paper published by the Grayson-Jockey Club Foundation shows just how durable his runners are as well (http://www.grayson-jockeyclub.org/resources/Vol%2028-no%202web.qxd.pdf.
The document includes a list of the top sires in North America for 2010 based on the number of Stakes winners aged four years and up. Medaglia d’Oro holds the top spot as 12 of 4yos last year won Stakes events. Moreover, fellow Darley sires Street Cry and Elusive Quality hold spots in the number three and four positions, respectively.
What’s even more impressive is that Medaglia d’Oro only had one running at four years of age last year. Only one other stallion with four or more stakes winners (that’s a total of 26 stallions) had a first crop of 2005 or older, showing most other stallions were represented by multiple older crops racing in 2010. One can also see that the chart further demonstrates the quality of these older horses. Only Street Cry and Dynaformer were represented by more Graded Stakes performers than Medaglia d’Oro.
A closer look at Medaglia d’Oro’s 2006 crop as a whole shows an incredible 11% Stakes winners from named foals with three of those winning at the highest level – Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra, Warrior’s Reward and Gabby’s Golden Gal –and four additional Graded winners in Al Khali, Peyton d’Oro, C. S. Silk, and Medaglia d’Amour. His 2007 crop reflects an above average 7% Stakes winners from named foals, including additional G1 winners Champagne d’Oro and Passion For Gold.
So we know the Medaglia d’Oros are durable. But what about versatilility? His runners are proving that they are not too picky about the surfaces upon which they win. Whether dirt, turf or synthetic, he has equal opportunity performers. He has G1 winners on all surfaces with G2 and G3 winners excelling on multi surfaces as well.
As you might expect, the demand for Medaglia d’Oro is high. This is evidenced by the quality of mares that visited him in 2010 and those reserved for 2011. His books of mares for the past two years reflect over 101 G1 winners/producers; a list that includes the likes of Fleet Lady (dam of Champion Midshipman), Belva (dam of Champion English Channel), Champion Hollywood Wildcat (dam of Breeders’ Cup Mile winner War Chant), and champion Serena’s Song (dam of G1 winner Sophisticat); the list goes on. We should also mention that over 200 Group or Graded winner/producers have also been booked in during this time as well.
Durable. Versatile. In demand. No matter how one looks at Medagalia d’Oro, you are going to see a stallion that is poised to make a significant mark on our breed. His name translated means “gold medal”. A bit apropos it would seem.
