Colonel John was last year's leading first crop sire
of sale weanlings in North America. His 10 offspring that were sold averaged
$105,900, and they ranged in price from $40,000 to $170,000.
The 7-year-old bay horse also is prominent again
this year at Thoroughbred auctions. He was the leading first-crop sire at the
Fasig-Tipton Kentucky July select yearling sale and ranked second overall. His
four progeny that were sold averaged $141,250 and ranged in price from $90,000
to $200,000. He also was the top first-crop sire at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga
select yearling sale, where four of his progeny averaged $168,750 and ranged in
price from $125,000 to $250,000.
Colonel John and his sire, Tiznow, both stand at
Kenny Troutts' WinStar Farm near Versailles, Ky.
Colonel John "gets a really good-looking, two-turn
looking horse that is athletic and has a long shoulder and a long back," said
Elliott Walden, WinStar's president, CEO, and racing manager. "They (his
offspring) have a look to them that makes you think they can take you somewhere
special."
Kerry Cauthen of Four Star Sales also is impressed
with Colonel John's offspring. Four Star, as agent for Glencrest Farm, sold the
Saratoga sale's most expensive Colonel John yearling, a $250,000 colt out of La
Defense.
The young stallion's progeny " have got a lot of
bone and they've got a lot of Tiznow in them, but they're maybe not as rangy,"
Cauthen said. "They seem to have a little more musculature than Tiznow or his
offspring. They've got so much presence and they're pulled together. They just
look like they are going to run, run, run."
"Colonel John seems to be really moving up his
mares," Cauthen added.
Colonel John's inaugural stud fee was $15,000. His
yearlings averaged more than nine times that amount at the Fasig-Tipton
Kentucky auction and more than 11 times the fee at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga
sale.
Produced from the Turkoman mare Sweet Damsel,
Colonel John won six of his 15 career races and earned $1,779,012. He captured
five added-money events, including the 2008 editions of the Travers Stakes (gr.
I) and Santa Anita Derby (gr. I).
