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Last week was a major one for America's top sires Distorted Humor (TrueNicks,SRO) and Giant's Causeway (TrueNicks,SRO). The elite pair joined the list of stallions to sire 100 stakes winners, a select group that includes only four other active stallions: Zabeel, Danehill Dancer, Dynaformer (TrueNicks,SRO), and Montjeu.

The victory of Savvy Supreme (TrueNicks A++) in the Classy Mirage Stakes at Belmont Park gave Distorted Humor his 100th stakes winner. The win makes Savvy Supreme – a 3-year-old filly – a very valuable broodmare prospect as she is a sister to the sometimes brilliant son Commentator. Out of the Storm Bird mare Outsource, Savvy Supreme has a second dam by Woodman, and so her dam is a reverse Mr. Prospector/Northern Dancer cross to Distorted Humor.

The weekend had also been a good one for Distorted Humor. On Saturday, his 3-year-old son Alternation (A++) out fought Adios Charlie to win the Peter Pan Stakes (gr. II, video below). The Pin Oak Stud homebred is out of Alternate, a daughter of Seattle Slew, so is bred on a cross that has produced six stakes winners from only 18 starters. Of course, Distorted Humor also has nine stakes winners from 62 starters out of mares by sons and grandsons of Seattle Slew, including Funny Cide and Any Given Saturday (TrueNicks,SRO). Then on Sunday, his Belmont Stakes winner Drosselmeyer (A++) returned to form to win the One Count Stakes at Belmont.

As tremendous as the Distorted Humor/Seattle Slew nick has been, it can’t boast a 100% record, but one that can is the Unbridled’s Song/Bold Ruckus cross, with two foals of racing age by Unbridled's Song (TrueNicks,SRO) out of Bold Ruckus line mares producing stakes winner Thefull Circle and Embur’s Song, who at the weekend took the Hendrie Stakes (gr. III) at Woodbine.

Also getting his 100th stakes winner was two-time leading sire Giant's Causeway. His daughter Excited (A++) ran away in the stretch to win the Hilltop Stakes (video below) at Pimlico. Excited is out of the stakes-winning Thunder Gulch (TrueNicks,SRO) mare Path of Thunder, a full sister to Breeders' Cup Distaff (gr. I) winner and $3.5-million earner Spain. Giant's Causeway is the only stallion Path of Thunder has visited in her career, and she has 2-year-old and yearling fillies and a colt foal by the sire. Path of Thunder's sister Spain had already produced a stakes winner to Giant's Causeway in Dreamtheimpossible, who was also group I-placed in the Meon Valley Stud Fillies' Mile. On the same cross, Spain produced Plan (TrueNicks,SRO) to Giant's Causeway's sire Storm Cat. Plan was a group III winner in Ireland before running second to Winchester in the Secretariat Stakes (gr. I).

Unusual Heat may never reach the 100 stakes winners total, but the California-based son of Nureyev has certainly been an over-achiever. At the weekend, his grade I-winning son Acclamation took his second Jim Murray Handicap (gr. II), scoring by seven lengths. Another West Coast stallion to make the best of his opportunities has been Benchmark (TrueNicks,SRO), who pound-for-pound has probably been the best stallion son of Alydar. He added a new graded stakes winner when his son Bench Points (A++) took the Lazaro Barrera Memorial Stakes (gr. III) by a nose from Runflatout (by another over-achiever, Flatter (TrueNicks,SRO)). Bench Points is out of a Free House mare, and Benchmark has three stakes winners from 12 starters out of mares by Free House and his grandsire, Never Tabled. It’s Benchmark who could be the channel through which the Alydar line survives if his Kentucky-based son Brother Derek (TrueNicks,SRO) makes the grade.

Still with regional stallions, have a look at Mass Media (TrueNicks,SRO) in Florida. The fast son of Touch Gold (TrueNicks,SRO) is represented by his first crop of 3-year-olds this year. So far he’s had 32 runners, 18 winners, three stakes winners, and had a weekend stakes double at Calder with Manicero (A++), now a five-time stakes winner, taking the In Summation Stakes, and Beso Grande (A++), who took the French Village Stakes. Manicero is out of a mare by Kris S., and Beso Grande out of mare by Kris S.’s son Kissin Kris (TrueNicks), the duo being the only starters by Touch Gold out of Kris S. line mares.

Filed under: Recent Winners, Sires