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Smiling Tiger (TrueNicks), one of the stars of the California sprint scene over the last several seasons, will remain in California for his stud career, which will commence at Premier Equine in Oakdale, Calif., in 2014. A winner of nine races and almost $1.5 million, Smiling Tiger broke his maiden on his debut at 2. He took the Lost in the Fog Stakes by eight lengths next time out, and in fact every one of his 22 starts after his maiden came in black-type company, 20 in graded stakes, and 11 in grade I contests. Smiling Tiger captured seven graded events, among them the Triple Bend Handicap (gr. I), which he took by 3 1/4 lengths over Camp Victory, with sprint champion Amazombie third. Smiling Tiger also won the Bing Crosby Stakes (gr. I) and Ancient Title Stakes (gr. I).

A grandson of Storm Cat, Smiling Tiger is by Hold That Tiger, a juvenile champion in Europe who is also a three-quarter brother to Hennessy. Smiling Tiger's dam, stakes winner Shandra Smiles (by Cahill Road), is also dam of this year's Landaluce Stakes victress She's a Tiger (by Storm Cat's son Tale of the Cat (TrueNicks)), and from a family that produced another crack sprinter in Love That Mac.

Smiling Tiger will stand alongside Twice the Appeal and Sway Away. A winner at 2, Twice the Appeal (TrueNicks) hit the headlines with a daylight victory in the $800,000 Sunland Derby (gr. III). The form of the race was subsequently upheld when runner-up Astrology (TrueNicks) finished a good third to Shackleford (TrueNicks) and Animal Kingdom (TrueNicks) in the Preakness Stakes (gr. I), and third-placed Ruler On Ice captured the Belmont Stakes (gr. I). Twice the Appeal is a son of the Successful Appeal—whose other credits include J P's Gusto (TrueNicks,SRO), Appealing Zophie, Successful Affair, Successful Dan, and Dawn After Dawn—out of Cormorant's daughter Double Boarded, also dam of multiple stakes-winning and graded-placed Board Elligible.

Sway Away (TrueNicks) was a debut winner as a juvenile, and on his only other start at 2 missed by just a half-length to J P's Gusto in the Best Pal Stakes (gr. III). An allowance winner over seven furlongs at Hollywood Park at 3, Sway Away was also second, beaten just a half-length by The Factor (TrueNicks) in the San Vicente Stakes (gr. II), and by the same margin to the same horse in the San Carlos Stakes (gr. II), a race which went in 1:20.56 and saw champion sprinter Amazombie back in third. A son of champion 3-year-old colt Afleet Alex (TrueNicks,SRO), Sway Away is out of Seattle Shimmer, a daughter of Seattle Slew and the Beaumont Stakes (gr. II) victress Golden Gale.

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