Mr. Prospector
Mr. Prospector | |
---|---|
Sire | Raise a Native |
Grandsire | Native Dancer |
Dam | Gold Digger |
Damsire | Nashua |
Sex | Stallion |
Foaled | January 28, 1970[1] |
Country | United States |
Colour | Bay |
Breeder | Leslie Combs II |
Owner | Abraham I. Savin |
Trainer | Jimmy Croll |
Record | 14: 7–4–2 |
Earnings | $112,170 |
Major wins | |
Gravesend Handicap (1974) Whirlaway Handicap (1974) | |
Awards | |
Leading sire in North America (1987, 1988) Leading broodmare sire in North America (1997–2003, 2005–06) | |
Honours | |
Mr. Prospector Stakes at Gulfstream Park | |
Last updated on January 9, 2010 |
Mr. Prospector (January 28, 1970 – June 1, 1999) was a Thoroughbred racehorse foaled in Kentucky whose descendants have dominated the United States Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing. He won half of his 14 career races.
Background
Mr. Prospector's sire was Raise a Native, a son of Native Dancer. He was out of the mare Gold Digger, a daughter of Nashua. He was the highest-priced horse at the 1971 Keeneland July sale of selected yearlings, selling for $220,000 (equivalent to $1.66 million in 2023).[2] "Mr. P", as he came to be known, was trained by Jimmy Croll, a Hall of Fame member who went on to train Holy Bull.[3]
At maturity, he reached 16 hands (64 inches, 163 cm) high.[4]
Racing career
Mr. Prospector was a contemporary of Secretariat. He did not contest the Triple Crown, but he proved successful over sprint distances. Mr. Prospector won the Gravesend Handicap and the Whirlaway Handicap and set track records for six furlongs (1,207 m) at Gulfstream Park and Garden State.
Stud career
Mr. Prospector sired one winner of each of the Triple Crown races, a feat his grandson, Unbridled, has also accomplished. His Triple Crown race winners were 2000 Kentucky Derby winner Fusaichi Pegasus; 1985 Preakness Stakes winner Tank's Prospect; and 1982 Belmont Stakes winner and Eclipse Award for Horse of the Year Conquistador Cielo. Mr. Prospector's bloodline has been highly influential in the top echelons of Thoroughbred racing. All eight horses entered into the 2015 Belmont Stakes were descendants, through their sires, of Mr. Prospector.[5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12]
Mr. Prospector's stud fee, even without the guarantee of a live foal, peaked at $460,000 in the early and mid-1980s. By March 1994 he was still commanding fees of $170,000-$180,000, having at that point sired 902 offspring; he would eventually sire 1,195 live foals.[3] During breeding season, he was often able to "cover" two mares in one day.[13] Mr. Prospector was jointly owned by a 40-member syndicate.[13]
On June 1, 1999, Mr. Prospector died in his stall of complications from colic at Claiborne Farm in Paris, Kentucky. He was buried between Nijinsky and Secretariat.
Progeny
Mr. Prospector's male-line descendants with Triple Crown races won:
- Mr. Prospector
- Fappiano (foaled 1977)
- Cryptoclearance (1984)
- Victory Gallop (1995) 1998 Belmont Stakes
- Quiet American (1986)
- Real Quiet (1995) 1998 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes
- Unbridled (1987) 1990 Kentucky Derby
- Grindstone (1993) 1996 Kentucky Derby
- Birdstone (2001) 2004 Belmont Stakes
- Mine That Bird (2006) 2009 Kentucky Derby
- Summer Bird (2006) 2009 Belmont Stakes
- Birdstone (2001) 2004 Belmont Stakes
- Red Bullet (1997) 2000 Preakness Stakes
- Empire Maker (2000) 2003 Belmont Stakes
- Pioneerof the Nile (2006)
- American Pharoah (2012) 2015 Triple Crown winner (Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes)
- Pioneerof the Nile (2006)
- Grindstone (1993) 1996 Kentucky Derby
- Cryptoclearance (1984)
- Conquistador Cielo (1979) 1982 Belmont Stakes
- Tank's Prospect (1982) 1985 Preakness Stakes
- Woodman (1983) (has sired 94 stakes winners)
- Hansel (1988) 1991 Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes
- Timber Country (1992) 1995 Preakness Stakes
- Gulch (1984)
- Thunder Gulch (1992) 1995 Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes
- Point Given (1998) 2001 Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes
- Thunder Gulch (1992) 1995 Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes
- Gone West (1984)
- Elusive Quality (1993)
- Smarty Jones (2001) 2004 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes
- Commendable (1997) 2000 Belmont Stakes
- Elusive Quality (1993)
- Afleet (1984)
- Northern Afleet (1993)
- Afleet Alex (2002) 2005 Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes
- Northern Afleet (1993)
- Forty Niner (1985)
- Editor's Note (1993) 1996 Belmont Stakes
- Distorted Humor (1993)
- Funny Cide (2000) 2003 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes
- Flower Alley (2002)
- I'll Have Another (2009) 2012 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes
- Drosselmeyer (2007) 2010 Belmont Stakes
- Seeking the Gold (1985)
- Jazil (2003) 2006 Belmont Stakes
- Machiavellian (1987)
- Street Cry (1998)
- Street Sense (2004) 2007 Kentucky Derby
- Street Cry (1998)
- Kingmambo (1990)
- Lemon Drop Kid (1996) 1999 Belmont Stakes
- Our Emblem (1991)
- War Emblem (1999) 2002 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes
- Smart Strike (1992)
- Curlin (2004) 2007 Preakness Stakes
- Palace Malice (2010) 2013 Belmont Stakes
- Exaggerator (2013) 2016 Preakness Stakes
- Lookin at Lucky (2007) 2010 Preakness Stakes
- Curlin (2004) 2007 Preakness Stakes
- Fusaichi Pegasus (1997) 2000 Kentucky Derby
- Roman Ruler (2002)
- Ruler on Ice (2008) 2011 Belmont Stakes
- Roman Ruler (2002)
- Fappiano (foaled 1977)
Pedigree
Sire Raise A Native (USA) 1961 |
Native Dancer (USA) 1950 |
Polynesian | Unbreakable |
---|---|---|---|
Black Polly | |||
Geisha | Discovery | ||
Miyako | |||
Raise You (USA) 1946 |
Case Ace | Teddy | |
Sweetheart | |||
Lady Glory | American Flag | ||
Beloved | |||
Dam Gold Digger (USA) 1962 |
Nashua (USA) 1952 |
Nasrullah | Nearco |
Mumtaz Begum | |||
Segula | Johnstown | ||
Sekhmet | |||
Sequence (USA) 1946 |
Count Fleet | Reigh Count | |
Quickly | |||
Miss Dogwood | Bull Dog | ||
Myrtlewood (Family 13-c)[14] |
References
- ^ a b "Kentucky Gold pedigree". equineline.com. 2012-05-08. Retrieved 2012-08-16.
- ^ "Sparkman: Mr. Prospector line has no American equal". Daily Racing Form. June 12, 2015.
- ^ a b Sparkman, John F. (January 16, 2010). "Sire of Sires: Mr. Prospector" (PDF). Thoroughbred Times. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
- ^ http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/90474/pedigree-analysis-is-bigger-always-better
- ^ "Mubtaahij Pedigree". Equineline. Retrieved June 3, 2015.
- ^ "Tale of Verve Pedigree". Equineline. Retrieved June 3, 2015.
- ^ "Madefromlucky Pedigree". Equineline. Retrieved June 3, 2015.
- ^ "Frammento Pedigree". Equineline. Retrieved June 3, 2015.
- ^ "American Pharoah Pedigree". Equineline. Retrieved June 3, 2015.
- ^ "Frosted Pedigree". Equineline. Retrieved June 2, 2015.
- ^ "Keen Ice Pedigree". Equineline. Retrieved June 3, 2015.
- ^ "Materiality Pedigree". Equineline. Retrieved June 3, 2015.
- ^ a b Searcy, Jay (April 13, 1994). "Mr. Prospector: You Can Call Him The King Of Stallions Eighteen Horses Share Stud Duty At Claiborne Farm. This One Has 902 Offspring, And He Isn't Through Yet". Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
- ^ "Stray Shot - Family 13-c". Thoroughbred Bloodlines. Retrieved 3 January 2015.
- Hunter, Avalyn (2007). Gold Rush : How Mr. Prospector Became Racing's Billion-Dollar Sire. Eclipse Press. ISBN 978-1-58150-173-5.