Most observers expected Wednesday’s Japan Dirt Derby to be won by the offspring of American Pharoah and it duly was, only issue for the majority of bettors was it was the outsider.
The hitherto unbeaten Cafe Pharoah started odds-on for the NAR Listed contest over 2000m however, he missed a place with victory instead going to Danon Pharaoh and becoming the eighth stakes winner for his sire.
Danon Pharaoh is bred to be good, the first winner for Crisp (El Corredor), winner of the Grade 1 Santa Anita Oaks and Grade 3 Santa Ysabel Stakes in 2010.
The quick glance at the list of American Pharoah’s stud record shows that two of his stakes winners – Cafe Pharoah and Four Wheel Drive – are out of mares by More Than Ready (Southern Halo) and it is this link which gives a clue to one of the trends appearing.
More Than Ready is out of a Woodman mare and it is the name Mr Prospector which occurs regularly, in fact, seven of American Pharoah’s eight stakes winners have Mr Prospector in their dams pedigrees.
Of American Pharoah’s 19 stakes performers, 13 are out of mares with Mr Prospector in their pedigree and Storm Cat is another name which is beginning to appear regularly.
Danon Pharaoh, Sweet Melania and Ocean Atlantique all have duplications of Storm Cat, which appears as the sire of American Pharoah’s broodmare sire Yankee Gentleman.
Storm Cat appears in Danon Pharaoh through his granddam Cats Fair, a daughter of Sir Cat.
American Pharoah’s sire Pioneerof The Nile (Empire Maker) has Grade 1 winner Classic Empire with a duplication of Mr Prospector and out of a mare by a son of Storm Cat and Empire Maker (Fappiano) has Grade 1 winner Eight Rings out of a mare by Pure Prize, a son of Storm Cat out of a mare by Seeking The Gold (Mr Prospector).
Empire Maker also Grade 2 winner Magical Feeling out of a mare by Forestry (Storm Cat) and 4×4 to Mr Prospector.
Although American Pharoah is a member of the male-line, Mr Prospector does not appear until his fourth generation, so it is beginning to get far enough away to begin looking for other pedigree factors in American Pharoah’s success.
The leading first-season sire in North America last year, American Pharoah is currently operating at a strike-rate of 16 percent stakes horses to runners, the best of any second-crop sire in North America, second only to Night Of Thunder (19%) on a worldwide basis.
Another plus is he has stakes winners on dirt and turf, notably Maven, winner of the Group 3 Prix du Bois at Chantilly last year for Wesley Ward after winning at Aqueduct and winning at Keeneland on Wednesday on his seasonal reappearance.
American Pharoah (pic: Coolmore) had the first of his Australian conceived yearlings sell earlier this year and has 109 foals from his first-crop.
Much has been expected from the US Triple Crown winner and, on the face of it so far, with the exception of a Group 1 winner he has largely delivered – certainly his figures suggest there is more to come.