By the end of 2017 Royal Ascot, Scat Daddy was back in the news. With four winners over five days, he was the top sire at Ascot. Some of us weren’t surprised.
INTRODUCTION
As in education, the thoroughbred sport and industry owes its sensibility to the metaphor of the machine, that which produces and reproduces a perfect product. But this mechanistic process and the lexicon that frames it take little account of what real development looks like.
In “machine dreams,” an individual with genuine ability is expected to develop along an established continuum, reaching their apex at an appropriate, pre-established moment. In thirty-six years in education, I had few students that arrived at their very best exactly before their final evaluation was issued, and I doubt that thoroughbreds are any different. Development does not proceed along a linear path; rather, it is iterative, moving forward and circling back, only to move forward again.
So it is that neither Johannesburg nor his son, Scat Daddy conform to expectations that accrue to a smooth, linear and machine-like development. The former was a brilliant two year-old who never rose to the same heights as a three year-old. Scat Daddy was a promising colt whose career was cut short in his second season and who then, as a consequence, joined the ranks of young sires who need much support to make any mark at all in the sales ring. Thanks largely to the positive reception both got in South America, their careers as stallions were able to flourish.
The science of breeding itself is fraught with imponderables in which success often takes decades. Prince Khalid Abdullah cultivated his stock for thirty-five years before the arrival of Frankel. Galileo’s story began when a pregnant mare, Lady Angela, a daughter of Hyperion, stepped off a steamer in Toronto, Canada. Her foal, Nearctic, would sire Northern Dancer. Tapit took three generations to arrive on the scene and even then, having only managed two stakes wins before his retirement and an “up and down” three year-old campaign, could well have been ignored by breeders.
Scan any pedigree and it emerges with startling clarity: how the genes of their ancestors cross and inter-lace like the most exquisite of tapestries in the making of a thoroughbred. It would appear that the breed owes far more to the process of iterative development than it does to the mathematics of Euclid.
JOHANNESBURG
In the 2001 Breeders Cup, the juvenile that sparked the most interest was Coolmore’s Johannesburg, a son of Hennessy (Storm Cat) out of Myth (Ogygian).
Johannesburg came to North America a champion two year-old, undefeated in six starts, with wins in the UK and Europe:
In 2001, what the Storm Cats shared on either side of the Atlantic was blazing speed, suggesting a strong sprinter profile. Johannesburg’s sire, Hennessy, had only raced at two and therefore had no three year-old form, even though he was considered the best of Storm Cat’s sons at stud at the time.
The colt’s dam, Island Kitty, a daughter of Hawaii, certainly came from a stamina background.
Hawaii, bred in South Africa, was purchased by Charles Engelhardt of Nijinsky fame after a championship season in South Africa and raced to stardom in the USA, winning the United Nations H., Man O’ War S. (NTR), Stars And Stripes H., Sunrise H., and the Bernard Baruch H. as a five year-old. He stood at Claiborne Farm upon his retirement.
As a broodmare, Island Kitty not only produced Hennessy, but got Shy Tom (Blushing Groom) an earner of over 800,000 USD who became a very successful sire in Argentina, plus two very good fillies in Pearl City (Carson City) and Wild Kitty (Bold Bidder).
Bringing their undefeated juvenile to a Breeders Cup was a smart strategic move on the part of the Coolmore “lads” and a means of enhancing Johannesburg’s future as a stallion prospect. But the gamble was huge: the colt had only ever raced at 6f on the turf and would now be asked to take on 8.5f on the dirt at Belmont. It was the test of a champion.
In brilliant style, Johannesburg handed O’Brien and Coolmore their first Breeders Cup Juvenile win, showing that he could stay the distance — and win under conditions that were brand new to him.
Even though Tiznow would come back to win an unprecedented second Breeders Cup Classic in 2001 and in so doing, help to heal the hearts of America in the year of 9-11, for many it was Johannesburg’s win that stood out as the race of BC 2001.
Breathtaking as his juvenile campaign had been, resulting in both the Cartier and Eclipse 2001 Two Year-Old Championships, 2002 was not a good year for Johannesburg. Trainer O’Brien would later admit that he may well have pushed the colt too far too fast in 2001: Johannesburg’s three year-old season ended with a second in the Gladness Stakes as his best performance. In the 2002 Kentucky Derby he was unplaced, finishing eighth. It was better than half the rest of the field, but it made a poor impression on those who remembered his brilliance at two and half-expected him to blaze to victory again.
Retired to Ashford Stud in Kentucky, Johannesburg joined Giant’s Causeway as the “British contingent,” the idea being that despite a poor three year-old season, the colt would appeal to American breeders. During this time, he also shuttled to Coolmore Australia, as well as to Argentina.
However, despite producing Scat Daddy (USA), Teuflesburg (USA), Baroness Thatcher (USA), Sageburg (IRE) and Turffontein (AUS) from his very first crop in 2004, and earning Leading Freshman Sire of 2006 in the USA, the decision was made in 2009 to sell Johannesburg to the Japanese Bloodhorse Breeders Association.
Off he went to Shizunai Stallion Station on the island of Hokkaido where he stands with notables like Cape Blanco, Came Home, Aldebaran, Squirtle Squirt and the more recent acquisitions, Creator and Eskendereya.
Red Jazz (USA), Horai Akiko (JPN), Juhaya (ARG) and Once Were Wild (AUS) top the list of Johannesburg’s best later progeny and in 2013 Johannesburg was crowned Japanese Champion Freshman Sire. As a BM sire, he is represented by two very good offspring out of Baroness Thatcher (who now is part of Katsumi Yoshida’s broodmare band) in Hilda (JPN) and Night Baron (JPN). Another daughter, Helena Bay, who raced in Canada, produced Collected (2013), who just ran to a stunning win in the Precisionist Stakes (June 24, 2017):
Still active at the age of eighteen, Johannesburg has become a sire of sires, principally through sons Sageburg (Peace Burg and Si Sage), Turffontein (Fontein Ruby, Lyuba, Fontiton) Teuflesburg (Trinniberg, Nofinancingneeded, ), Marcavelly (Killin Me Smalls, Quidi Vidi) and Scat Daddy.
SCAT DADDY
Based on earnings and stud record, it is Scat Daddy who stands out as his sire’s best son.
Out of the unraced Love Style (Mr. Prospector), Scat Daddy was bred by the Swiss publisher and racing enthusiast Alex Ward. The bay colt came into the world in 2004. He took his name not from the scat of the jazz world, but from his owner, James T. Scatuorchio, a Wall Street banker, for whom he was purchased by trainer Todd Pletcher as a yearling for $250,000 USD.
Inbred 4X2 to Mr. Prospector and 5X4 to Northern Dancer, Scat Daddy was a product of two powerful influences stemming from both his sire line and female family. The incomparable Mr. Prospector was an American sire who knew no equal. American Pharoah, the 2015 Triple Crown winner, is a direct line descendant and the 32nd American classic winner who descends from Mr. Prospector. And the Northern Dancer influence is well documented.
In his two year-old campaign, Scat Daddy broke his maiden at first asking and then went on to win the prestigious Sanford Stakes at Saratoga, where he beat another son of Johannesburg in Teuflesburg. It was an impressive rally for a colt making only his second start, and it caught the attention of Coolmore’s Michael Tabor and Derrick Smith, who immediately purchased a share in him.
After running second to Coolmore’s Circular Quay in the Hopeful, Scat Daddy returned to Belmont to take the Champagne Stakes from another very promising two year-old, Nobiz Like Shobiz:
Winning the Sanford and the Champagne are major steps to becoming a serious prospect on the “Triple Crown Trail” that begins with the Kentucky Derby. Scat Daddy wrapped up his juvenile season by finishing second overall on the Experimental Free Handicap to another brilliant two year-old, Street Sense.
With the rest of the Pletcher stable, Scat Daddy went off to winter in Florida. Two races run there that are considered key indicators for three year-old colts on the Triple Crown Trail are the G2 Fountain of Youth and the G1 Florida Derby.
After a third place finish to Nobiz Like Shobiz and Stormello in the Holy Bull Stakes (his first start as a three year-old) Scat Daddy reappeared in the Fountain of Youth:
In the mean time, the Carl Nafzger-trained Street Sense (Street Cry X Bedazzle by Dixieland Band), also wintering in Florida, took the Tampa Bay Derby, defeating another very good colt in Any Given Saturday (Distorted Humor X Weekend in Indy by A.P. Indy). Street Sense had won the Breeders Cup Juvenile at two and the win was also a new track record for the distance.
March also brought another promising three year-old into the limelight. Curlin (Smart Strike X Sherriff’s Deputy by Deputy Minister) was unraced at two, due largely to court battles involving his owners and trainer Ken McPeek. By March 2007, the colt’s new owners were a racing partnership headed by Jess Jackson and Barbara Banke of Stonestreet Farm. His debut in February as a maiden was an absolute stunner for his connections and his trainer, Steve Asmussen:
Back Curlin came in March to win the Rebel Stakes in Arkansas, before going on to win the Arkansas Derby by 8 lengths a few short weeks later. In the first three races of his career, Curlin had vanquished the field by a combined 28 1/2 lengths.
Back at the Pletcher barn, Scat Daddy was being readied for a start in the G1 Florida Derby, run five weeks before the Kentucky Derby. The son of Johannesburg came through to win decisively, stamping his ticket to Churchill Downs on the first Saturday in May:
On Kentucky Derby day, Curlin and Street Sense were installed as favourites.. And, besides Scat Daddy, there were other challengers who could well upset the favourites: Hard Spun (Danzig), Nobiz Like Shobiz (Albert The Great), Stormello (Stormy Atlantic), Any Given Saturday, Teuflesburg (Johannesburg), Circular Quay (Thunder Gulch) and Tiago (Pleasant Tap).
Scat Daddy would have his work cut out for him. He broke from post position fourteen in the twenty horse field:
Scat Daddy finished up fourteenth. The fact that the brilliant Curlin only managed to get up for third didn’t help ease the disappointment. Shortly thereafter came the news that, having been bumped and jostled back, Scat Daddy had sustained a tendon injury to his right foreleg during the race.
Tendon injuries can heal, but as it would take at least ninety days, the colt would miss most of the key races that remained in 2007. Scat Daddy was retired to Ashford Stud in Kentucky with a record of 9-5-1-1 and earnings of over one million USD.
Could Ashford have predicted that Scat Daddy’s explosive turn of foot would rate as a footnote to his qualities as a sire?
The young sire didn’t come out blazing with his first crop, as have young stallions like Coolmore’s Uncle Mo, and perhaps because of the parallels to his sire’s career on the track, American breeders were wary. By 2011, when Scat Daddy sat atop the American freshman sire list, his stud fee had plummeted from $30,000 to just $11,000 USD.
Looking to give the son of Johannesburg a decent chance at stud, Coolmore cast its eye around the globe. Australia didn’t seem an option, since Johannesburg’s record there had been dismal, although he had gotten two stakes winners in Turffontein and Once Were Wild.
The decision was made to shuttle Scat Daddy to Chile, to Haras Paso Nevado. It turned out to be fortuitous: so influential did he prove when teamed up with Chilean bloodstock that Scat Daddy topped the Chilean Champion sire list for two consecutive years, from 2013-2015. The “Galileo of Chile” — as he was dubbed by Chilean breeders — made such a splash that in 2012 his full brother, Grand Daddy, was acquired (on loan) to stand at another Chilean breeder, Haras Mocito Guapo. And although Grand Daddy hardly tore up the tracks in the USA, in Chile he is well on his way to becoming a smashing sire, just like his big brother.
Notable Scat Daddy progeny in Chile include the millionaire Dacita, as well as Cimalta, Southern Cat, Wapi, Solaria, Il Campione and The Dream. In the same week as Royal Ascot 2017, Ruby Love (#17 in white noseband below) gave her sire another Grade One winner when capturing the Clasico Arturo Lyon Pena in Santiago (Chile). Ruby Love remains undefeated in three starts and looks to be another exciting Scat Daddy filly:
In America and Great Britain, Scat Daddy made his first big splash in 2012 with sons Handsome Mike, Daddy Long Legs and Daddy Nose Best and daughter, Lady of Shamrock.
Handsome Mike winning the 2012 Pennsylvania Derby for owner Paul Reddam. Retired with winnings in excess of a million USD, he now stands at stud in Florida:
In 2013, Scat Daddy’s stars of 2012 were joined by No Nay Never, Dice Flavor, Frac Daddy and Solaria.
2014 brought El Kabeir to the table in the USA, while American-bred Acapulco shone at Royal Ascot. A brilliant juvenile, Zayat Stables El Kabeir was a 2015 Kentucky Derby favourite but was withdrawn due to injury. Below, two year-old El Kabeir makes a stunning debut at Saratoga:
As 2014 drew to a close, breeders, owners and racing fans around the globe were beginning to sit up and take notice of Scat Daddy progeny.
Then, on December 14, 2015, tragedy struck: as he was led out of his paddock at Ashford, Scat Daddy dropped dead of an apparent heart attack. He was only eleven years old.
Through 2016 and 2017, the deep significance of Scat Daddy’s loss has become painfully apparent. His progeny were making their mark around the world, but it was on the big stage of Royal Ascot 2016 that two of his offspring dazzled.
Looking for all the world like his sire, Coolmore’s Caravaggio showed a speedy turn of foot to win the Coventry Stakes. But the race that sparked the most chatter was Lady Aurelia’s Queen Mary win — and not only because she was an American-bred. Since Frankel, there had not been such a dominant performance by any two year-old at Royal Ascot:
If Royal Ascot 2016 was a credit to Scat Daddy, 2017 was an absolute triumph.
He ended the Ascot meet with more winners than any other stallion: Caravaggio in the Commonwealth Cup, Lady Aurelia in the King’s Stand, Con Te Partiro in the Sandringham and Sioux Nation in the Norfolk.
Trained by Wesley Ward and under the brilliant American jockey, John Velazquez, Lady Aurelia returned to the site of her juvenile victory to take the King’s Stand in breathtaking style. (Lady Aurelia #18 in the black & green silks):
Coolmore’s undefeated Caravaggio was a brilliant winner of the Commonwealth Cup. For those mourning the recent loss of his American BM sire, Holy Bull, who had died on June 8, Caravaggio’s victory was particularly poignant:
In Japan, on the last day of Ascot 2017, Scat Daddy landed his 9th winner from 12 starters in that country when two year-old Derma Kaseki (ex Tashawak by Night Shift) won at Hakodate in a thriller of a finish. About the same time, Inflexibility placed in both the Oaks and the Queen’s Plate at Woodbine in Canada for trainer Chad Brown. And early in July, Seahenge broke his maiden at Naas (IRE) for Aidan O’Brien and Coolmore.
POSTSCRIPT
There is only one more crop of Scat Daddy foals to come and you can bet that the ones that come up at the sales will be the subject of fierce bidding, with big names like Coolmore and high-profile Japanese breeders leading the charge.There will be no replacing him, but with fine to brilliant progeny around the globe, Scat Daddy will undoubtedly remain an influence on the breed.
And this is how I choose to remember the dark bay colt I so loved: in his wake, echoes take on colour, heart, bone and sinew.
Bonus Feature:
With jockey Victor Espinoza at Ashford in Kentucky where he visits Scat Daddy:
France Sire visits Giant’s Causeway and Scat Daddy at Ashford (in French voiceover but English is still discernible):
SOURCES:
A special thank you to photographer David Betts for permission to use his photos (https://www.facebook.com/davidbettsphotos/) and to Paul Rhodes of http://www.aidanobrienfansite.com for his kindness in contacting David on my behalf.
Hunter,Avalyn.Scat Daddy.American Classic Pedigrees
http://www.americanclassicpedigrees.com
Vlcek, Miloslav. Hennessey And His Line.On Black Type Pedigree
http://www.blacktypepedigree.com
The Racing Post for stud records of Johannesburg and Scat Daddy.
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Excellent article- such a loss when Scat Daddy died.
1 small correction- Breeders Cup Juvenile is run at 1 1/16, not 1 1/2
(Johannesburg reference to his win).
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Thanks so much for raising this point, runningwild. I will correct it immediately! Abigail
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Great articles. One point I should make though (it may have already been made) was that Johannesburg’s Breeders Cup race at Belmont was over 1m and half a furlong (8.5f) not one and a half miles (12f). An important point I think you’d agree.
All the best
Olly
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Thanks so much Olly. I very much appreciate your picking up on that error and will fix it up. So pleased you enjoyed this piece. I loved both of them and want it to be a perfect article. Abigail
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Dear Abigail. This article as well as all your previous posts, just so enjoyable. Scat Daddy was one of my all time favorites and so proud to see his offspring doing so well at so many race courses and so many countries. Thank you for this post.
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Hi Delrene! Great to know you liked this one. We share a love of Scat Daddy and it thrills me too to know that his blood flows on. May it continue. Abigail
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What an excellent article, Abigail! There is so much more to these horses than what I can learn from reading the names on a pedigree page and I am so grateful for your diligent research and talent to put it all together in a great blog. Thank you very much for expanding the very little I knew about Scat Daddy other than remembering his racing days and learning with sadness about his sudden death. Thanks!
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Hi Celeste! So pleased you enjoyed this one. Scat Daddy was a love of mine, but it started with his daddy, Johannesburg. Losing Scat Daddy so young was really a tragedy. Lovely to hear from you! Abigail
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