|
|
You’ll recall from this past spring how hot the first crop of the Maryland stallion Blofeld got, with his first 14 foals to reach the races all having won a race, giving him an outrageous 100% strike-rate from just 24 first-crop foals (just in time to attract a book of almost 100 mares in 2022 — the most in Maryland and the Mid-Atlantic more broadly). And while he hasn’t been able to (quite) maintain that pace, Blofeld’s stats still make him the most exciting young stallion in the region: he now has 28 winners from 36 runners (78%) out of just 50 foals in his first two crops, including both the colt and filly division winners of the Maryland Million 2YO races in 2022. That’s good for 4% stakes winners to foals, and with four more black-type placed offspring to his credit, that means he’s siring black-type runners at 12% to foals — an excellent number. He also leads all Mid-Atlantic stallions with his offsprings’ average earnings/starter of $55k, and his own AEI of 1.43 compares very favorably with his 1.17 CI, meaning he’s moving his mares up.
Blofeld makes a great match for Nashi given that she has already produced a pair of six-figure earners by a grandson of Gone West (like Blofeld’s sire, Quality Road), including the multiple stakes winner Burnin Ring O Fire. Meanwhile, Blofeld has already sired a pair of black-type earners out of mares by sons of Mr. Prospector, and Nashi is a daughter of the Mr. P stallion E Dubai. Furthermore, Nashi’s own broodmare sire is Storm Cat (as is Blofeld’s), and Blofeld has done extremely well with mares returning Storm Cat (including stakes winner Chickieness and stakes-placed Beach Daze, six-time winner Oak Hill Lg and three-time winner Miss Casey).
All of which points to a successful pairing that will hopefully produce a talented West Virginia-bred in 2024!