Karakontie is a stallion that we have recommended to clients previously because he gets strong racetrack results and thus offers significant value at his advertised fee. Especially for a client that is not adverse to a turf runner (although Karakontie does have a Graded winner on the dirt to his credit), his statistics make him an excellent option, and he’ll be a perfect fit for Wasabi’s Mad Grace in 2026.
Karakontie is now up to 21 black-type winners (good for 8.6% to runners), including G1 winners She Feels Pretty and Spenderella, and he has another 18 black-type placed runners to his credit (meaning fully 16% of his runners earn black-type). His AEI of 1.46 is well above his mates’ 1.26 CI, meaning he improves his mares — a characteristic that we value very highly in a stallion.
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And though he’s not the most commercial proposition, as a predominantly turf influence, his ‘25 results (better than a $50k average for 25 sold, with a $30k median) are a substantial improvement over his ‘24 numbers ($38k average and $19,750 median with just eight sold) — so there is some room for profit there.
As for why Karakontie makes a good match for Mad Grace specifically, first and foremost they fit well on physicals and proclivities: both are good-sized horses with some length and scope, and both were at their best as turf milers (as both had every right to be on pedigree).
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True Nicks rates this pairing as an “A+” on the basis of Karakontie’s results with Smart Strike-line mares, which include nine winners from 13 runners, including a pair of black-type winners and another black-type placed horse. Three of those 13 runners are out of mares by Mad Grace’s sire English Channel, and two are winners while the third is placed and remains active.
Mad Grace also happens to be a half-sister to a black-type placed horse by Stormy Atlantic, a turfy son of Storm Cat, and Karakontie is by Storm Cat’s son Bernstein.
So there is a lot to like about this mating, and we can’t wait to see the foal from it wind up in the winner’s circle!