Lemon Drop Kid Pensioned at Lane's End

Lemon Drop Kid , perennially among the nation's leading sires, has been pensioned from stallion duties at age 25. He will remain at Lane's End Farm to enjoy the rest of his retirement, the Kentucky farm announced Jan. 8. 

The son of classic-winning Kingmambo is responsible for siring 97 black-type winners and 101 graded stakes horses worldwide, including grade 1 winners Beach Patrol, Romantic Vision, Richard's Kid , and Lemons Forever. Currently ranked 11th on the cumulative list of leading active sires in North America with total combined progeny earnings of more than $96 million, Lemon Drop Kid has established himself as a proven source of grade 1 talent as a broodmare sire with the likes of Forever Unbridled, Finest City, Tamarkuz , and Bar of Gold. 

"Lemon Drop Kid has been a Lane's End stalwart for 20 years," said Lane's End's Bill Farish. "We are very fortunate to be associated with a horse like him. We want to thank the syndicate members and breeders who have supported him for the past two decades. His legacy will live on through his sons and daughters across the globe." 

Lemon Drop Kid is out of the Seattle Slew mare Charming Lassie, a half sister to Weekend Surprise—the dam of champion A.P. Indy, himself by Seattle Slew. Lemon Drop Kid is a half sibling to graded/group winners Brulay and Statue of Liberty and hails from the family of grade/group 1 winners Gay Mecene, Wolfhound, Summer Squall, Duke of Marmalade, Ruler of The World, and Court Vision . He was crowned champion older male in 2000 and won five top-level races for owner Jeanne G. Vance and trainer Scotty Schulhofer: the 1998 Futurity Stakes (G1), the Belmont Stakes (G1) and Travers Stakes (G1) in 1999, and the Whitney Handicap (G1) and Woodward Stakes (G1) in 2000. 

"He represents a very important sire line of Mr. Prospector through Kingmambo, which is rare here…but a relevant line internationally," said pedigree consultant Sid Fernando. "Even at his age, Lemon Drop Kid is an unbelievable stallion, and his influence is going to continue to grow. This is a line that adds a lot of stamina to pedigrees, which we really need nowadays."

Lemon Drop Kid's progeny were remarkably uniform in their versatility. He sired 54 black-type winners on dirt and 55 black-type winners on turf. Among those stakes winners, 48 were male and 49 were female. His 2-year-olds banked more than $9.2 million in purses, and all his runners averaged more than $78,600 per starters.

As a broodmare sire, Lemon Drop Kid's stature is still growing. His daughters have produced 66 black-type winners so far, which include 23 graded/group winners and eight champions. He is the broodmare sire of grade 1-winning full sisters Unbridled Forever and Forever Unbridled (both by Unbridled's Song and out of the Kentucky Oaks, G1, winner Lemons Forever) and of group 1 winner Without Parole (GB), who won the St. James's Palace Stakes during the 2018 Royal Ascot meet.

The same versatility shown as a sire is being relayed through Lemon Drop Kid's daughters, too, who have produced 33 black-type winners on dirt and 35 black-type winners on grass.