Curlin is Leading Breeders' Cup Sire With Three Winners

Hill 'n' Dale Farms at Xalapa's top sire Curlin   had the strongest representation during the two-day Breeders' Cup World Championships at Keeneland with three winners and two third-placed finishers out of seven entered.

The strong performances now give the two-time Horse of the Year (2007-08) five career Breeders' Cup winners and widen his current lead among the top North American sires for 2022 by number of grade/group 1 winners this year to six.

Curlin is the sire of Malathaat , who won the Longines Breeders' Cup Distaff (G1) by a hard-fought nose; Cody's Wish , who won the Big Ass Fans Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1) by a head; and, Elite Power , who took the Qatar Racing Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1) by 1 1/4 lengths. The third-place finishers are Clairiere  in the Distaff and Raging Sea  in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1). These runners banked a combined $2,960,000 in purses.

Malathaat was bred by Stonestreet Thoroughbred Holdings, who campaigned Curlin, out of the A.P. Indy grade 1 winner Dreaming of Julia . Cody's Wish is a Godolphin homebred out of the Tapit   grade 1 winner Dance Card , while Elite Power was bred by Alpha Delta Stables out of the Vindication  grade 2 winner Broadway's Alibi .

Prior to this year, Curlin had sired two Breeders' Cup winners with 2017 Sentient Jet Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) winner and champion 2-year-old colt Good Magic   and 2019 Longines Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) winner and champion older male Vino Rosso  .

Godolphin's Dubawi , who stands at Dalham Hall Stud near Newmarket in England, is the leading Breeders' Cup sire by purses earned with $3,210,000 banked by Modern Games , winner of the FanDuel Breeders' Cup Mile Presented by PDJF (G1T); Longines Breeders' Cup Turf (G1T) winner Rebel's Romance ; and, third-place finisher Creative Force  in the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint (G1T).

Gainesway's Tapit had one winner among his three Breeders' Cup starters but that winner was Classic winner Flightline , the marquee horse of this year's World Championships. Undefeated Flightline was bred in Kentucky by Summer Wind Equine (that is also a co-owner) out of Indian Charlie daughter and grade 3 winner Feathered .

Flightline's win raises Tapit's number of career Breeders' Cup winners to seven, which ties him with the late WinStar Farm sire More Than Ready and Spendthrift Farm's leading sire Into Mischief  , who picked up his seventh winner this year with Wonder Wheel  in the Juvenile Fillies. Prior to this year, Tapit had sired: 2008 Juvenile Fillies winner Stardom Bound, 2009 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1T) winner Tapitsfly, 2011 Juvenile winner Hansen, 2012 Dirt Mile winner Tapizar, 2014 Distaff winner Untapable, and 2020 Juvenile winner Essential Quality  .

Two Breeders' Cup winners also were represented as broodmare sires among this year's winners.

Juvenile winner Forte  is a son of Violence   out of the Blame   stakes winner Queen Caroline. Claiborne Farm's Blame won the 2010 Classic at Churchill Downs.

Elite Power's broodmare sire Vindication won the 2002 Juvenile at Arlington Park.

Other sires with Breeders' Cup winners this year include: Coolmore Stud's No Nay Never  (Meditate , Juvenile Fillies Turf), Saxon Warrior (Victoria Road , Juvenile Turf), and the late leading international sire Galileo (Tuesday , Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf, G1T); Hill 'n' Dale Farms' Violence and Ghostzapper   (Goodnight Olive , Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint, G1); Godolphin's Irish sire Exceed And Excel (Mischief Magic , Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint, G1T); and, Juddmonte Farms' pensioned sire Mizzen Mast (Caravel , Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint, G1T).