Legacy of Unbridled's Song Going Strong

Mark Taylor was in the back ring of the Keeneland sales pavilion Nov. 15 when he was presented with the list of leading sires for the November breeding stock sale. As his eyes zeroed in on the top line, a look of pride came over him—as was, and still is, the case when it comes to matters concerning the stallion that put his family's Taylor Made Farm on the map.

"It's just one more notch on his resume," grinned Taylor, referring to the late Unbridled's Song.

The legacy of the horse who made headlines on the racetrack and in the sales ring has fittingly snatched the spotlight in both areas in recent weeks. Ten days after his son Arrogatereeled in champion California Chrome   to capture the Nov. 5 Breeders' Cup Classic (gr. I), Unbridled's Song has top billing once more as the leading sire by gross through Book 4 of the Keeneland November exercise.

Bolstered by the sale of his Breeders' Cup winning daughter Unrivaled Belle, who brought a sale-topping $3.8 million during Book 1, Unbridled's Song—who was euthanized at age 20 in 2013 due to a mass in his sinus cavities and optic nerves—has had his commercial appeal and strength as a broodmare sire further validated during the first half of the 13-session exercise. 

The 26 offspring of his that have sold so far during the November sale have generated a gross of $9,076,500, including Conquest Serenade who went for $800,000 during Monday's seventh session. Through Nov. 15, Unbridled's Song ranks sixth among Northern Hemisphere broodmare sires with his most recent boost coming in the form of Breeders' Cup Mile (gr. IT) hero Tourist  .

"To me, he's the hottest broodmare sire in the world," said Taylor, vice president of marketing and public sales operations for Taylor Made Farm. "A lot of times with broodmare sires, people think that it's just a residual effect of being bred into good families. But with him, I think what you're seeing is a lot of his daughters are big, roomy mares that just put quality into the foal. 

"We've got mares that people bought for $20,000 and ones they bought for $2 million and they all have good-looking babies. He's just a great stallion and I think he's proved to be a great broodmare sire, equal or maybe better to him as just a sire."

About the only achievement left dangling for Unbridled's Song is the coveted distinction of being a sire or sires. Given that some of his best colts have emerged since his passing, that feat may be checked off sooner than later. 

Will Take Charge  , who earned the Eclipse Award for champion 3-year-old male just months after his sire's passing, has proved popular at Three Chimneys Farm and is the leading first-year weanling sire by average through Book 4 of the Keeneland auction. Taylor Made has Graydar  , the grade I-winning doppelganger of his father, aiming to take up the mantle while Arrogate stands to become the fourth offspring of Unbridled's Song to become a champion.

"You look at Cross Traffic  , Graydar, Will Take Charge, Arrogate, all in the last three crops," Taylor said. "He (Unbridled's Song) just got better with age. A lot of people say the older sires tail off, but he certainly didn't. He kept going right to the end."