The Remarkable Triple Crown Series of 2009

Only twice in the past 45 years have the Kentucky Derby (G1) and the Preakness Stakes (G1) winners been different horses that also represented sires with their first crop of 3-year-olds.

The phenomenon most recently occurred this year, with Kentucky Derby winner Always Dreaming sired by WinStar Farm's Bodemeister  , and Preakness winner Cloud Computing a son of Hill 'n' Dale Farms' Maclean's Music  .

As rare as this high-profile success has been since 1973, however, the first occurrence wasn't that long ago. In 2009 Mine That Bird and Rachel Alexandra scored a first-crop 3-year-old Triple Crown double in the Derby and Preakness, respectively. Mine That Bird is by Gainesway's Birdstone  , and Rachel Alexandra rocketed the value of Darley's Medaglia d'Oro   with a record-setting campaign that ended with Horse of the Year honors.

The 2009 Triple Crown series is even more significant, because it is the only year since 1973 in which all three Triple Crown races were won by different horses that were all first-crop 3-year-olds. Birdstone made that happen when he got his second classic winner in short order with Summer Bird, who won the Belmont Stakes (G1) that year.

Among the four stallions with first-crop classic winners, Birdstone would have been the highest price on the board to get one, let alone two, classic winners. The son of Grindstone had a relatively modest book of first mares, as indicated by the Comparable Index. The CI is a statistic similar to the Average Earning Index, except that it indicates the relative earning power of a book of mares' runners by all other stallions. Birdstone was bred to 102 mares with a collective CI of 1.46. His entering-year stud fee was $10,000.

What Birdstone did have in his favor was a strong personal and family history in the Triple Crown. Grindstone won the 1996 Kentucky Derby, and his grandsire Unbridled won the 1990 Derby. Birdstone finished eighth in the 2004 Derby but went on to derail Smarty Jones  ' Triple Crown bid with a deep stretch surge in the Belmont to win by a length.

Birdstone got four black-type winners in 2009 and Summer Bird was named Eclipse champion 3-year-old colt. The stallion finished second on the 2009 leading second-crop sire list.

Leading the second-crop sires that year was multiple grade 1 winner Medaglia d'Oro. The son of El Prado attracted an exceptionally strong book of mares when he retired initially to Hill 'n' Dale with a $35,000 fee. He bred 184 mares with a collective CI of 2.21.

Rachel Alexandra aside, Medaglia d'Oro had a remarkable second-crop year with nine black-type winners, which included five graded/group winners. His fillies stole the show in the graded ranks. Rachel Alexandra was undefeated in eight starts and won five grade 1 stakes, including the Kentucky Oaks, Preakness, Mother Goose, Haskell, and became the first filly to win the Woodward. Medaglia d'Oro's other top fillies were graded winners Gabby's Golden Gal and Payton d'Oro, along with black-type winners Tasty Temptation, She's Our Annie, Our Golden Dreams, and Dashing Debby.

This year's Triple Crown offers potential for another first—three different Triple Crown winners by three different first-crop 3-year-old sires—as Airdrie Stud's second-crop sire Creative Cause   is expected to be represented in the June 10 Belmont by multiple stakes winner Twisted Tom.