Besides the individual horses who landed fees-paid berths in this year’s Breeders’ Cup World Championships through victories in the Challenge series “Win & You’re In” races, a number of sires also came up big with Curlin and Justify leading the way with four individual winners.
As the Breeders’ Cup Challenge series is nearly wrapped up—a pair of races Oct. 21 at Ascot are the final two events remaining—it seemed like a good time to look back at the sires who enjoyed the most success in this year’s series of races in North America and overseas.
Curlin, who will stand for $250,000 in 2024 at Hill ‘n’ Dale at Xalapa near Paris, Ky., has seen four of his sons and daughters capture five Challenge races this year. In this year’s series the 2007 Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) winner is led by last year’s Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile (G1) winner Cody’s Wish , who captured a pair of Challenge races this year in the Oct. 1 Vosburgh Stakes (G2) at the Belmont at the Big A meeting and the Metropolitan Handicap (G1) June 10 at Belmont Park.
Other Challenge series winners this year for Curlin include Clairiere , who on the same day that Cody’s Wish won the Met Mile at Belmont captured the Ogden Phipps Stakes (G1) there; Idiomatic , who won the Spinster Stakes (G1) Oct. 8 at Keeneland; and Bright Future , who won the Jockey Club Gold Cup Stakes (G1) Sept. 2 at Saratoga Race Course.
Curlin already boasts five Breeders’ Cup winners, including three last year in Cody’s Wish, Malathaat , and Elite Power . While Elite Power did not win a Challenge race this year, he’s being pointed to a defense of his Sprint (G1) victory after adding three more graded stakes wins in 2023.
While Justify didn’t compete in a Breeders’ Cup, the Triple Crown winner appears to be well-positioned to make his mark as a sire of runners in the World Championships. This year he saw four of his juvenile daughters capture Challenge races in Just F Y I , Buchu , Hard to Justify , and Opera Singer . Those four fillies all registered their Challenge wins this month.
Buchu is one of four Breeders’ Cup Challenge races winners this year for Justify
Three of those fillies punched their tickets to the Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1T) as Hard to Justify won the Miss Grillo Stakes (G2) Oct. 4 at the Belmont at the Big A meet, Buchu took the Jessamine Stakes (G2T) Oct. 6 at Keeneland, and Opera Singer won the Prix Marcel Boussac (G1) Oct. 1 at Longchamp. Just F Y I earned a spot in the Juvenile Fillies (G1) with her victory in the Frizette Stakes Oct. 7 at the Belmont at the Big A meet.
Justify, who through Oct. 11 ranked second on the second-crop sires list, stood the 2023 season for $100,000 at Ashford Stud near Versailles, Ky.
