Protonico , Castleton Lyons’ sire of Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) winner Medina Spirit , will stand for $10,000 next year, the farm announced Nov. 10.
The 10-year-old son of Giant’s Causeway , an Oussama Aboughazale homebred, is a top five second-crop sire this year on the depth of Medina Spirit’s performances this year. The multiple grade 1-winning colt has won four times and finished second four times out of nine starts this year and earned $3,520,000 as of Nov. 10. Besides the Derby, Medina Spirit won the Awesome Again Stakes (G1), Robert B. Lewis Stakes (G3), and the Shared Belief Stakes. Most recently he was second in the Nov. 6 Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) to Knicks Go .
Protonico has sired eight career winners, including another black-type performer in Splash of Tonic , who was second in the Miss Indiana Stakes. Bred on a $5,000 stud fee, his 2021 yearlings averaged $63,833 with a $66,000 median and three sold for six-figure prices, topped at $120,000 for a filly out of Matryoshka Doll at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale.
The farm’s other sire, Gio Ponti , will have his fee held at $5,000. The multiple champion and son of Tale of the Cat has sired 16 black-type winners, including five graded stakes winners and champions Drefong and Long Runner. His 2021 stakes winners include graded winners Olympic Runner and Gray’s Fable .
