Stallion Feature: Tale of the Cat Carries Storm Cat and Mr. Prospector into Future

Stallion Feature; Tale of the Cat Carries Storm Cat and Mr. Prospector into Future: Storm Cat was one of the most influential sires in the Thoroughbred breed since possibly Northern Dancer. Storm Cat was a lightly raced stallion that was bred to succeed in the breeding shed. His sire, Storm Bird, was a champion in England while his dam, Terilingua, was a princess, daughter of the immortal Secretariat. By 1999 and 2000, Storm Cat was the leading sire in North America, demanding an enormous fee of $500,000, the highest in the country since Northern Dancer demanded $1,000,000 (no guarantee) when he was standing stud. Storm Cat, during his years, sired horses such as Bluegrass Cat, Forestry, Hennessy, Cat Thief, Storm Flag Flying, and Giant’s Causeway.

Mr. Prospector was not as prominent on the racetrack as he was in the breeding shed. While he won 7 of his 14 starts and set multiple track records, he was not another Secretariat like some believed he would be, after flashing his speed early in his career. In his stud career, Mr. Prospector has sired at least one winner of each Triple Crown race, a feat in which his son Unbridled also accomplished as a sire. Mr. Prospector sired Kentucky Derby winners Unbridled and Fusaichi Pegasus, Preakness winner Tank’s Prospect, and Belmont winner Conquistador Cielo. Mr. Prospector can be found in virtually ever major pedigree, including horses such as Curlin, Lemon Drop Kid, Distorted Humor, Seeking the Gold, and Gone West, just to name a few.

Putting these two breed changing sires together produced quality sire, Tale of the Cat. Tale of the Cat is carrying on the Storm Cat line quite successfully, as well as carrying the Mr. Prospector blood through his distaff line. Tale of the Cat has been a high quality sire through the years since he entered stud in 1999. He has sired multiple champions and graded stakes winners such as Gio Ponti, Stopchargingmaria, Lion Heart, and Tale of Ekati. The faith in Tale of the Cat continues, as he was bred to 118 mares in 2014 while standing stud at Ashford in Kentucky.

As a racehorse, Tale of the Cat was not as talented as some of his offspring. While he was Grade Two winner of the King’s Bishop Stakes, he was Grade One placed and a consistent allowance winner. At three and four, Tale of the Cat finished third in the G1 Vosburgh. In 1998, he finished third in the Vosburgh behind quality sprinter Affirmed Success, but did defeat Distorted Humor in the race. Tale of the cat also proved to be able to hang in at longer distances as well. He won two allowance races at 8F and 8.32F. He also was second in the 1998 G1 Whitney Handicap, finishing behind Awesome Again, but did defeat highly regarded Crypto Star.

Retiring to stud in 1999 at age 5, Tale of the Cat had earned $360,900 in nine starts, winning five of them. Ashford purchased half interest in the Storm Cat son for $7.1 million before purchasing the remaining half of $4.1 million later on. In 2015, Tale of the Cat will command a fee of $30,000 for a single foal. For 2014, Tale of the Cat is 27th on the General Sires list, a big difference from 13th in 2013. This year, Tale of the Cat was sire of 258 runners, 124 winners, 4 stakes winners with 7 stakes wins. He also sired two graded stakes winner and one grade one stakes winner. Stopchargingmaria won the Grade One Alabama Stakes at 10F and the Coach Club American Oaks at 9F.

Mostly, Tale of the Cat has implemented speed into his offspring, such as sprinter Favorite Tale, who recently won the G3 Gallant Bob Stakes at 6F. As a broodmare sire, Tale of the Cat has 60% runners, 47% winners, which included his 33 stakes winners. It’s Tricky is his leading earner as a broodmare sire. Tale of the Cat is also the broodmare sire of early 2015 Kentucky Derby favorite Dortmund.

Tale of the Cat is going strong into 2015 and continues to command attention in the stallion market. The sire lines of Storm Cat and Mr. Prospector are being carried on nicely through Tale of the Cat and are not likely to disappear any time soon.