Birdstone

Last updated
Birdstone
Birdstone.pdf
Birdstone at Old Friends (2024)
Sire Grindstone
Grandsire Unbridled
DamDear Birdie
Damsire Storm Bird
Sex Stallion
Foaled2001
Country United States
Colour Bay
Breeder Marylou Whitney Stables
OwnerMarylou Whitney Stables
Trainer Nick Zito
Record9: 5-0-0
Earnings$1,575,600
Major wins
Champagne Stakes (2003)
Travers Stakes (2004)
Triple Crown race wins:
Belmont Stakes (2004)
Awards
NTRA "Moment of the Year" (2004)
Last updated on June 18, 2007

Birdstone (foaled May 16, 2001, in Kentucky) is an American Thoroughbred racehorse best known for winning the 2004 Belmont Stakes and has become a successful sire.

Contents

On August 28, 2020 Birdstone was pensioned from stud duty to Old Friends Retirement Farm in Georgetown, Kentucky where he will be accessible to his fans from all over the world.

Background

Owned and bred by Marylou Whitney of Whitney family racing fame, Birdstone was sired by Grindstone, winner of the 1996 Kentucky Derby, who in turn was sired by Unbridled, who won the 1990 Kentucky Derby. Unbridled was in turn sired by Fappiano, a son of Mr. Prospector, the tail-male ancestor of the vast majority of winners of Triple Crown races in recent years (22 out of the 24 races 1998-2005).

Birdstone's dam, Dear Birdie, was 2004 Broodmare of the Year, and produced 12 stakes winning foals, including Bird Town (by Cape Town), who won the 2003 Kentucky Oaks.

Bird Town would later go on to produce graded stakes winner Bird Song (by Unbridled's Song).

Racing career

As a juvenile, Birdstone won the Champagne Stakes, a leading race for two-year-olds, at Belmont Park in 2003.

Beginning his sophomore season, Birdstone won an allowance and finished fifth in the Lane's End Stakes.

He was not a factor in the first two Triple Crown races (finishing eighth in the Kentucky Derby and skipping the Preakness Stakes) and was a 36-1 longshot when he upset the overwhelmingly favored Smarty Jones, taking the lead in the final furlong (201 m) in the fastest Belmont Stakes since the advent of modern electronic timing (2002 was the first year times were kept to hundredths).

Birdstone's victory represented the first in the Belmont for trainer Nick Zito, whose horses had finished second in that classic five times. In the winner's circle after the Belmont Stakes, his owners apologized to the connections of Smarty Jones for winning, as did jockey Edgar Prado.

The next major race for Birdstone was the Travers Stakes, which he won being the fourth betting choice at 5-1. He was Zito's first Travers champion.

Retirement and stud career

Birdstone's retirement from racing after suffering a bone chip at the Breeders' Cup was announced on November 4, 2004. He began his career as a stallion at Gainesway Farm in Lexington, Kentucky.

His first starter was the colt Shoe Strap (Birdstone - Boot Strap by Storm Boot), who first went to post on May 21, 2008, at Churchill Downs and was trained by D. Wayne Lukas. [1]

From his first crop of foals to race, Birdstone sired Mine That Bird, who had several wins as a two-year-old gelding before winning the 2009 Kentucky Derby as a three-year-old. Another of Birdstone's top runners was Summer Bird, who upset Mine That Bird in the 2009 Belmont Stakes (later winning the Jockey Club Gold Cup). His first crop also included Birdrun, who set the Belmont track record at a mile and a sixteenth .

Birdstone was one of the top ten ranked freshman sires of 2008 with 11 winners out of 22 starters and stood for $10,000 for the remainder of the 2009 season, despite his first-crop success. His 2010 stud fee was posted as $30,000 but by 2017 it had fallen to $5,000. Birdstone has sired 31 black-type runners, 20 stakes winners, 8 graded stakes winners, and has amassed progeny earnings over $21 million.

Birdstone's most notable progeny includes:


Birdstone was pensioned from stud duties after the 2020 breeding season and was moved to Old Friends to live out the rest of his days.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Smarty Jones</span> American-bred Thoroughbred racehorse

Smarty Jones is a champion Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 2004 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes and came second in the Belmont Stakes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mr. Prospector</span> American-bred Thoroughbred racehorse

Mr. Prospector was a Thoroughbred racehorse who became an outstanding breeding stallion and notable sire of sires. A sprinter whose career was cut short by repeated injuries, he won seven of his 14 starts, including the Gravesend Handicap at Aqueduct Racetrack and the Whirlaway Handicap at Garden State Park.

Unbridled was a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 1990 Kentucky Derby and Breeders' Cup Classic.

Flower Alley is an American Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. Winner of the Travers Stakes during his racing career, he is best known as the sire of 2012 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes winner I'll Have Another.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tiznow</span> American Thoroughbred racehorse

Tiznow is an American Thoroughbred racehorse best known for his wins in the Breeders' Cup Classic in 2000 and 2001, becoming the only horse to win this race twice. He was the 2000 American Horse of the Year and was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A.P. Indy</span> American Thoroughbred racehorse

A.P. Indy was an American Thoroughbred racehorse who won the Belmont Stakes and Breeders' Cup Classic on his way to American Horse of the Year honors in 1992. His time in the Belmont Stakes tied Easy Goer for the second-fastest running in the history of the race, behind his damsire Secretariat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thunder Gulch</span> Thoroughbred racehorse

Thunder Gulch was a Champion American Thoroughbred racehorse best known for his wins in the Kentucky Derby and the Belmont Stakes in 1995, which earned him the title of U.S. Champion 3-Yr-Old Colt.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Street Sense (horse)</span> American-bred Thoroughbred racehorse

Street Sense is a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 2006 Breeders' Cup Juvenile and 2007 Kentucky Derby and was the 2006 Champion Two-Year-Old.

Go And Go was an Irish Thoroughbred racehorse best known for winning an American Triple Crown race- the Belmont Stakes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Raise a Native</span> American-bred Thoroughbred racehorse

Raise a Native was an undefeated Thoroughbred racehorse that was named 1963 champion two-year-old colt in the Turf and Sport Digest poll and was the highest rated juvenile in the Experimental Free Handicap. He sired 74 stakes winners, including Majestic Prince and Alydar. In its 1988 obituary for the horse, The New York Times called him "the most influential sire of American Thoroughbred stallions over the last 20 years".

Summer Squall was an American thoroughbred racehorse and sire, best known for his win in the 1990 Preakness Stakes, and his rivalry with Unbridled, whom he defeated in four of their six meetings. He later became a successful breeding stallion siring the Kentucky Derby winner Charismatic.

Unbridled's Song was an American thoroughbred racehorse who won the Breeders' Cup Juvenile, Florida Derby and Wood Memorial. He was the favorite for the 1996 Kentucky Derby but suffered a cracked hoof in the weeks before the race and finished fifth. He finished his racing career with five wins from twelve starts and earnings of $1.3 million. He subsequently became a highly successful sire, with major winners including Breeders' Cup champions Arrogate, Forever Unbridled, Midshipman and Liam's Map. He also sired the filly Eight Belles who came second in the Kentucky Derby. He was posthumously the leading sire in North America of 2017.

Pyro is an American Thoroughbred Racehorse and sire. His sire is Pulpit, a son of the 1992 Eclipse Award Winner for American Horse of the Year, A.P. Indy. His dam is the mare Wild Vision, sired by the 1984 Breeders' Cup Classic winner, Wild Again.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mine That Bird</span> American-bred Thoroughbred racehorse

Mine That Bird is a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 2009 Kentucky Derby at 50-1 odds and came second in the Preakness Stakes and third in the Belmont Stakes. He had earnings of $2,228,637 and was inducted into the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame in 2015.

Tapit is an American Thoroughbred racehorse who won three of his six races, including the Wood Memorial Stakes, then a Grade I event. He was an immediate success after retiring to stud, becoming the leading freshman sire in North America of 2008 with Breeders' Cup winner Stardom Bound becoming his first Grade I winner. He was the leading sire in North America in 2014, setting an earnings record that he broke in 2015 and again in 2016. For the 2015 season, his stud fee was raised to $300,000, the highest in North America. In 2021, Essential Quality became his fourth Belmont Stakes winner, tying him for the all-time record of winners sired in this race with the great Lexington.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Summer Bird</span> American-bred Thoroughbred racehorse

Summer Bird was a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse, son of 2004 Belmont Stakes winner Birdstone. He was bred by retired cardiologist Kalarikkal Jayaraman and his wife, retired pathologist Vilasini Jayaraman, at their Tiffany Farm near Ocala, Florida. On June 3, 2010, Summer Bird was retired due to complications of a previous injury.

The 2004 Kentucky Derby was the 130th running of the Kentucky Derby. The race took place on May 1, 2004, and was won by Smarty Jones, who earned a $5 million bonus. There were 140,054 in attendance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shackleford (horse)</span> American-bred Thoroughbred racehorse

Shackleford is a chestnut Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 2011 Preakness Stakes. He also finished second in the 2011 Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile and won the Metropolitan Handicap and Clark Handicap in 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Will Take Charge</span> American Thoroughbred racehorse

Will Take Charge is a retired American Thoroughbred racehorse. Trained by D. Wayne Lukas, the horse is best known for his wins in the 2013 Travers Stakes and Clark Handicap and for being beaten by a nose in the 2013 Breeders' Cup Classic. He was named American Champion Three-Year-Old Male Horse for 2013. He was retired in September, 2014, and stands at stud at Three Chimneys Farm.

The 2004 Belmont Stakes was the 136th running of the Belmont Stakes. The 1+12-mile (2,400 m) race, known as the "test of the champion" and sometimes called the "final jewel" in thoroughbred horse racing's Triple Crown series, was held on June 5, 2004, three weeks after the Preakness Stakes and five weeks after the Kentucky Derby.

References

  1. Who U Like? Shoe Strap? – Maiden Watch