Speightstown's Progeny Continue to Represent for Sire

There is little movement at the top of the North American General Sires List with less than two weeks until the Kentucky Derby (G1) and a weekend filled with high-purse racing. But the rest of the top 25 has shuffled. The top eight, based on progeny earnings, two pairs of sires swapped positions from two weeks ago, but otherwise, the top of the rankings looked no different. The same couldn't be said for places 9-25, where two stallions held their position. Late sire Speightstown is the biggest mover, gaining five spots to No. 25. His top runner this year is Owen Almighty, who is expected to run in the May 3 Derby at Churchill Downs. Winner of the Tampa Bay Derby (G3) at Tampa Bay Downs and sixth-place finisher in the Blue Grass Stakes (G1) at Keeneland, the Brian Lynch trainee is the biggest reason behind his sire's inclusion in the top 25. But having not run since the Blue Grass, Owen Almighty is not solely behind Speightstown’s rise over the last two weeks. Instead, it was several of Speightstown’s offspring posted wins lately, helping to push the sire upward. Five-year-old gelding Chiseler earned $75,563 for winning an allowance race at Keeneland. In four races this year, the gelding has two wins and a second. Another allowance winner, 8-year-old Augusta Melody, added $71,610 to his sire's tally with an Apr. 16 triumph at Keeneland. During his racing career, Speightstown was a high-caliber sprinter who was 10-2-2 from 16 career starts and earned $1,258,256. He capped his career by winning the 2004 Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1), which led to his being crowned champion sprinter. Speightstown, who was euthanized in 2023 at 25 due to foot issues related to old age, stood at WinStar Farm near Versailles, Ky. He was a prodigious sire of 18 crops of racing age. Speightstown got off to a fast start, finishing in the top five as a freshman sire and top four as a second-crop sire. He broke into the top 25 on the general leading sire list at No. 10 in 2010 and only fell outside this tier twice since then, in 2023 and 2024. Nine times he was a top-10 sire by progeny earnings, including 2013 when he was the second-leading sire. That 2013 season saw him fall short by progeny earnings by a little more than $73,000; he was first with 37 black-type stakes winners, and he was tied with Kitten's Joy for the most stakes winners with 24. Among his offspring are Munnings, an all-time great sire in his own right; Reynaldothewizard, who won multiple group races in Dubai; grade 1 winner Force the Pass; 2016 Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile winner Tamarkuz; two-time grade 1 winner and Saudi Cup runner-up Charlatan; multiple graded stakes winner Olympiad; two-time Canadian champion sprinter Essence Hit Man; Matera Sky, who had an illustrious career in Japan and participated twice in the Breeders' Cup; multiple group winner in Dubai Switzerland; two-time Breeders' Cup runner Shirl's Speight; and fellow top-25 sire Speightster.