Expatriate stallion Cowboy Cal, who has been among the top three leading sires in South Korea since 2020, died Jan. 11, according to records from the Korea Stud Book. He was 21.
The son of Giant's Causeway out of Texas Tammy (Seeking the Gold) raced as a homebred for Robert and Janice McNair's Stonerside Stable. He won the 2007 Laurel Futurity at 2 and went on to win or place in 11 graded stakes while racing from 2 to 4. He won the Oak Tree Mile Stakes (G2T), Strub Stakes (G2), and San Pasqual Handicap (G2) in 2009, and the Tropical Park Derby (G3T) and Bryan Station Stakes (G3T) in 2008. He was runner-up in three grade 1 stakes: Blue Grass Stakes (G1) and Hollywood Derby (G1T) in 2008 and the 2009 Turf Classic Stakes (G1T).
Cowboy Cal was retired with a 7-5-2 record from 19 starts and earned $1,037,810. He entered stud at Pin Oak Stud in 2010, where he stood for $7,500. He ranked in the top 10 as a freshman and second-crop sire and rose to be the third-leading sire of his class during its third-crop year in 2015.
His top runners in the United States included multiple graded stakes winner and millionaire Fear the Cowboy, grade 1-placed stakes winner Special Relativity, and five-time stakes winner Marquee Miss.
Cowboy Cal was exported to Korea in late December 2016 and quickly rose up the stallion ranks. By 2020, he was the country's second-leading sire by progeny earnings behind Hansen and the co-runner-up by number of winners with 50 alongside Old Fashioned. During 2021-25, he was runner-up four times on Korea's general leading sire list by progeny earnings but would be the leading sire by number of winners in 2022 (76) and by number of wins in 2023 (131).
In 2023, Cowboy Cal missed being the leading Korean sire to Hansen by the equivalent of $44,098 in progeny earnings.
Cowboy Son is his sole Korean champion to date, having been honored as the champion 3-year-old imported colt of 2014. He sired other international champions in Mr. Ninja, who was Peru's champion stayer for 2014, and Pancha Mancha, the champion imported 2-year-old filly in Panama for 2013.
For his stallion career to date, Cowboy Cal has sired 208 winners that include 13 black-type winners. His stakes winners include Vincero Cavallo, who won two internationally recognized listed stakes last year that are recognized as group stakes in Korea.
Cowboy Cal's progeny have collectively earned $17,038,783 and averaged $57,759 per starter.
