Lately, one name among any others has been popping up more and more frequently in the pedigrees of American stakes winners. That name is El Prado, the Irish stakes winner of the early nineties who enjoyed a long, prosperous stud career at Adena Springs. He was so important to that stud farm that, even in death, their webpage still has a section for his achievements and highlights.
His pedigree was a product of the best of Thoroughbred breeding, as a son of an English classic winner and out of an Irish classic winner. His sire was Sadler's Wells, a son of the great Northern Dancer, who once commanded an imposing $1 million stud fee. Sadler's Wells became a champion and, upon retirement, launched an amazing stud career not matched by any of his contemporaries. His sireline saturates the English landscape, most importantly through Galileo, who is one of the top sires in the world today.
El Prado's dam was Lady Capulet, winner of the 1977 Irish 1000 Guineas (astonishingly, that was her first racetrack start!) A daughter of English Derby winner Sir Ivor, she was part of a female family full of stakes winners and stakes producers. Besides El Prado, she produced Irish champion Entitled (by Mill Reef, one of England's most celebrated racehorses). El Prado gets his gray color from Mahmoud, a Derby winner who appears three times in this pedigree. There is also inbreeding to Turn-To, sire of the great Hail to Reason, and to Pharamond, a full brother to Sickle (a direct male ancestor of Native Dancer).
El Prado only raced nine times, winning four races. His good breeding paid off; he was 1991's champion two year-old in Ireland. After a disastrous three year-old season, where he finished off the board in all starts, he was retired to stud in America. At Adena Springs, El Prado would do his most important work.
His first crop was born in 1994; a relatively small crop, but with some talented individuals. The first millionaire by El Prado was in this crop - Chindi, a graded stakes-winning gelding who ran a whopping 81 times! Course record equallers El Cielo and Thatsusintheolbean were also members of El Prado's first group of foals. After this first year, El Prado's stock began to go up. In his second crop was Nite Dreamer, a graded stakes winner who finished on the board in a Canadian classic race. Racemares like El Prado Essence and The Happy Hopper, both stakes winners, added to the young sire's intrigue. Quimera became his first Group 1 stakes winner in Argentina.
The good mares started coming to El Prado and, in his sixth crop, he produced his greatest yet - Medaglia d'Oro. A Travers winner, he won three Grade 1 races and finished second in both the Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) - twice - and the Dubai World Cup (G1). Medaglia d'Oro retired with $5.7 million in the bank and has since become one of the nation's most sought-after sires, giving us racehorses like Rachel Alexandra, Plum Pretty and Marketing Mix.
His 2001 crop, born two years after Medaglia d'Oro, was one to remember. Kitten's Joy, 2004's champion turf male, is now the leading turf sire in America. Also with recent success as a sire is Artie Schiller, the winner of the 2005 Breeders' Cup Mile. Borrego was a two-time Grade 1 winner in 2005, and Fort Prado was a multiple stakes winner who won stakes well into his eight year-old season. That crop was the gold standard for El Prado as far as sons go. The year after that, though, the lovely Asi Siempre was born. She was a graded stakes winner on both turf and dirt and looked so good that Sheikh Mohammed snatched her up for $3 million. Her son Outstrip (Exceed and Excel) is a graded stakes winner in England this year.
Spanish Moon, born in 2005, was a Grade 1 winner in France, later banned from racing in the United Kingdom due to roguish behavior at the starting gate. Grassy could run very long, finishing second in the 14 furlong Breeders' Cup Marathon (G2) last year. Paddy O'Prado won everything he could as a three year-old, finishing first in four graded stakes, including the Secretariat (G1), and third in the 2010 Kentucky Derby (G1). There is also the popular Winter Memories, a beautiful gray racemare who was one of the leading turf females in 2011 and 2012. She was probably the last great horse for El Prado to offer us before his death a year after her birth. All these names and their accomplishments helped turned a well-bred racehorse into one of America's leading sires.
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