Courtesy of the Paulick Report
by Joe Nevills |
Stallion Spotlight offers stud farm representatives a chance to address breeders and answer questions as they finalize their mating decisions for the 2020 breeding season.
In this edition, Spendthrift Farm stallion sales manager Mark Toothaker talks about Coal Front, a five-time graded/group stakes winner who entered stud this year.
Coal Front
Dk. b. or br. h., 2014, Stay Thirsty x Miner’s Secret, by Mineshaft
Race Record: 13-8-0-1; $1,825,280
Notable Wins: G2 Godolphin Mile, G2 Amsterdam Stakes, G3 Razorback Handicap, G3 Mr. Prospector Stakes, G3 Gallant Bob Stakes, Parx Dirt Mile Stakes
Advertised Fee: $5,000 S&N; $7,500 Share the Upside
1) What is Coal Front’s strongest selling point as a stallion?
Toothaker: He is a stunning physical who won graded stakes all over the globe: Dubai, Gulfstream, Saratoga, Parx, and Oaklawn, against tremendous competition.
2) If I’ve got a mare that needs help from the stallion on a physical characteristic, what Coal Front best contribute to the equation?
Toothaker: Coal Front is very correct and has a great body, he would be the perfect fit for a mare needing some substance, hip, or just needs to be prettied up.
3) What parts of the Stay Thirsty/Bernardini line come through in Coal Front’s physical? What comes through on the bottom side of the page?
Toothaker: Coal Front is very unique in that he’s 3×3 to A.P. Indy, so what you see in him is a medium-sized physical that got the best of that cross. He is a top physical in the fact that he was a $575,000 sales horse, he’s a very good-footed horse, and he was very durable.
4) Coal Front was unraced at two, but won his first three races at age three, including the G2 Amsterdam Stakes. Without his own form to go on, what makes you confident that Coal Front will able to get a 2-year-old runner?
Toothaker: Todd Pletcher had him ready to roll at Saratoga as a 2-year-old, and he had a brilliant work the week before he was scheduled to run but came out of the work with a shin injury. The team felt like they had something special, so didn’t rush him and risk injury, his ability was also present at the 2-year-old sale where he worked fast and sold extremely well.
5) Coal Front won five graded stakes races at five different distances, from six furlongs to a mile and a sixteenth. How does that open up the variety of mares that could be good pairings with him?
Toothaker: Coal Front had speed and could carry it. We feel like he is a very good fit for mares needing some speed influence introduced into the pedigree, as well as mares that had great early form to double down on speed-on-speed.
6) Coal Front won the Godolphin Mile on the Dubai World Cup card, besting top-class runners from around the world. What can a notable international win do to inform a domestic breeder’s decision-making?
Toothaker: We loved the fact he could win on the big stage against a top field in such a dominant fashion, as well as the fact he won without Lasix, which is a plus with so many jurisdictions leaning toward eliminating it in years to come.
7) Coal Front comes to Spendthrift Farm as part of a large, distinguished class of new stallions, also including Omaha Beach, Maximus Mischief, Mitole, and Vino Rosso. What makes Coal Front unique among that group?
Toothaker: Coal Front has such an interesting pedigree, being 3×3 to A.P. Indy to go along with his great looks, we felt like he would be a great fit in our Share the Upside program and would give our breeders a great value, which is so important today.
8) What makes Coal Front a standout in his price bracket?
Toothaker: For $7,500, a breeder can earn a lifetime breeding right in Coal Front, that is on a stands-and-nurse basis. This allows the breeder, once earned, to breed on that season every year, sell the season each year, or if Coal Front hits big, they can sell the entire breeding right. It’s a tremendous opportunity for our breeders to be able to take advantage of this.
To learn more about Coal Front, click here.