Medaglia D'oro: beyond impressive

Photo: Anne M. Eberhardt

                   One stallion that has never failed to impress me is the great Medaglia D'oro. What can even be said by a stallion that has sired two Kentucky Oaks (G1) winners and would probably have sired three had Songbird ran in this year's running. Already the sire of 82 stakes winners, his stud fee of $150,000 seems like a good value, especially considering that he is almost guaranteed to give a return on the track and in the sales ring. 

                    Medaglia D'oro has a considerable presence in the sales ring with his fair share of sales toppers, especially at Saratoga. This year's total average for 47 yearlings sired by him is $325,052 with his fillies having a higher average at $332,624 for 28 sold. 

                   Medaglia D'oro doesn't only get dirt runners, but is also represented on turf and is the sire of this year's Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1) winner New Money Honey. The filly looks to be a future star with 2 wins and 1 place from 3 starts. It should not be surprising that Medaglia D'oro produces turf horses being from the Sadler's Wells line. His own sire, El Prado, is also the sire of leading North American turf sire Kitten's Joy.

                  The most impressive quality in Medaglia D'oro is what he does for the mares he covers and for their respective owners and breeders. Among his 82 stakes winners, 75% are their dams' best foal. He boasts even better statistics in the sales ring with 92% of his $500,000 plus yearlings being their dams' highest priced foals. 

                   He is also turning out to be a good broodmare sire with a 1.26 AEI. We all know that the chances for a great race mare to become a great broodmare are low, but one of Medaglia D'oro's best offspring, the Kentucky Oaks (G1), Preakness stakes (G1) and Haskell Invitational (G1) winning horse of the year Rachel Alexandra, has defied those odds. Both her foals are winners and her second foal, the G1 winning Rachel's Valentina (Bernardini), is among Medaglia D'oro's current highest earners as a broodmare sire.

                    Medaglia D'oro has two impressive millionaire sons that will stand their first season at stud in 2017 in Mshawish, who stands at Taylor Made Farm, and Vancouver (AUS), who is at Ashford Stud and shuttles to Coolmore Australia for the southern hemisphere breeding season. Hopefully his sons continue his legacy, but his daughters are already making a mark with such mares as rachel Alexandra. Although, she won't be breeding anymore, Rachel Alexandra's full sister, Samantha Nicole, has been bred to Bernardini which means the resulting foal will be a 3/4 sibling to the G1 winning and Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) runner up Rachel's Valentina.