The Triple Crown legend may not have been regarded as a great sire – but his descendants have been crowned Horse of the Year on 15 occasions (with number 16 in the offing …)
As we look forward to the Eclipse Awards announcement on January 22, the front-runner for 2025 Horse of the Year honors is Sovereignty.
The dual Classic winner is by Into Mischief out the Bernardini mare Crowned, so he is a descendant of both Storm Cat and A.P. Indy.
Those stallions are widely recognized as two of the greatest Thoroughbred sires in the modern era. They both happen to be out of stakes-winning Secretariat mares – Terlingua and Weekend Surprise, respectively.
Sovereignty would be Secretariat’s 16th Horse of the Year descendant overall, and the 12th consecutive descendant (in every year from 2012 through 2025, including a pair of two-time champions). This streak is remarkable, especially for a stallion who never seemed to get the credit he was due.
Consider his contemporary, Mr. Prospector, who by all measures was a great sire. Even with almost twice as many offspring as Secretariat, Mr. Prospector is in the pedigrees of only 10 of the 12 most recent Horses of the Year.
Great stallions are expected to have a lasting impact. In his lifetime, though, Secretariat was never considered a great stallion. He was perhaps disappointing, but only because of unrealistic expectations as the first Triple Crown winner in 25 years.
He never led the general sire list, although his second crop put him on top of the juvenile sire list. He did sire a Horse of the Year in Lady’s Secret, and his champion son Risen Star was only three lengths shy of becoming a Triple Crown winner himself. Those three lengths could have forever changed the Secretariat narrative.
There’s no doubt that as a racehorse, Secretariat was one of the greatest of all time, yet history has shown that the best racehorses are no lock to become top sires.
In more than five decades since the creation of the Eclipse Awards in 1971, to date there have been 34 Horses of the Year who went on to stallion careers. Three had not yet had foals of racing age older than two through 2025, and of the other 31, only five sired a Horse of the Year themselves.
One was Secretariat, of course, with Lady’s Secret. Seattle Slew sired 1992 Horse of the Year A.P. Indy, who as noted was out of the Secretariat mare Weekend Surprise. In turn, A.P. Indy sired 2003 Horse of the Year Mineshaft.
The only other Horses of the Year to sire a Horse of the Year in this timeframe were Saint Liam and Curlin, with Havre De Grace and Cody’s Wish, respectively.
Broodmare sire niche
As time went on, it was clear Secretariat was not going to be a sire of sires. As a broodmare sire, though, it’s a different story, and that’s where his impact needs to be fully acknowledged.
Consider this amazing fact: Since 1950, based on annual statistics in the American Racing Manual, Secretariat is the only stallion who was the broodmare sire of two different leading general sires (A.P. Indy and Storm Cat).
A third stallion, Gone West (out of the stakes-winning Secretariat mare Secrettame) never topped the general sire list himself, but he has been a significant sire nonetheless; his son Elusive Quality was the leading sire in 2004.
There is something else to think about. Stallions known primarily as broodmare sires have far fewer opportunities to achieve greatness in that capacity.
With extremely rare exceptions, mares produce only one foal per year, and don’t always produce a foal every year. Therefore, a successful daughter might be limited to 10-12 foals in her lifetime, compared to a son siring hundreds if not a thousand or more foals during their entire stud careers.
Horse of the Year descendants
The first Secretariat descendant to reach racing’s pinnacle was his incredible daughter Lady’s Secret, as a four-year-old in 1986. It was a different era, for sure, but she won more races – 10, eight of them G1 events, in 15 starts – in her championship year than any modern Horse of the Year has even entered during their award-winning campaigns.
A.P. Indy, out of the Secretariat mare Weekend Surprise, earned his title as a three-year-old in 1992. He won five of seven starts that year, including the Belmont Stakes and Breeders’ Cup Classic.
His half-brother Summer Squall sired 1999 Horse of the Year Charismatic, who was poised to win the Triple Crown until an injury near the finish of the Belmont Stakes put a premature end to his racing career. A late bloomer, he won four of his 10 races at three.
In 2003, A.P. Indy’s four-year-old son Mineshaft took year-end honors by winning seven of nine starts, including the Pimlico Special, Suburban, Woodward, and Jockey Club Gold Cup.
Wise Dan started the current streak of Secretariat’s Horse of the Year descendants with consecutive titles 2012 and 2013. He was the first to represent Storm Cat among racing’s top achievers, as his sire Wiseman’s Ferry was a tail-male grandson of that stallion. Wise Dan is also the only Horse of the Year to date whose pedigree includes a Secretariat mare other than Weekend Surprise, Terlingua and Secrettame; his second dam is Askmysecretary.
A noted turf specialist, Wise Dan won five of six starts in 2012 and six of seven starts in 2013.
The flashy California Chrome is a rarity these days, earning his titles at three and five after being on the sidelines most of his four-year-old season. He’s by Lucky Pulpit, a lesser-known son of Pulpit, a strong carrier of the A.P. Indy sire line.
California Chrome won six of nine starts in 2014, including the Kentucky Derby and Preakness, and seven of eight starts in 2016, including the Dubai World Cup and Pacific Classic.
Not much needs to be said about American Pharoah, who in 2015 became the first Triple Crown winner in 37 years. He won seven of eight starts that year, closing his career with a smashing win in the Breeders’ Cup Classic. American Pharoah’s broodmare sire Yankee Gentleman is by Storm Cat.
Storm Cat’s son Giant’s Causeway is the broodmare sire of 2017 Horse of the Year Gun Runner. The four-year-old won five of his six starts, including the Stephen Foster, Whitney, and Breeders’ Cup Classic.
Only three years after American Pharoah, Justify won the 2018 Triple Crown. He was the first Horse of the Year to have both Storm Cat and A.P. Indy in his pedigree. His sire Scat Daddy is tail male to Storm Cat, and his second dam is by Pulpit. Justify finished in front in all six of his starts.
Another turf specialist, five-year-old Bricks And Mortar was undefeated in six starts in 2019, including the Pegasus World Cup Turf, Arlington Million, and Breeders’ Cup Turf. He’s a son of Giant’s Causeway.
Authentic is currently the only Horse of the Year to have Gone West in his pedigree. His broodmare sire Mr. Greeley is by that Secretariat grandson, while his sire Into Mischief brings Storm Cat into the mix. In the topsy-turvy pandemic year 2020, Authentic won five of seven starts, including the Haskell, Kentucky Derby, and Breeders’ Cup Classic.
In 2021, five-year-old Knicks Go won five of seven starts, including the Pegasus World Cup, Whitney, and Breeders’ Cup Classic. His third dam Aube d’Or is by Secretariat’s champion son Medaille d’Or, making him the only Horse of the Year to date descending from a son of the Triple Crown winner.
Flightline earned his Horse of the Year title at four in 2022 with only three starts – and three dominant victories in the Met Mile, Pacific Classic and Breeders’ Cup Classic. By Pulpit’s son and leading sire Tapit, Flightline’s third dam is G1 winner Finder’s Fee, by Storm Cat.
The popular Cody’s Wish won four of five starts at age five in 2023, including the Met Mile and a second consecutive Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile. His dam Dance Card is a G1 winner by Tapit.
The three-year-old filly Thorpedo Anna took top honors in 2024 with six wins in seven starts, including the Kentucky Oaks and Breeders’ Cup Distaff. The only blemish – if you can call it that – was a head defeat in the Travers in an outstanding effort against the boys. Her second dam Pacific Sky is by the Storm Cat stallion Stormy Atlantic.
Sovereignty is expected to return to the races in 2026 as a reigning Horse of the Year, pending the official award in January. He won five of six races in 2025, including the Kentucky Derby, Belmont and Travers. By Into Mischief out of a Bernardini mare, he would be the third Horse of the Year descending from both Storm Cat and A.P. Indy.
It is quite remarkable for a stallion who was never considered great to have this kind of impact more than 50 years after his exploits on the racetrack. He may be slipping back through the generations, but Secretariat’s name still has staying power.
• Children of Secretariat: click here for links to all the articles in Patricia McQueen’s series
Remembering the forgotten children of Secretariat – at home and abroad
From Chief’s Crown to Sovereignty and beyond: Secretariat’s enduring influence on the Breeders’ Cup
End of an era as Secretariat’s final son Maritime Traveler dies, aged 35
How Secretariat’s offspring contributed to the fabled career of D. Wayne Lukas
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