More Than just a record breaker

Cover image courtesy of Bronwen Healy

No sire has had more individual winners than the son of Southern Halo (USA) and Rupp N Ready's (USA) win at Indiana Grand on Tuesday saw him break fresh ground as the first to surpass 2000 winners.

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More Than Ready, still going strong at 24 at WinStar Farm, stood his final season in the Hunter Valley in 2019 and has more winners, 832, in Australia, than in any other country.

A breakdown of his total winners by country sees him with 828 in the United States, 68 in Canada, 59 in Great Britain and 40 in New Zealand. All in all, he has had winners in 39 countries in the world.

With a total of 2001 winners, he stands above Danehill (USA) with 1623, while the recently departed Galileo (Ire) has 1587. With 208 stakes winners, he sits fourth on the global list of sires by stakes winners behind Danehill, with 347, Galileo with 338 and Sadler's Wells (USA) with 294.

Table: More Than Ready's (USA) winners per country

More Than Ready's impact on Vinery Stud from when he arrived in Australia in 2001 was transformative and General Manager Peter Orton reflects on his latest milestone with some pride.

"Just to see a horse like that achieve so much is a great thing. When he first came out here we hoped he was going to be a significant enough stallion because he had the pedigree and the conformation and was going to mix well with our horses over here. He's done that and more," Orton said.

"His influence is greater than those numbers. He was a young, fresh, healthy horse that always travelled well. He always had good to above-average fertility. He got the opportunity and he was a very consistent horse. He handled whatever we asked of him, and he seemed to do that as a racehorse."

As John Boyce reflected in this publication in 2019, More Than Ready raced 17 times as a 2-year-old and 3-year-old, winning seven times. He won the G2 Sanford S. at Saratoga and the G3 Tremont S. at Belmont as a 2-year-old, but his most impressive performance came in the G1 King’s Bishop S. for 3-year-old sprinters at Saratoga a year later, where he charged home from last.

His 3-year-old spring campaign proved that he was more than just a speed horse, finishing second in the G1 Blue Grass S. and fourth in Fusaichi Pegasus’ (USA) G1 Kentucky Derby.

"He could run on every surface, whether it be dirt, turf or the synthetic track," Orton said. "That was the versatility of that breed and that horse himself. Some people said he was a good wet tracker, but I don’t think that was the case. His stock were the same. They were good on anything thrown up at them."

Watch: More Than Ready (USA) winning the G1 King's Bishop S.

Mr Reliable

More Than Ready made an immediate impression as a stallion in both the United States and in Australia. He produced 10 stakes winners from his 62 foals in his first American crop and 12 from 83 foals in his first crop in Australia.

"He came out at the right time. We had the Danehill-line and were looking for outcrosses. When we started Vinery we went for the outcross track, because there was a dominance of the Danehill-line around and we found a couple with Red Ransom and Mossman. I was always very keen to bring that Halo-line out and More Than Ready came out and did a fantastic job," Orton said.

SF Bloodstock has played an active role in More Than Ready’s stallion career and SF’s Tom Ryan has watched closely as the stallion has built his success on both sides of the world.

"He obviously injects soundness, mentally and physically into his stock. I can’t say enough good things about him," Ryan said.

"He was able to go to Australia as a relative unknown, but as a wonderful outcross, with all the Danehill and Danzig blood and he has produced Golden Slipper winners and end up being a Champion Sire of 2-year-olds.

"As he got older, he became incredibly well-respected in the Northern Hemisphere. Even this year at 24 years old, there was demand for this horse for lots of reasons. People know there is a strong commercial market for his yearlings, people know he's a great stallion to get a young mare off to a good start, with a runner from their first foal.

"I had someone tell me late in the season in the US that they had sent a mare to two other stallions to get her in foal, and the last chance was More Than Ready and she was in foal. He's a horse that people can rely on."

That reliability, according to Orton, was attributable to his notable temperament which the studmaster believes has played a significant role in his success and his longevity.

"He did it with such ease. He was such a relaxed horse and was able to handle it so easily. That kept him active all those years and that had a lot to do with his longevity," he said.

"It's always a bit of a problem when you have stallions that are having to sit around and do nothing eight months a year. Having horses that are active and working consistently is a very healthy environment."

That 'laid-back' demeanour was something he was able to pass on to his progeny, which have made them a particular favourite among those who ended up handling them.

"Stress and temperament are two of the most important things we deal with. Right from the start, from our pregnant mares to our foals and weanlings and yearlings, the more relaxed and stress-free they are, the better they are in terms of nutrition, fertility and health in general," Orton said.

"That carries right through to their activities as racehorses and as breeding stock too. A relaxed mare will be a better mother and a more relaxed stallion with a better temperament will usually have better fertility and better workloads.

"You get certain breeds that pass on their temperament traits and More Than Ready certainly did that. A lot of his stock has his temperament which makes it that much easier."

Ryan inspected More Than Ready at his Kentucky base recently and the 24-year-old left a considerable impression.

"I saw him last week, myself and Gavin (Murphy), and he looks like he's 15-years-old. Vinery in Australia and WinStar Stud in Kentucky have done the most incredible job maintaining this horse," he said.

More to come

More Than Ready's final Australian crop of 67 foals arrived last year and will hit the yearling sales in 2022 with a sense of expectation as the end of the supply line in this part of the world. He is far from finished his duties at WinStar Farm, however.

"He’s had a great year at stud in America again, for a horse of his age and his fertility," Orton said.

His legacy in Australia is also carried on by his sire sons, of which there are seven at stud in Australia in 2021, headed by Lyndhurst Stud's Better Than Ready, who is tracking his sire when it comes to being a prolific winner-getter.

His departed son Sebring has also left a considerable legacy, producing 70 stakes winners and 687 winners in total. Among them are six stallion sons of his own at Australian studs in 2021.

Table: Sons of More Than Ready (USA) at stud in Australia, fees inc GST

More Than Ready has also become a broodmare sire of formidable influence, with 1522 winners globally from his daughters, including 115 stakes winners.

Among his 635 winners as a damsire in Australia are 40 stakes winners including Group 1 winners from the past season in Bivouac, Celebrity Queen (Redoute's Choice), Forbidden Love (All Too Hard) and Media Award (Shamus Award). He sits third in the Australian Broodmare Sires' Table for the 2020/21 season.

"His fillies are certainly the next legacy that he is leaving here. There are so many winners coming out of More Than Ready mares now," Orton said.

"When he came here, we felt he would fit because he fitted into our pedigrees so well and his daughters are doing such a good job and they are so well sought-after now."

Table: More Than Ready's (USA) Australian-bred Group 1 winners

An American legacy

More Than Ready's legacy in the Northern Hemisphere is also well-poised to continue, both through his progeny and those of his sire sons, according to Ryan.

"One of the most remarkable achievements in the last couple of years was through his son Daredevil, whose daughter Swiss Skydiver won the Preakness S. last year. He also had Shedaresthedevil win the Kentucky Oaks," he said.

"Both those fillies are still in work and having major targets coming up. Swiss Skydiver goes for the Whitney S. and Shedaresthedevil is going for the G1 Clement Hirsch S. on the West Coast.

"More Than Ready's legacy through horses like those is certainly secure. He's also got such a fantastic record as broodmare sire."

His daughters have produced 50 American stakes winners to date, and 503 winners in total. Among recent stars with More Than Ready as their damsire are 2019 G1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf winner Structor (Palice Malice {USA}) and 2020 G1 Alcibiades S. winner Simply Ravishing (USA) (Laoban {USA}).