The Legacy of Arch

The racing world was stunned by the passing of Claiborne’s top stallion Arch from a sudden heart attack on January 20, 2016. The 21 year old stallion spent his entire stud career at the historic farm. Arch was a mid-range stud, but he proffered an essential contribution to the breed.

Arch (Kris S. - Aurora, by Danzig) was bred in Kentucky by Helen Alexander and Helen Groves. The first foal out of the stakes placed mare Aurora caught the attention of Claiborne Farm and Adele Dilschneider, who bought Arch for $710,000 from the 1996 Keeneland July Sale.

Pedigree:

Arch has one of the most outstanding pedigrees of his generation. In his first three generations (14 horses), there are six chef-de races, (three Classic, one Intermediate/Classic, one Brilliant/Classic and one Intermediate/Solid).  Plus, there are two blue hens and four Champions. This mix of class and stamina was transmitted to Arch’s offspring.  

Arch’s sire Kris S. was a son of the Classic chef-de-race Roberto out of a mare by Princequillo, one of the preeminent broodmare sires in modern history. Princequillo was noted as a Solid/Intermediate chef-de-race. 

Kris S. was leading sire in 2003, and is the only stallion to have sired five Breeders’ Cup winners. Three of them earned Eclipse Awards; Prized (1989 BC Turf); Hollywood Wildcat (1993 Distaff, Champion Three-Year-Old Filly); Brocco (1993 Juvenile); Soaring Softly (Filly and Mare Turf, Champion Female Turf Horse); and Action This Day (2003 Juvenile and Champion Two Year Old).  Kris S. also sired two-time Japanese Horse of the Year Symboli Kris S. and Epsom Derby hero Kris Kin.

Arch’s distaff family is pure class, yet the majority of the stakes winners are fillies and is considered a developer of broodmares rather than stallions. He was the first of his stakes winning dam’s blacktype earners. Seven of 12 of Aurora’s foals raced and five, including Arch, earned blacktype, including UAE Champ Festival of Light and Arch’s full brother Alisios. Aurora’s only son to make his mark at stud is Arch. Her daughters are passing the good genes along. Two of Aurora’s daughters have foaled blacktype earners.

Arch’s half sister Acoma (Empire Maker) is the highest earner of Aurora’s offspring, with $1,060,898 in her bankroll. Acoma hit the finish line first in seven graded stakes including the Spinster (G1). 

Arch’s second dam Althea (Alydar - Courtly Dee, by Never Bend) was named Champion Two Year Old Filly after winning or placing in eight of nine starts. Althea was no slouch as a three year old, either. She won or placed in four of six starts, including a victory against the boys in the Arkansas Derby.

Unlike many champion mares, Althea’s babies received their dam’s talent. The mare bore only five foals, four fillies and a colt.  The colt never raced, but all four fillies were stakes winners and three in turn, bore grade 1 winners. Acoma’s full sister Yamanin Paradise earned Two Year Old Championship honors in Japan.

Arch’s third dam, the blue hen Courtly Dee, bore nine blacktype earners. Of her five stakes winning sons, only two, Ali Oop and Twinning, had moderate success at stud.  However, Courtly Dee’s daughters and granddaughters produced stallions who made a mark in the breed. Besides Arch, Courtly Dee’s daughters gave us the English stallion Green Desert (Danzig), who founded a strong branch of Danzig’s sire line of Northern Dancer.  Other stallions from the family include Great Journey (New Zealand) and the new sire Bayern.

Arch’s damsire Danzig (Northern Dancer – Pas de Nom, by Admirals Voyage) needs no introduction. A producer of 200 stakes winners, Danzig is the leading sire by stakes winners in current history.  The stallion stood his entire career at Claiborne Farm and topped the general sire list from 1991-93.

Racing Career

After winning his maiden as a late two year old, Arch didn’t race until April of his three year old season.  He won an allowance race in his first start back, yet his trainer Frank Brothers didn’t push Arch and gave the 16.1 hands high colt an additional three months to mature. After placing second in his come-back race, Arch rewarded his connections with a three race win streak, including the Super Derby (G2) and Fayette Stakes (G3). In the Fayette, Arch showed his quality.  With only four contestants in the race, Arch made it a match race with the older, more experienced Touch Gold. The winner of the 1997 Belmont Stakes and Haskell Invitational, Touch Gold fought gamely through the 1 1/16 mile race, but Arch refused to let his rival by. Arch won the Fayette by a game neck in 1:53.87, setting a new track record.

Arch returned in the 1998 Breeders’ Cup Classic. The colt’s preferred running style was either on the lead or pressing the pace. The only time that he had been defeated, Arch was seventh in the early going.  In the Classic, Arch got into a three-way duel for the lead with Coronado’s Quest and the favorite, Skip Away. Perhaps taxed by his effort in the Fayette, Arch faded to ninth in the stretch.  Arch was retired at the end of his three year old campaign with a 7-5-1-0 ($480,969) race record.

At Stud

Claiborne Farm is well known for standing their young stallions for reasonable stud fees. Arch was no exception, entering stud for $15,000.  Arch was a member of a strong crop of freshmen sires in 2002, which included Awesome Again, Distorted Humor, Elusive Quality, Grand Slam and Tale of the Cat. Competition for mares was fierce and Arch’s first crop contained only 40 foals.

Arch is a prime example of a stallion having to prove themselves the hard way. Typically, a stallion’s stud fee drops by his third year at stud. The mares bred to the stallion aren’t as accomplished as those bred to him in his initial two years. The third year stallion’s babies aren’t on the track yet and the new first crop sires receive all of the attention. If the foals are slow to mature, as was the case with Arch, the stud fee will often be reduced.  

By 2004, the large dark bay’s stud fee dropped to a paltry $5,000, despite his moving up the stallion ranks from #50 to #12. His first two crops contained less than 100 foals.

As three and four year olds, Arch’s progeny were maturing and capturing stakes races.The stallion’s conformation practically guaranteed that his offspring would be late bloomers. Arch had the durable conformation that is consistent in the Roberto line – solid, strong-boned, powerful individuals who could carry their speed two turns. 

The two most gifted offspring from Arch’s first crop were the group stakes winners, Les Arcs in England and Overarching in South Africa. The initial crop also included the Grade 3 winning stakes veteran Chilly Rooster and stakes placed Playa Maya who would later foal Champion Juvenile Uncle Mo.  

Arch’s offspring had a breakout year in 2006.  His son Prince Arch set a new course record for 1 3/16 miles while winning the Grade 1 Gulfstream Park Breeders’ Cup Handicap over the lawn. Additionally, two of Arch’s daughters were in the spotlight; Pine Island won the Gazelle and Alabama, both Grade 1 events and Arravale earned Canadian honors as Older Turf Female and Horse of the Year.

Arch’s stud fee steadily rose to $25,000 in 2007.  In 2010, the stallion gained national recognition when his son Blame captured the Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) in a narrow victory over the superstar Zenyatta.  Blame earned an Eclipse Award as Older Male and Arch shot up the Leading Sire list to #19. Although Arch never made it to the top ten on the Sire List, his progeny proved their class and durability on the racetrack. By the time of his death, Arch stood for $40,000.

Arch sired 16 crops of foals totaling 1,014. 70% of them started and half of those won.  A superior 10% of Arch’s offspring won or placed in stakes races. The average is 6%. His progeny won over all surfaces from five furlongs to 1 ½ miles.

Legacy

Today’s breeding sheds are dominated by the strains of Mr. Prospector, Northern Dancer and Bold Ruler, through various branches.  Arch is descended from the Hail to Reason sire line, and thus, an excellent outcross for the top three bloodlines. The only other Hail to Reason stallion line to reliably pass along the genes through their sons is Halo, through his potent son, Sunday Silence.

Arch currently has five sons at stud. Two, Blame and Archarcharch, stand for a fee greater than $3,000.  Blame is off to an excellent stud career and stands for $25,000 at Claiborne Farm.  He appears to be the likely successor to Arch, unless one of Arch’s last crops contain a horse of Blame’s caliber. 

Archarcharch went to stud in 2012 and is third by earnings on the First Crop Sire List.  Grade 3 winner Toews on Ice is Archarcharch’s highest money earner. The stallion’s offspring are more precocious than Blame’s, but many will improve with maturity.  Standing at Spendthrift Farm for $7,500, he doesn’t get the same standard of mares as Blame.

Arch’s greatest legacy may be that of a broodmare sire.  His daughters have produced 19 stakes winners.   Among them are Kentucky Derby hero I’ll Have Another, Two-Year-Old Champ Uncle Mo, Canadian Two-Year-Old Champ and Horse of the Year Uncaptured and multiple Grade 1 earner Contested. 

Arch’s second tail sire Roberto was noted for siring tough, durable winners filled with stamina. His sons were accomplished on the track, but only a handful made their mark as sires of sires.  Roberto’s son Dynaformer is hailed as one off the world’s best broodmare sires. Other capable sons include Lear Fan, Silver Hawk, Reprised, Red Ransom, Sunshine Forever and Royal Roberto, all prized as damsires.  

Kris S. and his male decendants follow in this vein as adept broodmare sires. Stakes winners that claim Roberto or Kris S. as damsires include Zenyatta, Life is Sweet, War Chant, Marketing Mix, Student Counsel, and Rite of Passage. Overall, Kris S. and his sons are the broodmare sires of 202 stakes winners, 26 of them grade/group 1 winners.

At one time, it was thought that the Bold Ruler bloodline would die out because Bold Ruler’s best representation was Seattle Slew, and through him, A.P. Indy. After a full life at stud, A. P. Indy assured Bold Ruler’s legacy would live on through Pulpit and his offspring, especially Tapit, who is making his own dynasty. Other sons of A.P. Indy, especially Malibu Moon and Bernardini, will keep this bloodline viable. Ironically, Bold Ruler stood at stud at Claiborne Farm.

Hail to Reason’s bloodline is in the same predicament. It is tenuously hanging on through Halo (Sunday Silence) and Roberto’s branch. Sunday Silence passed along the genes in Japan, but the limited number of his descendants that make it to our shores seem unlikely to revive the line here.  Roberto’s son Red Ransom represented Hail to Reason’s line in Australia. In Europe, the multiple Group 1 winner Bob Black carried the line forward. In the U.S., two of Dynaformer’s sons, Temple City and Point of Entry, may eventually emerge as sires of sires, but so far, the task now lies on the withers of Arch’s best son Blame, who, fittingly, stands at Claiborne Farm. If anyone can revive the line, they can.