Hard Spun (USA)
May 10, 2004 – Living
Danzig (USA) x Turkish Tryst (USA), by Turkoman (USA)
Family 16-h
May 10, 2004 – Living
Danzig (USA) x Turkish Tryst (USA), by Turkoman (USA)
Family 16-h
One of a decidedly above-average crop of American sophomore males, Hard Spun was a game and consistent runner. He stayed well enough to place in two American Triple Crown races and the Breeders’ Cup Classic (USA-G1) and to become a Grade 2 winner over 9 furlongs but gained his lone Grade 1 win over 7 furlongs. He is arguably the best stallion son of Danzig to have stood in the United States.
Race record
13 starts, 7 wins, 3 seconds, 1 third, US$2,673,470
2006:
2007:
Assessments
Rated at 122 pounds on the 2007 World Thoroughbred Racehorse Rankings for his victory in the Kentucky Cup Classic Stakes and his runner-up finishes in the Kentucky Derby and Breeders’ Cup Classic, 9 pounds below overall highweight Manduro and 7 pounds below the top-rated horses on dirt, 2007 American Horse of the Year Curlin (another 3-year-old) and 2007 Emirates Dubai World Cup (UAE-G1) winner Invasor.
As an individual
A handsome, short-coupled, well-balanced bay horse standing 16.2 hands, Hard Spun is leggier with more substance than most of Danzig’s progeny. He raced well on synthetics and on both fast and sloppy dirt surfaces; he was not tried on turf. He had plenty of natural speed and showed great determination while racing.
As a stallion
Hard Spun has generally gotten runners that need a little time to mature but often make good 3-year-olds. According to The Blood-Horse, he was second on the American freshman sire list in 2011 and led the second-crop American sire list in 2012.
Sire rankings
Per Arion Pedigrees (www.arion.co.nz):
Per The Blood-Horse:
Notable progeny
Aloha West (USA), Ertijaal (AUS), Gatting (AUS), Hard Aces (USA), Hard Not to Like (USA), Hardest Core (USA), Le Romain (AUS), Out For a Spin (USA), Questing (GB), Silver State (USA), Smooth Roller (USA), Snap Decision (USA), Spun to Run (USA), Wicked Strong (USA), Zo Impressive (USA)
Notable progeny of daughters
Good Magic (USA)
Connections
Foaled in Pennsylvania, Hard Spun was bred by Michael Moran and Brushwood Stable. He was owned by Rick Porter’s Fox Hill Farms, which acquired him privately after he failed to meet his reserve on a US$485,000 at the 2005 Keeneland September sale. He was trained by Larry Jones. He entered stud in Kentucky in 2007 at Darley at Jonabell. He shuttled to Australia in 2008 and stood the Northern Hemisphere season in Japan in 2014.
Pedigree notes
Hard Spun is inbred 4x5 to two-time American Horse of the Year Native Dancer and 5x6x5 to Native Dancer’s sire, 1947 American champion sprinter Polynesian. He is a half brother to restricted stakes winner Our Rite of Spring (by Stravinsky), second dam of 2020 American champion older male Improbable.
Hard Spun is out of stakes winner Turkish Tryst, whose half sister Pastelartist (by Gulch) is the second dam of Argentine Group 2 winner Rival Dan. Another half sister to Turkish Tryst, Darby Lake (by Meadowlake), is the second dam of two stakes winners and the third dam of 2018 Panamanian champion 2-year-old filly Queen Ceci. Turkish Tryst and her siblings are out of the winning Roberto mare Darbyvail, whose dam Luiana also produced 1974 American champion 3-year-old male Little Current (by Sea-Bird), multiple Grade 1 winner Prayers’n Promises (by Foolish Pleasure), and Grade 2-placed stakes winner Water Dance (by Nijinsky II).
Books and media
Fun facts
Photo credit
Portrait photo taken by Jessica Morgan at Darley at Jonabell in 2016. Used by permission.
Last updated: January 2, 2024
Race record
13 starts, 7 wins, 3 seconds, 1 third, US$2,673,470
2006:
- Won Port Penn Stakes (USA, 6FD, Delaware)
- Won Pennsylvania Nursery Stakes (USA-R, 7FD, Philadelphia Park)
2007:
- Won King's Bishop Stakes (USA-G1, 7FD, Saratoga)
- Won Lane's End Stakes (USA-G2, 9FA, Turfway Park)
- Won Kentucky Cup Classic Stakes (USA-G2, 9FA, Turfway Park)
- Won Lecomte Stakes (USA-G3, 8FD, Fair Grounds)
- 2nd Kentucky Derby (USA-G1, 10FD, Churchill Downs)
- 2nd Haskell Invitational Handicap (USA-G1, 9FD, Monmouth)
- 2nd Breeders' Cup Classic—Powered by Dodge (USA-G1, 10FD, Monmouth)
- 3rd Preakness Stakes (USA-G1, 9.5FD, Pimlico)
Assessments
Rated at 122 pounds on the 2007 World Thoroughbred Racehorse Rankings for his victory in the Kentucky Cup Classic Stakes and his runner-up finishes in the Kentucky Derby and Breeders’ Cup Classic, 9 pounds below overall highweight Manduro and 7 pounds below the top-rated horses on dirt, 2007 American Horse of the Year Curlin (another 3-year-old) and 2007 Emirates Dubai World Cup (UAE-G1) winner Invasor.
As an individual
A handsome, short-coupled, well-balanced bay horse standing 16.2 hands, Hard Spun is leggier with more substance than most of Danzig’s progeny. He raced well on synthetics and on both fast and sloppy dirt surfaces; he was not tried on turf. He had plenty of natural speed and showed great determination while racing.
As a stallion
Hard Spun has generally gotten runners that need a little time to mature but often make good 3-year-olds. According to The Blood-Horse, he was second on the American freshman sire list in 2011 and led the second-crop American sire list in 2012.
Sire rankings
Per Arion Pedigrees (www.arion.co.nz):
- 7th on the North American general sire list in 2021; 8th in 2023; 9th in 2019.
Per The Blood-Horse:
- 6th on the US general sire list in 2019; 9th in 2021; 10th in 2014 and 2023.
Notable progeny
Aloha West (USA), Ertijaal (AUS), Gatting (AUS), Hard Aces (USA), Hard Not to Like (USA), Hardest Core (USA), Le Romain (AUS), Out For a Spin (USA), Questing (GB), Silver State (USA), Smooth Roller (USA), Snap Decision (USA), Spun to Run (USA), Wicked Strong (USA), Zo Impressive (USA)
Notable progeny of daughters
Good Magic (USA)
Connections
Foaled in Pennsylvania, Hard Spun was bred by Michael Moran and Brushwood Stable. He was owned by Rick Porter’s Fox Hill Farms, which acquired him privately after he failed to meet his reserve on a US$485,000 at the 2005 Keeneland September sale. He was trained by Larry Jones. He entered stud in Kentucky in 2007 at Darley at Jonabell. He shuttled to Australia in 2008 and stood the Northern Hemisphere season in Japan in 2014.
Pedigree notes
Hard Spun is inbred 4x5 to two-time American Horse of the Year Native Dancer and 5x6x5 to Native Dancer’s sire, 1947 American champion sprinter Polynesian. He is a half brother to restricted stakes winner Our Rite of Spring (by Stravinsky), second dam of 2020 American champion older male Improbable.
Hard Spun is out of stakes winner Turkish Tryst, whose half sister Pastelartist (by Gulch) is the second dam of Argentine Group 2 winner Rival Dan. Another half sister to Turkish Tryst, Darby Lake (by Meadowlake), is the second dam of two stakes winners and the third dam of 2018 Panamanian champion 2-year-old filly Queen Ceci. Turkish Tryst and her siblings are out of the winning Roberto mare Darbyvail, whose dam Luiana also produced 1974 American champion 3-year-old male Little Current (by Sea-Bird), multiple Grade 1 winner Prayers’n Promises (by Foolish Pleasure), and Grade 2-placed stakes winner Water Dance (by Nijinsky II).
Books and media
- Hard Spun's rivalries with Curlin and Street Sense were featured as the 19th chapter of Horse Racing's Greatest Rivalries (2008, Eclipse Press), a compilation produced by the staff of The Blood-Horse.
- Hard Spun’s victories in the 2007 King’s Bishop Stakes and Kentucky Cup Classic Stakes can be accessed within the Americasbestracing.com article “Racing’s Great Rivalries: Curlin, Hard Spun, and Street Sense” by Bob Ehalt, published June 5, 2017 (https://www.americasbestracing.net/the-sport/2017-racings-great-rivalries-curlin-hard-spun-and-street-sense).
- A promotional video of Hard Spun as a Darley stallion can be viewed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELvOkVg5p8Y.
Fun facts
- Hard Spun regularly received massages from equine sports massage therapist Cindy McVey. He did not seem to care for them much, although trainer Larry Jones felt it was beneficial in working out minor aches and pains.
- According to the 2007 World Thoroughbred Racehorse Rankings, Hard Spun was the top 3-year-old male sprinter on dirt based on his 120-pound rating for his victory in the King’s Bishop Stakes.
- Hard Spun is the namesake for a stakes race for horses aged 3 and up at Presque Isle Downs.
Photo credit
Portrait photo taken by Jessica Morgan at Darley at Jonabell in 2016. Used by permission.
Last updated: January 2, 2024