The Florida Thoroughbred industry has suffered a major loss with the death of Wildcat Heir. A four-time leading sire in the state and the first stallion in Florida history to exceed $4 million in progeny earnings for four consecutive years, 15-year-old Wildcat Heir had to be destroyed this morning due to severe colic. He had been the premier stallion at Journeyman Stud near Ocala for the last eight years, and at stallion shows strode into the viewing ring with the calm assurance of a king surveying his domain.
Wildcat Heir was not a great sire if you were looking for a potential Classic horse. But if you wanted speed and the kind of precocity that trains on well, he fit the bill beautifully, transmitting a fair share of the ability that made him a Grade I-winning sprinter. He set a North American record for freshman sires in 2009 with 39 juvenile winners that year. In 2014, he was represented by 138 winners. Eight were stakes winners including Grade II winner Wild Dude and Grade/Group III winners Daring Kathy and Tie Hand.
Last year the stallion got his first Grade I winner, Heir Kitty, and he may have a few more big winners in the pipeline. He has 38 named juveniles of 2015 as of today, and 66 live foals were reported to The Jockey Club in his 2014 crop. He served 93 mares last spring, and their foals will form his final legacy.
Rest in peace, big guy. You were a good one, and you'll be missed.
Wildcat Heir was not a great sire if you were looking for a potential Classic horse. But if you wanted speed and the kind of precocity that trains on well, he fit the bill beautifully, transmitting a fair share of the ability that made him a Grade I-winning sprinter. He set a North American record for freshman sires in 2009 with 39 juvenile winners that year. In 2014, he was represented by 138 winners. Eight were stakes winners including Grade II winner Wild Dude and Grade/Group III winners Daring Kathy and Tie Hand.
Last year the stallion got his first Grade I winner, Heir Kitty, and he may have a few more big winners in the pipeline. He has 38 named juveniles of 2015 as of today, and 66 live foals were reported to The Jockey Club in his 2014 crop. He served 93 mares last spring, and their foals will form his final legacy.
Rest in peace, big guy. You were a good one, and you'll be missed.
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