Mr Fisk captures the Hollywood Gold Cup (Ernie Belmonte/Past The Wire)
By The 2YO EdgeMan
I am always intrigued by regional sires, as many times they fly under the radar. They often offer great opportunities at the window in two-year-old races and provide excellent value for breeders looking for a good sire at a reasonable fee. This year only two new sires are joining the breeding ranks in Florida and they are each quite interesting. They both stand just outside of Ocala in Morriston, FL at Pleasant Acres Stallions.
Mr Fisk is by the late, great Arrogate and is one of only a small handful of his sons to move to the breeding shed in 2025. He’s out of a dam by champion Manduro who won eight times, including at the stakes level at Santa Anita. On the track, Mr Fisk broke his maiden two days into his three-year-old campaign and went on to win multiple graded-stakes events closing his career with a score in the G2 Hollywood Gold Cup at Santa Anita over One and a Quarter miles posting a fantastic 107 Equibase Speed Figure. He also logged an EBSF of 104 or higher in three of his other stakes wins and was trained by Bob Baffert. His 2025 Fee is $8,500.
Champions Dream is by another fantastic stallion – Justify. His mom was sired by the great Tapit and she scored as a juvenile at first asking, earning her the title of ‘TDN Rising Star’ at Keeneland in the fall with an 87 EBSF. She then captured the One Mile G2 Pocahontas Stakes at Churchill Downs by a convincing 5+ lengths in her only other start at age two. Dancinginherdreams was the even-money favorite in this event and she earned a strong 89 EBSF. She went on to bank a total of $328K in her 15 race career.
Like his mama, Champions Dream was a precocious two-year-old who won by 2+ lengths on debut in a seven-furlong Maiden Special Weight affair on the dirt at Saratoga as the solid favorite, also earning the honor of ‘TDN Rising Star’. He went on to win the Grade 3 Nashua Stakes later in his juvenile year at Aqueduct going a mile, again on the dirt. Like his stablemate, he closed out his racing career with a win at Gulfstream Park at a Mile and 70 Yards on the All-Weather track while flashing a 104 EBSF. His 2025 fee is $5,000.
I suggest that you strongly consider these two fine, new sires for your mares. I know that I’ll be anxiously looking forward to seeing their first crop of babies hit the track soon.
