Mr. Prospector

Mr. Prospector
Mr. Prospector at Claiborne Farm in 1981
Sire	Raise a Native
Grandsire	Native Dancer
Dam	Gold Digger
Damsire	Nashua
Sex	Stallion
Foaled	January 28, 1970[1]
Died	June 1, 1999(1999-06-01) (aged 29)
Country	United States
Colour	Bay
Breeder	Leslie Combs II
Owner	Aisco Stable
Trainer	Jimmy Croll
Record	14: 7–4–2
Earnings	$112,171[2]
Major wins
Gravesend Handicap (1974) Whirlaway Handicap (1974)
Awards
Leading sire in North America (1987, 1988) Leading broodmare sire in North America (1997–2003, 2005–06)
Honours
Grade III Mr. Prospector Stakes at Gulfstream Park
Last updated on April 27, 2020

Mr. Prospector (January 28, 1970 – June 1, 1999) was a

Mr. Prospector began his stallion career in Florida as a regional sire. He proved so successful that he was moved to Kentucky where he became a leading sire and later a leading broodmare sire. His descendants have dominated the United States Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing for several decades and his impact on Thoroughbred bloodlines is felt worldwide.

Background

Mr. Prospector was a bay stallion who was bred in Kentucky by Leslie Combs II, the owner of Spendthrift Farm. His sire was Raise a Native, a son of Native Dancer. Raise a Native was brilliantly fast but unsound, going undefeated in four races at age two before injury. Raise a Native became a notable sire but tended to pass on his "heavy-topped" build and other conformation issues associated with unsoundness.^[3] By contrast, Mr. Prospector's dam, Gold Digger, was a multiple stakes winning mare known for her toughness and durability. A daughter of Nashua, Gold Digger was from a highly distinguished female family tracing back to champion racemare and "blue hen" Myrtlewood.^[4]

Mr. Prospector was the highest-priced horse at the 1971 Keeneland July sale of selected yearlings, selling to A. I. "Butch" Savin for $220,000 (equivalent to $1.66 million in 2023).^[5] "Mr. P", as he came to be known, raced for owner Savin under his nom de course, Aisco Stable. The colt was trained by Jimmy Croll, a future Hall of Fame member who went on to train Holy Bull.^[6]

At maturity, he reached 16 hands (64 inches, 163 cm) high.^[7] He had excellent hindquarters and strong hind legs, but his right forefront was turned-out and his knees were offset, making him vulnerable to injury.^[8]

Racing career

Mr. Prospector raced at the same time as Hall of Fame members Secretariat and Forego. Though not of their class, he was the top-ranked sprinter of 1974 on the Daily Racing Form's Free Handicap.^[8]

Mr. Prospector did not race at age two,^[9] but won his first two starts at age three with "ridiculous ease" before being sidelined by illness. He returned on April 1, 1973, in a six-furlong allowance race at Gulfstream Park, which he won by nine lengths. The time of 1:074⁄5 was a new track record and was only two-fifths of a second off the American record.^[10]

He next entered the

On February 25, 1974, Mr. Prospector finished third in the Paumonok Handicap at Aqueduct Racetrack as the 1-2 favorite. The crowd reportedly responded to the loss by booing jockey Walter Blum "like rutting moose".^[13] He then ran second in the Royal Poinciana on March 6 at Hialeah to Lonetree, who set a track record for seven furlongs.^[14]

On April 20, Mr. Prospector won the

Mr. Prospector retired to stud in 1975 at Aisco Farm near Ocala, Florida. As a regional sire with limited support, he exceeded expectations when he became North America's leading freshman sire of 1978. In 1980, he was relocated to historic Claiborne Farm in Kentucky.^[8] He became an outstanding sire, leading the North American general sire list in 1978 and 1979. From 1,195 named foals, he sired 182 stakes winners (15.1%). Although primarily known for the success of his offspring on the dirt in North America, he also was a top-ten sire for several years in Europe.^[8]

Mr. Prospector sired one winner of each of the Triple Crown races, a feat his grandson, Unbridled, also accomplished. His Triple Crown race winners were 2000 Kentucky Derby winner Fusaichi Pegasus; 1985 Preakness Stakes winner Tank's Prospect; and 1982 Belmont Stakes winner and American Horse of the Year Conquistador Cielo. Mr. Prospector's bloodline has been highly influential in the top echelons of Thoroughbred racing. All eight horses entered into the 2015 Belmont Stakes were descendants, through their sires, of Mr. Prospector.^{[19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26]} Similarly, all of the horses in the 2018 Kentucky Derby were descendants of Mr. Prospector.^[27]

Mr. Prospector's stud fee, even without the guarantee of a live foal, peaked at $460,000 in the early and mid-1980s. By March 1994 he was still commanding fees of $170,000-$180,000 even though the market had suffered a downturn.^[6] During breeding season, he was often able to "cover" two mares in one day.^[28] Mr. Prospector was jointly owned by a 40-member syndicate.^[28]

On June 1, 1999, Mr. Prospector died in his stall of complications from

Mr. Prospector's Grade/Group One winners are shown in the table below.[29] The majority raced in North America on the dirt. However, he also had several significant winners in Europe who established more turf-oriented branches of the sire line.

c = colt, f = filly, g = gelding

Influence on the American Triple Crown

Mr. Prospector's male-line descendants have had great success in the American Triple Crown races, primarily through his sons Fappiano, Forty Niner and Smart Strike who themselves became sires of sires.

Mr. Prospector’s lineage can be found in every American Triple Crown race winner from 2012 onward, with the last horse not to contain lineage through Mr. Prospector was 2011 Kentucky Derby winner Animal Kingdom. His lineage extends even further back for the Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes, as he appears in every pedigree from 2009 onward for those two legs of the triple crown races.

The family tree below lists only the winners descended in the male line.

Pedigree

See also

• List of racehorses

Notes

References

• ISBN 978-1-58150-173-5
  .

• About Mr. Prospector
• Forbes America's Most Valuable Studs