A.P. Indy and the Triple Crown

With the Triple Crown season in the U.S. now at an end, I thought I would make a post about the impact A.P. Indy has had on the Crown. A great-great-grandson won the Triple Crown this year, becoming only the 13th horse to win it in 100 years.

A.P. Indy, a 1989-foaled son of Triple Crown winner Seattle Slew, was out of a winning daughter of the famous Triple Crown winner Secretariat. In turn, he was an early betting favorite for the Kentucky Derby of 1992, reflecting his superb racing record at two and three, but had to scratch due to injury shortly before the race. The injury had him miss the Preakness, but he rebounded to win the final leg, the Belmont Stakes. His half-brother, by Storm Bird (who also sired champion sire Storm Cat), won the 1991 Preakness Stakes.

The striking bay stallion was retired after a victory in the 1992 Breeders' Cup Classic, and his first foals were born in 1994. He was retired from breeding in spring 2011 after failing to get any of the mares he bred in foal, meaning his very last crop was born that year.

One of his last conformation pictures before being pensioned in 2011.

From 1997 through 2014, he had a total of 18 offspring compete in the Triple Crown, and only in 2002 did he not have any sons or daughters run in a single leg of the prestigious series. Those eighteen horses combined to make 24 starts in the series, with two wins, five seconds, and one third.

The sons and daughter that finished in the money were:

Aptitude, who accounts for two of the runner-up finishes with his two starts in the 2000 series - the Kentucky Derby and the Belmont Stakes. This horse was sent to stud a couple years later and was a disappointment before dying at the age of 15 in the southern hemisphere.

A.P. Valentine, who finished 7th in the Derby before finishing second in both the Preakness and the Belmont of 2001. He had fertility problems as a stallion and is now a pensioner in Texas.

Bernardini, who won the 2006 Preakness Stakes in his only start in the series. He was sent to stud the following year and is successful, living at Darley America.

Rags to Riches, who won the 2007 Belmont Stakes in her only Triple Crown start. She has led a rather unsuccessful broodmare career, but remains in the Coolmore ownership. Starting her breeding career in 2008, she was in the U.S. before going to Ireland, and recently returned to America. She is the only filly since 1905 to win the Belmont Stakes.

Astrology, who finished third in the 2011 Preakness Stakes, his only start in the series. He was sent to stud not long after and currently resides in Louisiana. His foals are starting to put him on the map, however, so don't be surprised if he returns to Kentucky in the near future.

Commissioner, A.P. Indy's very last progeny to compete in the Triple Crown, was beaten a mere head in the 2014 Belmont Stakes, his only start in the series. He went to stud in 2016, and his first foals are yearlings.

From 2002 through this year and probably on to the future, A.P. Indy has had grand-foals competing in the Triple Crown, with some success. A total of 58 grandsons and one granddaughter have competed since 2002, and only in 2003 did none participate. These combined to make 86 starts in the Triple Crown, with three wins, nine seconds, and six thirds. The ones that managed to hit the board are:

Bluegrass Cat, who finished second in the Derby and the Belmont in his two starts in the 2006 series. He is now a bit of a successful sire, standing in California. He is out of a daughter of A.P. Indy, named She's A Winner.

Steppenwolfer, who finished third in the 2006 Derby in his first of two starts in the series (he finished fourth in the Belmont later). A gray by the aforementioned Aptitude, he was gelded in 2009 and was finally retired in 2010. Retrained as a foxhunter after steeplechasing in 2009 and 2010, he was sold on the condition that he never be re-sold. He died between June 17 and 24 of this year due to colic.

Icabad Crane, who finished third in the 2008 Preakness in his first of two starts in the series. A gelding by A.P. Indy's son Jump Start, he was finally retired at the end of 2012 and is now an eventer.

Dunkirk, a gray out of A.P. Indy's Kentucky Oaks winning daughter Secret Status, who finished second in the 2009 Belmont Stakes after an 11th in the Kentucky Derby. He was retired after that race and is now a moderately successful sire in Japan.

Super Saver, the first of A.P. Indy blood to win the Kentucky Derby, did it in 2010. He is out of A.P. Indy's daughter Supercharger, and the Derby was his final victory. He finished 8th in the Preakness. He is now a moderately successful sire in Kentucky.

Ice Box, a son of Pulpit, finished right behind Super Saver in the Derby. The red colt went on to be eighth in the Belmont next out, and is now a sire in Kentucky, entering stud in 2012.

First Dude, a son of a top A.P. Indy colt Stephen Got Even, ran second in the Preakness and third in the Belmont of 2010. Now retired, he is a moderately successful sire in Florida.

Fly Down, who actually beat First Dude by one placing in the 2010 Belmont Stakes. This runner-up to Drosselmeyer in the longest classic is a son of A.P. Indy's Horse of the Year son Mineshaft. He disappeared after a sixth-place finish in a Dubai World Cup prep in 2012, and I have no idea where he is.

Nehro, who finished second in the Kentucky Derby of 2011 before a fourth in the Belmont. A son of Mineshaft, he died from colic at the age of five while still competing. Interestingly enough, he died on Derby Day 2013.

Stay Thirsty, who ran second in a very wet edition of the Belmont Stakes in 2011 after finishing twelfth in the Kentucky Derby. He is now a moderately successful sire after retiring at the end of 2012 and moved to California for this year. He is by A.P. Indy's Preakness-winning son Bernardini.

Orb, who won the 2013 Kentucky Derby and ran third in the Belmont after finishing fourth in the Preakness. By A.P. Indy's son Malibu Moon, he retired at the end of 2013 and is now a decent sire in Kentucky.

Revolutionary, who ran third in the Kentucky Derby behind Orb, is a son of one of A.P. Indy's first good daughters, Runup the Colors. He retired to stud in 2015, and his first foals are two year olds.

Commanding Curve, who ran second in the Kentucky Derby of 2014, is a son of A.P. Indy's lesser-known sons, Master Command. He retired from racing in May 2016 and is now an eventer.

Patch, the one-eyed wonder who finished third in the 2017 Belmont Stakes, is a son of A.P. Indy's daughter Windyindy. He also competed in the Kentucky Derby but finished far out of it. He is still competing, with a win on his season debut and an off-the-board finish in the Stephen Foster this month.

Cloud Computing, the one who beat Always Dreaming in the 2017 Preakness Stakes, is a son of Maclean's Music, a son of A.P. Indy. Still competing, he finished fourth in a competitive Westchester Stakes on May 5 to start his four-year-old season.

Since 2009, except for 2010 and 2011, there have been numerous great-grandsons of A.P. Indy competing in the Triple Crown. Together, the 37 horses combined to make 49 starts in the Triple Crown. This resulted in 5 wins, 3 seconds, and 4 thirds. Here are the horses that hit the board.

Bodemeister, who ran second to I'll Have Another in the 2012 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes. Now a successful sire, his first crop produced 2017 Kentucky Derby winner Always Dreaming. Bodemeister is a son of Untouched Talent, herself a daughter of the A.P. Indy mare Parade Queen. He lives in Kentucky.

California Chrome, who did one better than Bodemeister by winning the 2014 Kentucky Derby and Preakness before dead-heating for fourth in the Belmont Stakes. Now at stud, the red horse's first foals are being born this year. He lives in Kentucky during the first half of the year and shuttles to Chile for the second half. He is a son of Lucky Pulpit, himself a son of A.P. Indy's best first-crop colt Pulpit.

Tonalist, the one who beat California Chrome in the 2014 Belmont Stakes, won that race over A.P. Indy's own son Commissioner. Retired at the end of 2015, his first foals are now yearlings. The son of Pulpit's son Tapit, he lives in Kentucky.

Frosted, American Pharoah's greatest rival, finished second in the 2015 Belmont Stakes. Now retired, his first foals are being born this year. He is by Tapit, the best son of A.P. Indy's son Pulpit.

Divining Rod, another son of the Pulpit horse Tapit, finished third to American Pharoah in the 2015 Belmont Stakes. He is standing in Maryland after being retired at the end of last year. His first foals will be born in 2019.

Lani, the crazy Japanese-connected colt, managed to finish third in the Belmont after grabbing the media's attention for his quirks as he prepared for what turned out to be an off-the-board finish in the Kentucky Derby. The gray horse is now retired and standing his first season in Japan. He is also a son of A.P. Indy's Pulpit horse Tapit.

Creator, another gray by Tapit, actually won the 2016 Belmont Stakes over Lani, and he was sent to Japan shortly after. His first foals hit the ground this year.

Tapwrit followed up Creator's 2016 Belmont win with a win in the same race in 2017. He is still racing, and finished third in a June 3 Allowance Optional Claiming race at Belmont to start his four-year-old season. He, too, is a gray by Tapit.

Senior Investment, a son of the Mineshaft stallion Discreetly Mine, finished third in the 2017 Preakness Stakes. He is still racing, having competed three times this year and hit the board once: a second place finish on May 19 at Churchill Downs in an allowance optional claiming event.

Hofburg is the only horse in this post to have A.P. Indy show up twice in his pedigree. A red colt by Tapit, his dam is also a granddaughter of A.P. Indy - her dam, Glia, is a daughter of A.P. Indy himself. Anyway, following a fifth in the Kentucky Derby, he finished third in the 2018 Belmont Stakes. He has not raced since. No doubt we will be seeing more of this one.

There have only been eight great-great-grandsons of A.P. Indy to run in the Triple Crown. He had one in 2016, four in 2017, and three this year. But they have made quite the impact. In three years, they have combined to make 12 starts in the series and win four times, with one third place finish. The three horses to hit the board in the Triple Crown are:

Always Dreaming, who won the 2017 Kentucky Derby. He has not won since, however, and in two starts at four disappointed in both. The son of Classic-placed Bodemeister traces to A.P. Indy through that sire, for Bodemeister is a son of Untouched Talent, a daughter of the A.P. Indy mare Parade Queen.

JUSTIFY, who won the 2018 Triple Crown. He has not raced since, but the red son of Stage Magic (herself a daughter of the Pulpit mare Magical Illusion - and Pulpit a son of A.P. Indy) is being pointed to the Travers or Haskell in August and July.

Tenfold, who finished third in the 2018 Preakness. A son of the Tapit mare Temptress, he ran in the Belmont after that, finishing fifth, and is expected to finish out the season.

And so, there you have it. Since his first crop was old enough to run in Triple Crown races, he has had 122 descendants compete in the Triple Crown. They have accounted for the 2010, 2013, 2014, 2017, and 2018 Kentucky Derbies, the 2006, 2014, 2017, and 2018 Preakness Stakes, and the 2007, 2014, 2016, 2017, and 2018 Belmont Stakes. That's a total of fourteen individual Triple Crown races!

Imagine what these numbers will look like going forward, as more grandfoals, great-grandfoals, and great-great-grandfoals continue to compete in the Triple Crown. He also has great-great-great-grandfoals old enough to compete in the Classics, so no doubt that will be happening, soon.

To read more about this stallion, to get an in-depth look at his career and impact, pick up my book, "A.P. Indy", in paperback and/or Kindle. It is available on Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/P-Indy-Rebecca-Baker-ebook/dp/B079CRB32N/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1530051613&sr=8-1&keywords=a.p.+indy

A.P. Indy in March 2016

A.P. Indy, who himself accounted for a Belmont Stakes and whose sire and damsire accounted for two Triple Crowns, has been a pensioner at Lane's End Farm since 2010. The 29 year old stallion still accepts visitors there.