Mr. Prospector Sire Line in Japan
Posted in October 2022 – To be updated as needed (Latest update: February 2023)
- As you all know, Mr. Prospector sire line is very popular, especially in North America, and is the major sire line in the world.
- Many Mr. Prospector sire line racehorses and stallions have been imported to Japan since about 1990.
In Japan, many of them showed suitability for dirt races and short distance races on turf. - The foals by Kingmambo showed suitability in races over middle distances on the turf, which is the mainstream of Japanese horse racing.
Kingmambo’s foals, El Condor Pasa and King Kamehameha, had excellent race results and good stallion performance.
Other than Kingmambo Line, other stallions that have done well in Japanese turf middle-distance races are End Sweep and War Emblem.
However, El Condor Pasa and End Sweep died early, and War Emblem lost interest in mares and could no longer act as a stallion.
Nowadays, King Kamehameha line is the dominant one that has the suitability for turf over middle-distance. - Increased value and frequency of dirt and short-distance races is also a good trend for Mr. Prospector line.
Many thoroughbred breeders will now and then select a Mr. Prospector line stallion for his powerful running ability.
Another good point about Mr. Prospector line is that it is strong in middle and long distance races among dirt races.
Kingmambo sire line
Kingmambo (by Mr. Prospector)
- Kingmambo line is the most suitable for Japanese turf tracks.
King Kamehameha’s success has made it a mainstream line in Japan. - Outside of Japan, Kingmambo’s own foals and the foals of King’s Best and Lemon Drop Kid were active.
However, the King Mambo line is rapidly losing power outside of Japan, partly due to Japan’s purchase of many stallions from Kingmambo line.
El Condor Pasa (by Kingmambo)
- He had an excellent performance as a racehorse.
As a stallion, he was a good all-around stallion for turf, dirt, and distance, but he died prematurely. - His foals that have won G1 races are Vermilion, Song of Wind, and Alondite.
Tokai Trick, who remained active for a long time, is also a foal of his. - The survival of the El Condor Pasa line is quite severe.
King Kamehameha (by Kingmambo)
King’s Best (by Kingmambo)
- One of his foals, Eishin Flash, sired in Germany and born in Japan, won the 2010 Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby).
He worked as a stallion in various countries and sired many G1 winners, including Workforce, who won the Epsom Derby and Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe. - Perhaps due to Eishin Flash’s success, he worked as a stallion in Japan from in 2013.
He did quite well as a stallion, although he did not produce any G1 winners other than Eishin Flash. - Workforce, his successor, became a stallion in Japan but went to Ireland in 2016 without good results.
Eishin Flash was a promising stallion, but none of his foals won a G1 race.
It would be fair to say that bringing King’s Best and Workforce to Japan has diminished the power of the Kingmambo line outside of Japan.
Eishin Flash (by King’s Best)
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- He did not do as well as expected as a stallion.
- His foal, Vela Azul, won the Japan Cup.
- It will be interesting to see what will become of the Eishin Flash line in the future.
Lemon Drop Kid (by Kingmambo)
- He was a successful racehorse and stallion in the United States.
- His late foal, Lemon Pop, was imported as a racehorse in Japan and won a G1 race.
- Lemon Pop has a great pedigree and will almost certainly become a stallion.
It will be interesting to see what role his owner, Godolphin Racing, will seek for him as a stallion.
Miswaki sire line
- Miswaki’s foal, Marvelous Crown, won the 1994 Japan Cup.
However, Marvelous Crown could not become a stallion because he is a gelding. - After Marvelous Crown’s success, some of his foals came to Japan, but they could not win against the Sunday Silence foals and others.
The other successful his foal besides Marvelous Crown was Taiki Treasure. - One of Miswaki’s foals, Black Tie Affair, the 1991 Eclipse Award Horse of the Year, came to Japan as a stallion.
Others, such as Taiki Fire, a half-brother to Taiki Shuttle, worked in Japan as a sire of Miswaki line.
Black Tie Affair (by Miswaki)
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- He was a pretty good stallion.
Of his foals, Fujino Wave won the JPN1 race, JBC Sprint.
- He was a pretty good stallion.
Conquistador Cielo sire line
- Among Conquistador Cielo line racehorses, Eishin Champ won the G1.
- Silent Witness, who was very successful in Hong Kong and has won a G1 race in Japan, is also a racehorse in Conquistador Cielo line.
- Mi Cielo, sire of Eishin Champ, and Squirtle Squirt came to Japan and worked as stallions.
Mi Cielo (by Conquistador Cielo)
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- Eishin Champ was sired by him while he was in the United States.
Crafty Prospector sire line
- Crafty Prospector’s foals came to Japan quite a few and were successful on both turf and dirt races.
- His best foal is Agnes Digital.
He won G1 races on turf and dirt as if he represented a foal by Crafty Prospector.
Agnes Digital (by Crafty Prospector)
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- His foals also did fairly well in both turf and dirt races, and he sired quite a few foals.
- Yamanin Kingly is the most famous of his foals.
Kazenoko is the only Agnes Digital foal to win a G1 (JPN1) race.
Fappiano sire line
- Fappiano sire line is a fairly prosperous sire line in the U.S., and several stallions have come to Japan.
However, it does not stand out much as a sire line in Japan. - In Japan, names such as Unbridled and Unbridled’s Song are often mentioned as broodmare sire.
(Representative horses are Contrail and Suave Richard.)
As a broodmare sire, Fappiano sire line is well suited for Japan.
Well, it may just be that when a top-class Japanese breeding farm seeks a broodmare with a top-notch family line, a top-notch stallion like Unbridled is her sire.
Woodman sire line
- Woodman’s foals were successful in the U.S. and Europe, and Woodman sire line rapidly flourished.
However, his foals did not do well as stallions, and Woodman sire lines are in danger of disappearing from the world’s view. - Of Woodman’s foals, Hishi Akebono, a giant and popular horse, has won a G1 race in Japan.
- His foals, Hector Protector and Timber Country, have had some success as stallions in Japan.
Although those two Woodman colts were more successful as sires, they still suffered in terms of the survival of the sire line.
Hector Protector (by Woodman)
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- He was owned by Zenya Yoshida of Shadai Group when he was a racehorse, so he worked as a stallion for the Shadai Group in Japan.
- Shiva, by Hector Protector, was the first horse born in Japan to win a foreign G1 race.
- Another horse, Flight Stakes, won a G1 race in Australia.
- None of his foals have won a G1 race in Japan.
Timber Country (by Woodman)
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- Timber Country’s dam is Fall Aspen, and his close relatives include many well-known horses.
He was bought by Shadai Group and became a stallion in Japan.
He was bred to Vega, a famous mare of Shadai Group, which shows that he was expected to be a good stallion. - His foal Admire Don, born to Vega, won G1 races on both turf and dirt.
Gilded Age won the Nakayama Daishogai, a steeplechase G1 race.
He became the first stallion to win G1 races on all categories of JRA turf, dirt, and steeplechase.
He was also a stallion in foreign countries, with his UAE-foal Balletto winning a G1 race in the U.S. and his AUS-foal Eremein winning G1 races in Australia.
These suggest that he was a good stallion with great general ability and versatility. - However, his foals did not win in the middle-distance and long-distance G1 races on turf, which are considered the most popular races in Japan.
After being sent out of Shadai Stallion Station in 2002, there were not many active foals. - His successor, Admire Don, worked as a stallion in Japan for several years and then went to Korea.
In Japan, Albert, a foal by Admire Don, has started to work as a stallion, but he is hardly in demand.
The sire line will be hard to sustain.
- Timber Country’s dam is Fall Aspen, and his close relatives include many well-known horses.
Afleet sire line
Afleet (by Mr. Prospector)
- After several years as a stallion in the U.S., Afleet began his career as a stallion in Japan in 1995 at Breeders Stallion Station.
His foals were mainly active in dirt races, and he also produced successful turf horses, such as Primo Ordine, who won the Oka Sho. - Apart from Primo Ordine, who won a turf G1 race, Sterling Rose, Big Wolf, Pride Kim, and Bamboo Ere won dirt G1 (JPN1) races.
- One of his strengths as a sire that should be noted is the very high probability that his foals will win at least one race.
The probability of his foals winning at least one race is about 75.72 percent.
He was very much valued as a stallion with few failures. - Northern Afleet, a foal of his American days, was very successful as a stallion.
The success of Northern Afleet led to several negotiations to buy back Afleet in the U.S., but he never returned to the U.S.
He was a stallion until 2010, and died in 2014 at the age of 30 after being cherished as a merit horse at Breeders Stallion Station. - If he had been at a top stallion facility in the U.S. or Japan, he might have produced better foals and the sire line would have prospered.
Sterling Rose and Bamboo Ere are also stallions whose foals have a high probability of winning at least one race.
However, it is not clear whether the sire line will be connected in Japan.
Forty Niner sire line
Forty Niner (by Mr. Prospector)
- Forty Niner was a racehorse in the United States and worked as a stallion for several years.
He was then purchased by JBBA and began his career as a stallion in Japan in 1996.
Note that he was the leading sire in North America in 1996.
Therefore, there were apparently several negotiations from the U.S. to buy him back, just like Afleet. - As a stallion he was much like Afleet, with few failures.
His foals were mainly active in dirt races.
Afleet and Forty Niner are the two most successful stallions of Mr. Prospector’s foals who came to Japan. - Meiner Select, Utopia, and Admire Hope are his foals that have won G1 (JPN1) races.
- None of his Japanese-born foals were able to succeed him.
Coronado’s Quest, End Sweep, who was born in the U.S. and already had a good career in the U.S. as a stallion, came to Japan as his successor.
They did well in Japan, but Coronado’s Quest worked in Japan for two years and End Sweep worked in Japan for three years before dying suddenly.
Twining also came to Japan as his successor. - Forty Niner was treated with great care by JBBA after retiring from stud in 2007 and died in 2020 at the age of 35.
When the news of his death broke, quite a few people were surprised to learn that he was still in Japan and had lived until recently.
End Sweep (by Forty Niner)
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- End Sweep began his career in Japan at Shadai Stallion Station.
Just as his foals were starting success, he was injured in a fall and euthanized.
His foals were unique in that they were able to compete not only in dirt and short-distance races, but also in middle-distance races on the turf. - Sweep Tosho, Rhein Kraft and Admire Moon won G1 races on turf.
South Vigorous, who was born in the U.S. and raced in Japan, is also by him. - In addition to South Vigorous and Admire Moon, Swept Overboard and Precise End from the U.S. came to Japan to succeed him.
They were stallions that did well in Japan.
However, no stallion has inherited End Sweep’s characteristic of being strong in middle-distance races on turf.
- End Sweep began his career in Japan at Shadai Stallion Station.
South Vigorous (by End Sweep)
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- He became popular as a stallion with few failures despite his inexpensive breeding fee.
- Love Michan, Corin Berry, Higashi Will Win, and Sabuno Junior are his foals that have won G1 (JPN1) races.
Swept Overboard (by End Sweep)
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- His foals are basically strong in short-distance races.
However, a horse named Ridge Man won the 3600-meter Stayers Stakes, the longest flat grade race in Japan.
In addition, his foal Pas de Trois won the Ibis Summer Dash, the shortest grade race in Japan.
He is the rare stallion to have won the shortest and longest distances. - Red Falx, who won the Sprinters Stakes two years in a row, and Omega Perfume, who won the Tokyo Daishoten four years in a row, are G1 winners of his foals.
- His foals are basically strong in short-distance races.
Pas de Trois (by Swept Overboard)
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- Pas de Trois is a three-time G3 race winner and one-time second-place finisher in a G1 race.
- His foal Dancing Prince won the Riyadh Dirt Sprint, a G3 race in Saudi Arabia, and the JBC Sprint, a JPN1 race.
Admire Moon (by End Sweep)
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- Admire Moon won the Dubai Duty Free, Takarazuka Kinen, and Japan Cup, all middle distance G1 races on turf.
He was born at Northern Farm and was expected to succeed End Sweep as a stallion at Shadai Stallion Station, but he was purchased by Darley Group and became a stallion at Darley Japan. - It was thought that he would inherit from End Sweep the traits of being strong in middle-distance races on turf, but contrary to expectations, his foals were strong in short-distance races.
- His foals, Seiun Kosei and Fine Needle, won the G1 races.
- Admire Moon won the Dubai Duty Free, Takarazuka Kinen, and Japan Cup, all middle distance G1 races on turf.
Twining (by Forty Niner)
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- He was leased to East Stud in Japan in 2000 and 2001.
He was purchased by Shadai Group because he had a good foal at the time he was leased and because of the success of End Sweep, a foal by the same Forty Niner as him.
He became a stallion at Shadai Stallion Station in 2004 as a sort of replacement for End Sweep, who died in 2003. - His foals did not do as well as End Sweep at middle distances on the turf, but did well mainly in dirt races.
- His foal, Nonkono Yume, won the G1 races.
- He was leased to East Stud in Japan in 2000 and 2001.
Gone West sire line
- Gone West line is quite thriving in the U.S. and fairly prosperous in Europe, but not so familiar in Japan.
However, Cafe Olympus (by Grand Slam), Inti (by Came Home), Tower of London (by Raven’s Pass), and Mozu Superflare (by Speightstown) have won G1 or JPN1 races.
All of them, except Inti, were sired in foreign countries. - Inti and Tower of London became stallions.
I personally think that this sire line should be used more in Japan as a sire line specializing in short-distance races.
Came Home (by Gone West)
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- He was in high demand at the beginning of his time in Japan, and there were several successful foals.
His demand gradually decreased.
However, demand increased slightly when the first yearlings in Japan began to perform well and when Inti was successful. - Inti won the G1 race.
He retired and became a stallion.
- He was in high demand at the beginning of his time in Japan, and there were several successful foals.
Gulch sire line
- Gulch sire line is not well proven in Japan.
- Eagle Cafe (by Gulch) won the G1 races and Iide Kenshin (by Thunder Gulch) won the JPN1 race.
Seeking the Gold sire line
- Of Seeking the Gold’s foals, Seeking the Pearl, Gold Tiara, and Meiner Love won G1 (JPN1) races.
- Meiner Love did reasonably well as a stallion at Big Red Farm.
- Makfi (by Dubawi), who already had a good record as a stallion in France and Australia, was purchased by JBBA.
He is in pretty high demand. - However, the only horses in Seeking the Gold sire line that have won G1 or JPN1 races in Japan are currently the three Seeking the Gold foals listed above.
- Other stallions include Dahjee, a full brother to Seeking the Gold’s masterpiece, Dubai Millennium, who went on to become a stallion in Japan.
Dahjee did not have a good result.
Machiavellian sire line
- Machiavellian line has not had many successful horses in Japan.
- The name Machiavellian emerges as a broodmare sire for the siblings of Asakusa Den’en and Victoire Pisa, and the siblings of Verxina, Cheval Grand, and Vivlos.
Smart Strike sire line
- Not many horses have been successful in Japan.
- Fleetstreet Dancer is the only foreign-trained horse to win the Japan Cup Dirt.
Other than Fleetstreet Dancer, no other horse in the Smart Strike line has won a G1 race in Japan.
Fusaichi Pegasus sire line
- Fusao Sekiguchi, a very famous horse owner in Japan, became the first Asian to win the Kentucky Derby with Fusaichi Pegasus.
No foal by Mr. Prospector had been able to win the Kentucky Derby, the most popular race in the U.S., but Fusaichi Pegasus, a foal by 27-year-old Mr. Prospector, finally won the race.
As the only Kentucky Derby winner by Mr. Prospector, he was sold to Coolmore Stud for the highest price in world history at the time and became a stallion.
He did quite well as a stallion, but one might say that he was not worth the price. - Thanks to his owner, he became famous in Japan and quite a few of his foals ran in Japan.
No horse in Fusaichi Pegasus sire line has won a G1 race in Japan.
Other Mr. Prospector line stallions
Damister (by Mr. Prospector)
- He is the sire of the Prix du Jockey Club (French Derby) horse Celtic Swing.
Celtic Swing is the sire of Takeover Target, a successful Australian and Hall of Fame inductee.
Takeover Target also won the Sprtinters Stakes, a G1 race in Japan. - Damister has been a stallion in Japan since 1995.
His first yearling, Trot Star, won the 2001 Takamatsunomiya Kinen and Sprinters Stakes.
Jade Robbery (by Mr. Prospector)
- Jade Robbery has a tremendously good pedigree: sire Mr. Prospector, dam-sire Nijinsky, grand-dam Special.
He was owned by Zenya Yoshida of Shadai Group and won the Grand Critérium, a G1 race in France, before being retired and becoming a stallion in Japan. - He was the number one ranked dirt sire three years in a row, from 1997 to 1999.
Taiki Sherlock won the Mile Championship Nambu Hai. - Some of his foals have been successful in turf and steeplechase races.
Yamakatsu Suzuran won the 2-year-old turf G1 race Hanshin Sansai Himba Stakes. - He was a good stallion who lived up to his good pedigree, but perhaps Shadai Group was hoping for a more successful foal in turf racing.
War Emblem (by Our Emblem)
- After losing the two stallions El Condor Pasa and End Sweep, Shadai Group purchased War Emblem as the new Mr. Prospector line stallion.
Great expectations were placed on War Emblem, as the great stallion Sunday Silence had also died at almost the same time. - However, War Emblem rarely showed interest in the mares.
He bred only seven mares in his first year.
Various innovations at the time of breeding were sometimes effective, but they did not lead to fundamental improvements. - His foals were few in number, but they ran very well.
The AEI and the rate of winning more than one race were very high, and there were many graded race winners.
His foals that have won G1 or JPN1 races are Black Emblem, Robe Tissage, and All Blush. - He had to stop being a stallion because he could not work consistently as a stallion.
If he had been able to do a decent job as a stallion, the pedigree of Japanese horse racing would have been very different.
As noted above, it may not have happened that King Kamehameha would have dominated the demand for the Mr. Prospector line. - Three insurance companies had policies for his stallion activities, and one of them refused to pay the insurance claim, claiming that he was able to breed, although only a small number of times.
- It is widely reported that the owner said that “War Emblem was continuously drugged with doping drugs during his active racing career so that he could not be a sire without the drugs.”
There are quite a few people who support this view, partly because of their distrust and dislike of his trainer Bob Baffert, when he was active in the United States.
However, the truth will never be known. - He returned to the United States in 2016 to live out the remainder of his life.
When he entered the U.S., he had to be bred to two mares or castrated in order to be tested for infectious diseases.
He naturally refused to be bred and was castrated.
Rhythm (by Mr. Prospector)
- He was a pretty good stallion, but none of his foals won a G1 race in Japan.
- His foals were also active outside of Japan, mainly in Oceania.
Scan (by Mr. Prospector)
- He was a stallion that was in fairly high demand.
- His foal, T.M. Megaton, won the JPN1 race.
King Glorious (by Mr. Prospector)
- He was in high demand and was a stallion in Japan for 20 years.
None of his foals won a G1 race.
Shanghai (by Procida)
- Shanghai is the younger brother of Hector Protector.
Because Hector Protector was at Shadai Stallion Station and the stud fee was high, Shanghai was a replacement sire for Hector Protector. - Hector Protector failed to produce a G1 or JPN1 race winner in Japan, but Shanghai did produce a JPN1 race winner, Orion the Thanks.
- He was one of the most popular stallions in the Hidaka area and died of heart paralysis at the age of 13, at the peak of the stallion’s career.
Mogambo (by Mr. Prospector)
- He was a pretty good sire but lost his position to Afleet, Forty Niner and others.
- None of his foals in Japan has won a G1 race.
Scatter the Gold (by Mr. Prospector)
- His dam is Dance Smartly, a Hall of Fame horse in Canada and the U.S., and his uncle is Smart Strike.
- Erimo Expire, who finished second in the Tenno Sho (Spring), is his foal.
- He is not a sire with a good record of achievement.
The high expectations for him may not have been good for him either.
He was later scheduled to be exported to Uruguay, but was cancelled and went to Russia.
Aldebaran / Aldebaran Ⅱ (by Mr. Prospector)
- He was a long time stallion in JBBA.
No G1 winners have been sired by him in Japan.
Mining (by Mr. Prospector)
- It is said that his foals were not very successful in Japan, partly due to the lack of big names and partly due to the contrast with Afleet and Forty Niner.
- He was most notable as the dam-sire of Zenno Rob Roy.
Zenno Rob Roy is often referred to as a short distance horse because of Mining, and he has turned that previous reputation on its head.
Thanks for this! Seeking The Gold’s bloodline is currently being carried in South America! Seeking The Dia is a top stallion there!
Thank you for your comment.
It seems that Seeking the Dia’s foals do well in Chile and other South American countries.
However, contrary to the name, Seeking the Dia is a foal by Storm Cat and not Mr. Prospector sire line.
Seeking the Dia’s dam, Seeking the Pearl, is by Seeking the Gold.
Ah, you’re right. Seeking The Gold is Seeking the Dia’s damsire.
Hmm, I wonder if Mr. Prospector would be a good dam line too…