With 76 percent runners to foals of racing age and 70 percent winners to runners, there are few $10,000 stallions that can get you a racehorse like value sire FIRST SAMURAI.
FIRST SAMURAI has sired 18 graded stakes winners, 34 stakes winners, and 35 other stakes performers during his career. Those stats include the 16 stakes performers he had in 2021 – the same amount as Bernardini and Kitten’s Joy, plus higher than Empire Maker, Distorted Humor, and Scat Daddy. By blacktype percentage (8.29%), he exceeded the likes of Candy Ride (ARG), Hard Spun, More Than Ready, and Street Sense.
FIRST SAMURAI has already shown that he strikes fast and early with his first stakes performer of 2022 coming in January when Seven Nation Army placed yet again in the King Cotton Stakes, to increase his earnings to over $420,000. Punching above his weight as a stakes sire, that isn’t the only successful metric the value sire brings to the table.
The son of Giant’s Causeway has 426 lifetime winners, ranking him 24th among all active North American sires on the Thoroughbred Daily News list, with many above him having well over 100 more runners. Even more impressive is that his $63,238 average earnings per named foal puts him right up there with stallions standing for well above his own stud fee.
| SIRE | AVG EARNINGS | STUD FEE |
|---|---|---|
| Munnings | $66,960 | $85,000 |
| Uncle Mo | $65,446 | $160,000 |
| Twirling Candy | $63,280 | $60,000 |
| FIRST SAMURAI | $63,238 | $10,000 |
| The Factor | $62,337 | $17,500 |
| Kantharos | $61,151 | $20,000 |
Those joining him in that $60,000 – $70,000 average range include Munnings (2022 Stud fee $85,000), Uncle Mo ($160,000) and Twirling Candy ($60,0000). Meanwhile, the consistent value sire has a much higher average than Violence ($25,000), Union Rags ($30,000), and Maclean’s Music ($50,000).
If you’re looking for tough, ready-to-run-whenever-you-are horses, FIRST SAMURAI is there for you. His 609 starters have averaged 16 starts per runner – the third highest among Kentucky sires standing for under $20,000 with at least three crops of three-year-olds.
Historically, FIRST SAMURAI has churned out top-tier and gritty horses of all ages, including LEA ($2,362,398), Shivaji ($2,147,669), Justin Phillip ($1,293,437), Last Gunfighter ($1,219,205), Sharp Samurai ($1,111,270), Carve ($1,047,061), Executiveprivilege ($999,000), Miss Sky Warrior ($687,340), Plum Ali ($676,000), champion Stacked Deck ($614,951), among many others.
There is more to come for those who are on the FIRST SAMURAI train with the stallion’s biggest crop in a decade just entering their 3-year-old year, including Spinaway Stakes (G1) runner-up and Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1)-placed Tarabi.
FIRST SAMURAI not only gets the job done on the track, but in the sales ring. His yearlings have averaged nearly $65,000, and his 2-year-olds have averaged over $80,000. Standing for a reduced fee of $10,000 in 2022, he offers any kind of breeder more bang for their buck.