A prominent stallion during his time at Claiborne, Danzig was a breed shaper in his own right with his son WAR FRONT following in his footsteps. This year, two Danzig grandsons will try to carry on his legacy in the Claiborne breeding shed with WAR OF WILL expecting his first foals and SILVER STATE standing his first season.
In his Taking Stock column in TDN this week, Sid Fernando looks at how Danzig has impacted the breed and how those two grandsons look to follow in his shoes.
“Bred by European entity Flaxman Holdings, WAR OF WILL is from Visions of Clarity (Ire), a daughter of Sadler’s Wells, and she descends from blue hen Broodmare of the Year Best in Show. On a surface reading of his pedigree, War of Will was destined for success on the turf … Though he was Grade I-placed on turf at two, he won the Gl Preakness S. at three on dirt, and at four he won the Gl Maker’s Mark Mile S. on turf. Altogether, he won five of 18 starts and earned $1.9 million, and his success in a Classic on dirt gives him all the credentials he needs to succeed in North America on dirt,” Fernando points out of War Of Will’s ability to succeed on America’s most popular surface.
By Danzig son Hard Spun, SILVER STATE also has exceptional dirt credentials with his resume headlined by his win in the Metropolitan Handicap (G1) among his six straight victories in 2020 and 2021. The grandson of a full sister to Kentucky Derby (G1) winner Monarchos, SILVER STATE is also connected to multiple stallion makers in the racing industry – Stonestreet bred him, Winchell Thoroughbreds and Willis Horton raced him, and Steve Asmussen trained him.
“Claiborne, therefore, has two Grade l dirt winners from the Danzig line, by Danzig’s only two major sons currently at stud in North America, and both of them are highly credentialed,” Fernando writes. “These two young horses put Claiborne very much in position to continue Danzig’s legacy in North America.”
Read more about Danzig, WAR FRONT, and the next generation in the TDN article here.