more than ready
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NE OF THE BEST SIRES IN HISTORY More Than Ready has continuously created new benchmarks throughout his career, and he doesn’t look like stopping any time soon. The stallion was part of the team that trainer Todd Pletcher sent to run in the Kentucky Derby, a first attempt on the race for the trainer. More Than Ready finished fourth, 5l behind race winner Fusaichi Pegasus. He went on to win the King’s Bishop Stakes (G1) and proved to be an extremely versatile horse when winning or placing in stakes races from 5f to 1m1f. It was this show of versatility that led to another chapter written in More Than Ready’s book – Vinery Stud, Australia purchased breeding rights to stand the sire through the southern-hemisphere season. Now, some 20 years later, that has led to the stallion making history – he leads all sires by number of seasons shuttled and number of winners sired. “He loves the travel and has done it for 19 consecutive seasons,” says Adam White, Vinery Stud’s bloodstock manager. “I think the next highest number of shuttle seasons is 15. He just loves it and although the time will come for him to stop, I certainly believe keeping the horse active ensures he remains healthy and overall a happy horse.” A popular stallion with breeders in both the US and Australia, More Than Ready leads all stallions by winners with 1,846 sired as of November 11. The stallion also reached an amazing achievement in early November when his daughter Uni won the Breeders’ Cup Mile (G1) to become his seventh Breeders’ Cup winner. That number puts him at the top of the Breeders’ Cup list ahead of champions such as Sadler’s Wells and Unbridled’s Song, who he has been tied with since 2017.
For WinStar Farm, More Than Ready’s northern-hemisphere home, Uni’s victory was a headlining event. And this year’s Breeders’ Cup was made even sweeter as two of his daughters also produced winners over the tw0-day meeting. “First, we were thrilled for the connections of Uni – Haras D’Etreham, Chad’s team and the ownership group,” said Liam O’Rourke, WinStar’s director of stallion sales. “It was a very proud and exciting day for everyone involved in More Than Ready. It’s a massive achievement as the Breeders’ Cup is the pinnacle of racing and to win at the meeting you have to beat the world. “He’s a remarkable horse, tough with great desire. There’s an intangible asset that he passes along, in addition to speed and quality. It’s a great recipe.” An even more exciting milestone is within reach of the stallion – at the time of writing, More Than Ready is just one away from the 200 stakes winners mark. For White, the stallion’s global success comes back to the sire’s versatility. “He was an exceptional twoyear-old and this
Uni: More Than Ready’s Breeders’ Cup Mile winner. The sire has produced seven Breeders’ Cup winners, more than any other stallion
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