Mr. Prospector
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Mr. Prospector (1970-1999) was a thoroughbred racehorse who won half of his 14 career starts, but whose descendants have come to dominate the United States Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing.
An also-ran in the year the great Secretariat won the Triple Crown, Mr. Prospector's sire was "Raise A Native," a son of Native Dancer and out of the mare, "Goldigger" who was the foal of Nashua. Mr. Prospector managed to set track records for six furlongs (1,207 m) at Gulfstream Park and Garden State, but his racing record had little inkling of his success as a breeding sire.
Ancestry
In tail-male descent (traced entirely through males, the line in which Mr. Prospector has made his mark) Mr. Prospector descends through the Darley Arabian. Virtually all horses of this line alive today descend through Whalebone (foaled 1807), via Stockwell (1849). And the overwhelming majority of these descend from Stockwell's grandson Bend Or (1877) through his great-great-grandson Phalaris (1913). Successful sire-lines continue to crowd out less successful ones as breeders seek successful bloodlines, and in recent years Mr. Prospector has appeared likely to join this catalogue of likely tail-male ancestors of major racers, whether they be heavily promoted and trained and owned by prominent figures, or "Cinderellas" like Smarty Jones or Funny Cide.
On June 1, 1999, Mr. Prospector died in his stall at Claiborne Farm in Paris, Kentucky.
Progeny
Mr. Prospector in an impromptu family tree with his sons, their sons, and their sons, etc., with Triple Crown races won:
- Mr. Prospector
- Conquistador Cielo (foaled 1979) 1982 Belmont Stakes
- Fappiano (1977)
- Unbridled (1987) 1990 Kentucky Derby
- Cryptoclearance (1984)
- Victory Gallop (1995) 1998 Belmont Stakes
- Quiet American (1986)
- Real Quiet (1995) 1998 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes
- Tank's Prospect (1982) 1985 Preakness Stakes
- Woodman (1983) (has sired 94 stakes winners)
- Gulch (1984)
- Forty Niner (1985)
- Editor's Note (1993) 1996 Belmont Stakes
- Distorted Humor (1993)
- Funny Cide (2000) 2003 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes
- Gone West (1984)
- Elusive Quality (1993)
- Smarty Jones (2001) 2004 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes
- Commendable (1997) 2000 Belmont Stakes
- Elusive Quality (1993)
- Afleet (1984)
- Northern Afleet(1993)
- Afleet Alex (2002) 2005 Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes
- Northern Afleet(1993)
- Kingmambo (1990)
- Lemon Drop Kid (1996) 1999 Belmont Stakes
- Our Emblem (1991)
- War Emblem (1999) 2002 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes
- Fusaichi Pegasus (1997) 2000 Kentucky Derby