By Elaine Belval

Some stallions make big noise with their sons at stud. Certainly, a stallion like Northern Dancer did not need the appellate of “sire of sires.” Nor Mr. Prospector, or more recently, Storm Cat. Other stallions have sons that very quietly go about their business, siring winners and SWs in steady numbers, rewarding owners and breeders who don’t follow the “what’s new, what’s exciting” bandwagon and instead look for consistency and earnings potential.

Seeking the Gold fits that pattern. When this leading son of “sire of sires” Mr. Prospector was pensioned in 2008, it seemed the end of this branch of Mr. Prospector. Seeking the Gold had no “big name” son to take his place. In fact, his best racing son, Dubai Millennium, died after one season at stud. It seemed Seeking the Gold would be best remembered as a broodmare sire. He was already the broodmare sire of promising young sire Pure Prize (a son of “sire of sires” Storm Cat). However, sons of Seeking the Gold are quietly making the best kind of noise, the making money and earning black-type kind of noise. One of those sons is Petionville, whose daughter Hour Glass won the G2 Vagrancy H. on May 29th for her first black type victory.

With 11 crops of racing age (not including 2YOs of 2010), Petionville has sired 81% starters and 62% winners (find a stallion with better figures than that!). Add in a solid 6% SWs and average earnings per starter of over $60,000 (eight times his 2010 stud fee) and Petionville is a right-solid sire with a dirt-cheap stud fee. Petionville has nine Graded SWs, his best being multiple G1 winner Island Fashion. His best racing son is likely Two Step Salsa, winner of the Godolphin Mile in 2009. Hour Glass is Petionville’s third 2010 SW. Petionville sires a steady number of 2YO winners (25% of his SWs are 2YO SWs) and the majority of his runners have a preference for good old American dirt.

Petionville stands at Margaux Farm LLC for a 2010 stud fee of $7,500. American owners and breeders should take a good old look at this solid sire.

(Elaine Belval is senior pedigree analyst at WTC.)