by NICK FORTUNA,
Wire to Wire

Wildcat Heir has to be feeling a bit like Nuke LaLoosh, the pitcher in the classic baseball movie “Bull Durham” who famously told his catcher that he wanted to “announce his presence with authority.” Since joining Journeyman Stud in Ocala in 2006, the stallion has certainly done just that.

Through Tuesday, Wildcat Heir was the nation’s leading freshman sire and the top sire of 2-year-olds, with his progeny having earned $135,978 this year. He has 88 juveniles in his first crop, and 11 have made their career debuts, with five reaching the winner’s circle.

“The horse is off to a really good start,” said Journeyman Stud owner Brent Fernung. “We expected him to get runners that would do well early, and what impresses me is how many of them are ready to run or getting ready to run. He’s going to have a lot of horses running this summer. They’re sound, they’re quick, they’re precocious, and they do everything you’d want a horse to do. I haven’t had any of them that couldn’t run some. He’s so consistent.”

Wildcat Heir, who stands for a $6,500 stud fee, got off to a fast start when his first runner, Kitty in the Bag, reached the winner’s circle in her career debut. The Florida-bred filly won a two-furlong maiden special weight race by 3 ¼ lengths at Santa Anita Park on April 1.

Since then, juvenile fillies Richiegirlgonewild, Wildcat Honor and Wildcat Aly and 2-year-old colt Convoy Ahead have all made it to the winner’s circle. Florida-bred Wildcat Aly captured a 4 ½-furlong maiden special weight race at Woodbine on May 17 to become her sire’s leading earner with $30,528 in winnings.

Wildcat Heir is the only freshman sire to break the six-figure mark in progeny earnings this year. He’s well ahead of the nation’s second-leading sire, Offlee Wild, whose progeny have earned $74,965. Offlee Wild stands at Darley in Kentucky for a $7,500 stud fee.

Wildcat Heir also enjoys a smaller advantage atop the list of the top sires of 2-year-olds. The second-leading juvenile sire is Swiss Yodeler, whose 2-year-olds have earned $123,633 this year. That stallion stands in California for a $6,000 stud fee.

Wildcat Heir is a 9-year-old son of Forest Wildcat. The stallion won six of his 12 starts from ages 2 to 5 for $424,460 in career earnings. His best season came at age 4 in 2004, when he won the $300,000 Frank J. De Francis Memorial Dash (G1) at Pimlico, captured the $60,000 Icecapade Stakes at Monmouth Park and ran second to Canadian Frontier in the $100,000 Teddy Drone Stakes at Monmouth.

“He’s about as pretty a horse as you can find,” Fernung said. “He’s got impeccable balance, he’s dead correct, and he was fast. He didn’t do a whole lot as a 2-year-old because he was injured, but I think he was cut out to be a top 2-year-old himself.”

Journeyman Stud also has the fourth-leading freshman sire in Bwana Charlie, who joined the farm last year after standing at Becky Thomas’s Sequel Bloodstock in Ocala. Bwana Charlie, who stands for a $5,000 stud fee, has had five horses from his first crop make their career debuts and earn a total of $49,438.

Bwana Charlie’s first starter, the Florida-bred filly Malawi, won a 4 ½-furlong maiden special weight race at Keeneland in April to become her sire’s leading earner with $27,280 in winnings. Florida-bred filly Bwana Express also won her career debut, capturing a two-furlong maiden special weight race at Calder Race Course on May 11.

Bwana Charlie is an 8-year-old son of Indian Charlie. He won four of his 19 starts for $388,850 in earnings. As a 3-year-old in 2004, he captured the Amsterdam Stakes (G2) at Saratoga and the Lafayette Stakes (G3) at Keeneland.

“He’s a big, powerful horse,” Fernung said. “He’s very much like his sire, Indian Charlie, in that he has bone on him that looks like tree trunks. His horses are going to train on and probably get better as they mature, so for him to get off to this good a start is great.”

Fernung said it’s gratifying to have two freshman sires sending such solid runners to the racetrack.

“It’s nice for a mom-and-pop outfit like us to be ranked among big operations such as Darley and Hill ‘n’ Dale Farms,” Fernung said. “They’re both the kind of horses that benefit from being in Florida, and Florida benefits from having them. They get fast horses that are precocious, and that’s what Florida is known for, so it’s a perfect fit.”

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