10/13/2026
THE STALLIONS THAT BUILT THE AMERICAN THOROUGHBRED 🐎
Behind some of America's greatest pedigrees stands a horse born in Italy who never set foot in the country.
His name was Nearco: 14 starts, 14 wins. Much of what follows runs through him, or through the sons who carried his blood across the ocean.
The roots (pre-1950)
• Fair Play — sire of Man o' War, founder of a dynasty
• Man o' War — 62 stakes winners, including War Admiral
• Nearco — unbeaten in 14 starts across Italy and France, then a stud career in England that reshaped the breed
• Nasrullah — son of Nearco, the road that leads to Bold Ruler
The golden era (1950-1980)
• Native Dancer — "The Grey Ghost," sire of Raise A Native and maternal grandsire of Northern Dancer
• Nearctic — son of Nearco, sire of Northern Dancer
• Bold Ruler — 8 times leading sire in North America, sire of Secretariat
• Raise A Native — unbeaten in 4 starts, sire of Mr. Prospector and Alydar
• Northern Dancer — Canadian-bred, 147 stakes winners, a record in his day
• Mr. Prospector — the most widespread male line in modern pedigrees
• Danzig — leading US sire 1991-92-93
The transition (1980-2010)
• Storm Cat — stud fees no other stallion of his era could match
• A.P. Indy — son of Seattle Slew, pillar of one of the great modern lines
• Tapit — all-time leading sire by progeny earnings until 2025, when Into Mischief passed him
• Medaglia d'Oro — sire of Rachel Alexandra
• Curlin — two-time Horse of the Year, now a sire of sires
• S**t Daddy — a short career at stud, long enough to give us Justify
Today (2026)
• Into Mischief — 7th consecutive North American champion sire title (2019-2025), equaling Bold Ruler's record
• Gun Runner — third on the 2025 leading sires list, the dirt reference point
• Flightline — undefeated in 6 starts; his first c**t sold for $10,500,000 at OBS in April 2026, a record for the sale. His dam is by Into Mischief.
A hundred years, two continents, one bloodline running all the way to today🐎
