by Frank Angst

With his progeny completing a historic Breeders’ Cup World Championships double in the event’s most lucrative races, Smart Strike established a single-season record for progeny earnings by a sire.

A Lane’s End stallion, Smart Strike’s earnings vaulted to $13,827,845 as Curlin earned $2.7-million for winning the Breeders’ Cup Classic Powered by Dodge (G1) and English Channel earned $1.62-million for his John Deere Breeders’ Cup Turf (G1) score. Preakness Stakes (G1) winner Curlin has earned $5,102,800 this season and English Channel has earned $2,640,000.

Smart Strike passed the previous single season earnings record of $13,542,612 established in 2001 by Danehill. The worldwide earnings list includes stallions who stand in North America or last stood in North America if pensioned or deceased or has at least 25 starters in North America.

Bill Farish, son of Lane’s End owner William S. Farish, said Smart Strike has gradually worked his way up to this record season since becoming a stallion with Lane’s End in 1997.

“Really, he has always had the consistency but in recent seasons he has added the spectacular,” Farish said. “Curlin and English Channel both raced all season and you need that to have a year like this. He had a large crop of very good runners and then you add horses like English Channel and Curlin and it’s another level.”

Farish presented the Breeders’ Cup Classic trophy to the connections of Curlin, which include co-owner George Bolton, a fraternity brother of Farish.

“That was really something,” Farish said. “It was a big finish to the Breeders’ Cup.”

Farish did not feel much superstition about hoping for a Smart Strike “double” to close out the Breeders’ Cup card because the sire had just recently rewarded similar hopes. On September 30 at Belmont Park, Curlin won the Jockey Club Gold Cup Stakes (G1), English Channel won the Joe Hirsch Turf Classic Invitational Stakes (G1), and Fabulous Strike won the Vosburgh Stakes (G1).

“We were a little disappointed when Fabulous Strike was not able to make the [TVG] Breeders’ Cup Sprint [G1] because obviously he would have been a top contender in that race,” Farish said.

Campaigned by Sam-Son Farms, Smart Strike scored both of his career stakes wins in 1996 at Monmouth Park in the Salvator Mile Handicap (G3) and Philip H. Iselin Handicap (G1). Trained by Mark Frostad, Smart Strike won six of eight career starts and earned $337,376. His Sam-Son ties would help his stallion career.

“Initially he received a lot of support from Sam-Son. They sent him a lot of tremendous mares and that helped put him on the map,” Farish said. “Since then, his career has just continued on the way up.”

Smart Strike, out of Canadian champion three-year-old filly Classy ‘n Smart, by Smarten, has sired 410 starters from 556 foals. The half brother to Canadian Horse of the Year, Canadian Triple Crown winner, and Eclipse Award winner Dance Smartly has sired 293 winners and 51 stakes winners.

Curlin and English Channel both appear to be logical choices for Eclipse Awards in their divisions and both could be finalists for Horse of the Year honors.

Smart Strike will stand for $150,000 in 2008, a fee five times the amount of his initial fee in 1997. Now 15, the Mr. Prospector stallion stood for $30,000 from 1997 to 2002. His fee was reduced to $20,000 in 2003 but has increased each year since: $25,000 in ’04, $35,000 in ’05, $50,000 in ’06, and $75,000 in ’07.

The future looks bright as Farish believes this year’s group of mares covered by Smart Strike was his best yet.

Frank Angst is senior writer of Thoroughbred Times