El Prado - Adena Springs
Price: $19.95

Adena Springs | Awesome Again | Congaree | El Prado | Ghostzapper | Macho Uno

El Prado - Sadler's Wells - Lady Capulet (Sir Ivor)

EL PRADO PASSES AWAY 9-22-09
“It’s a very sad moment for us at the farm — we’re still in shell shock about the whole thing,” said Adena’s Dermot Carty. “On the other hand, what a great privilege for the Stronach family to have had a horse like this,” he added of the 20-year-old son of Sadler's Wells.

Carty said he bought El Prado privately for Stronach in the early 1990s from Coolmore Stud. Brereton Jones initially stood the stallion on Stronach’s behalf at his Airdrie Stud. When Stronach launched his Adena Spring’s stallion operation, El Prado was one of the first sires to stand there.

“No one wanted a son of Sadler’s Wells in America,” said Carty. “Everyone saw him as just a grass horse, but now he’s a broodmare sire, a sire of sires, and he’s made history. It was a gamble…to buy a son of Sadler’s Wells was a major move, but it paid off.”

El Prado won the 1991 National Stakes (Ire-I) and two other group races in his native Ireland en route to being named champion juvenile male in that country.

As a sire, El Prado’s most successful offspring include 2004 champion grass horse Kitten's Joy , grade winner and sensational young sire Medaglia d'Oro , 2005 NetJets Breeders' Cup Mile (gr. IT) winner Artie Schiller , dual grade I winner Borrego , and numerous other graded stakes performers. Currently ranking 16th on the leading North American sires list, El Prado has had 62 winners from 151 runners this year, for 2009 progeny earnings of more than $4.5 million. His biggest winner this year is French group I victor Spanish Moon.

“El Prado helped put Adena on the map,” said Carty, who said the stallion had experienced declining fertility in recent years and had bred a little more than 40 mares in 2009 at a fee of $75,000.

Bred by Lyonstown Stud, El Prado raced for the late Robert Sangster while in Ireland and was purchased by Adena as a 4-year-old after his racing career had ended. Out of the Sir Ivor mare Lady Capulet, who captured the 1977 Irish One Thousand Guineas (Ire-I), El Prado is a half-brother to group I producer All Ashore (by Nureyev) and Irish champion Entitled (by Mill Reef).

“There was a lot of speed in this family,” said Carty. (El Prado) wasn’t a typical Sadler’s Wells (physically). He was a very big, masculine individual who could cover a lot of ground. He was a very impressive horse.”

Champion Sire in North America
Sire of 19 stakes horses in 2009 including new Group 1 winner Spanish Moon and new Group 3 winner Golden Century

"...we were reminded once again of the rare brilliance of the Sadler’s Wells male line in general, and of the El Prado branch in particular."- Andrew Caufield 6/30/09

Sire of the $450,000 Sales Topper at the 2009 OBS March 2YO Sale

An emering sire of sires: El Prado's son Medaglia D'oro is America's #1 second crop sire and the sire of the history-making filly Rachel Alexandra; Kitten's Joy is Americas #1 first crop sire

Top half of 1% of sires by average per starter ($105,660)

Six millionaires, four more approaching millionaire status in 2007

Daughter ASI SIEMPRE sold for $3,000,000 at FTK to Sheikh Mohammed

Twelve stakes horses, 6 SWs, $3.3-million in 2007

Eight two-year-old winners from 14 starters in 2007

2006 & 2005 Eclipse Finalists on dirt & turf: ASI SIEMPRE, BORREGO & ARTIE SCHILLER

" Has established that he can upgrade his mares"--Andrew Caulfield

First sire in history with G1 SWs on dirt, turf, and Polytrack

The #1 or #2 Sire in America for three consecutive years

Only Leading Sire in the Top 5 from 2002 to 2005

63 stakes winners, 119 stakes horses