by Edwin Anthony
The hallmark of a great sire is that he matches well with mares from a variety of sire lines. Wild Again is the sire of 61 stakes winners from 59 different mares—that’s 59 different broodmare sires! Stallions just don’t come any more versatile than that.
So, what kind of mare should a breeder send to Wild Again? The record shows that it doesn’t seem to make much difference, as he works with virtually anything. That said, there are two forms of inbreeding that have enjoyed repeated success with Wild Again, as well as a couple of crosses that seem to work especially well.
The first inbreeding that works well with Wild Again involves Northern Dancer. Wild Again is a son of Icecapade, who is bred on the same Nearctic/Native Dancer nick that produced Northern Dancer. Thus, there is inbreeding to Nearctic (through two sons) and Native Dancer (through two daughters) whenever Wild Again and Northern Dancer are crossed in pedigrees. It seems that concentrating this nick has a very positive effect for Wild Again, as he has sired several graded stakes winners on the Northern Dancer cross, including Wild Zone (Can-1, $509,000, The Minstrel mare), Wild Event (G2, $641,000, Northfields mare), Wild Syn (G2, $358,000, Sovereign Dancer mare), Wildly Joyous (G3, $364,000, Nureyev mare), and Wild Deputy (stakes winner of $202,000).
The 2nd inbreeding that has worked repeatedly for Wild Again involes Khaled, Wild Again’s broodmare sire. Khaled, a son of Hyperion, sired Horse of the Year Swaps as well as the useful sire New Policy. So, when Wild Again is bred to a mare carrying a cross of Swaps or New Policy, there is balanced inbreeding (through a son and a daughter) to Khaled. Runners like La Rosa (G2, $267,000, Cox’s Ridge mare), Madame Pandit (G3, $394,000, 2nd dam by New Policy), Omi (G3, $319,000, Private Account mare), and Power Lunch (G3, $238,000, Best Turn mare) all carry this balanced inbreeding to Khaled.
The Wild Again/Raise a Native cross involves balanced inbreeding to the great stallion Native Dancer. This same balanced inbreeding has worked very well for Northern Dancer, who also has the Nearctic/Native Dancer nick, as was mentioned above. Breeders’ Cup Sprint (G1) winner Elmhurst (millionaire) is by Wild Again and out of a Raise a Native mare. Other horses bred on this cross include Anklet (G3, $342,000, Alysheba mare), Wild Bluster (Jpn-3, millionaire, Alydar mare), Fairlee Wild (stakes winner of $237,000, Mr. Prospector mare), Wild Gambler (stakes winner of $200,000, Strike Gold mare), Wild Royal (stakes winner of $115,000, Raise a Cup mare), and Barfighter (stakes winner, Raise a Man mare).
Mares from the Ribot line have worked well with Wild Again. He has sired several top runners on this cross, including Wild Rush (G1, millionaire, Plugged Nickle mare), Cinnamon Sugar (G2, $412,000, Key to the Mint mare), and Extrovert (stakes winner, His Majesty mare). A Wild Ride (G1, $775,000) has a 2nd dam by Prince Royal II, while Omi (G3, $319,000) has a 2nd dam by Key to the Mint.
The Bold Ruler cross has been rewarding for Wild Again as well. Runners like Blizzard (Japanese champion, Irish Tower mare), Wild Escapade (G1, $342,000, Ramahorn mare), Burbank (stakes winner of $478,000, Exuberant mare), Nines Wild (stakes winner of $408,000, Honest Pleasure mare), Born Wild (stakes winner of $199,000, Secretariat mare), Prince Wild (stakes winner of $166,000, Cornish Prince mare) are all bred on the Wild Again/Bold Ruler cross.
Beyond these pedigree hints, use your best judgement with regard to physical matching and stamina and you’re likely to be rewarded. Wild Again is a prolific sire of stakes winners, and he certainly gets more than his share of solid, consistent campaigners.
