Stallion Madness - Profiles for Fort Prado and El Padrino

Eliminated in Match #7 - Fort Prado (right)

Fort Prado - Click to View on Bloodhorse.com

I got to meet Fort Prado in person, and he is a total gentleman. In case you haven't already noticed from some of the other eliminated stallions' pedigrees, the El Prado (IRE) lines go very nicely on paper with Freja's pedigree. And if you look just one generation farther back, you will see that Sadlers Wells is even more specifically one of the sire lines I have been targeting. He is Fort Prado's grandsire through El Prado, and he is also the grandsire of great horses like Frankel and Noble Mission (eliminated in Match #5) through their sire Galileo.

Sadlers Wells' 2nd dam is "Special" who also appears in Freja's sire line as the dam of Nureyev. Special is a mare that has been targeted for inbreeding by some of the big breeding operations in Kentucky as a way to hopefully infuse as much of her positive traits into future crops of foals as possible, so it comes as no surprise that sire lines with her in them result in A to A++ True Nicks with Freja's sire lines.

2001, gr/ro, 16.1 hands, entered stud 2010

​El Prado (IRE) - Fort Pond, by Fortunate Prospect

• ILLINOIS HORSE OF THE YEAR 
• Eight Time Champion at 3, 4, 5 & 6 
• By Leading Sire EL PRADO (Ire) 
• Family of THEATRICAL (Ire)

2017 FEE: $2,000 Live Foal (payable when foal stands and nurses)

Standing at Swifty Farms, Inc., Seymour, IN

Eliminated in Match #8 - El Padrino (left)

El Padrino - Click to View on Bloodhorse.com

Paul at Northview Stallions, where El Padrino stands, has been a wonderful resource and patient with first-time breeder like me. One of the biggest parts of this decision is knowing I can trust - and rely on - the stallion owners/representatives, and Paul has proven that time and time again on the phone and in emails. Initially I was very focused on only looking at sires in Ohio and possibly Indiana, but speaking with someone like Paul and hearing stories from friends who have bred their mares to stallions at Northview made me expand my search parameters.

When you look at El Padrino's pedigree, there are several reasons I really like him on paper for Freja with two of those reasons being:

• El Padrino's sire, Pulpit, has FOUR sons on the list of 2016 top sires and since El Padrino's first crop of foals are only two years old this year, there is a very good possibility that El Padrino could start appearing on that list himself this year. Pulpit actually had TWO sons in the top 10 with Tapit ($300,000 stud fee!!!) at #1 and Lucky Pulpit at #6. And Pulpit himself, who died in 2012, was still on the list at #83.
• El Padrino's damsire is Giant's Causeway who brings Storm Cat and Rahy into the picture - both sire lines I really like.

2009, ch, entered stud 2014

​Pulpit - Enchanted Rock, by Giant's Causeway

2017 FEE: $5,000 Live Foal
(due when foal stands and nurses)

Standing at Northview PA, Peach Bottom, PA