Big Bad John has had a great debut season

Breeders worldwide always pay close attention to what is happening with the first season sires in North America each year as a kind of weather vane on trends in the siring ranks.

At the start of the year, a lot was expected of a handful of well credentialed first season sires such as Roll With Joe and Big Jim but as the season wore on they were both upstaged by a stallion barely mentioned before the season started.

We are referring to the Ohio based Big Bad John who just kept churning out the winners all season and as of today holds a lead of over $250,000 over Roll With Joe amongst the first season sires.

A son of Western Hanover, Big Bad John is from the Artsplace mare Trulyawork Of Art 1:54.1 who apart from Big Bad John has also produced three $200,000 winners when covered with Western Hanover.

Trulyawork Of Art is a half sister to Northern Luck 1:49.1 ($907,974), V P Finance 1:51.4 ($685,834), Bear Dance 1:51.1 ($498,802), Town Champion 1:48.2 ($410,354) and Bet The Town 1:50 ($ 359,583) so Big Bad John has a very strong maternal pedigree.

On the track Big Bad John had nine starts at two for seven wins and two seconds for $222,750 but came back even better at three when he won his heat and the final of the Little Brown Jug as well as several other classics in a stellar three year old career in which he won $771,809 in stakes.

When retired to stud, Big Bad John had won nineteen of his twenty seven starts along with four placings and earned a tad over a million dollars on the track.

He had a best time at two of 1:50.4 which he lowered at three to 1:49.

Big Bad John stood his first season at stud in Ohio in 2012 and covered a good book of 140 mares which resulted in 108 foals which raced as two year olds this season.

To say he made a great start as a sire would be the understatement of the year.

Everything was against him really when you compare him to a lot of the other first season sires this year.

While Big Bad John had access to some lovely mares and a thriving Sires Stakes program, his competition in general had access to better mares and bigger Sires Stakes competitions.

But that didn't stop Big Bad John from claiming the first seasons siring title.

As of today, he has had 77 starters of which 41 have won a race.

He has four $100,000 winners and twelve runners in 1:55 or better for stakes totaling $1,545,506 which currently places him sixth overall on the North American Two Year Old Sires List.

Well known sires that have finished behind him include such standouts as Art Major, Sportswriter, Well Said, Shadow Play and Mach Three.

His four $100,000 winners are split evenly between colts and fillies with two each and their seasons records are listed below;

* Love Tap Hanover  (C)  1:53.4 –  8 starts  –  6 wins  –  1 second  –  0 thirds  –  Stakes $166,357

* Big Bad Ashley (F)  1:54.2   –  10 starts  –  5 wins  –  1 second  –  2 thirds  –  Stakes $123,082

* Primo Giovanni (C)  1:53.1  –  8 starts  –  6 wins  –  1 second  –  0 third  –  Stakes $115,161

* Queen Ann M (F)  1:55  –  7 starts  –  3 wins  –  2 seconds  –  0 thirds  –  Stakes $101,277

Another filly in John's Sunny Girl 1:53.2 is quickly closing in on the $100,000 mark with $92,530 in the bank todate.

The second crop of Big Bad John numbers a healthy 101 foals so he gets a great chance next season to build on what he achieved in his first season as a sire.

Harnesslink Media