It's always among the key questions on everyone's mind as 2-year-olds begin racing when Keeneland opens in April and the first-year sires have their first chance to show off their progeny. In this ongoing series, we have sought the opinion of several top judges as to who will be on top of the podium when 2019 is in the books.
CARRIE BROGDEN, Machmer Hall/Select Sales
COMMISSIONER
My choice for top 2-year-old freshman sire is Commissioner. There are so few sons of A. P. Indy that have failed at stud that this beautifully bred colt has a huge shot in my book. He was a maiden special weight winner at Saratoga in his second start as a 2-year-old, he comes from an incredible female family that is live on the track and has monster sales in the ring. In his last race he won a Grade II impressively and he retired sound.
We bought a share in him when he went to stud after seeing him and the impressive physical he was off the track. Many of our clients took breeding rights in him with what I thought was a great initial stud fee.
Candidly, I was very, very pleasantly surprised when I saw his first crop of weanlings and their continued maturation as yearlings. I dealt with over a dozen of them collectively at the farm and sales and they all seemed to have great minds, balanced bodies, big hips and loads of bone. I would not expect them to be sprinters, of course, but I certainly have all the faith in his potential to be a successful two-turn sire of Derby and Oaks horses–the ultimate goal of all Kentucky stallions.Who
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