MATING RECOMMENDATIONS

Signature Red is a stallion that has consistently punched above his weight.  

Despite not having the luxury of large crops, he has risen to become one of Canada’s leading sires in terms of black-type percentages, with a group of nine stakes winners good for a stakes winners to foals of racing age figure of 8%. Indeed, he returned a strike-rate of 9.4% stakes winners to runners in 2022, more than any other top 25 Canadian stallion.

An excellent year for Signature Red featured two stakes-winning two-year-olds in the unbeaten A Touch Of Red and Ancient Spirit, who ran first and second in the South Ocean Stakes at Woodbine for Norseman Racing Stable and trainer Sid Attard. 

Ancient Spirit also won the Victorian Queen Stakes. What makes that all the more remarkable is the fact that A Touch Of Red and Ancient Spirit belong to a juvenile crop that numbers just seven foals. 

A similarly small crop of three-year-olds also includes this year’s Georgian Bay Stakes winner Breathing Fire. The leading first, second and third-crop sire of his generation in Canada, he is the sire of nine stakes winners overall from 95 foals of racing age.

Signature Red’s success should not come as a surprise in light of his own race record and pedigree.

Over the course of four seasons, he won six starts including two consecutive renewals of the Grade 2 Highlander Stakes over 6f on turf at Woodbine. A tough and versatile horse, he was also stakes-placed on a further eight occasions, notably in three renewals of the G3 Kennedy Road Stakes (6f) on the all-weather.

Signature Red is the only son of Bernstein, a fast two-year-old who became one of the most successful sire sons of Storm Cat, at stud in Canada. Therefore he offers affordable access to one of the most successful sire lines of all time, and one that invariably throws its share of speed and precocity.

Like his sire, Signature Red reacts well to mares carrying Hail To Reason. 

Bernstein’s own stud career was highlighted by the Classic winner Karakontie, out of a Sunday Silence mare, as well as the South American Group 1 winners Stormy Nimble, Stormy Nina and La Impaciente, all of whom were out of mares by Southern Halo. 

And Signature Red looks to be following suit given that Ancient Spirit is the product of a Blame mare and both A Touch Of Red and the unbeaten Red Giveaway are out of mares by the Kris S horse Philanthropist. 

With that in mind, mares carrying Hail To Reason, via either Roberto or Halo, remain an interesting fit for Signature Red.

The ubiquitous Northern Dancer-line also played a key role in Bernstein’s fortunes at stud, including those carrying the blood of Special, namely Sadler’s Wells and Nureyev; they combine in the background of G1 winner Miss World while Tepin is out of a daughter of Stravinsky.

Signature Red has also continued that Northern Dancer trend by siring elite runners out of mares descending from a number of his sons. They include the Danzig horse Outflanker, damsire of the stakes-winning siblings Signature Spring and Dotted Line, and Deputy Commander, a son of Deputy Minister who is the damsire of Red Cabernet. 

Bernstein’s stud career also highlights an affinity with mares carrying Mr Prospector, as illustrated in the case of the G1 winners Goshawk Ken, Karakontie, Malibu Queen, Miss World, Que Vida Buena, Savoir Bien and Stormy Vil. 

That is particularly true of Seeking The Gold, who appears in the backgrounds of G2 winners Big Band Sound and Renee’s Titan.

Similarly, Signature Red has already enjoyed success with Mr Prospector-line mares, notably via Breathing Fire (dam by City Zip), Bull Page Stakes winner Latonka (dam by Dance To Destiny) and the multiple stakes winner Red Cabernet (second dam by Forty Niner’s son Twining).

Interestingly, stakes winners Signature Spring, A Touch Of Red, Dotted Line, Breathing Fire and Ancient Spirit are also all inbred to Secretariat.

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