Dissecting A Cross: Speightstown/Medaglia d'Oro

These two leading stallions have a common thread that could provide insight into the success of this popular nick

The Speightstown/Medaglia d'Oro nick is a cross that has become well established in recent years, with Olympiad adding a third G1 winner to the tally in 2022. This is one of my favorite nicks because it's one that makes a lot of sense to me on paper, and because I find it fascinating that it seems to be more prolific in one direction than the other.

Top-Class Talent

Both Speightstown and Medaglia d'Oro entered stud in 2005. Speightstown retired to WinStar Farm with a first-year fee of $35,000 as the reigning Breeders’ Cup Sprint winner and Eclipse champion sprinter of 2004. Medaglia d’Oro was a talented three-year-old who won the G1 Travers and finished second in the 2002 Breeders’ Cup Classic before putting together three consecutive graded stakes wins at age four, finishing that season with another runner-up finish in the 2003 Breeders’ Cup Classic. In 2004, he won the Donn Handicap and finished second in the Dubai World Cup. He was introduced at Stonewall Farm Stallions for a fee of $40,000 in 2005.

Both stallions had quality first crops, with Medaglia d’Oro the fourth-leading freshman sire and Speightstown fifth on the 2008 freshman sire list in what turned out to be an exceptional class of stallions - they were behind Tapit, Lion Heart, and Candy Ride.

The following year, however, Medaglia d’Oro got the update of a lifetime as his first crop filly Rachel Alexandra exploded into a superstar, catapulting his stud fee to $100,000 for 2010 and resulting in his purchase by Darley. He was the leading second-crop sire of 2009 and the 8th leading sire overall. Speightstown’s Munnings also put together a solid season, winning two G2s sprinting and chasing Rachel Alexandra home while finishing third in the Haskell. Speightstown was the fourth-leading second crop sire behind Medaglia d’Oro, Birdstone (who had sired both the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes winners in his first crop), and Tapit.

In 2010, Speightstown got his first G1 winner in Haynesfield and began his ascension as a leading sire. His stud fee began to steadily rise in the following years. He led the third-crop sire rankings while finishing 10th in the general sire rankings, prompting an increase in his stud fee to $50,000 for 2011. His fee increased in each of the following seasons, to $60,000 for 2013 after he finished 2012 as the third-leading sire with highlights including Travers winner Golden Ticket, and to $80,000 in 2014 after he finished second on the general sire list.

2014 was the first year they both finished in the top ten on the general sire list. Medaglia d’Oro’s stud fee was raised to $125k for 2015, then both stallions got a boost after Medaglia d’Oro was second on the general sire list and Speightstown was 8th. Speightstown’s fee peaked at $100k in 2016 as both continued to sire talented racehorses, with Speightstown’s get exhibiting an impressive range of versatility, while Medaglia d’Oro offspring continued to be the picture of brilliance, especially with fillies such as Songbird. Medaglia d’Oro’s stud fee peaked at $250k in 2018.

There were a few stud fee fluctuations in the intervening years, while each stallion continued to rank among the leading stallions in the country. Their sons also began to climb the stallion rankings, with the likes of Munnings for Speightstown and Violence for Medaglia d’Oro. Speightstown will stand for $80k in 2023, while Medaglia d’Oro will stand for $100k.

As evidenced by their stud fees alone, both are incredible stallions in their own right, though Speightstown gets slightly better numbers by all metrics as a sire and broodmare sire.

The direct cross of Speightstown with daughters of Medaglia d'Oro produces 23 winners from 29 starters (79.3%), and a remarkable seven (24.1%) stakes winners. The AEI for the cross is 4.17. G1 winners Olympiad, Rock Fall, and Competitionofideas are all by Speightstown and out of Medaglia d'Oro mares. Speightstown's son Munnings also has two stakes winners out of mares by Medaglia d'Oro, and his son Speightster has SW Majestic d'Oro out of a Medaglia d'Oro mare. There are 67 winners from 80 starters (84%) bred on the cross overall, including 10 stakes winners (13%).

The reverse cross tells a slightly different story. Only four of the seven starters bred on this direct cross are winners (57.1%), with G3W Rockefeller being the only stakes winner by Medaglia d'Oro out of a Speightstown mare (14.3%). If you include sons of Medaglia d'Oro, there are 20 winners from 31 starters (64.5%), with just two stakes winners total (6.5%).