Dorothy, Novus Propinquo, Little Big Horse and Barracuda… All legends and house hold names in TK lore. So how does a horse who didn’t win a single world cup get mentioned alongside these giants of the game? This is the story of Sir Lancelot, sire of champions.
Sir Lancelot started life as “The Roller”. He was bred by Rock And Roll Racing. A son of the exceptional performer Hairboy, out of a good race-mare Big Llamrei. He was a strapping 17.2 hands and weighed about 452kgs. One can only assume that The Roller’s future was always destined for the breeding paddock, as in his first three seasons the future legend didn’t see the race track, in-fact he spent all his time in the swimming pool.
One week after turning five, The Roller was listed for sale and purchased at a near record fee for the time of $11m, by Reds Breeding Stud. Many suggested that the price was way over the horses worth.
However the doubters were quickly silenced as Sir Lancelot‘s first full season as a stallion yielded an extremely impressive crop of foals, producing sales of $20,655,932 and at an equally impressive average price of $2.950.847. With sales ranging from $10.6 million for “Jason Argonaut“, a highly rated genetic beast of a week 2, to a week 3 filly named “Tigress Lady“, who sold for 750k. Even without stud fees included his first crop of foals came very close to doubling his purchase fee. A first season total that may well never be matched.
After such massive numbers from his opening stud season, there were quite naturally questions over whether he could replicate the performance, or was he a “one season wonder?” He again answered the questions emphatically with a second season yield that produced total sales of $22.174.507 and a re-breed sale of $11.038.204 for a cumulative $33.212.711. Two significant progeny from that crop were “Red’s Dax“, who stayed in Red’s barn and won the 2yo Breeders Cup Sprint and the 3yo Breeders Cup Medium, and “Wild Smokey” who was purchased by Troublemaker for the princely sum of $7.650.000, and went on to have a storied career with 4 world cups, 2 magic miles and multiple youth and adult world records.
Sir Lancelot continued to push his numbers higher and higher, his earnings in sales from his third season as a stud was $38.647,093 (average $3.513.372), a record season even without re-breeds (which totalled $8m themselves) included and one that no one thought could be equaled let alone beaten. A theory that seemed confirmed when he failed to improve on his previous statistics the following season for the first time in his career.
However he wasn’t done setting records just yet as Sir Lancelot hit his pinnacle and indeed what has been a sales pinnacle for any single stud in January 2013 when his progeny sold for an unbelievable $39, 735,501 and an average of $3.311.291 with one foal “King Of The Hill” selling for an incredible $9.751.951 million. That seasons re-breeds also fetched an unprecedented $17.194.595 putting his season’s yield at an immense $56.930.096 without stud fee’s which were also fetching large amounts. Among that seasons progeny was a filly named “Tripp Leilani” who was bought by the famous Manor Park Stud for $4.2 million and went on to win a record 13 world cups and set countless youth and adult world records throughout her legendary career.
Sir Lancelot would carry on living up to his name in the breeding paddock for the rest of his career and would eventually reach an incomparable sales total of $268.366.509 (this statistic does not include stud fees of which there were 52 or the sales of his progeny outside of those bred within Reds Breeding Stud). Mid way through his eleventh season he matched Big Little Horse’s record maximum rating of 99, with the training nerf now in affect this feat may never be reached again. His achievements and statistics which will most likely never be touched must surely cement his place in TK history but his story is about more than just statistics, the Lancelot line became the base for so many stables breeding projects that Sir Lancelot is known by many as the Northern Dancer of TK, which is a remarkable and beautiful thing. Sir Lancelot has been gone for many many seasons now but his impact on the game continues, to this day progeny of his progeny of his progeny are winning countless cups, one great example is Track King’s current superstar Relaunch, 10 time world champion as an 8 year old, and great grand son of a very proud Sir Lancelot.
He was a once-in-a-lifetime horse, a major impact sire—a major impact on the future of the breed and a major impact on the lives of those at Reds Breeding Stud. Sir Lancelot certainly was a special horse.
Comments from stables that used him as stud or bought some of his foals:
“Sir Lancelot? Well, I think Sir Lancelot’s legacy shows how special he was, the sire of many nice horses, including a lot of champions like my Wild Smokey. I remember back in the day, the cost of Sir Lancelot services for week 1 foals was the same money the top 10 2yo cost today, was insane!. In TK history we find other names that did good at breeding, but none came close to Sir Lancelot. Hell of a sire!”
Troublemaker
I never got to use Lancelot as a stud back in the day as I could never really afford the stud fee he commanded. I think I only ever bought one of his foals, which was a good one though, Thunderstruck.
No-one would disagree that he was one of the best studs in TK history and you gotta admire the way Red managed him through his career. Getting him to max OR and finding suitable mares in style and stats etc. certainly got the best out of him. Job well done.Bristol Turks
Without doubt the most dominant stud the game has seen. Others had some great foals but for sheer numbers nothing came close to what Sir Lancelot consistently produced. I only ever bought 2 of his foals I believe, cost me just over $8m for the pair but one stands as one of the best horses I’ve ever trained and probably the best epic horse the game has seen. Became Wexford a more than useful sprinter which won the Golden Slipper and Amethyst Trophy and Tripp Leilani a horse I had high hopes for but never imagined would turn out quite like she did with records which are unlikely to ever be matched. I highly doubt we’ll see another like Sir Lancelot but we can but dream.
Manor Park Stud
In the dictionary a hero is defined as “a mythological or legendary figure often of divine descent endowed with great strength or ability; b: an illustrious warrior; c: admired for his achievements and noble qualities; d: one who shows great courage; 2 a: the principal male character in a literary or dramatic work; b: the central figure in an event, period, or movement. 3: an object of extreme admiration and devotion : idol “ – Merriam Webster
There is no greater hero than Track Kings icon Sir Lancelot. He transcended TK horse racing, and truly captured the hearts of all of Track King as they followed his racing and breeding career.
A Legend that continues even now, as his bloodlines are prominent around the TK world through many of the greatest race horses known on Track King today.
Angel’s Flight
Sir Lancelot – Not known for any particular racing achievements, and indeed, if you take a look at TK’s official statistics he won’t ever feature near the top of the “career earnings” list either, but everyone who followed him in his glamorous career knows he would top that list if stud fees and foal sales were included. And not just by a little, or even what you’d call a lot, but by an unimaginably large margin! That fact always makes me smile, and for reasons, because it stands as the perfect conclusion to a story that started as a great visionary plan. Remember the uproar Red’s $11,000,000 winning auction bid caused in the forums way back when Sir Lancelot as a young, overweight and totally inexperienced (no xp) 5 year old colt was picked up by Reds Breeding Stud? Most people thought it an extravagant waste of money and they weren’t exactly shy to say so publicly in the forums either. How could it ever earn that money back? “The game’s gone crazy” many people thought. But this was no crazy move, in fact it was a bargain. I know for a fact that Red would have paid a lot more for this horse had he been forced to. And he would have been right to do so, because the horse was perfect, just like the timing of it becoming available. This was his ticket. Almost like destiny you could say? This young Sir Lancelot had superstar stud potential written in the core of its genes and its core stats matched what you could call an ideal training profile as well, and in my book credit really must go to Red for spotting this and taking full advantage of it in a way no one else ever would have. Excellently planned from the beginning and followed through right until the very end, history showed that he was up to the task just like Sir Lancelot was when it came to producing great foals. A perfect match. Yes, if you ask me I’d rate Sir Lancelot as the best managed non-racing horse in the history of the game – without a doubt. A legendary stud, but also a perfect example to follow for any ambitious breeding stable out there.
Tomac of Seahorse Racing
I have re-written this four times now, it’s incredibly hard to truly do my feelings for this horse justice. I think everyone of us who plays this wonderful game has the ultimate goal of having a stable defining horse, a legend if you will and I am incredibly lucky to be able say that I had mine and to be associated with Sir Lancelot is something that I will always be thankful for. Even now I am continually overwhelmed with a feeling of pride and joy at his progenies achievements, this may well only be a game about pretend horses but somehow there is meaning and power enough that occasionally one of those pretend horses can grab a piece of your heart and that like the horse himself is simply phenomenal!
Reds Breeding Stud