March 1 - Good Magic

He is by two-time Horse of the Year Curlin who has gone on to be a super star stallion. He was a good racehorse in his own right, but hey, he produced last year's Kentucky Derby winner in Mage and Curlin hasn't done that yet.

Good Magic ranked second in the derby to Justify. If you ever see the two, they look like twins except for Justify being bigger. I will say this, my good friend Anne Peters, who I will say is the absolute best pedigree expert I've met in 50 years told me that she thought Good Magic would be the better stallion when both Justify and Good Magic went to stud. Did I mention that Good Magic has already produced a Kentucky Derby winner? Not to say that Justify isn't knocking it out of the park as well, but if the Derby is how we measure greatness, then Mage by Good Magic confirms Anne as the Pedigree Goddess.

Good Magic was a champion two year old who later became one of the best young sires in America, producing multiple classic winners in just a few crops. He was foaled in 2015 and trained by Hall of Famer Chad Brown for e Five Racing Thoroughbreds and Stonestreet Stables. His sire was the great Curlin, two time Horse of the Year, and his dam was Glinda the Good, a daughter of Hard Spun. He carried as much classic pedigree as any colt of his generation.

Good Magic broke his maiden in his second start at Saratoga in 2017 and quickly stepped up in class. He ran second in the Champagne Stakes at Belmont before heading to Del Mar for the 2017 Breeders Cup Juvenile. Ridden by jockey Jose Ortiz, he ran a powerful race to win by four and a quarter lengths, beating Solomini and Bolt d'Oro. The win earned him the 2017 Eclipse Award for Champion Two Year Old Male.

His three year old year in 2018 placed him squarely on the Triple Crown trail. He won the Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland to lock up his spot in the Kentucky Derby. The 2018 Kentucky Derby was held in heavy rain, and Good Magic ran a huge race to finish second behind the unbeaten Justify. He also finished second in the 2018 Preakness Stakes, again behind Justify, becoming the runner up to a Triple Crown winner in two of the three classics. He went on to run fourth in the Travers Stakes and ninth in the Breeders Cup Classic before being retired due to injury.

Good Magic finished his career with 4 wins from 9 starts and earnings of over 2.9 million dollars. He went to stud at Hill 'n' Dale Farm in Kentucky, and his stallion career took off almost immediately. His son Mage won the 2023 Kentucky Derby, and his son Dornoch won the 2024 Belmont Stakes, making Good Magic the only sire to have classic winning sons in back to back years among the freshman to second crop ranks. He also sired Muth, who won the 2024 Arkansas Derby, and many other graded stakes winners. Good Magic is now one of the hottest sires in the world, and his impact on the breed is just beginning.

Sources:

• Good Magic - Wikipedia

• Hill 'n' Dale Farms - Good Magic

• Bloodhorse - Good Magic