Mystik Dan's Derby Win Elevating Goldencents as Sire

Goldencents  has been a steadily successful sire since his first crop debuted in 2018, and his backers saw his standing on the general sires list climb as his first two crops worked to establish him.

Following his son Mystik Dan's win in the Kentucky Derby (G1), Goldencents could be in store for his best year yet as a sire. 

Goldencents' credentials on the track can't be questioned. A two-time winner of the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1), Goldencents rarely found himself outside of the top two finishers, as his 7-7-0 record from 18 starts demonstrates. Only once—his maiden race—did he not race in graded company. Having earned more than $3 million, the son of five-time leading sire Into Mischief  began his stud career in 2015 at Spendthrift Farm, where he stands in 2024 for $10,000.

Goldencents' first millionaire, Mr. Money , helped him finish second on the first-crop list and then lead the second-crop sire list in 2019. Mr. Money, like his sire, twice ran in the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile, but he never finished better than seventh and never won a grade 1 or 2. Among his wins were the Pat Day Mile Stakes (G3), Matt Winn Stakes (G3), Indiana Derby (G3), and West Virginia Derby (G3), which composed the best four-race stretch in his career. He also won the Ack Ack Stakes (G3) in his penultimate start. 

As Mr. Money's racing career was winding down, Goldencents' second millionaire, By My Standards , was coming into his own as a 4-year-old. After winning the Louisiana Derby (G2) and running in the Kentucky Derby at 3, it was the next year in which he posted five straight first- or second-place finishes in graded stakes. He won the New Orleans Classic Stakes (G2), Oaklawn Handicap (G2), and Alysheba Stakes (G2) and finished second in the Whitney Stakes (G1) and the Stephen Foster Stakes (G2).

By My Standards' efforts over 2020-21 saw Goldencents hold onto the leading third- and fourth-crop sire titles and also gave him his two best rankings among North American sires overall—No. 15 in 2020 and No. 22 in 2021. 

Despite his progeny showing their quality on the track, Goldencents' résumé as a sire was missing something: a grade 1 winner. That was resolved at the end of 2021 when his daughter Going to Vegas won the Rodeo Drive Stakes (G1), a feat she would accomplish again the next year. 

Holding steady in the general sires list in 2022 and 2023, finishing 23rd and 25th, respectively, Goldencents was led in those years by Going to Vegas and Win for Gold, who raced 22 times over two campaigns and didn't see a graded stakes until his finale. 

After that list of impressive runners, Goldencents now takes things to another level as the sire of a classic winner. Mystik Dan debuted at Keeneland with a second and then broke his maiden three weeks later at Churchill Downs. He followed that with a fifth to end 2023 and another fifth to start this year. But things would quickly pick up.

Mystik Dan won the lucrative Southwest Stakes (G3) on a sloppy track at Oaklawn Park and then finished third in the Arkansas Derby (G1), Mystik Dan had earned his place in the field for the Kentucky Derby and showed toughness in forging through a small gap to seize the lead and digging in to hold off Sierra Leone and Forever Young in a three-way photo finish.

Mystik Dan's connections have already said they plan to send his dam, Ma'am, back to Goldencents, in hopes that lightning can strike twice.  

As for the latest in the standings? Mystik Dan's Derby win elevates Goldencents 10 places from No. 15 to No. 5. Mystik Dan's $3,650,050 in earnings this year represent more than half of the sire's progeny earnings for the year ($6,323,783). With at least one more classic likely in Mystik Dan's future, plus developing 3-year-olds Mighty Message and Gould's Gold, 2024 may prove not just a banner year for Goldencents, but the start of him owning a regular place among the best sires in North America.