Anderson Farms in Ontario, Canada, announced Dec. 9 it had acquired and already syndicated proven stallion Sergei Prokofiev , a son of Scat Daddy who the farm bred and went on to become the leading freshman sire of 2024 in Great Britain and Ireland.
Sergei Prokofiev is the first yearling Anderson Farms' owner David Anderson sold at auction for seven figures, selling him for $1.1 million during the 2017 Keeneland September Yearling Sale to Coolmore's M.V. Magnier. The colt went on to win three stakes in England and Ireland, including the Cornwallis Stakes (G3), and ran third in the Coventry Stakes (G2) during Royal Ascot.
He entered stud at Whitsbury Manor Stud and in his first crop sired 23 winners led by group 1-placed, group 3 stakes winner Arizona Blaze and stakes winner Enchanting Empress. He became the leading freshman sire with £584,723 in progeny earnings, according to Racing Post, and is poised to take the leading second-crop title as well this year.
Anderson said he's kept in close contact with Whitsbury Manor over the years. Recently, the Ontario government indicated it was preparing to provide more financial support to the Ontario-bred program, and at the same time, Anderson began to hear that Sergei Prokovofiev might be available to purchase.
"The Ontario government has shown a lot of support toward breeding and racing, so that was the catalyst for me to make this move with the stallion," he said. "I reached out to a few fellow breeders and the response was overwhelming. Since announcing this today, my phone has not stopped ringing."
Bernard McCormack is among the most enthusiastic Ontario breeders.
"When David told me in the parking lot at Keeneland that the horse might be available and he was going to syndicate him, I told him I wanted to be the number one shareholder," said McCormack, who owns Cara Bloodstock and is the former farm manager for Windfields Farm. "To me, he is a three-market horse. They already love him in Europe, we'll love him here in Ontario, and I believe he is a horse whose offspring you can take to Kentucky and sell them there. It is a golden opportunity for our corner of the breeding and racing world."
Anderson described the ability already shown by Sergei Prokofiev's progeny as "right down the middle of the plate" for racing at Woodbine.
"His runners have proven themselves on turf and synthetic, and he has had a group-placed runner on the dirt with not a lot of opportunity, but that will come," he said. "In Canada, historically, the most successful sires have been speed horses, and we have that inner turf course at Woodbine that suits speed."
Sergei Prokofiev will stand for CA$10,000 (US$7,200), which Anderson said is about CA$5,000 less than the fee he would have stood for next year in Great Britain.
"I want this to be an opportunity for breeders to get in at the ground level with a lot of upside," he said. "I want breeders to see this as a reason to keep mares at home and not go to the expense of having to ship to other jurisdictions."
McCormack said breeders are getting proven quality with a stallion that won't lose any momentum in the market because he bred around 150 mares this year.
"So he will have a lot of results going forward as we start breeding to him here, and he is well-suited to racing here," he said. "We have good racing, but we have to keep our breeders in the game."
