'His influence will endure' - Hill 'n' Dale's Stormy Atlantic pensioned aged 27

Hill 'n' Dale Farms stalwart Stormy Atlantic has been pensioned at the age of 27, the farm announced on Friday.

The son of Storm Cat out of the Grade 1-winning Seattle Slew daughter Hail Atlantis has sired 109 black-type winners, of which 48 are Graded winners and nine are champions.

"Stormy Atlantic has been generous to Hill 'n' Dale and his shareholders," said John Sikura, president of Hill 'n' Dale. "I would like to thank George Isaacs from Bridlewood for showing the confidence in us for moving Stormy Atlantic from Ocala. He was truly an important sire, whose influence will endure."

Stormy Atlantic was bred and raced by the late Arthur Appleton, the founder of Bridlewood Farm, which is now owned by John and Leslie Malone. Isaacs has been general manager of the farm since 1996.

The colt found his stride at four when he won six of 13 starts and captured the Havre de Grace Stakes at Pimlico Race Course and the Damitrius Stakes at Delaware Park. He retired with six wins from 15 starts and earned $148,126.

His deep family made him a solid stallion candidate, with 31 black-type performers now listed under Hail Atlantis alone. Hail Atlantis is out of the stakes winner Flippers, who is a half-sister to Grade 1 winner Apalachee and Grade 3 winners Belted Earl, Brahms, and Nantequos.

Stormy Atlantic entered stud at Bridlewood in 1999 and stood there until he was relocated to Hill 'n' Dale for the 2003 breeding season.

He ranked ninth among the leading North American freshman sires of 2002 and was the co-fourth-leading sire that year by number of stakes winners with three. He was the leading freshman sire in Florida with $566,126 in progeny earnings. He remained among the top 12 of his sire class through his second-crop and third-crop years.

Stormy Liberal: a top-class performer for his sireCredit: Edward Whitaker

A prolific sire of stakes winners, Stormy Atlantic averaged 12 stakes winners a year over a 10-year period.

His top offspring included Stormy Liberal, 2018 Eclipse champion turf male; Up With the Birds, 2013 Canadian Horse of the Year and champion three-year-old male; El Tormenta, 2019 Canadian champion turf male; Conquest Typhoon and 2014 champion two-year-old male; Leonnatus Anteas.

Other elite runners include three-time Grade 1 winner Get Stormy, Stormy Lucy, Stormello, Next Question and Victor Security.

Stormy Atlantic's stakes winners showed ability on both dirt and turf, with 57 stakes winners on dirt and 67 stakes winners on turf. His total progeny earnings is just shy of $100 million and averages $74,678 per runner.

Nearly half of Stormy Atlantic's stakes winners are daughters, so his position among North America's most important broodmare sires is not a surprise. His daughters have produced 62 black-type winners, which include 21 Graded winners and five champions.

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