Here is a photo of War Emblem by Our Emblem out of Sweetest Lady by Lord at War. War Emblem earned the Eclipse Award for Horse of the Year, and Eclipse Award for Champion 3 year-old colt, and won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes in 2002. He might have won the Belmont Stakes, but had a terrible stumble coming out of the gate. Out of 13 starts, he won 7 times!He was sent to Shadai Stallion Station on the beautiful island of Hokkaido in Japan where he has been having trouble. In his first crop of 4 foals, he had 100% winners. And out of a recent crop of 26 kids who made it to the track, 6 have won stakes races and are doing so well that War Emblem is close to the top of the leading sire list in Japan.
But the trouble seems to be that he doesn't enjoy mating. As Dr. Nobuo Tsunoda, the director of the Shadai Stallion Station said, "We tried everything. War Emblem, everyone, were physically and mentally exhausted." They have tempted him with over 500 different mares, and showed him maidens, experienced mares, bays, blacks, greys, young and old. And he is so very reluctant to mate. He has only mated with 70 of them and has not produced a life foal since 2005. The last time he ejaculated with a mare was in 2006.
Shadai bought him for $17 million to replace their irreplaceable Sunday Silence. And they estimate that his unwillingness to breed has resulted in a loss of $55 million in stud fees.
I am sorry to hear this news about this gentleman. Remember that Japan is the country that sent another Kentucky Derby winner, Ferdinand, to the meat factory when he lost his breeding purpose. Dr. Tsunoda and his staff say they do not want to be discouraged and say this nice thing about their reluctant stallion, "We think much of War Emblem. We always wish him to be happy. His progeny results are very good. We want him to improve, and that would make everyone happy, including him, too."
His very few kids have been doing well at the sales. They sold on average for $400,000 as weanlings and then as much as $514,000 as yearlings.
What they've been doing is trying to tease him with the mares he prefers. He has really specific, finicky tastes. And then, once he finally is turned on by a filly he likes, they switch her out and sneak in one he dislikes. How rude is that?! I am sure he is quite put off by the whole business. Now they are trying to just isolate him completely away from the other stallions and set him up in a herd like atmosphere with mares, so that he can develop a herd stallion leader mentality. In fact, Dr. Sue McDonnell, specialist in equine sexual behavior (of all things) at the New Bolton Center at the University of Pennsylvania says that maybe War Emblem has bachelor stallion mentality where he feels submissive to other stallions and unworthy of his own girls.
His trainer, Bob Baffert, said that he was a tempermental race horse who didn't much like horses or people. He said that, "We used to joke that he may have had an unhappy childhood."
I hope for the best for him. I hope he has a long joyful life. Namaste and God Bless, darling War Emblem!