The announcement that the amazing Kantharos would be leaving Ocala Stud Farm and headed to Hill 'n' Dale in Lexington comes as no surprise to horsemen who have been around Marion County for any length of time. Since the son of Lion Heart is owned by Stonestreet's Barbara Banke, and not Ocala Stud, it was inevitable, just as it was several decades ago when Mr. Prospector and In Reality left town, although the latter occurred near the end of his sterling career. Mr. Prospector, however, was just beginning, and went on to become one of the premier sires ever to stand in the U. S.

    Kantharos came from a sparse freshman crop in Florida, but it wouldn't have mattered. His numbers have been spectacular and have held up for three seasons, beginning with 2014 when his first-crop runners earned $868,968, and continuing into his second season, when he reached $1,780,874. He's right at about $3 million already this year, second on the Florida general sire list, and his final total by Dec. 31 could be anything. That, despite the fact that he has just 79 runners, while the other four of the top five in Florida have more than 100. Deceased Wildcat Heir is the unquestioned leader, but he has 211 at the track.  

    The list of stallions who have been "made" in Florida and left for other lands is long - it includes Congrats, Northern Afleet, Yes It's True, Macho Uno, Stormy Atlantic and Successful Appeal, all of whom continue to remain prominent on the top 75 chart listed in Blood-Horse. 

    Like all of those listed, Florida breeders are going to miss Kantharos. So will this column.

    COME ON ALREADY! - They're still waiting for someone in Pennsylvania to push a button and allow for the dispersal of the more than $6 million in breeders and stallion  awards that horsemen have been waiting for since March. What a colossal joke!

    NOT A RACE - Ocala Stud's Overdriven added to his lead in the all-but-over frosh sire race in Florida when Boot N Loot scored at Gulfstream Park last week. The gelding bred by Tony Everard became winner No. 5 for his sire, going wire-to-wire under Edgard Zayas and winning by four lengths. No other sire on the list has more than one winner. 

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