Biggest Stallion With No Pedigree?

I loved the thread about the next big stallion, but sometimes its the horse you don't think of.
Who was the best stallion you can think of that didn't have much of a pedigree or started out for a cheap fee that turned into a monster?

[paisjpq]

first one that comes to mind is Storm Cat. He had the pedigree but wasn't a top runner in th US and has conformation issues. Think he began his career for around 25k and it even dropped the second season (when they couldn't fill his book) if I remember right, but then his foals hit the track and we all know what he is today, THE monster.

$25,000 to $500,000, not bad. How about a great horse at the track with no pedigree that carried it over to the breeding shed? Wouldn't that be basically starting a new great line that had nothing before it.

[miraja2]

My impression is that Seattle Slew was not considered a very good sire prospect at first. obviously he was great on the track but his pedigree was somewhat questionable. Neither his sire (Bold Reasoning) or his broodmare sire (Poker) were very highly regarded (neither one ever hit the board in a graded stakes race) and Slew himself had been a cheap purchase for that reason. He didn't have a top tier pedigree when he went to the shed.
Now in retrospect Poker turned out to be a good broodmare sire (he was Silver Charm's brrodmare sire as well as Slew's) and Bold Reasoning dropped dead after standing at stud for only 2 years so his status as a sire is hard to determine. But overall I think Slew would fit the conditions you specify.

Wow, how could I forget about SS. Yeah, I would say he fits the condition.

[Danzig]

no way storm cat fits this billing. starting at 25k about 20 years ago was no mean feat. and the breeding most definitely is there.

seattle slew didn't have the 'right side of the track' pedigree, but it wasn't that bad either. he was syndicated for a huge fee, and is one of the few to back it up. just knowing the syndication value would make you realize he was not considered a bad prospect.

spectacular bid for example was a dismal failure. seth han**** said in retrospect he'd never have put that deal together, as the horses breeding wasn't that good, and you almost never see a stallion with poor breeding do well.

top stallion w/out the breeding? gotta be the one and only northern dancer, who was almost gelded. by a relatively unknown stallion, first foal from his mare....bred in canada. only his dams sire would be easily recognizable by the casual fan. became the most influential sire world wide....

[somerfrost]

Well, my favorite sire of all, Broad Brush wasn't considered a great prospect...he has turned out pretty well becoming a CDR and single-handedly carrying-on the great Domino line!