American Ideal - "a sire with intelligence and a great personality"

World champion racehorse and sire American Ideal, a dual hemisphere stallion who produced such stars as dual New Zealand Cup winner Copy That, has died.

While quarantined in Australia awaiting shipping back to the United States, the horse developed severe colic. During emergency surgery numerous cancerous masses were revealed, which resulted in the horse being humanely euthanized.

“It’s a sad day, as American Ideal was a longtime member of the Brittany family, and also endeared himself to everyone at Blue Chip Farms,” said Art Zubrod, manager of Brittany Farms and Brittany Stallion Management.

“He was a sire who was an easy breeder with intelligence and a great personality.

He stood at Blue Chip Farms in the U.S. and at Llowalong Farms in Australia, with his chilled semen available in this country at Woodlands Stud.

“I like to say he never had a ‘down year,’ as since his first crop stepped on the track he has produced champions or prominent stakes winners every single year,” said Zubrod.

American Ideal (Western Ideal-Lifetime Success) was bred and raised by Brittany Farms and raced from 2004 through 2006. His most prominent victories included the Bluegrass Stakes in a then-world record 1:47.8.

As a stallion from 2009, American Ideal sired the winners of more than $160m in North America.

He sired 18 worldwide millionaires, led by greats such as American Jewel, He's Watching, Heston Blue Chip, and American History in North America as well as Copy That , My Hard Copy (27 wins), Bling It On (49 wins) and Soho Tribeca (21 wins) in this part of the world.

The New Zealand Cup champion of 2021 and 2022, Copy That (Amerian Ideal - Lively Nights) has won 33 races and stakes of just over $2m.

Other notable achievers include Triple Eight (21 wins), Besotted (15 wins), American Me (13 wins), Kango (13 wins), The Orange Agent (23 wins) and Kango (13 wins).

And just days ago Allamericanlover (American Ideal - Goodlookingbabe) won the Group 2 Premier Mares Championship at Addington.

American Ideal was 22.