Perennial leading sire Medaglia d'Oro passed away Friday at Jonabell Farm at the age of 27.The sire of 31 Grade I winners and 101 graded stakes winners, his top progeny include Eclipse champions Rachel Alexandra, Songbird, and Nitrogen as well as three-time Hong Kong Horse of the Year Golden Sixty. He was pensioned from stallion duties at the end of 2025. Medaglia d'Oro will be buried at Jonabell Farm.“Medaglia d'Oro leaves a legacy that will not be forgotten,” said Dan Pride, COO of Godolphin America. “He achieved greatness on the track and in the stallion barn. We are grateful for all who supported him through the years. He knew he was special and quickly became a fan favorite on the farm.”The Makings of a World-Class SireThe $10,000 mating of the mare Cappucino Bay (Bailjumper) with El Prado (Ire) in 1998 ultimately resulted in the sire of 31 individual Grade I/Group 1 winners around the world and one of the most prominent American sires of the century.Medaglia d'Oro's sire El Prado, a joint champion 2-year-old in Ireland, was one of the first sons of Sadler's Wells to establish himself as an influential stallion in the United States as the leading sire in North America in 2002. Sadler's Wells, who would become a fourteen-time leading sire in Great Britain and Ireland, had yet to sire the iconic stallion Galileo (Ire) at the time of Medaglia d'Oro's foaling, and his other top son Montjeu (Ire) was just a 3-year-old.Medaglia d'Oro was out of the Washington-bred Bailjumper mare Cappucino Bay. The mare was a daughter of Dubbed In (Silent Screen), who produced two other winners including the stakes-winning gelding Maharesred (Maheras). Cappucino Bay's female family traces back to several graded black-type horses under her second dam including GI Sapling S. winner Travelling Music (Spring Double), as well as Mistic (North Tower), a Group 1 winner in Peru.When Cappucino Bay failed to meet her $3,200 reserve as a yearling, she was retained by breeders Albert and Joyce Bell. She broke her maiden in the Mercer Girls S. as a juvenile. Upon retirement as a 5-year-old, she became a broodmare for the Bells, producing nine foals and five winners.Her second foal Expresso Bay (Metfield) was the first of four runners who would reach six-figure earnings, placing in multiple stakes over her seven-year career. Cappucino Bay's 2008 foal Naples Bay (Giant's Causeway) was a two-time graded stakes winner. Upon retirement in 2014, Naples Bay was sold to Coolmore's M.V. Magnier in foal to War Front for $3.6 million at the Keeneland November Sale.From Humble Beginnings, A Stellar Racing Career Medaglia d'Oro was foaled in April 11, 1999 in Paris, Kentucky, as his dam's fourth foal. He was sent back to the Bells at their home in Great Falls, Montana, and then completed a portion of his early training on a ranch in Arizona.He made his racing debut in December of 2001 as a juvenile, running second at Turfway Park for Joyce Bell and trainer David Vance. He would go on to break his maiden by over four length as a 3-year-old in his next start at Oaklawn Park.Owner Edmund Gann and legendary five-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer Bobby Frankel took notice, and he was sold privately to those connections following his sophomore debut.Medaglia d'Oro's first start under the new ownership was a winning one as he made his stakes debut in the GII San Felipe S. After a second-place finish in the GI Wood Memorial S., he ran fourth in the GI Kentucky Derby at odds of 6-1 in a field that included winner War Emblem, as well as Proud Citizen, Harlan's Holiday, and Johannesburg. He ran unplaced in the GI Preakness S., and then finished a close second to longshot Sarava in the GI Belmont S.Medaglia d'Oro winning the Whitney | HorsephotosAfter a winless Triple Crown season, Medaglia d'Oro claimed a pair of graded stakes wins at Saratoga in the GII Jim Dandy S.–by 13 3/4 lengths–and the GI Travers S. following a memorable stretch tussle with Repent under Hall of Fame jockey Jerry Bailey. The sophomore's season ended with a second-place finish in the GI Breeders' Cup Classic behind another long-odds winner in Volponi.After a freshening, the colt began his 4-year-old season with three consecutive victories in the GII Strub S., the GII Oaklawn H., and the GI Whiney H., this time beating rival Volponi and remaining undefeated at Saratoga.He then ran second in his next two starts in the GI Pacific Classic S. behind Candy Ride (Arg), followed by the GI Breeders' Cup Classic, this time behind a new rival in $7.7-million dollar earner Pleasantly Perfect.Medaglia d'Oro returned to the track at five, claiming one more Grade I in the Donn H. and then crossing the globe to run second to Pleasantly Perfect in the G1 Dubai World Cup.Although he never ended up with a championship title on the racetrack, Medaglia d'Oro retired with a record of 8-7-0 from 17 starts and earnings of $5,754,720 as a seven-time graded stakes winner. He earned 13 triple-digit Beyer Speed Figures, including a 120 Beyer top for his victory in the Jim Dandy S. as a sophomore.A Remarkably Fast Start at Stud The three-time Grade I winner was retired to Hill 'n' Dale Farm as the property of Audrey Haisfeld's Never Tell Farm. Two years later, he was moved to Haisfield's Stonewall Stallions. He stood his first season at stud for $35,000, entering the same year as several other influential stallions in Tapit, Candy Ride, and Speightstown.“The people that bought him and the guy that owned him felt he had done plenty,” agent Mark Reid, who purchased the horse for Gann in 2002 and assisted in brokering his breeding rights, said in an interview with Daily Racing Form upon the horse's retirement in June, 2004. “After all those Grade Is and going undefeated at Saratoga, they felt he had done enough. He was a real nice horse. He reminded me of Smarty Jones in one way: he didn't need to carry his racetrack with him. He beat them at Santa Anita, Gulfstream, Oaklawn, and he killed them at Saratoga.”Medaglia d'Oro's first crop of yearlings sold for nearly quadruple their stud fee, averaging $117,354. The group included four eventual Grade I winners in C.S Silk, Warrior's Reward, Gabby's Golden Gal and, of course, Rachel Alexandra.Rachel Alexandra | Sarah AndrewRachel Alexandra was the first foal out of the stakes-winning mare Lotta Kim (Roar). An undefeated 3-year-old season that included five Grade I wins earned her two Eclipse awards for champion 3-year-old filly and 2009 Horse of the Year. Her victory in the GI Preakness S. just 15 days after the Oaks–following a private acquisition from her owner and breeder Dolphus Morrison by a group including Stonestreet Stables–made her the first filly to win both the Kentucky Oaks and the Preakness S., her 116 Beyer Figure in the GI Haskell would be the highest recorded figure in North America that year and she was the first filly to ever win the GI Woodward S. Rachel Alexandra retired as a 4-year-old with nine graded stakes victories and without finishing worse than second in any of her 19 starts aside from her debut as a juvenile.“As a 3-year-old, she set standards and records that no filly before her ever achieved,” Stonestreet's late founder Jess Jackson told the TDN on Sept. 29, 2010 following the announcement of her retirement. “I suspect it will be quite a while before a 3-year-old filly ever equals or surpasses her achievements.”Not long after his first-crop star brought down the house at Pimlico in her dramatic Preakness victory, Medaglia d'Oro was purchased by Sheikh Mohammed's Darley Stud for an undisclosed price. His 2009 stud fee of $60,000 was bumped up to $100,000, despite it being a year of great economic uncertainty.“Sheikh Mohammed believes that Medaglia d'Oro has a very exciting future ahead of him.” Darley bloodstock advisor John Ferguson told TDN on June 6, 2009 when the purchase was made public.Starting in 2010, he was shuttled regularly to Australia for the Southern Hemisphere breeding season.A Stud Career for the Record Books In his next three crops, sired while still under the ownership of Haisfeld, Medaglia d'Oro produced four more Grade I winners including Kentucky Oaks heroine and millionaire Plum Pretty, and seven-time graded stakes winner Marketing Mix.By the time he was transferred to the Darley stud barn, his fifth crop of yearlings, foaled in 2010, were averaging nearly $200,000. That same crop included four more Grade I winners, including eventual sires Violence and Mshawish. Two years later, he produced another eventual sire in the Australian Group 1 Golden Slipper Stakes winner Vancouver (Aus), followed by the Godolphin-raced GI Breeders' Cup Turf champion and multi-millionaire Talismanic (GB) and record-breaking Group 1 winner Astern (Aus) in 2013.In the same year, he also sired his newest superstar filly, Songbird.Out of the Grade II winner Ivanavinalot (West Acre), Songbird broke her maiden on debut by over six lengths for trainer Jerry Hollendorfer, earning 'TDN Rising Star' presented by Hagyard status in her first start. She was named champion 2-year-old filly after claiming three consecutive Grade I races including the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies. As a sophomore, she took seven consecutive graded stakes including four Grade I races, earning a second Eclipse Award as a champion 3-year-old filly.After adding two additional Grade I races at four, Songbird retired in 2017 with nine Grade Is to her credit, never finishing below second place in her 15 starts. She sold to Mandy Pope's Whisper Hill Farm at the Fasig-Tipton Fall Mixed Sale for a jaw-dropping $9.5 million.Songbird | Sarah AndrewIn his following three years at stud, Medaglia d'Oro added seven more Grade I winners to his credit including a pair of millionaire fillies in 2014–'Rising Star' Elate and New Money Honey. Three Grade I-winning colts followed the next year, including Spendthrift sire Bolt d'Oro. He saw additional success from his 2015 crop with Canadian Horse of the Year Wonder Gadot, as well as two-time graded stakes winner Enticed, who would join his sire in the stud barn at Darley America in 2020.Medaglia d'Oro made his mark as a sire of outstanding female racehorses early on, when after three years at stud, six of his first eight Grade I winners were fillies. In his first 10 crops, 12 of his 23 Grade I winners were fillies, including Songbird, Rachel Alexandra and Elate.As of October 2026, his tally had risen to 31 elite-level winners and of his 26 individual millionaire progeny worldwide, 13 are fillies and mares. His leading earner is Hong Kong superstar Golden Sixty with over $21-million in earnings to his name.Additionally, the Darley flag-bearer made a name for himself as a quality broodmare sire, thus far producing 68 group/graded winners including 13 Group/Grade I horses in Rock Fall (Speightstown); Competitionofideas (Speightstown); Rachel's Valentina (Bernardini), the daughter of champion Rachel Alexandra; National Treasure (Quality Road); Santin (Distorted Humor); Olympiad (Speightstown); Apocalyptic (Aus) (Extreme Choice {Aus}); Be Your Best (Ire) (Muhaarar {GB}); Seismic Beauty (Uncle Mo); Campione D'Italia (Aus) (Snitzel {Aus}); Marketsegmentation (American Pharoah); Prince of Monaco (Speightstown); Goldrush Guru (Aus) (American Pharoah); and Competitionofideas (Speightstown).In addition to the five GI winners by Speightstown, he also claims the graded stakes-winning 'Rising Star' Strike Power (Speightstown) as a broodmare sire, and Seattle superstar Barkley, a stakes winner by Speightstown's son Munnings. Other noteworthy Group/Graded stakes runners produced by his daughters include the likes of First Mission (Street Sense); Arrest Me Red (Pioneerof the Nile); I Am Me (Aus) (I Am Invincible {Aus}); Yuugiri (Shackleford); Wit (Practical Joke); Scalding (Nyquist); and Stellify (Justify).Medaglia d'Oro enjoyed a historical two-year stretch when, in 2017, he was represented by seven individual Grade I winners, and then the next year in the sales ring, eight yearlings brought $1 million or more.Darley's Darren Fox told the TDN in 2019,”Medaglia d'Oro showed what he can do on the racetrack and also his prowess in the sales ring, which is really the bullseye for an elite stallion. To be able to get you that top runner, but also that commercial score just earmarks what a special stallion he is and we're obviously very lucky that he stands here at Jonabell Farm.”To date, Medaglia d'Oro has sired 190 individual stakes winners and 101 graded winners with his crops earning over $229-million in purses worldwide through October 2026. His most recent North American filly to become a multiple Grade I winner was Tam Tam in the GI Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup at Keeneland with Sovereign and Eclipse Award heroine Nitrogen also collecting another Grade I win this season. The latter is aiming to become her sire's latest Breeders' Cup winner when she takes on the Distaff at Keeneland in late October.The post Medaglia d’Oro Passes Away at Jonabell Farm appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.