Nearco's legacy primarily comes from three of his sons, Nasrullah, Royal Charger and Nearctic, although several other sons also sired important winners. Nasrullah was the first son of Nearco to distinguish himself as a sire, first in England and then in America. Nasrullah's important sire sons include: •
Grey Sovereign, to whom 2016 Kentucky Derby winner
Nyquist descends through the
Caro sire line •
Red God, whose modern descendants include 2010 Kentucky Derby winner
Animal Kingdom through the
Blushing Groom sire line •
Bold Ruler, eight-time leading sire in the United States, whose descendants include Triple Crown winners
Secretariat and
Seattle Slew. More recently, Seattle Slew has established a successful sire line that has produced several American classic winners including
California Chrome •
Never Bend, sire of
Mill Reef, whose modern descendants include
Sir Percy and
Dalakhani Royal Charger's most important son was
Turn-To, whose most important sire sons were
Hail to Reason and
Sir Gaylord. Hail to Reason's son
Halo was the sire of dual classic winner
Sunday Silence, who then became the
leading sire in Japan from 1995 through 2007. Sunday Silence is the sire of numerous Japanese champions including
Deep Impact, and is the grandsire of the top-rated horse of 2014
Just A Way. Nearctic is principally known as the sire of
Northern Dancer, who won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness before becoming one of the dominant sires of the late 20th century. Northern Dancer sired numerable sons who themselves went on to become outstanding sires, principally
Nijinsky,
Lyphard,
Nureyev,
Storm Bird,
Danzig and
Sadler's Wells. The
Northern Dancer sire line accounts for hundreds of major winners from around the world, particularly in Europe. His modern descendants include
Justify,
Galileo,
Ouija Board,
Sea the Stars,
Black Caviar,
Frankel and
Treve. Several of Nearco's male-line descendants were ranked among the
Top 100 U.S. Racehorses of the 20th Century by
The Blood-Horse: #2
Secretariat, #9
Seattle Slew, #10
Spectacular Bid, #18
Cigar, #19
Bold Ruler, #24
Nashua, #31
Sunday Silence, #35
Ruffian, #43
Northern Dancer, #57
Riva Ridge, #58
Slew o' Gold, #69
Noor, #70
Shuvee, #72
Go For Wand, #76
Lady's Secret, #82
Miesque, #85
Lure, #86
Fort Marcy, #90
Davona Dale, #95
Bayakoa and #97
Foolish Pleasure. Other notable male-line descendants were
Ballymoss,
Arkle,
Never Say Die,
Royal Palace,
Better Loosen Up,
Sir Ivor,
Invasor,
Wise Dan, and Summer Breeze. Sireline descendants of Nearco include eight of the first nine horses to earn over $10,000,000 in stakes wins. These horses are
Deep Impact,
Makybe Diva,
Narita Brian,
Sunline,
Symboli Kris S,
T M Opera O,
Viva Pataca, and
Vodka. For example, while 2023 Preakness Stakes winner
National Treasure comes from the rival
Mr. Prospector sire line, in the fifth generation of National Treasure's pedigree Mr. Prospector's sire
Raise a Native appears twice, while Secretariat (great-grandson of Nearco through Nasrullah and Bold Ruler) and Sir Ivor (great-great-grandson through Royal Charger, Turn-To, and Sir Gaylord) both appear twice and Northern Dancer (grandson through Nearctic) appears three times. Nijinsky (a son of Northern Dancer), Red God (a son of Nasrullah), Bold Bidder (a son of Bold Ruler), and Rich Gift (great-grandson of Nearco through Nasrullah and Princely Gift) each appear once. On the distaff side, Mr. Prospector's dam
Gold Digger is a great-granddaughter of Nearco through Nasrullah and Nashua, Sweet Tooth a great-granddaughter through Nasrullah and On-and-On, and Fairy Bridge a great-great-great-granddaughter through Royal Charger, Turn-To, Hail to Reason, and Bold Reason(and her dam also has a maternal line to Nearco). ==Pedigree==