Deep Sun was foaled in 1952. He was bred by C. C. Tanner. Deep Sun was by Depth Charge, one of several Thoroughbreds to have been inducted into the AQHA Hall of Fame. Depth Charge was by Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes winner, Bold Venture. He won five races and was stakes placed. Depth Charge stood at the Kentucky division of the King Ranch and was later moved to Texas where he sired numerous Quarter Horse racehorses, including stakes winners Johnny Dial, Super Charge, Tiny Charger, Dividend and Miss Queenie.
Sun Flower, the dam of Deep Sun, was by multiple stakes winner Sun Teddy. She won thirteen races and placed second in the Cave Hill Purse at Keeneland and third in the Phoenix Handicap. Sun Flower produced five Thoroughbred foals – Vie, Bright Charge, Deep Sun, Prince Errand and Dark Starlet. All were race winners. Bright Charge, a full-sister to Deep Sun, produced Quarter Horse race winners Letta Bid and Bright Sun Deck. Bright Charge also produced Lucky Pass, a Thoroughbred mare by Top Deck. Lucky Pass produced AQHA Superior Race Horse and sire Bar Pass Meyers. She also produced Lucky Stepper, a multiple stakes winner and second dam of Gr. 1 Rainbow Futurity winner Steppin for the Moon.
Deep Sun had the pedigree and conformation to become a great sprinter, but his racing career started slower than most. He made just one official start as a two-year-old. At three, he won a Quarter Horse race at Rillito in Tucson, Arizona and earned a Racing Register of Merit from the AQHA. He won another Quarter Horse race at Ruidoso Downs in New Mexico the following year. In 1957, when Deep Sun was five years old, his racing career finally took off. He won three official starts and set a new track record at Cahokia Downs in Alorton, Illinois for five furlongs in 58.40 seconds.
By the time Deep Sun was seven, he owned four records at tracks across the country. He held the record for four and a half furlongs in Charlestown, Virginia. His clocked four furlongs in 45.80 seconds at Thistledown in Cleveland, Ohio. He also held the track record for three and a half furlongs at Shenandoah Downs in West Virginia. His blistering final time of 39.0 seconds over that distance stood as the American and World Record for at lest two decades. Altogether, Deep Sun made 31 official starts, won sixteen races, and earned $20,786 on the track, which is the equivalent of about $230,000 today.
Deep Sun sired one foal when he was racing in the Southwest – a brown Quarter Horse mare named Miss Deep. His next foals were Thoroughbreds that he sired while he was running in the Midwest. In 1960, Dontstopnow, a Thoroughbred colt by Deep Sun and out of a daughter of Hy Diamond, was foaled at Clyde Jennings’ ranch in Texas. Dontstopnow won the Lafayette Stakes and Duncan F. Kenner Stakes. By 1962, Deep Sun was purchased by Ed H. Honnen and moved to Quincy Farms near Denver, Colorado. His first Colorado-bred Quarter Horses included Racing ROM earners Lady Sunbeam, Diamond Spot, Leo Charge and Sun Sage, as well as performance ROM earner Deep Elm.
Ettabo, the best Quarter Horse starter by Deep Sun, was foaled at Quincy Farms in 1964. He was a brown colt out of Etta Leo, a race winning daughter of the great Leo. Ettabo won the Josie’s Bar Handicap, Chicado V Handicap and Vandy’s Flash Handicap. He won fourteen of his 38 official starts and earned $50,976 on the track. Ettabo was named the 1969 AQHA Racing Champion Aged Stallion. He went on to sire 474 AQHA registered foals. His progeny included 275 ROM earners, 246 race winners, 37 Superior Race Award earners, 18 stakes winners and one regional champion. They earned $4,220380 on the track and 500.5 points in the arena. They also earned money in the National Snaffle Bit Association. Some of his best offspring included Ettago Chickie, Golden Bo Jangles, Wanta Go, Great Victory and Etta Bux.
Thanks to the achievements of Ettabo and other stakes winners such as Deep Sun Pet, Deep Sun made the list of Leading Sires of Quarter Horses by money earned in 1968 and 1969. Unfortunately, the success was short-lived. By 1968, Deep Sun’s fertility had decreased drastically. He only sired two Quarter Horse foals that year. In 1970, when he would have been eighteen years old, his last foal was born. In total, Deep Sun sired 124 Quarter Horses and Thoroughbreds in twelve foal crops. They included 56 race winners, 30 ROM earners, eleven stakes finalists, four stakes winners, two Superior Race Award earners and one champion. His offspring earned $496,860 0n the track and 105.0 points in the arena.
After Ettabo, Deep Lad was the next best sire by Deep Sun. Deep Lad was bred by Quincy Farms and owned by Mr. and Mrs. Adelbert Massey in Coldwater, Michigan. He was a sorrel stallion that earned a Performance ROM and an AQHA Champion designation for his accomplishments in Halter and Western Pleasure. Deep Lad sired 157 Quarter Horse foals that earned 77.5 points in the arena. Sunofagun, a chestnut stallion by Deep Sun, stood at TM Ranch in Orlando, Florida. He sired 127 foals that earned 55.5 points in the arena. His sons Sun Diamond, Black Sun Bar, Blue Bar Sun, Sun Kitten, Deep Go, Sun Venture and Step Quickley also sired several Quarter Horse, Paint and Appaloosa foals. Notably, his Thoroughbred son Deep Note sired Deep Wanda, the 1983 Fort Smith Futurity Champion.
Daughters of Deep Sun produced 175 Quarter Horse foals that earned $526,453 on the track and 121.5 points in the arena. Crystal Sun, a brown mare by Deep Sun, produced stakes winners Chant’s Eternal and Crystal’s Wonder, as well as track record setter Mobile’s Sun. Other stakes winners out of Deep Sun mares included Mr Top Decker, Tio Gordito and Blue Blazer. Speck’s Dreamer, a sorrel mare out of Sun Win, earned money in the National Cutting Horse Association. Miss Sun Jet and Bar De Go earned Performance ROMs. High Pocketts, an Appaloosa stallion out of Deep Sun Bar, a daughter of Deep Sun, was a Canadian Champion at Halter.
Descendents of Deep Sun are still competing in racing, barrel racing, cutting, halter, and other western events!
Sources: Equineline, Equibase, American Quarter Horse Association, Speed and the Quarter Horse, All Breed Database
The Western Thoroughbred 