With the season about to end in Australasia, it’s a good time to review the stallion statistics for the that particular region.
The general sires list in Australia is currently headed by former Horse of the Year, Lonhro. The champion is bidding to become the first grandson of Zabeel to be named champion sire in Australia. Lonho is well clear on the log, with his runners having earned over $8.3 million (R60.3 million! ) in stakes this season. His primary earners have been the G1 winners Beaded (Doomben 10,000) and Benfica (The T J Smith). Lonhro’s other stakes winners for the season past include the G3W Pinwheel, strikingly boh Benfica and Pinwheel are both out of mares by Danehill.
All in all, Lonhro (who stands for AUS$88,000 – R630,000) has been represented by 12 stakes winners this past season.
Redoute’s Choice, whose offspring have done so well in South Africa, is the second leading sire in Australasia for the 2010/2011 season, with his runners earning over AUS$7.1 million .
Already twice a champion sire in past years, Redoute’s Choice enjoyed another magnificent season, being represented by more stakes winners than Lonhro. Tellingly, just one of his 13 stakes winners for the season past was a G1W – Absolutely won the Australasian Oaks.
Redoute’s Choice also enjoyed a great season as a sire of sires, and his sire sons have also done well in South Africa, with the likes of Stratum (sire of the promising Tennessee Strategy) and Not a Single Doubt (sire of G3W Castlethorpe) both featuring here.
It is a sign of the quality of sire that he is, that Redoute’s Choice has finished in the first two on the general sires list for the past four years running. There are three sons of Redoute’s Choice in the top sires of 2yos, by earnings won, for the past season.
High Chaparral, who finished third on the general sires list, was not aided with his best runner, So You Think being exported to Ireland, and another top son, Monaco Consul, being retired to stud. Nearly half of his total of $7.034 million was contributed by So You Think, prior to the latter’s exportation. (by contrast, Redoute’s Choice’s highest runner earned just $447,000 of his $7.1 million!)
More Than Ready, whose offspring have excelled globally this past 12 months, was fourth on the general sires list, ahead of the consistent winner getter Commands.
Three of the top ten sires on the general list (Redoute’s Choice, Commands and Fastnet Rock) are sons of the late, great Danehill.
The influence of Danehill was even more pronounced on the leading 2yo sires list. No fewer than six of the top ten are descendants of Danehill.
The 2yo list is headed by former champion US sire, Elusive Quality. Whilst the latter’s overall results in Australia have not quite lived up to his Northern Hemisphere success, the past season saw the Elusive Quality colt, Sepoy, confirm his status as Australia’s best 2yo with authorative wins in both the G1 Blue Diamond Stakes and the G1 Golden Slipper Stakes. Sepoy’s earnings ($2.9 million) make up almost all of sire’s total of $3.028 million.
Not A Single Doubt was second on the 2yo list, ahead of the Danehill sons, Exceed And Excel and Fastnet Rock.
Written Tycoon, a son of Last Tycoon horse Iglesia, was Australia’s top first crop sire for the season. A G2 winner himself, Written Tycoon’s best runner for the season was the promising Masthead, who ran third in the G1 Blue Diamond Stakes.
It was an impressive feat for Written Tycoon to head the first crop sires list, as he began his stud career for the relatively low fee of AUS$6,000. To date, his first crop of runners have earned over AUS$629,900.
Runner up on the first season sires list was the Danzig stallion Ad Valorem. Former winner of the G1 Queen Anne Stakes, Ad Valorem’s first crop in Europe have been disappointing, but his first Australasian crop include two group winners to date.
Danehill was champion broodmare sire for the sixth straight year, and were represented by 20 individual stakes winners. Danehill’s daughters have built up a truly magnificent record, having produced over 170 stakes winners to date.
Top horses out of Danehill daughters this season include Benfica (T J Smith), Sepoy (Golden Slipper S, Blue Diamond S), Aloha (Coolmore Classic), Shocking (Australian Cup) and Dreamaway (WATC Derby). Strikingly all five of the G1 winners produced by Danehill mares in the season were sired by different stallions.
In New Zealand, the general sires list is headed by Thorn Park. A son of the rather disappointing sire Spinning World, Thorn Park has enjoyed a break out year, and has been represented by three individual G1 winners, including the multiple classic winner Jimmy Choux.
Thorn Park’s runners have earned over NZ$2.2 million this year, a total which puts him well clear of the runner up Pins.
Pins, a son of top sprinter Snippets, has been represented by 53 winners of over NZ$1 million this season.
His greatest successes this year, however, have been overseas, with his sons, Ambitious Dragon and Our Nautique, winning races (QE II Cup and San Francisco Mile) in Hong Kong and the USA respectively.
Pentire, sire of Horse of the Year Mufhasa, was third on the general sires list, ahead of Keeper and Montjeu.
Champion sire of 2yos in New Zealand is the Australian based stallion Charge Forward. A G1 winning son of former SA star filly Sydney’s Dream, Charge Forward is the sire of Fort Lincoln who won the rich Karaka Million.
It is a second sires title for Charge Forward, who was a former Champion First crop sire.
Centaine, broodmare sire of outstanding 3yo Jimmy Choux, was champion broodmare sire ahead of Kaapstad and Zabeel.
Perfectly Ready, who is owned by Sheik Mohammed bin Khalifa, was the champion first crop sire, with his first crop of juveniles including five individual winners.
