With the racing season in Europe and the US having all but ended, it is a good time to review the general sires lists in those parts of the world.
In Britain, the list is headed, inevitably, by the great stallion Galileo (Sadler’s Wells). Galileo’s progeny have earned, in the UK alone, over 5 million pounds (or over R60 million). He is more than 2.2 million pounds clear of Montjeu on the general sires list. Oasis Dream is in third place, ahead of fellow Juddmonte Farms’ sire Dansili. High Chaparral is next best in fifth.
Galileo is also the leading sire by stakes winners in Europe – having been represented by no fewer than 19 individual stakes winners. His tally includes 11 G1 winners in the Northern Hemisphere and he has been represented by classic winners in France, Ireland, Britain, Dubai and Italy this year alone. While it is early days yet for Galileo’s sons and daughters, 2011 saw the first Galileo son and first Galileo daughter to produce G1 winners. Galileo’s son Teofilo is the sire of the G1 Dewhurst Stakes winner Parish Hall, while the G1 Phoenix Stakes winner La Collina is out of a Galileo mare.
Montjeu (Sadler’s Wells) is second to Galileo in every category, on the general sires list, sire of European stakes winners (18) and sire of G1 winners. Montjeu has been represented by 8 individual G1 winners in 2011, highlighted by the English classic winners Pour Moi (Derby) and Masked Marvel (St Leger). He too had his first G1 winner as a broodmare sire – with Parish Hall being out of a Montjeu mare.
Of the top ten stallions on the UK general sires list, five stand at Coolmore. What is also striking about the top ten sires list is that six (Oasis Dream, Dansili, Holy Roman Emperor, Exceed And Excel and Dubawi) are inbred to the great Northern Dancer. What is also interesting is that Dubawi, who is tenth on the general sires list, is the first descendant of Mr Prospector to feature in the top ten for this season just past.
The leading sires of 2yos in Britain for the season just past, by prize money won, was Holy Roman Emperor. The son of Danehill was represented by 27 winning juveniles of over 700,000 pounds. Holy Roman Emperor’s record was largely due to the fact that he was responsible for Charles The Great, who won the rich Weatherbys Super Sprint , and Mehdi, who won and placed in three of the biggest sales races.
The British sires of 2yos list is somewhat misleading as it’s dominated by sires who had the winners of big sales races rather than the sires of pattern race winning 2yos. The truly outstanding juvenile sire in Britain for 2011 was Acclamation (Royal Applause). The former G2 Diadem Stakes winner had eight stakes winning juveniles. His juveniles include the unbeaten 2000 Guineas fancy Harbour Watch as well as group winners Angels Will Fall, Talwaar and Lilbourne Lad. The latter has been recruited to stand his first season at stud in 2012 – as a 3yo.
The leading first crop sire in the UK this season was the dual G1 winning juvenile, Dutch Art. The son of Medicean enjoyed a great start to his stud career, with his first crop of 2yos winning 36 races and over 400, 000 in prize money. His best runner, to date, was the G2 Gimcrack Stakes winner Caspar Netscher, and he was also responsible for the stakes winner Miss Work of Art.
The US general sires list is headed by Distorted Humor, sire of recent Breeders Cup Classic winner Drosselmeyer. While Drosselmeyer’s tally over $2.9 million is the main contributor to his sire’s status as leading sire, he is not the sole contributor to the over $9 million amassed by Distorted Humor. The latter, long regarded as one of the US’s premier sires, has been represented by 17 individual stakes winners in 2011 alone. A sign of Distorted Humor’s success and popularity is that his stud fee has risen from $12,500 to $100,000. He has sired over 100 stakes winners to date.
Second on the US general sires list for 2011 is the ever consistent stallion, Smart Strike. Sire of recent Breeders Cup Juvenile Fillies winner (and remarkably enough a Horse of the Year contender) My Miss Aurelia, Smart Strike has been represented by 11 other stakes winners this year. A former dual champion sire in the US, Smart Strike has long been established as one of Mr P’s best sire sons. His champion son, English Channel, has made an excellent start to his stud career, and Smart Strike is also proving a very successful broodmare sire. This year alone, Smart Strike is the damsire of G1 winners First Dude (Hollywood Gold Cup) and Dullahan (Breeders Futurity).
Smart Strike is also heading the US leading sires of juveniles list. However he is fighting out a tight finish with former US Champion Turf horse, Kitten’s Joy. There is less than $50,000 seperating the two stallions. Both Smart Strike and Kitten’s Joy were represented by Breeders Cup winning juveniles this year, with Kitten’s Joy’s daughter, Stephanie’s Kitten, winning the Juvenile Fillies Turf as well as the G1 Alciabiades Stakes.
There is not much separating the top two sires on the US first season sires list either. It is currently led by Scat Daddy, but the latter is less than $30,000 ahead of runner up, Hard Spun. Scat Daddy, an intensely inbred sire (he is inbred up close to the great Mr Prospector), has made a cracking start to his stud career, with his first crop having included three graded stakes winners to date, namely Shared Property (Arlington Washington Futurity), Daddy Long Legs (Royal Lodge Stakes) and Finale (Summer Stakes).
The deceased German champion, Lomitas, is champion sire in France for 2011, after his daughter, Danedream, won France’s greatest race, the Prix de l’Arc De Triomphe. Galileo is second on the list, thanks to his G1 winning daughters Golden Lilac and Galikova, while Dalakhani, sire of the 2011 Prix du Jockey Club winner, Reliable Man, is third.
Former top sprinter, Big Shuffle, was champion sire in Germany for the fifth time this year. The former top sprinter, who died in 2009, was represented by 34 winners this year, and three stakes winners, including G3 winner Walero and German 1000 Guineas runner up Wolkenburg. Lomitas is second on the list, after Danedream captured two major G1 WFA races earlier in the season.
Blu Air Force (a grandson of Red Ransom) was champion sire in Italty, for the second time. The son of Sri Pekan had previously headed the list back in 2009, and this year his 54 winners propel him clear of Martino Alonso, Oratorio and Shamardal.
The Japan racing season still has a number of major races to decide (at the time of writing), so it is premature to say who will head the sires championship in that country.
