The start of the 2024 Yearling Sale season

Next Tuesday marks the start of the 2024 season for yearling sales in Australia when the auctioneer’s hammer will fall at the Gold Coast Magic Millions Yearling Sale. This is a truly an exciting catalogue with depth.

To help prospective buyers pick a future winner Asian Racing Report is presenting its readers with the latest statistics for the current 2023/4 season (reproduced with kind permission from the leading publication “Stallions” which in turn uses data from Arion Pedigrees NZ).

LEADING SIRE

 At the close of the 2022/3 season the top five sires were:

So, little has changed, and the listing seems to be stable.

At last year’s Magic Millions, the yearlings by these top three sires averaged:

For those interested- 34 yearlings by Snitzel averaged $492,500

The above statistics apply to the General Sires List which is based on total prizemoney won by all individual runners for each sire. As this list favours stallions with runners from many crops Asian Racing Report also supplies an analysis according to how many crops a stallion has racing currently and then gives the average prizemoney per runner to counterbalance any bias a sire with a large crop may have over a competitor with fewer runners.

It is hoped that a reader, looking for value, by studying these statistics may spot an up-and-coming top sire. As a yardstick for comparison here are the average earnings per individual runner for I Am Invincible over the last five seasons:

$52,848(2018-2019)     $45,965 (19-20)    $43,969 (20-21)     $55,340 (21-22)      $62,188 (22-23)

LEADING FIRST SEASON SIRE 2023/4

There is insufficient data for averages in this grouping. Furthermore, these figures can be influenced by early racing in Brisbane and are likely to change dramatically before this season ends. It should be noted however that Alabama Express currently leads the 2YO list (open to stallions with unrestricted number of crops) and that Tassort is third.

LEADING SECOND SEASON SIRE 2023/4

*Figures were correct at the time of writing. As the 2023/4 season progresses these amounts will increase. They serve only as a cross comparison as if the season had closed, say, at the end of 2023.

 At the close of the 2022-3 season the leading first season sires in order were:

TRAPEZE ARTIST WINS THE 2018 ALL AGED STAKES

LEADING THIRD SEASON SIRE 2023/4

LEADING SIRE WITH 4 CROPS 2023/4

*Extreme Choice has terrific statistics. He was the leading first season sire having got the Golden Slipper winner. With two crops the average earnings per runner was $64,408. Last year it was $81,947. His stud fee this season was $275,000.

LEADING SIRE WITH 5 CROPS 2023/4

These are sires whose oldest progeny are 6YO. It is worth noting that the leading sire with five crops for the 2022-3 season was Deep Field (2010) whose progeny have fared so well in Hong Kong but their earnings there are not included in these statistics. For the 2022/3 season his progeny, racing in Australia, had average earnings per runner of $42,753.

FRESHMAN SIRES

In addition to these proven sires, buyers at this year’s Magic Millions Gold Coast Sales will be offered the first Australian crop of Coolmore’s Wootton Bassett (2008) whose 2021 stud fee then stood at $71,500. It now stands at $93,500 because overseas he has sired eight individual G1 winners. As a 2YO he won five from five from 6F to 7F in France and England including a G1. His son Almanzor, (3 G1’s including French Derby), who stands in NZ, will also have four lots at this sale.

Of great interest to Hong Kong buyers will be the first crop of Japan’s Admire Mars (2016) who is the only horse to have won Longine’s Hong Kong Mile as a 3YO. He was a specialist miler winning all his G1s at that distance including one as a 2YO. He is a son of Daiwa Major (2001) who in turn was by the legendary sire Sunday Silence. Admire Mars stood his first season at Arrowfield Stud for a very reasonable $22,000.

Bivouac (2016) heads the roster for a truly star-studded line-up of Australian bred first season sires. Bivouac won three G1’s but was exceptional down the Flemington straight. His performances at Flemington, where he swamped Nature Strip, earned him a Timeform rating of 128 and an extremely high figure in Asian Racing Report’s Tech Team Ratings. As a result of these performances, he was assessed as a world champion sprinter. He is closely related to champion filly Guelph (4 G1s) and is from the same family as successful sire Canny Lad. When Darley retired Bivouac to stud the fee was $66,000.

BIVOUAC WINS THE 2019 GOLDEN ROSE

Equal second place would go to Ole Kirk (2017) and Farnan (2017) who both commanded a service fee of $55,000 when retired to stud. Ole Kirk who won 2 G1’s including the Golden Rose and the Caulfield Guineas. He is a son of Written Tycoon, champion sire for the 2020-1 season, from an unraced full sister to the unbeaten Black Caviar. Ole Kirk is also closely related to the successful sires Magnus and All Too Hard. It should be noted that stallions from this sire line have a good record when mated with mares by Redoute’s Choice.

Farnan was a brilliant 2YO winning 5 of his 6 starts at that age including the Golden Slipper, a race noted for making successful sires-and two G2’s. He is by Not a Single Doubt from Tallow, a G3 winning daughter of Street Cry. She also finished third in the MM 2YO Classic which was the race in which her son Farnan met his only 2YO defeat.

Also from the 2017 generation is Tagaloa and King’s Legacy. Both were G1 winners and each of them had a stud fee set at $33,000. Tagaloa is of special interest for readers of Asian Racing Report. As a 2YO he won the Blue Diamond but of greater interest is that he is the only stallion at stud in Australia by Lord Kanaloa (2008), Japan’s champion sire for 2023. Furthermore, his dam is by another successful Japanese sire Heart’s Cry (2001) a son of Sunday Silence.

King’s Legacy is a son of Redoute’s Choice, a noted sire of sires and is bred on the proven cross of Redoute’s Choice (or his son) over a mare by Hussonet. King’s Legacy won 2 G1’s both as a 2YO, the AJC Sires Produce (1400m) and Champagne St (1600) double. This was an exceptional achievement because only three sons (not daughters!) of Redoute’s Choice won more than one G1. The other two were Lankan Rupee and The Autumn Sun- both of whom won five G1’s. The second dam of King’s Legacy is a daughter of Sunday Silence. Any yearling by King’s Legacy from a mare which has Sunday Silence, or one of his sons, on the topline of her pedigree deserves inspection.

When King’s Legacy won the AJC Sires Produce, he defeated another son of Redoute’s Choice by 0.5L. This was Prague who, prior to this defeat, had won two G3’s as a 2YO. His fourth dam was the champion mare Emancipation. His first progeny will also be represented at this sale.

There are also two further G1 winners of the 2017 generation, who were not bred in Australia but have their first crop in this sale. Earlier it was noted that Savabeel, last season finished third on the General Sires’ List even though he stands at stud in NZ. Further, he is currently fifth on this season’s list. His son Cool aza Beel won the Karaka Millions and then a G1 race before being bought for stud duties in Australia by Newhaven Park. On Boxing Day last, his full brother, Cool ‘N’ Fast, made an impressive debut at Pukekohe to win after overcoming difficulties. He was then posted as a $3.5 chance in this year’s Karaka Millions. Their dam is by Testa Rosa who won the 1999 MM Classic and was a further six times G1 winner. Cool aza Beel’s stud fee for 2012 was a very reasonable $16,500.

Russian Camelot (Ire) was born on 29/3/2017. He was imported to Australia unraced. He began his career in October 2019 in a 3YO maiden-deemed to be of that age though he was only 2.5 years old. Nonetheless he won comfortably. Russian Camelot gave his contemporaries 6 months start but was superior to them. He won the G1 S.A. Derby and then when deemed to be a 4YO, the G1 Underwood St; was second in two more G1’s and in the All-Star Mile as well as third in the Cox Plate from only 11 starts. Russian Camelot was an exceptional racehorse. For a buyer looking for a prospective stayer his progeny deserves to be inspected.

In this review of first season sires the spotlight has been shone on stallions who won at G1 level but that does not necessarily detract from other promising first season sires. These would include the very speedy Anders, the unlucky North Atlantic as well as Peltzer, Dirty Work, Griff and Hanseatic. Remember that I Am Invincible won five races from 13 starts but his only black type wins were in a LR and at G3 level. However, he did run second in the G1 Goodwood S. (6f).