The Broodmare Sire Table by Earnings for 2016/17 holds no great surprises at this point. We have the stalwarts such as Encosta De Lago, Danehill and Zabeel at the top of the tree and Danehill’s sons Flying Spur, Redoute’s Choice, Danehill Dancer, Commands and Danzero making the Top 20.
Even Danehill’s son Tiger Hill comes in at number 9, however to be fair, 96% of his prizemoney was earned by one horse, ALMANDIN.
Others regularly on the chart include General Nediym, Stravinsky, Anabaa, Dehere, More Than Ready, Royal Academy, Red Ransom and Canny Lad.
But as the daughters of these stalwarts age, where should we be turning to next for mares with that extra genetic push?
Here is a handful of up-and-coming broodmare sires to consider (in no particular order) when looking to buy your next mare. Alternatively, you may already own a daughter of one of the stallions analysed below and need some hints on what sires or sire lines to which she is best suited.
STRATUM
A son of successful broodmare sire Redoute’s Choice, in the role of damsire Stratum has only had 39 starters to-date. Of those, 16 are winners and 9 are placegetters.
Interestingly, the two highest earners to-date (Inglis 2YO winner Stoker and Flemington winner Diamond Baroness) out of his daughters are by Written Tycoon. This cross creates duplications of speed influences Vain and Biscay, while Written Tycoon’s great grandsire Try My Best is from the BEST IN SHOW family, reinforcing the tail female line of Stratum’s sire, Redoute’s Choice.
His daughters’ third highest earner, Moonee Valley winner Love Days is by Bel Esprit, who like Written Tycoon, also contributes Vain up close.
ORATORIO (Aus)
A son of Stravinsky, the Aussie bred Oratorio stands in Western Australia, where he has produced 11 stakes winners including three winners of WA’s marquee two-year-old race, the Karrakatta Plate.
One of these Karrakatta Plate winners is Gold Rocks, who as a young broodmare, has already produced two stakes winners and one stakes placegetter. Those three progeny are by different sires, but there is a common thread.
Oratorio is a grandson of Nureyev, and it appears that his daughters’ sires are reinforcing Nureyev’s famous family.
Gold Rocks’ Group 2 winner GOLD RUSH is by So You Think, a grandson of Sadler’s Wells (a three-quarter brother to Nureyev). Her Listed winner CALAVERITE is by Lonhro, who sex balances Nureyev. Her stakes placegetter Gold Fever is by Savabeel, who also sex balances Nureyev via Zabeel.
With only 25 runners for 12 winners to-date, Oratorio has also produced two of those winners by Dick Turpin (Ire), who also carries Nureyev on his sire line.
FASTNET ROCK
Okay, it seems a little predictable, but there have been Champion Sires who have not made it to the top in the role of broodmare sires!
Fastnet Rock is producing a healthy 50% winners to runners as damsire, although he is yet to get a Group 1 winner. He sits at no. 48 at the moment, and was not in the Top 50 last season.
An obvious preference is already emerging however, with four of his eight stakes winners carrying either Sadler’s Wells or his three-quarter brother, Nureyev. Sires providing these for daughters of Fastnet Rock are High Chaparral (OMEI SWORD and TIVACI), New Approach (South African Group 2 winner NEW PREDATOR) and Star Witness’ daughter PEARL STAR.
LONHRO
Currently sitting at no. 21 on the Australian Leading Broodmare Sires list is Lonhro. This is a big jump-up from last season, when he ended the year at no. 50.
Lonhro’s daughters look desirably versatile, having produced five stakes winners by four different sires. Sadler’s Wells’ grandson Medaglia D’oro appears twice however, being the sire of both SHARDS and VERANILLO.
Danzig line sires Ad Valorem (sire of MORTON’S FORK) and Fastnet Rock have also produced stakes winners out of Lonhro mares. Fastnet Rock’s son Hinchinbrook has produced two of Lonhro’s nine stakes placegetters, while other Danzig line sires to appear in that group are Exceed And Excel (twice), Commands (twice) and Nicconi.
This November’s Maribyrnong Plate winner ASPECT is by More Than Ready’s son, Pluck, introducing another sire line with which Lonhro is happy to click.
TESTA ROSSA
While he is already sits at no. 18 in the Top 20, he deserves a mention, especially as he is still a serving stallion with young daughters coming through. This is a big jump from position no. 44 in the previous season.
His Group 1 winner GLOBAL GLAMOUR was the result of a duplication of SPECIAL, dam of Nureyev in her sire Star Witness and granddam of Testa Rossa’s sire, Perugino.
Testa Rossa’s Group 3 winning and Group 1 placed grandson DISPOSITION also carries Nureyev via his grandsire, Zabeel.
SNIPPETSLAND, another Group 3 winner out of a Testa Rossa mare, carries Thatching and his sire Thatch, both members of the family tracing to DALMARY, which includes Perugino.
NZ Group 1 winner MARKY MARK contributes two lines to Never Bend free viagra to complement Testa Rossa’s presence of Never Bend’s half brother Bold Reason, Perugino’s damsire.
While we are only just over halfway through the 16/17 season, it will be interesting to see how, not only the above sires continue to fare on the Broodmare Sires list, but which other stallions start to creep up the ladder and what sire lines their daughters are favouring.
Written March 2017
Interesting read. Just wondering how does Commands as broodmare sire fare?
Hi Aashish
Commands is coming along nicely as a broodmare sire – he finished 15th on the 2016/17 Australian Broodmare Sires list, with three stakes winners of four stakes races, moving up from postion 19 the year prior.
I expect street cry and medaglia doro to go quite well
interested to know how is Stratum going as a broodmare sire
To-date (August 20) Stratum has had three stakes winners Entente (G3), Moss Trip (G3) and Stoker (SL) with a further five stakes placegetters.