Using a young stallion in his second season can be a smart move for savvy breeders that can analyse a sire’s first foals to advantage and mate to him accordingly.
Lessons learned from those first foals can unlock the secrets of success and a great many top class racehorses have been bred from the second crop of sires that have gone on to be champion sires.
The classic case is Redoute’s Choice, whose first crop produced a single Group I winner in Lotteria, but his second delivered five of them in Snitzel, Stratum, Fashions Afield, God’s Own and Undoubtedly.
Danehill Dancer (IRE) proved a revelation with his second crop which included champions Private Steer and Choisir, while Street Cry (IRE) did a similar thing producing two superstars in Whobegotyou and Shocking in his second crop.
Dundeel’s first two Group I winning sons to retire to stud, Castelvecchio and Super Seth, were both from his second crop of foals, while Pierro’s million dollar earners Arcadia Queen and Regal Power were also second crop foals.
Ocean Park’s current Group I winners Kolding and Tofane are both from the second crop of the Cox Plate winner, while the mighty Behemoth is also a second crop son of All Too Hard.
Aquis have four outstanding young sires that fit the second crop profile in dual Group I winning sprinter Brave Smash (Jpn) as well as Santos (I Am Invincible), Performer (Exceed and Excel)and Lean Mean Machine (Zoustar), the last trio all sons of champion sires.
Representing the Sunday Silence sireline, Brave Smash was a powerhouse sprinter that won two Group I races here in Australia and placed in a further four demonstrating his elite speed and quality under our unique conditions.
By champion sire Zoustar, Lean Mean Machine was a Group II winner at two and three as well as finishing a close third beaten a length behind Sunlight and Zousain in the Group I VRC Coolmore Stud Stakes. All three place-getters in that race were sired by Zoustar, who stands at a fee of $121,000.
By champion sire I Am Invincible, Santos was a brilliant juvenile winning the renowned Golden Slipper lead up - Group II ATC Skyline Stakes – adding his name to a list of past winners that includes champion sires Snitzel, Choisir and Hinchinbrook.
By champion sire Exceed and Excel, Group III winner Performer was a super fast and precocious juvenile winning the Listed ATC Breeder Plate on debut in a race record time of 56.82 seconds.
Visit the Breednet Foal Gallery to see a selection of their foals.
