How Do You Measure Success?

Tara Madgwick - Monday February 24

There are a lot of ways to measure the success of a stallion, but for elite breeders looking to produce serious racehorses it’s all about Black Type horses and this young stallion has really spread his wings.

When Darley shuttler Too Darn Hot (GB) posted a treble of Group winners on Saturday he moved to 10 Aussie SW’s for the season and the only sire with more is Snitzel.

With his oldest Australian progeny just three year-olds it’s pretty clear Dubawi’s champion son Too Darn Hot is destined to have a big impact here with his offspring possessing enough precocity to appeal to our market, but at the same time they have distance scope to give them more dimensions as their career unfolds.

Broadsiding wins the G2 Hobartville Stakes - image Bradley Photography

Saturday was a red letter day with his superstar colt Broadsiding, the Champion 2YO Colt of last season, returning for his autumn campaign with a brilliant first up win in the Group II ATC Hobartville Stakes (1400m).

Shanwah wins the G2 Autumn Classic - image Grant Courtney

At Caulfield it was middle distance staying prospect Shanwah, claiming a first Black Type win in the Group II MRC Autumn Classic (1800m), while Tropicus collected a first stakes win in the Group III MRC Zeditave Stakes (1200m).

Tropicus wins the G3 Zeditave Stakes - image Grant Courtney

His three year-old fillies Jenni the Fox and Too Darn Lizzie were second and third in the Group II MRC Armanasco Stakes (1400m), while bonnie three year-old filly Arabian Summer tried her heart out for fifth in the Group I MRC Oakleigh Plate (1100m) after winning a Group III fillies race over the same course two weeks ago.

That’s six horses on the one day all performing well in Group races over different trips and all of them are prepared by different trainers – that spells special stallion with wide appeal.

So let’s take a look at the pedigrees of his Group winners on Saturday starting with his new SW’s that have taken his tally to 23 stakes-winners worldwide and 10 of those are in the Southern Hemisphere.

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Too Darn Hot bats at 8.7% SW to runner overall and is performing better in the Southern Hemisphere with his 10 SW’s here from 82 runners giving him 12% SW to runner.

NZ  bred Shanwah was an expensive yearling at $750,000 from Karaka Book1 and was bred and sold by Trelawney Stud and is from one of their very best families tracing back to blue hen Hunza via the Benazir branch of the family that has produced Group I winners Ocean Park, Grunt and Prince Kaapstad.

He is the 44th stakes-winner for influential sire Iffraaj as a broodmare sire with his daughters also producing NZ Horse of the Year Melody Belle and Group I winner Molly Bloom. Iffraaj is also the sire of Wootton Bassett, so may well have an even greater role to play in the Southern Hemisphere if his progeny kick on as expected.

Tropicus is a homebred for Ki Ora Stud and is bred for speed being from a stakes-placed sister to stakes-winner Cathay Lady and his European female family features plenty of Group and stakes-winners that are largely all sprinter milers.

He is the 119th SW for Exceed and Excel as a broodmare sire and to date there have been four winners from seven runners by Too Darn Hot from Exceed and Excel mares with Tropicus the first SW although stakes-placed Sword of Legacy and Trembles are also bred this way.

Broadsiding is a homebred for Godolphin and his pedigree is a lesson in champion Australian sires with first three dams by Street Cry (IRE), Redoute’s Choice and Zabeel. He did run third in the Cox Plate, but pedigree would make you think 1600m might be his optimum trip.

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