Young Guns Are They Worth It?

Tara Madgwick - Thursday April 16

When service fees were set last year there was great optimism surrounding the prospects of the young guns whose oldest progeny were two year-olds with Deep Field, Rubick, Brazen Beau, Better than Ready and Toronado (IRE) all given significant service fee increases, so we thought it was worth taking a look at how they measure up 12 months on.

Below is a table showing their service fees and mare numbers in the past two seasons.

Stallion (sire)

Farm

2018 Fee and book

2019 Fee and book

Brazen Beau (I Am Invincible)

Darley Victoria, Vic

$38,500 and 92

$49,500 and 127

Deep Field (Northern Meteor)

Newgate Farm, NSW

$22,000 and 246

$44,000 and 256

Rubick (Encosta de Lago)

Coolmore, NSW

$17,600 and 263

$38,500 and 262

Better than Ready (More Than Ready (USA)

Lyndhurst Stud, Qld

$9,900 and 236

$33,000 and 216

Toronado (IRE) (High Chaparral

Swettenham Stud, Vic

$22,000 and 167

$27,500 and 197


All five have been doing good things this season, but none have really emerged as a clear leader of the pack.

Below is a list of all second crop sires with seasonal progeny earnings of more than $1million.

Click for the interactive list with more information on all sires.

Rubick is the leader by earnings with 34 winners of $9.8 million, a sum considerably bolstered by the Everest win of his star three year-old colt Yes Yes Yes, who collected some $6.6 million for that victory alone.

Rubick

Rubick, however, is far from being a one trick pony as he also has the very good Group II winning filly Rubisaki flying his flag and another stakes-winner in Condo’s Express.

Deep Field is a commanding leader by winners with 60 winners from 122 runners giving him a great strike rate of some 49% winners to runners. Those winners include three stakes-winners in Group II winner Cosmic Force, Group I placed stakes-winner Xilong and Riddle Me That.

Brazen Beau is the leader of the group by stakes-winners with five this season headed by Group winners Pretty Brazen, Colada and Sartorial Splendour.

While he has yet to produce a stakes-winner this season, Better Than Ready has been churning out the winners with his tally of 46 second to only Deep Field and coming at a rate of 44% winners to runners.

Toronado has also been super busy on the score of delivering winners with his 36 including a multiple stakes-winner in Still a Star and three other stakes-placed horses.

While none of the five young sires deemed by the marketplace as most likely to succeed have sired Group I winners this season, two of their less fancied peers have managed the feat in Adelaide (IRE) and Hallowed Crown.

Cox Plate winner Adelaide stands at Coolmore and has been steady the last three seasons covering over 100 mares in each of those years at a fee of $11,000 after starting off in 2015 at a fee of $22,000.

Adelaide

A top class son of champion sire Galileo, he’s had 40% winners to runners with 12 individual winners highlighted by his cracking filly Funstar, who won the Group I ATC Flight Stakes and two more Group II races as well as finishing a brave second last Saturday against the older mares in the Group I ATC Coolmore Legacy.

Darley’s Hallowed Crown is a dual Group I winner by Kentucky Derby winner Street Sense (USA) and started off in 2015 at a fee of $33,000. His popularity waned considerably in following years with his fee dropping to $11,000 last year when he covered just 46 mares prompting the decision to relocate him.

Hallowed Crown

Set to stand at Twin Hills Stud this year, Hallowed Crown has pulled together some really encouraging results as we have moved through this year with 18 winners from 30 runners giving him 60% winners to runners with his best horse the Group I ATC Australian Oaks winner Colette.

Footnote: While Rubick does not have a Group I winner on paper, it could be argued that Yes Yes Yes is morally a Group I winner in all but name after his track record breaking win in The Everest which featured all the big gun sprinters that again showed their dominance in the Group I ATC TJ Smith Stakes last Saturday.

 

Advertisment
More Reading...
Sires With Winners - Sunday June 29
Here is the full list of 53 stallions which had winners throughout Australasia today with winners and result details.
Bergerson Honoured at Entain Industry Excellence Awards
Sam Bergerson, New Zealand’s leading trainer, was recognised by his peers when receiving the top gong at the Entain Industry Excellence Awards on Sunday night.
Euro G1 – Bridesmaid No More and Two Time Derby Hero
Aga Khan Studs don’t race a lot of geldings, but one that they do is Calandagan, who shook off his G1 bridesmaid tag winning the Group I Grand Prix de Saint Cloud in France, while in Ireland the Coolmore machine kept the winning run going to take out the Group I Irish Derby (1 ½ m).
G1 3YOs - Where the Real Action Is
2YO racing might garner a lot of attention, but the reality is G1 races run for this age group are shining a light on a comparatively small slice of that foal crop, whereas 3YO racing is where the real action lies as the good horses from the season before have to step up or slide out of contention.
National Online Breeding Stock Sale Online Now
The National Online Breeding Stock Sale has launched on Gavelhouse Plus with bidding open on the 87 Lots sale which is set to end from 7pm on Wednesday 9th July.
Wootton Bassett Winning Whirl
It was a red letter day for Wootton Bassett (GB) at The Curragh overnight with a treble of winners highlighted by top class filly Whirl, who captured the Group I Pretty Polly Stakes (1m2f), a race won by the mighty Via Sistina in 2023.
Vinery Stud Announce Adam White as Interim Manager
From the 1st of July, Vinery Stud is pleased to announce the appointment of Adam White as Interim General Manager, following the resignation of Peter Orton. A dedicated and long-standing member of the Vinery team, Adam brings a wealth of experience and an in-depth understanding of both the business and the industry to this pivotal role.
Tenth 2YO Winner Spirit of Boom
Lindsay Park Racing produced the tenth 2YO winner of the season for Spirit of Boom at Pakenham on Monday when the well backed favourite Idleonby saluted at her second start.
Sires With Winners - Monday June 30
Here is the full list of 20 stallions which had winners throughout Australasia today with winners and result details.
Sires With Winners - Saturday June 28
Here is the full list of 109 stallions which had winners throughout Australasia today with winners and result details.