Six Stallions Not to Overlook in the First-Crop Sire Ranks
Though first crop stallions (in this case, those whose first runners are two) have been at a disadvantage this year with 2-year-old races starting later than normal, many have come out firing. In Europe, they have Mehmas (Acclamation) leading the charge while in the United States, Not This Time (Giant's Causeway) is doing the same.
It’s proving to be another bumper group of freshmen and as always, there are some hidden gems among them. For today's blog I’ve picked out six freshmen worth watching … and in some cases, the common trend that plays a part in their success.
All stats
from Arion and the Weatherby’s Stallion Book as of August 19, 2020.
Europeans
Coulsty (Rathasker Stud, Ireland – 2020 Fee: €4,000)
Stats: Five winners from 14 starters include a G3 winner, three additional placed runners
Standing for
€5,000 in his first year at stud, Group III winning Coulsty (Kodiac) has seen 14 of his
43 2-year-olds make at least one start on the track. Those 14 runners have
yielded five winners with an additional three placed runners, led by Group III
winning Santosha.
It is admittedly early days in his career but there is a trend throughout Coulsty’s winners and placers, with three of the five winners and one of his three placed runners all inbred to Danzig. A great grandson of that stallion himself, in every instance of this inbreeding the at least one cross comes from his runner’s damsire.
Of those two winners not inbred to Danzig, they both have damsires from the Mr. Prospector line with Mr. Prospector in the fourth generation of Diamond Haze and fifth of Suicide Squad.
Dariyan (Haras de Bonneval, France – 2020 Fee: €8,000)
Stats: Two winners from 11 runners include a G3-placed runner, four additional placed runners
Group I winner Dariyan (Shamardal) didn’t start until his 3-year-old season but he’s already making waves with his first crop in France. A magic cross with the Aga Khan stallion hasn’t appeared yet but digging a bit deeper shows something worth considering with the stallion.
Dariyan’s Group III-placed daughter Princesse de Saba is his only runner out of a Dalakhani mare so far. That line crossed with his sire Shamardal has producing four stakes horses (and seven winners) from eight runners. Among those runners is champion Pinatubo and Group III winner Taniyar, with Group III winner Max Vega by Shamardal’s son Lope de Vega.
Giant’s Causeway sons when sent to granddaughters of Dalakhani’s sire Darshaan have produced five group horses and nine stakes horses, and his grandsons have combined for a further two stakes horses and eight winners for a nick that looks to have a chance to continue.
Dariyan comes from a family where most of its successful runners did their best running at three or older so it’s fair to expect his runners to get better as they age. It is worth noting, however, that he is tied for the second most winners of any freshman in France behind Goken.
New Bay (Ballylinch Stud, Ireland – 2020 Fee: €15,000)
Stats: Seven winners from 16 runners include a stakes placed
runner, five additional placed runners
Living up to the €20,000 fee he started his career at, New Bay (Dubawi) has seen his first foals come out running. Twelve of the stallion’s 16 runners (75%) are placed, including seven winners. Sitting at 43.75% winners from runners, New Bay’s group is led by stakes placed Imperial Yellow.
Three of New Bay’s seven winners are out of Acclamation daughters, including Imperial Yellow. Those three are the only runners he has out of Acclamation daughters to this point with a second runner from the cross also finishing fourth in a stakes.
In addition to the Acclamation cross, two of New Bay’s winners and two of his placers have damsires from the Sadler’s Wells line – with two of the four (one winner and one placer) out of Montjeu granddaughters.
North Americans
Brody’s Cause (Spendthrift Farm, Kentucky – 2020 Fee:
$7,500)
Stats: Three winners from
11 runners include two stakes placed runners, three additional placed runners
The sire of 11
runners, Brody’s Cause (Giant's Causeway) is tied for the second most stakes horses of any United
States freshman with two of his three winners also stakes placed. A two-time Grade
I winner, early on, the Giant’s Causeway son seems to click with A.P. Indy-lined mares. Two
of his five winners/placers are out of A.P. Indy granddaughters, including
stakes placed 2-year-old Gospel Way with Brody’s Cause just having three
runners out of those mares.
While Giant’s Causeway himself didn’t have much luck with A.P. Indy, his sons have been fairly successful with the stallion’s granddaughters. From 261 runners, they have produced 24 stakes horses and eight stakes winners. A.P. Indy daughters bring in another eight stakes horses and seven stakes winners from 43 runners.
Another cross that is worth looking into with this young stallion is inbreeding to Giant’s Causeway. Sittin On Go, Brody’s Cause’s 4 ¼ length winner on Sunday, is bred 2 x 3 to that stallion for a cross that has produced 70.59% winners to runners (12 winners/17 runners).
Laoban (Sequel Stallions New York, New York – 2020 Fee:
$5,000)
Stats: Three winners from 10 runners includes one stakes placed runner, three additional placers
One of five Uncle Mo sons advertised as entering stud in 2017, the New York-based Laoban is the only one of them with a stakes placed horse. Until Tuesday night, the stallion was also tied for most winners by an Uncle Mo son and is now only one winner behind Outwork and tied with Nyquist while sending out fewer runners.
Like you’ll
find with many Uncle Mo sons, Laoban provides an outcross with his crosses to Northern
Dancer moving off the page of his foals.
Laoban’s three winners all come from mares by different sirelines (Out of Place, Stormy Atlantic, and More Than Ready being the three damsires) with only More Than Ready having many runners with Uncle Mo. Uncle Mo crossed on More Than Ready mares has produced 12 winners from 15 runners, including two stakes horses.
Vancouver (Coolmore America, Kentucky – Did not shuttle
in 2020)
Stats: Five winners from 16 runners, five additional placed runners
A rare reverse
shuttle stallion, we had a sneak peek at what G1 Golden
Slipper winner Vancouver (Medaglia d'Oro) would sire with his first crop in Australia hitting
the track last year. That crop placed him fifth on Australia’s First-Crop Sire
list by earnings and fourth by winners, though for our purposes I have only
looked at the pedigrees of his first Northern Hemisphere crop winners and
placers in this piece.
With four months left to run in the Northern Hemisphere season, his Northern Hemisphere crop is only six winners behind his final Southern Hemisphere figures with five winners from 16 runners. Overall, 10 of the stallion’s 16 runners have hit the board at least once (62.5%) with only two of those who haven’t racing more than once.
As for successful crosses, the Blushing Groom line has proved to be successful with Vancouver. Two of the stallion’s five runners are out of Blushing Groom great-granddaughters through Cherokee Run and Invasor.
Not surprisingly, Mr. Prospector has also been a hot commodity with two of Vancouver’s winners and a placer out of mares from that sireline. Mr. Prospector has also been successful with Vancouver’s sire Medaglia d’Oro. When sent to Medaglia d’Oro, Mr. Prospector’s granddaughters have produced 22 stakes winners and four Grade I winners with great-granddaughters producing 31 stakes winners and eight Grade I winners.
Vancouver already has a placed runner bred on the Medaglia d’Oro x Forty Niner cross that produced Rachel Alexandra and Songbird among others. Vancouver looks a lot like his sire and he’s following that stallion in other ways.
While not a guarantee, following the crosses that work with Medaglia d’Oro may be a good way to increase your chances of getting a good runner by Vancouver.
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