As the Spring racing gets into full swing, the first barrier trials for the just-turned 2-year-olds are just around the corner and the first races not far behind that. Probably not the most liquid of betting markets, but an interesting one nevertheless, is that to select which of the first-season stallions will be top of the pile by prizemoney come the end of the season next August. A wager on this particular market last season really would have given punters the proverbial run for their money, with just $400 the margin of victory for Arrowfield Stud's Smart Missile (Fastnet Rock), ahead of Sun Stud's Love Conquers All (Mossman). This column takes a look at some of the leading contenders this year, including Pierro (Lonhro), All Too Hard (Casino Prince), Your Song (Fastnet Rock), Delago Deluxe (Encosta de Lago) and Ocean Park (Thorn Park).
Pierro (Lonhro x Miss Right Note, by Daylami)
Standing at: Coolmore Stud
Where better to start when aiming to find a leading first-season sire than with one of the very best juveniles ever seen in Australia, Triple Crown winner Pierro. Consisting of the Group 1 Golden Slipper S. (1200m), the Group 1 ATC Sires' Produce S. (1400m) and the Group 1 Champagne S. (1600m), the Australian Triple Crown has been achieved only six times in history. The Gai Waterhouse-trained Pierro is only one since the turn of the century with fellow Waterhouse trainee Dance Hero the other. Pierro went to train on beautifully as a 3-year-old, winning a pair of Group 1 events against his elders, namely the Canterbury S. over 1300m and the George Ryder S. over 1500m. Pierro's first crop of 2-year-olds is large, with 151 live foals reported from his opening fee of $77,000. One measure that may prove interesting in predicting which stallions are producing precocious offspring is the number which have already been named, and Pierro also leads his peers on this count, with 48 (32%). His offspring include several for the Kolivos family, who raced this great horse, and no surprise to see him at the top of the market at around even money.
All Too Hard (Casino Prince x Helsinge, by Desert Sun)
Vinery Stud
As a half-brother to the immortal Black Caviar, there was a weight of expectation on All Too Hard from the very start, even before he was sold as a yearling for A$1.05 million at the 2011 Inglis' Easter Yearling Sale. A high-class 2-year-old when winner of the Group 2 VRC Sires' Produce S. and the Group 2 Pago Pago S. and also runner-up to Pierro in the Sires' Produce S., All Too Hard then blossomed as a 3-year-old. Trained by Team Hawkes, All Too Hard would defeat Pierro in the Group 1 Caulfield Guineas over 1600m, then he and Pierro would go on to run with huge credit against elders in the Group 1 Cox Plate over 2000m–All Too Hard finishing second to Ocean Park (see below) with Pierro in third. That was the last time that All Too Hard would taste defeat, as he went on to take his next three starts, all at Group 1 level at 1400m and all against older horses, namely the CF Orr S., the Futurity S. and the All Aged S. All Too Hard stood his opening season at Vinery for a fee of $66,000 and also boasts a strong numerical presence. His two-year-olds number 145 live foals, with 34 (23%) of these already named. He currently sits second to Pierro in the markets at the 7/4 mark.
Your Song (Fastnet Rock x Zembu, by Fuji Kiseki)
Widden Stud
Your Song shares more than a few similarities with last season's leading first-season sire Smart Missile. He is another son of champion sire Fastnet Rock, another product of the fantastic Gooree Stud breeding program and another trained by Anthony Cummings. Unraced until late in his 2-year-old season, he quickly made up for the absence with a pair of victories at metropolitan level in Sydney. He followed this up as a 3-year-old with a pair of Group placings early on before his moment of glory when an impressive five-length winner of the weight-for-age Group 1 BTC Cup in Brisbane on heavy ground in the autumn. He too has decent weight of numbers on his side, with 126 live foals from an opening $22,000 fee to head into battle, 30 of which (24%) are already named. He currently sits at the 13-2 mark in the betting.
Delago Deluxe (Encosta de Lago x Succeeding, by Flying Spur)
Newhaven Park
Delago Deluxe is one with a slightly more unusual route to stud in Australia, though his story started here, selling for A$550,000 as a yearling at the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale. From there he was sent to race in South Africa, where he was the best juvenile of his crop, unbeaten in four starts which culminated in the Group 1 Gold Medallion S. As a 3-year-old he again proved well up to the mark, his season highlighted by a victory in the time-honoured Group 1 Golden Horseshoe S. With the loss of Northern Meteor as a promising young stallion, there is certainly a place and appetite for sons of Encosta de Lago in Australia, and Newhaven Park will no doubt be hoping that Delago Deluxe can fill the niche. Standing for an opening fee of $11,000, he has 78 live foals in his first crop, with 19 (24%) already named. In the first-season sire market he sits joint fourth at the 8-1 mark.
Ocean Park (Thorn Park x Sayyida, by Zabeel)
Waikato Stud
Rounding out the top five in the betting for leading first-season sire is the only New Zealand-based sire on the list, Ocean Park, who aptly beat off the year-younger top two in the market when winning the Group 1 Cox Plate as a 4-year-old. Unseen as a 2-year-old, Ocean Park established himself as one of the leading colts of his generation at three, though without a Group 1 win, his best efforts when runner up in the Group 1 Rosehill Guineas over 2000m. As a 4-year-old, his progression was marked, unbeaten in his first four starts, all at Group 1 level and culminating in the Cox Plate victory, with All Too Hard second and Pierro third. After a couple of below-par efforts to follow that, he bounced back to round off his career with a win in the Group 1 New Zealand S. back in his home country over 2000m.
Ocean Park, who stood for NZ$33,000 is represented by 113 live foals from his first crop, and while a lesser proportion of his progeny are named than those above, horses do not actually have to be named to trial in New Zealand, so this is probably to be expected. He currently sits joint with Delago Deluxe at 8-1 to be leading first season sire.
Click here for the Luxbet first-season sire market.
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