The standard-setters among European sires are without question Galileo (Ire) and Dubawi (Ire). As we gear up for another autumn campaign when there are a multitude of big races to be won and countless opportunities for horses to show vast improvement, it's a good time to compare the two greats of the modern era. As well as posting phenomenally high ratios of black-type winners and group or graded winners, both sires clearly demonstrate their sire power by upgrading their mares. And believe me, upgrading mares that are already good is no small achievement. Predictably, due to his earlier retirement date, Galileo has a substantial head start with the raw numbers, but things are a good deal closer when it comes to the all-important ratios. They have been swapping pole position with regard to percentage of black-type winners now for a few years. Both have also demonstrated that had they belonged to a bygone era when stallion crops sizes were in the 40s and 50s, they'd be capable of ratios of black-type winners around 20%. Their closest pursuers in Europe by black-type winner ratios are Galileo's half-brother Sea The Stars (Ire) (14.2%) and his son Frankel (GB) (14.0%). It is worth noting that Sea The Stars and Frankel started out with the very best mares, something that cannot be said of Galileo and Dubawi. Another interesting fact is that Dubawi seems to be stamina neutral, whereas Galileo's stock have an average winning distance of 10.9 furlongs, which is 1.7 furlongs longer than that of their siblings.
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