Changing of the Guard – Leading Sires Part 1

Stallions come and stallions go and there is always a changing of the guard as hot young studs attract some of the best mares year after year.  But in recent years it seems that the top end of the stallion market has been hit especially hard by the deaths or retirements of some of the best sires around the world.  This article will attempt to highlight some of the proven sires remaining in the game.  To do this we will concentrate on the top ten leading sires by crop from 2009-2013.  A follow up article will discuss those sires knocking on the door who may fill some of those open spots.

Leading Sires 2013 – 2009

From the fifty slots available over this time period, only eighteen stallions managed to earn top honors in at least one of these five years.  Seven of those stallions are no longer available for two year old breeding in the game – A.P. Indy, Dynaformer, Kingmambo, Monsun, Montjeu, Pulpit and Unbridled’s Song.  An eighth, Street Cry, is recently deceased and will no longer be available for two year old breeding after this season.  That leaves only ten stallions to have made the top ten in the sire list over the past five years.

Awesome Again – Awesome Again was the leading sire of 2009 and made the field again by finishing 9^th in 2013.  He’s a twenty year old stallion which certainly raises concerns for folks buying shares for 2015 in advance.  Currently there are 28 bids in excess of 1000 credits for this son of Deputy Minister.  He’s already got three graded winners who have won five graded races in 2014 so he’s obviously still got it in the game.

Bernardini – Bernardini makes the list twice as well.  He was 10^th in 2011 and 3^rd in 2013.  The son of A.P. Indy entered stud in 2007 with the hopes of taking the mantle from his immortal sire.  He has been well received by game players and their confidence in him seemed justified when his first crop of racers hit tracks in real life.  Unfortunately he has cooled off considerably in the last two years and the biggest question is how that will affect his game rating.  He’s currently ranked 14^th in the 2014 sire list and has sired two stakes winners.  Players have 24 1000+ credit bids on him so he is obviously still very popular.

Dansili – Dansili is the 10^th ranked sire for the 2013 crop.  Dansili entered stud in 2001 to modest expectations.  The son of Danehill was unlucky to never win a Grade/Group 1 race and, in retrospect, it seems downright amazing considering his dam Hasili has developed into one of the greatest broodmares of our time, producing five Grade/Group 1 winners to date.  His real life runners have been stellar and his popularity has increased in the game as a result.  He is the 15^th ranked sire in the 2012 crop and is currently 2^nd in the 2014 standings with two graded winners already.  There are currently 14 1000+ credit bids for Dansili.  He is eighteen years old.

Distorted Humor – only three sires made the top ten rankings in all five years covered.  Distorted Humor is one of them.  His best showing is a 3^rd from 2009 but he is also ranked 4^th for 2010 and 2011, 7^th in 2013 and 10^th 2012.  He is also currently the leading sire for the 2014 sire crop and with that his popularity is secure – 36 players have a 1000+ credit bid on this sire.  At 21 he is one of the oldest sires on the list.  Distorted Humor proved himself as a sire the hard way, starting from modest mares and working his way up to the elite ranks.  In real life he has been the leading sire in North America twice.

Frankel – Frankel is the youngest sire on this list.  He entered stud in 2013 and he ranks 4^th on that crop’s sire list.  He’s sired 14 graded winners from that crop, although interestingly he has none in his 2014 crop.  That may suggest a slight downgrade from the impossible expectations set up by his freshman crop but may also just be an anomaly.  With no runners in real life the danger in breeding to Frankel is that he fails to live up to expectations and crashes hard in the near future.  That said he’s received one of the best books of mares of any sire in the world and owner Juddmonte (who also owns Dansili) is managing his book well.  Frankel has 41 1000+ credit bids, he is a tough sire to get.

Galileo – The best sire in the world has only cracked the top ten in the last three years.  He debuted at 9^th in 2011, is 7^th in 2012 and 8^th in 2013.  At sixteen years old, Galileo has assumed the mantle as Sadler’s Wells’ best son at stud, following the death of Montjeu.  Galileos tend to mature later and like a distance of ground so his rankings may move up the charts.  He currently has 34 1000+ credit bids.  There’s no secret here, he is performing in real life and in the game and shows no signs of stopping.

Giant’s Causeway – Giant’s Causeway is another stallion who has hit the top ten in all five years covered.  Surprisingly his highest showing is 3^rd for 2011 considering he was the leading North American sire in 2009, 2010 and 2012.  He’s a perennial leader on the top of the US sire charts and, much like Galileo, his game popularity matches – he’s got 39 1000+ credit bids.  He already has one graded winner for 2014 and is ranked 6^th on the 2014 crop sire list.  The seventeen year old is the best son of Storm Cat at stud.

Medaglia D’oro – Medaglia D’oro entered stud in 2005 and is ranked 10^th in the 2010 crop sire rankings and 7^th for 2011.  No doubt his popularity among game players was encouraged by the campaign of his 2009 Horse of the Year winning daughter Rachel Alexandra.  It is somewhat surprising to see him drop off the list in 2012, where he is ranked 18^th although he seems to be rebounding with his 2013 crop as he is currently ranked 11^th.  His 2014 runners are off to a slow start, with only 34.9% winners and just one stakes winner so far.  While he has not had a superstar in real life since Rachel Alexandra he was ranked 12^th for leading North American sires in 2013 and is currently 9^th for 2014 and has two 2014 Grade/Group 1 winners.  A sneaky-good sire there are only 13 1000+ credit bids on Medaglia D’oro making him a less daunting pickup than some of the others on this list.

Sea The Stars – Sea the Stars is the second youngest sire on this list.  The twelve year old son of Cape Cross is a half-brother to fellow leading sire Galileo.  Sea the Stars entered stud in 2010 and is ranked mid-pack all four years available to him.  His first crop of real life runners are three year olds of 2014 and include Group 1 winners Taghrooda and Sea the Moon.  He’s currently ranked 12^th on the 2014 crop list and has three stakes winners already from those two year olds.  Much like Frankel his continued high rating depends on his production in real life.  If he can keep producing top notch runners his legacy will be secured.  As it stands he is highly popular with sim players, there are 22 1000+ credit bids on him.

Smart Strike – Smart Strike is the oldest sire on this list at 22.  He ranks 7^th for the 2009 foal crop.  He was the leading North American sire in 2007 and 2008 and a regular on the top 10 from 2003 through 2012 in real life.  He’s been in the top twenty game sires for 2010-2013 and currently is 13^th for 2014, although he has no two year old stakes winners.  There are only 3 1000+ credit bids on this son of Mr. Prospector making him easily available if you are looking to breed in 2014.  It is likely that many players loading up on shares for 2015 are avoiding Smart Strike given his age.

One of the biggest take aways from these ten stallions is their age.  Smart Strike, Distorted Humor and Awesome Again are all over twenty years old, begging the question of how long they will have left as sires.  One would expect the leading sires to be most difficult to attain, but Smart Strike, Medaglia D’oro and Dansili have fewer than 15 1000+ credit bids on them (again Smart Strike only has 3 – make that 4 I just put a bid in on him!) The other stallions all have 20+ such bids, topped out by Frankel’s 41 which is surprising as he is the youngest sire on the list and thus the most risky gamble.