Up and Comers – Leading Sires Part 2
In our last column we analyzed the leading sires over the past five years (by sire crop from 2009-2013) and discussed how many of them are no longer available for two year old breeding. With around 45% of the sires represented no longer servicing mares and many of the remaining 10 advancing in years, it seems like a good time to take a look at some sires who could sneak into those elusive spots in the coming years. There are a number of solid older sires who have been close to the top – Malibu Moon, Speightstown and Redoute’s Choice come to mind – who could easily snag a top 10 spot. However for this article we will look at stallions born in 2000 or after who have shown both strong performances in real life as well as solid standings in the game. They are listed in alphabetical order.
Deep Impact – Deep Impact is the leading sire in the world by money earned. The Japanese superstar was born in 2002 and became Sunday Silence’s best runner and now his heir at stud as well. He’s no secret in the game, having sired 48 graded winners already for a 4.8% strike rate. From 2009-2013 his by-crop ranking has risen from 30th to 17th. All that said he’s got 0 1000+ credit bids on him. Perhaps that is due in part to the lack of precocity his offspring tend to show. Of his current two year olds, only a third of them are winners and none stakes winners.
Dubawi – Dubawi was the best son of Dubai Millennium who died after siring only one foal crop. Dubawi was a three time Group 1 winner and has gone on to be the sire that many hoped for from Dubai Millennium. Since entering stud in 2007 Dubawi has sired 16 Grade / Group 1 winners as of this writing. He is currently the leading sire in England, and 2nd overall in Europe for 2014 money won. Dubawi’s highest by-crop ranking in the game came in 2011 where he is currently ranked 18th. He has sired 31 graded winners, for a strike rate of 3.4%. Like Deep Impact, Dubawi’s runners tend to be better as they age. He currently has 0 1000+ credit bids.
Fastnet Rock – Fastnet Rock is a 2001 model horse by Danehill and was a dual Group 1 winner during his racing career. He received a warm reception when retired to stud in 2005 and has become more and more popular as his progeny reached the track. He has currently sired 15 Group 1 winning horses and his 2013 stud fee of AUS$275,000 was $100,000 higher than the second highest priced stud in Australia, Redoute’s Choice. Love for Fastnet Rock in the sim has been slow to catch on. He only gets 1.5% graded winners and has sired only 1 Grade 1 winner in the game. He did receive a boost in 2013 and two of his ten graded winners are from the 2014 crop. He has 0 1000+ credit bids and is currently available for under 500 bps.
Hard Spun – Hard Spun is one of two sons of Danzig to make the list. He was born into the ultra-competitive 2004 foal crop that include Street Sense, Curlin and Any Given Saturday, among others. Perhaps a cut below Street Sense and Curlin, Hard Spun was nevertheless a very talented runner winning the Grade One King’s Bishop at Saratoga. He’s having his best season to date as a sire as he is ranked 10th in North America by money won and is represented by three individual Grade / Group 1 winners (he has another two from previous crops). In the sim he has sired 19 graded winners but so far only two grade 1 winners. He’s currently available for only 320 credits. If he continues to perform in real life a bump could be expected for him.
Kitten’s Joy – Kitten’s Joy was born in 2001 and became one of the leading three year old runners of his generation. He was named Champion Turf Male that year but when he retired to stud in 2006 he was far from commercially appreciated. Nevertheless his owners Ken and Sarah Ramsey supported him to success that culminated in 2013 when he was North America’s leading sire by earnings and was represented by 6 individual Grade / Group 1 winners. He is currently ranked 2nd by that metric for 2014. In the game he has sired 24 graded winners for a strike rate of 2.5%. He was given a big boost last year, which is likely why he has 12 1000+ credit bids currently. His best by-crop showing on the sim sire list is 16th for 2012. He’s another sire whose offspring likely need time to develop.
New Approach – New Approach came from the second crop of leading stallion Galileo. Born in 2005, he was named Champion Two Year Old and Champion Three Year Old in Europe during his racing career. He entered stud in 2009 and has had solid results from his first few crops. He has sired four Grade / Group 1 stakes winners so far, led by Dawn Approach who is currently the leading freshman sire in the game. New Approach was a highly rated young sire when he entered stud and has produced 15 graded winners for a strike rate of 2.5%. Now that his offspring are producing in real life he was given a small boost last season and may be due for another in the future. He currently has 0 1000+ credit bids and is available for less than 500 bps.
Oasis Dream – Oasis Dream is from the crop of 2000. The son of Green Desert was a strong two year old and was named Champion Sprinter as a three year old after scoring two Group 1 wins. Retired to stud in England he has produced 15 Grade / Group 1 winners at the current time, led by champion Midday. He is currently ranked 3rd among sires standing in England by money won this year. In the sim Oasis Dream has sired 24 graded winners, of which only six are Grade 1 winners. He is the 16th ranked sire for the 2013 foal crop and is ranked 3rd for 2014 with two graded winners already. He has 0 1000+ credit bids. Oasis Dream looks to be a good pickup, and possibly due for a boost next year.
Shamardal – Shamardal is a son of Giant’s Causeway from that stallion’s 2002 crop. He is currently the leading sire standing in Europe by money earned, with over fifteen million dollars in progeny earnings this year alone. Shamardal was undefeated as a two year old and named Champion that season, he returned to become a classic winner at three. As of this writing he has sired 12 Grade / Group 1 winners in his short stud career. In the game he has only produced six of those high-level victors, from a total of 19 graded winners overall. His highest ranking in the by-crop earnings list is 25th in 2013. He should almost certainly get a boost in 2015 and currently has 0 1000+ credit bids.
Street Sense – Street Sense also came from the 2004 foal crop that included Hard Spun. The son of Street Cry was named Champion Two Year Old Colt by virtue of his win in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. He returned as a three year old to win the Kentucky Derby and other races. He has sired three Grade / Group 1 winners and was the ranked 1st on the Third Crop Sire List in 2013. In the game he has sired twenty six graded winners, of which five came at the highest level. He’s currently ranked 26th for the 2014 foal crop. Street Sense may benefit in coming years from the loss of his sire Street Cry, one of the most popular in the game. He has 0 1000+ credit bids and is currently available for around 300 bps.
Tapit – Tapit has become the leading son of sire of sires Pulpit, even outshining his own sire. Born in 2001 he was a grade one winner as a racer but has exploded as a stallion. He is currently the leading sire in North America by progeny earnings with over eleven million dollars in the bank. He has sired 15 Grade / Group 1 winners including three this year. In the game he has fifty one graded winners for a 4.7% strike rate. He is currently ranked 13th for the 2013 foal crop and 11th for 2014. He has 16 bids of 1000 + credits so it’s no secret that his star is on the upswing.
Teofilo – a 2004 son of Galileo, Teofilo was undefeated in five starts as a two year old and was named Champion Two Year Old colt. Injury at three prevented him from racing further but his stud career has begun well. He has produced six Grade / Group 1 winners in real life. He was given a small bump in the game last season and overall has produced 18 graded winners for a 2.5% strike rate. He has 0 1000+ credit bids.
War Front – there should be no surprise that our list ends with this 2002 son of Danzig. A graded stakes winning race horse, War Front has had a meteoric rise as a stallion with 31 stakes winners including 6 Grade / Group 1 winners to his credit. He was given a big boost in the game last season with Mike ascribing the word “elite” to his potential. War Front has only sired 10 graded winners in the game but five of those come from his 2013 and 2014 foal crops. He only has one grade one winner in the game but expect that to change as well. He currently has 20 1000+ credit bids.
Certainly this is not a definitive list of up-and-comers and with some of the younger sires on this list the potential to move up is just as great as the potential to move down depending on their real life performance. Nevertheless all of these stallions have shown the ability to sire strong, consistent runners and occasionally brilliant ones as well. In the final column in this series we will attempt to look into the crystal ball to find sires that have shown promise in real life but who’s sim performance may need adjustment.