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.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 This article will attempt to highlight some of the proven sires remaining in the game. \u00a0To do this we will concentrate on the top ten leading sires by crop from 2009-2013.\u00a0 A follow up article will discuss those sires knocking on the door who may fill some of those open spots.<\/p>\n
Leading Sires 2013 \u2013 2009<\/p>\n
| \n 2013<\/p>\n<\/td>\n | \n 2012<\/p>\n<\/td>\n | \n 2011<\/p>\n<\/td>\n | \n 2010<\/p>\n<\/td>\n | \n 2009<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| STREET CRY<\/td>\n | DYNAFORMER<\/td>\n | STREET CRY<\/td>\n | A.P. INDY<\/td>\n | AWESOME AGAIN<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n| UNBRIDLED’S SONG<\/td>\n | MONTJEU<\/td>\n | DYNAFORMER<\/td>\n | KINGMAMBO<\/td>\n | A.P. INDY<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | BERNARDINI<\/td>\n | MONSUN (GER)<\/td>\n | GIANT’S CAUSEWAY<\/td>\n | MONTJEU<\/td>\n | DISTORTED HUMOR<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | FRANKEL (GB)<\/td>\n | PULPIT<\/td>\n | DISTORTED HUMOR<\/td>\n | DISTORTED HUMOR<\/td>\n | MONTJEU<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | GIANT’S CAUSEWAY<\/td>\n | SEA THE STARS (IRE)<\/td>\n | SEA THE STARS (IRE)<\/td>\n | STREET CRY<\/td>\n | GIANT’S CAUSEWAY<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | SEA THE STARS (IRE)<\/td>\n | UNBRIDLED’S SONG<\/td>\n | MONTJEU<\/td>\n | GIANT’S CAUSEWAY<\/td>\n | UNBRIDLED’S SONG<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | DISTORTED HUMOR<\/td>\n | GALILEO<\/td>\n | MEDAGLIA D’ORO<\/td>\n | SEA THE STARS (IRE)<\/td>\n | SMART STRIKE<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | GALILEO<\/td>\n | GIANT’S CAUSEWAY<\/td>\n | UNBRIDLED’S SONG<\/td>\n | DYNAFORMER<\/td>\n | KINGMAMBO<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | AWESOME AGAIN<\/td>\n | STREET CRY<\/td>\n | GALILEO<\/td>\n | UNBRIDLED’S SONG<\/td>\n | DYNAFORMER<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | DANSILI (GB)<\/td>\n | DISTORTED HUMOR<\/td>\n | BERNARDINI<\/td>\n | MEDAGLIA D’ORO<\/td>\n | STREET CRY<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n | <\/p>\n 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.\u00a0 Seven of those stallions are no longer available for two year old breeding in the game \u2013 A.P. Indy, Dynaformer, Kingmambo, Monsun, Montjeu, Pulpit and Unbridled\u2019s Song.\u00a0 An eighth, Street Cry, is recently deceased and will no longer be available for two year old breeding after this season.\u00a0 That leaves only ten stallions to have made the top ten in the sire list over the past five years.<\/p>\n Awesome Again \u2013 Awesome Again was the leading sire of 2009 and made the field again by finishing 9th<\/sup> in 2013.\u00a0 He\u2019s a twenty year old stallion which certainly raises concerns for folks buying shares for 2015 in advance.\u00a0 Currently there are 28 bids in excess of 1000 credits for this son of Deputy Minister.\u00a0 He\u2019s already got three graded winners who have won five graded races in 2014 so he\u2019s obviously still got it in the game.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Bernardini \u2013 Bernardini makes the list twice as well.\u00a0 He was 10th<\/sup> in 2011 and 3rd<\/sup> in 2013.\u00a0 The son of A.P. Indy entered stud in 2007 with the hopes of taking the mantle from his immortal sire.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 Unfortunately he has cooled off considerably in the last two years and the biggest question is how that will affect his game rating.\u00a0 He\u2019s currently ranked 14th<\/sup> in the 2014 sire list and has sired two stakes winners.\u00a0 Players have 24 1000+ credit bids on him so he is obviously still very popular.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Dansili \u2013 Dansili is the 10th<\/sup> ranked sire for the 2013 crop.\u00a0 Dansili entered stud in 2001 to modest expectations.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 His real life runners have been stellar and his popularity has increased in the game as a result.\u00a0 He is the 15th<\/sup> ranked sire in the 2012 crop and is currently 2nd<\/sup> in the 2014 standings with two graded winners already.\u00a0 There are currently 14 1000+ credit bids for Dansili.\u00a0 He is eighteen years old.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Distorted Humor \u2013 only three sires made the top ten rankings in all five years covered.\u00a0 Distorted Humor is one of them.\u00a0 His best showing is a 3rd<\/sup> from 2009 but he is also ranked 4th<\/sup> for 2010 and 2011, 7th<\/sup> in 2013 and 10th<\/sup> 2012.\u00a0 He is also currently the leading sire for the 2014 sire crop and with that his popularity is secure \u2013 36 players have a 1000+ credit bid on this sire.\u00a0 At 21 he is one of the oldest sires on the list.\u00a0 Distorted Humor proved himself as a sire the hard way, starting from modest mares and working his way up to the elite ranks.\u00a0 In real life he has been the leading sire in North America twice.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Frankel \u2013 Frankel is the youngest sire on this list.\u00a0 He entered stud in 2013 and he ranks 4th<\/sup> on that crop\u2019s sire list.\u00a0 He\u2019s sired 14 graded winners from that crop, although interestingly he has none in his 2014 crop.\u00a0 That may suggest a slight downgrade from the impossible expectations set up by his freshman crop but may also just be an anomaly.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 That said he\u2019s 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. \u00a0Frankel has 41 1000+ credit bids, he is a tough sire to get.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Galileo \u2013 The best sire in the world has only cracked the top ten in the last three years.\u00a0 He debuted at 9th<\/sup> in 2011, is 7th<\/sup> in 2012 and 8th<\/sup> in 2013.\u00a0 At sixteen years old, Galileo has assumed the mantle as Sadler\u2019s Wells\u2019 best son at stud, following the death of Montjeu.\u00a0 Galileos tend to mature later and like a distance of ground so his rankings may move up the charts.\u00a0 He currently has 34 1000+ credit bids.\u00a0 There\u2019s no secret here, he is performing in real life and in the game and shows no signs of stopping.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Giant\u2019s Causeway \u2013 Giant\u2019s Causeway is another stallion who has hit the top ten in all five years covered.\u00a0 Surprisingly his highest showing is 3rd<\/sup> for 2011 considering he was the leading North American sire in 2009, 2010 and 2012.\u00a0 He\u2019s a perennial leader on the top of the US sire charts and, much like Galileo, his game popularity matches \u2013 he\u2019s got 39 1000+ credit bids.\u00a0 He already has one graded winner for 2014 and is ranked 6th<\/sup> on the 2014 crop sire list.\u00a0 The seventeen year old is the best son of Storm Cat at stud.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Medaglia D\u2019oro \u2013 Medaglia D\u2019oro entered stud in 2005 and is ranked 10th<\/sup> in the 2010 crop sire rankings and 7th<\/sup> for 2011.\u00a0 No doubt his popularity among game players was encouraged by the campaign of his 2009 Horse of the Year winning daughter Rachel Alexandra.\u00a0 It is somewhat surprising to see him drop off the list in 2012, where he is ranked 18th<\/sup> although he seems to be rebounding with his 2013 crop as he is currently ranked 11th<\/sup>.\u00a0 His 2014 runners are off to a slow start, with only 34.9% winners and just one stakes winner so far.\u00a0 While he has not had a superstar in real life since Rachel Alexandra he was ranked 12th<\/sup> for leading North American sires in 2013 and is currently 9th<\/sup> for 2014 and has two 2014 Grade\/Group 1 winners.\u00a0 A sneaky-good sire there are only 13 1000+ credit bids on Medaglia D\u2019oro making him a less daunting pickup than some of the others on this list.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Sea The Stars \u2013 Sea the Stars is the second youngest sire on this list.\u00a0 The twelve year old son of Cape Cross is a half-brother to fellow leading sire Galileo.\u00a0 Sea the Stars entered stud in 2010 and is ranked mid-pack all four years available to him.\u00a0 His first crop of real life runners are three year olds of 2014 and include Group 1 winners Taghrooda and Sea the Moon.\u00a0 He\u2019s currently ranked 12th<\/sup> on the 2014 crop list and has three stakes winners already from those two year olds.\u00a0 Much like Frankel his continued high rating depends on his production in real life.\u00a0 If he can keep producing top notch runners his legacy will be secured.\u00a0 As it stands he is highly popular with sim players, there are 22 1000+ credit bids on him.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Smart Strike \u2013 Smart Strike is the oldest sire on this list at 22.\u00a0 He ranks 7th<\/sup> for the 2009 foal crop.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 He\u2019s been in the top twenty game sires for 2010-2013 and currently is 13th<\/sup> for 2014, although he has no two year old stakes winners.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 It is likely that many players loading up on shares for 2015 are avoiding Smart Strike given his age.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n One of the biggest take aways from these ten stallions is their age.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 One would expect the leading sires to be most difficult to attain, but Smart Strike, Medaglia D\u2019oro and Dansili have fewer than 15 1000+ credit bids on them (again Smart Strike only has 3 \u2013 make that 4 I just put a bid in on him!) The other stallions all have 20+ such bids, topped out by Frankel\u2019s 41 which is surprising as he is the youngest sire on the list and thus the most risky gamble.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Stallions come and stallions go and there is always a changing of the guard as hot young studs attract some<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":401,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"colormag_page_container_layout":"default_layout","colormag_page_sidebar_layout":"default_layout","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25259","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-breeding"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25259","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/401"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=25259"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25259\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25263,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25259\/revisions\/25263"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=25259"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=25259"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=25259"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}} |