A bumper Saturday of stakes racing in Sydney and Melbourne has delivered change to the Australian General Sires List with a new front runner, a stallion with a bullet and a stallion who may be the best value sire in the Hunter Valley this spring.
Coolmore’s Pierro has been threatening to take the lead for a little while now following a spate of winners including his Everest contenders Arcadia Queen and Pierata and he duly did so with his exciting staying colt Shadow Hero winning the Group I ATC Spring Champion Stakes.
A Golden Slipper winning son of champion sire Lonhro, Pierro has what it takes to be a champion sire in that he can get you those classic horses for a Derby and Oaks but also a fast two year-old and a quality sprinter.
He stands at a fee of $88,000 this spring.
Arrowfield Stud’s Dundeel shot up the rankings into third place following a Saturday in which his three year old colt Super Seth won the Caulfield Guineas, another three year-old in Castelvecchio was second in the Spring Champion Stakes and his four year-old gelding The Inevitable won the $500,000 Silver Eagle.
A champion 3YO by High Chaparral, Dundeel has also proven capable of getting two year-olds and stayers so is well placed to be a top echelon sire for many years to come and stands this spring at a fee of $66,000.
The most interesting stallion in the Top 10 is probably Vinery Stud’s All Too Hard, who was the sparring partner for Pierro on the track, but has slipped behind him in terms of commercial success since the pair retired to stud and is priced this season at a fee of $27,500.
His 33 winners this season is only three less than Pierro and the big horse that he needed has now put his hand up in Alligator Blood, so if you are sending a mare to All Too Hard this spring you’d be entitled to think you’ve probably gotten a good deal.
Article | Breednet Tara Madgwick
