Second-Crop Sires Making Strides

At this time of the year, plenty of column space is typically devoted to analyzing the performance of the first-crop sires of the season passed. Indeed, this year's freshmen have provided plenty of reason to be hopeful for the future, as detailed by John Boyce in his latest column depicting the potential of No Nay Never and Kingman (GB) to evolve into super sires.

As the year wraps up, however, it is also worth checking in on the progress of the second-season sires, and note who has built on the promise of their first 2-year-olds, whose progeny have jumped up the board given time to mature and who proved a flash-in-the-pan with their early runners.

There is a clear leader in this sire crop, and that is Camelot (GB), who with his first two crops leads all sires with first foals born in 2015 by every major metric. According to the TDN's second crop cumulative sire list of stallions standing in Europe (as of Nov. 29), his worldwide progeny earnings of $6,079,786 (£4,759,499) are more than double that of last year's late champion first-season sire Society Rock (Ire). At the close of 2017, Camelot sat just fourth on the first season sires' table, behind the aforementioned Society Rock, Dabirsim (Fr) and Havana Gold (Ire) with 19 winners and just short of $550,000 in the bank. The G1 Racing Post Trophy, G1 2000 Guineas and G1 Derby winner, whose progeny were expected to mature later anyway, was already indicating at that point that bigger things were to come; despite sitting fourth by earnings he was the joint leader by stakes winners (two), stakes horses (five) and group stakes horses (three). In 2018, Camelot added 11 new stakes winners including G1 Irish Derby winner Latrobe (Ire) and GI Belmont Oaks winner Athena (Ire) from his first crop and G1 Criterium de Saint-Cloud winner Wonderment (Ire) from his second crop. Wait Forever (Ire) is one of the leading 3-year-old in Italy, his three stakes wins including the Italian 2000 Guineas; Hunting Horn (Ire) won the G3 Hampton Court S. at Royal Ascot and was third in the GI Belmont Derby, and Pollara (Ire) won the G3 Prix de Royaumont in France. His 13 stakes winners have won their black-type races in eight different distance brackets, ranging from 1000 to 1200 metres to 2400 metres-plus, and four of them won their stakes races at distances between 1800 metres to 2000 metres.

As Camelot's first crop has come of age, his second one is tracking along right on par: interestingly, his second crop of 2-year-olds currently includes 19 winners and two stakes winners-equal to his end-of-season 2017 tallies. Camelot's first crop numbered 151 foals while his current 2-year-old crop is slightly smaller at 142. Each of those were bred off a €25,000 fee; he went up to €35,000 last year before his first runners hit the track, back down to €30,000 this year and he is up to a career high of €40,000 in 2019.

Also making great strides this year was G1 Prix du Jockey Club winner Intello (Ger), the son of Galileo who has alternated between Haras du Quesnay in France and Cheveley Park Stud in Newmarket. Another whose progeny could have been expected to improve with age, he jumped from 11th in his sire crop at the end of last year right up to second currently. The French listed winner Sonjeu (Fr) was his lone stakes-winning 2-year-old but this year he has added six more, headed by the G1 Prix Jean Prat winner Intellogent (Ire), the triple Group 3 winner and highly regarded Young Rascal (Fr) and the G3 Goodwood S. winner Regal Reality (GB). His 12 black-type horses in 2018 give him a strike rate of 12.4% from runners in that category, which betters even Camelot.

Unfortunately, Intello will have to face the second and third crop hurdle that all but the very elite young sires do; his 2-year-olds numbered 75 this season, down from 102 in his first crop, and that crop has yielded just two winners from 22 starters.

The tough sprinter Society Rock (Ire) had sadly died by the time his first 2-year-olds came out firing last year, having succumbed to laminitis at Tally-Ho Stud after covering about 80 mares in 2016. He ended the season on top of the first-crop sire table by both prize money and winners (29), with the G1 Prix Morny winner Unfortunately (Ire) his lone stakes winner and Tangled (Ire), Corinthia Knight (Ire) and So Hi Society (Ire) all performing well in key races. Unfortunately and Corinthia Knight both added a stakes success this year, while from his second crop of juveniles Society Rock added the listed winner and G3 Firth of Clyde S. second Shumookhi (Ire) and the G1 Cheveley Park S. second The Mackem Bullet (Ire).

Unfortunately will have the chance to carry on the line, as he retires to stand alongside Intello at Cheveley Park Stud in 2019.

Supporters of Dawn Approach (Ire) had reason to be nervous last year when the champion 2-year-old ended the season with zero stakes winners, but let's not forget the G2 Coventry, G1 National S. and G1 Dewhurst S. winner–who also won Ireland's first maiden of the year in March–also progressed into a Classic winner at three, and his first crop seem to have largely inherited those later developing genes. He notched three 3-year-old stakes winners this season headed by the G3 Prix de la Grotte winner and G1 Prix de Diane second Musis Amica (Ire).

Thankfully for those seeking precocity, Dawn Approach's second crop seems to have taken more after the early runners of their paternal grandsire New Approach, who was champion first-season sire of his time. Dawn Approach had a pair of stakes winners this year from his second crop, including Classic hopeful Madhmoon (Ire), winner of the G2 Champions Juvenile S. on Irish Champions Weekend.

Of the current top five year-to-date second-crop sires in Europe, three are by sons or grandsons of Galileo (Ire), and those are rounded out by Havana Gold (Ire), who himself won the G3 Tattersall S. at two but was at his best at three when he won France's G1 Prix Jean Prat. His progeny have followed in that mould: his flagbearer both this year and last has been Havana Grey (GB), who last year won the G3 Molecomb S., and who this year secured his spot at stud at Whitsbury Manor with a win in the G1 Flying Five S. Treasuring (GB), likewise, won the G3 Curragh S. at two and progressed to win the GIII Senorita S. in May. Havana Gold has also added three new listed winners from his first crop this year.