Cover image courtesy of Newgate
One whose career has been limited by fertility issues, Newgate Farm's Extreme Choice is a remarkable young stallion. The winner of four of his eight starts including the G1 Blue Diamond S. and the G1 Moir S., he has been at stud for just six years with his largest foal crop to date (his current foals) numbering only 49.
Represented by 63 runners, Extreme Choice has had 41 winners; a respectable 65.1 per cent strike rate. But it is the quality of winners that really stands out with nine of his winners being stakes winners - a staggering 14.3 per cent stakes winners to runners and 21.9 per cent stakes winners to winners.
Extreme Choice | Standing at Newgate Farm
Two of his progeny are Group 1 winners and at opposite ends of the spectrum - the G1 Golden Slipper hero Stay Inside and the G1 VRC Oaks heroine She's Extreme. His stakes winners have been successful over a variety of distances from 900 metres to 2500 metres and another three are stakes placed whilst another eight are metropolitan winners.
The last two weekends have seen his progeny in the stakes winner's circle - Espiona taking out the G3 Mannerism S. and Wollombi the G3 Vanity.
And a great run too by Don Corleone, runner-up in the G1 Blue Diamond S. after an unlucky run. He will be well favoured to take out a Group 1 race this autumn.
Extreme Choice already has three stakes-winning sons at stud - Stay Inside, Tiger Of Malay and Extreme Warrior all proving popular in their first seasons.
Only the good die young
For Dubai Millennium it was not fertility that saw him lightly represented, but rather his death aged just five years old from equine grass sickness. Greatly mourned at Dalham Hall where he was a favourite, he had just 56 sons and daughters.
Of those 35 made it to the track and 25 (71.4 per cent) were winners. Five were stakes winners (14.3 per cent stakes winners to runners, 20 per cent stakes winners to winners) with the shining light being his triple Group 1 winner Dubawi.
Dubai Millennium (GB) | Image courtesy of Godolphin
Amongst that horse's 250 stakes winners are 53 Group 1 winners and 14 of his sons have sired stakes winners with Makfi (GB), Night Of Thunder (Ire), New Bay (GB), Poet's Voice (GB), Al Kazeem (GB) and Willow Magic all siring Group 1 winners, as has Makfi's son Make Believe (GB).
Another three sons of Dubai Millennium have sired winners with the best of those being the five times Group winner Echo Of Light (GB) whose son Polarisation (GB) won the 2017 G1 Sydney Cup.
Dubai Millennium's strike rate as a broodmare sire is also good with 104 of the 155 runners produced by his daughters being winners. His stakes level impact is not as strong with just four stakes winners, the best of those being the dual Group 1 winner She's A Julie (USA) (Elusive Quality {USA}).
A local legend with one crop
When it comes to Australian racing, the stallion mentioned most often in regards to doing a great job with just one crop is Adraan (GB).
Three times successful at Group 3 level in France, Adraan had just 23 live foals (dying young from skin cancer) - all of whom were named, all but one making it to the track. And only two of those did not win, seven were stakes winners - 31.8 per cent stakes winners to runners and 35 per cent stakes winners to winners.
The G1 Thousand Guineas and G1 Doncaster H. winner Magic Flute was his most accomplished runner and he had an impact over further generations with his son Wham siring the Group 1 winner Captain Cook (NZ) and the Group 3 and five-time Listed winner Corregidor (NZ) from limited opportunities (68 runners).
Adraan's sons Bataan and Stardraan also sired stakes winners whilst his daughters, who had only 78 runners, produced 57 winners including the Group 1 sprinters You Remember (Gold Carat {USA}) and Khaptingly (NZ) (Bletchingly).
Adraan's famous relation Shergar (Ire) stood just one season before so famously being kidnapped. He had just 25 runners, 16 being winners including five stakes winners with his biggest winner being the G1 Irish St Leger winner Authaal (USA) who campaigned well in Australia, winning the G1 Queen Elizabeth S. and the G1 Underwood S.
Shergar (Ire)
Adraan's G1 French 2000 Guineas-winning sire Zeddaan (GB) had another 'what if' story - his brilliant son Kalamoun (GB) suffering from fertility issues before dying young. Standing at the Aga Khan Studs' Ballymany Stud, he had just 85 runners and of the 65 winners, an amazing 21 were stakes winners. Five won Group 1 races and 69 of his male-line descendants have sired stakes winners.
He made his mark in Australia as the grandsire of the G1 Melbourne Cup winner Jeune (GB) and sire of Arrowfield's outstanding stallion Kenmare (Fr), sire of 62 stakes winners including 11 Group 1 winners.
Brilliant locals lost too soon
Arrowfield Stud's G3 Blue Diamond Prelude-winning Redoute's Choice stallion Beneteau died from a neurological condition in early 2013 having stood two seasons. Of his 78 winners from 107 runners, 10 were stakes winners with two of those - Prompt Response and Lasqueti Spirit - winning Group 1 races.
Beneteau
Another, who served much larger books of mares across four seasons at stud, but was tragically lost too soon, was G1 Coolmore Stud S. winner Northern Meteor - who died from colic at Widden Stud in 2013.
The son of Encosta De Lago sired 287 winners from 368 runners - an outstanding 78.0 per cent strike rate, 24 of his progeny were stakes winners, six of those being Group 1 winners.
Five of his sons have sired stakes winners with Zoustar, Shooting To Win, Deep Field and Eurozone represented at the elite level.
Zoustar has three sons at stud, Deep Field two and both of those horses still have much to offer with their crops to come. Meanwhile, Northern Meteor's daughters have produced eight stakes winners amongst the first 129 winners including this season's Group 3-winning juvenile Charm Stone (I Am Invincible).
Zephyr Bay enjoyed a nice long career at stud but during his 17 seasons in New Zealand and Australia, he battled fertility issues and ended up with only 181 runners. 141 (73 per cent) of those won and 22 (22 per cent) were stakes winners - seven in Group 1 company.
With 18 of his male-line descendants having sired stakes winners whilst his daughters' 28 stakes winners included five Group 1 winners.
Zephyr Bay
Hailing from the same prolific Eulogy (GB) (Cicero {GB}) family as Zephyr Bay is the globe-trotting four-time Group 1 winner Starspangledbanner who, due to fertility issues, has never had big crops.
But what a superb job he is doing and in both hemispheres too. Of his 308 winners, 27 are stakes winners and of his six Group 1 winners, four have won big races in the last 12 months: California Spangle (Ire), State Of Rest (Ire), Aristia (Ire) and Rhea Moon (Ire).
Starspangledbanner's first son to stud - the G1 Prix Morny winner The Wow Signal (Ire) died in 2018 due to laminitis, leaving just 20 runners. 15 are winners - three at stakes level; the G1 French 1000 Guineas winner Coeursamba (Fr) and the local (from just twelve foals) Group 3-winning mare How Womantic.
The 1999 G1 Golden Slipper winner Star Watch didn't get much of a chance either, dying young having sired 119 live foals from just two seasons at stud, 106 of those to race, 81 being winners; 10 stakes winners including the Group 1 winners Star Dancer (NZ), Tenor and Hurricane Sky (sire of 20 stakes winners including four Group 1 winners).
Star Watch's 148 winners as a broodmare sire include 15 stakes winners, the best two being the Group 1-winning half-brothers Hotel Grand and Outback Prince.
Outback Prince | Standing at Clear Mountain Fairview Stud
A short brave career
The 1994 Magic Millions winner Brave Warrior died in 1998 having served just two books of mares at Eureka Stud - 64 live foals in his first crop, 43 in his second.
He was represented by 87 runners, 66 (75.9 per cent) being winners with seven of those successful in stakes company - eight per cent stakes winners to runners, 10.6 per cent stakes winners to winners.
The best of those was the handsome chestnut Show A Heart, the four times Group 1 winner who enjoyed a much longer career at stud, retired in 2020 after 18 seasons at Glenlogan. He sired 25 stakes winners including the big-race winners Heart Of Dreams, Toorak Toff (the sire of three stakes winners still active in Tasmania) and Woorim. He is also faring well as a broodmare sire with 20 stakes winners including the G1 Tattersall's Tiara winner Miss Cover Girl (Monashee Mountain {USA}).
Show A Heart
Another Queensland sire who sadly did not last long was Zeditave's G3 Rubiton S. winning half-brother Alannon whose sole crop yielded 72 live foals. Of his 58 runners, 40 were winners; just the two stakes winners but one of those proved a reliable winner-getter - the dual Group 1 winning sprinter Falvelon who is in semi-retirement at Glenlogan. Last season standing his 20th season at stud, he has sired 412 winners including 12 stakes winners.
Speaking of Zeditave, his very fast sire The Judge also did well with small numbers - 89 of his 138 runners being winners with four other stakes winners. Zeditave made his contribution with 36 stakes winners including seven Group 1 winners.
Global impact
American racing fans were understandably upset when Arrogate (USA) died aged just seven in 2020. He had stood just two seasons and of his 125 runners, 66 have been winners. Six are stakes winners and four of those are Group 1 horses.
Winning two legs of the 2002 Triple Crown (the G1 Kentucky Derby and Preakness S.), War Emblem (USA) was renowned for his difficult temperament and his dislike of other horses.
This continued at stud where he showed little interest in mares. Shadai Farm persevered and he ended up with 119 foals - 82 winners, nine stakes winners including the Group 1 filly Robe Tissage (Jpn).
Of his 125 winners as a broodmare sire, five are stakes winners including Widden Stud's G3 San Domenico S. winner Anders a son of Not A Single Doubt.
