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The Leading Sires-Of-Sires In Britain And Ireland? The Stats Will Surprise You

Which stallion does the data say is the outstanding sire-of-sires in Britain and Ireland? The answer will surprise you.

We often hear chat about a stallion's ability as a sire-of-sires being bandied about, but it is less common to see it examined in a more detailed and data-driven manner.

First and foremost, my personal opinion is that using a stallion's record as a sire-of-sires is one of the most brutally harsh measures in all of bloodstock on which to judge a horse. In short, the reality is that the vast majority of stallions do not prove to be long-term commercial successes.

Consider this. I recently conducted a study to answer the question of what percentage of Flat stallions are a commercial success in the long run. It included every stallion that commenced their covering careers in Britain and Ireland from 2002 to 2014 inclusive and monitored the fluctuations of their published nomination fee. For the purpose of this study, long-term commercial success for a stallion was defined as standing for the same or a higher nomination fee in their 10th year at stud as they had in their first season.

The study included a total of 186 stallions ranging from those that started from as low as £3,000 all the way up to Frankel who began covering at a fee of £125,000. What percentage of that sample qualified as a long-term commercial success by the above definition? Just 17.7% of them. To hammer it down further, only 8% of them stood their 10th season at double their initial fee or higher. Just 3.8% of them stood at four times or more their initial fee in year 10.

So, for a stallion to do enough to be considered even a reasonably good sire-of-sires is extremely difficult from a statistical perspective. With the very best sires tending to produce the most sons that are given a chance at stud, a top-class sire becoming considered a capable sire-of-sires can be something of a self-fulfilling prophesy. In comparison, even very successful stallions outside of the elite may only get a handful of opportunities for their sons to advertise their father's ability as a sire-of-sires, so the odds are very much stacked against them doing so.

Mind, when one examines the rarified air of stallions that stood for €50,000 or more in Britain and Ireland in 2023 in search of the most notable sires of sires, there is a surprise in store.

Just two stallions are responsible for two or more individual sire sons that feature on this list of the best of the best.

The first is Dubawi through his top-class sire sons New Bay and Night Of Thunder. This won't be a major surprise to anyone given that Dubawi is one of the greatest sires of recent decades. He already has over 50 individual Group/Grade 1 winners to his name and more than 25 of his sons have been given a chance as stallions.

But, who is the other? It must surely be Galileo, Shamardal, Invincible Spirit or some other highly-credentialed star stallion?

No.

It is Acclamation, via his exceptional sire sons Dark Angel and Mehmas.

The pride of Rathbarry Stud has been a wonderful sire for so many breeders since starting his stallion career at a fee of €10,000 in 2004. However, in terms of producing top-class runners, he doesn't have the numbers to compare to the very best sires around. He has had six Group/Grade 1 winners in his career to date, which is a wonderful tally judged against all other stallions, but it is a relatively small number in the context of the very best sires in Europe. For example, Galileo, Dubawi, Shamardal and Invincible Spirit have had over 200 individual Group/Grade 1 winners between them.

The performance of Acclamation's sons on the track has translated to just seven of his sons being given the opportunity to stand at stud in Britain or Ireland over the years. When one looks at them in more detail, the magnitude of what Acclamation has achieved as a sire-of-sires starts to become clear.

Despite just two of his seven sire sons having achieved RPRs of 120 or higher on the track and the seven of them having started their stallion careers at an average nomination fee of around €12,000, this group of sires have punched incredibly well above their weight.

Five of the seven have produced at least one Group 1 winner. Four of them have produced multiple Group 1 winners. Of the two that haven't produced a Group 1 winner, it should be noted that Expert Eye's oldest progeny are just three-year-olds this year so it is still early days for him.

However, the real story of Acclamation as a sires of sires is that his sons Dark Angel and Mehmas have risen to elite status as stallions. They both rank up amongst the very best in Europe as sires of sprinter/milers and are members of the very exclusive club of stallions that have risen to a fee four times or more of their initial fee. Dark Angel has had 14 individual Group/Grade 1 winners as a sire and 10 of his own sons have already been given the chance to stand as sires in Britain and Ireland. Despite Mehmas's oldest progeny only being five-year-olds, he has sired four individual Group/Grade 1 winners and four of his sons are already standing at stud in Britain and Ireland.

All told, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to describe Acclamation's record as a sire-of-sires as being a statistical sensation.

While Acclamation is still going strong at Rathbarry Stud at the age of 24, whether he can produce another stallion son to further enhance his incredible record as a sire-of-sires remains to be seen. If we have already seen the last son of Acclamation retire to stud, Dark Angel and Mehmas are well on their way to continuing his remarkable legacy as a sire-of-sires. What a legacy it is.

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MGSP Take the One O One to Stand at Barton Thoroughbreds

Take the One O One has been retired from racing and will enter stud for the 2022 season at Barton Thoroughbreds for $2,000 LFSN, with special consideration given to approved mares. The 7-year-old son of Acclamation out of the Jump Start mare North Freeway retires with lifetime earnings of near $500,000, which includes wins in the Snow Chief S. and Real Good Deal S., as well as a third-place finish to Bolt d'Oro (Medaglia d'Oro) in the GI FrontRunner S.

“Barton Thoroughbreds is pleased to add Take the One O One to their roster on behalf of Jay Em Ess Stable, and the horse is available for inspection at the farm in Santa Ynez, CA,” said a release from Barton.

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Dark Angel Influence Spreads To Kentucky

Fresh off a season in which he earned the mantle of Europe's leading sire of 2-year-olds, it would seem that Dark Angel (Ire)'s legacy as a sire of precocious and classy sprinter/milers is set. The question inevitably becomes, then, who is next in line to carry on his branch of the Acclamation (GB) sireline?

The 17-year-old Dark Angel already has a Group 1-producing sire son in his G1 Diamond Jubilee S. and G1 July Cup-winning Lethal Force (Ire), whose Golden Horde (Ire) also won at the Royal meeting when he took the G1 Commonwealth Cup in 2020. Both Lethal Force and Golden Horde are now at stud in France. Dark Angel sons Gutaifan (Ire), Markaz (Ire), Alhebayeb (Ire) and Heeraat (Ire) have also sired stakes winners, and a significant chapter could be written over the coming seasons, with Dark Angel's world champion sprinter Harry Angel (Ire)'s first runners set to hit the track in just a few months.

In the meantime, Dark Angel's line also has a chance to branch out intercontinentally, with his son Raging Bull (Fr), a Grade I-winning turf miler, about to cover his first book at Gainesway Farm in Kentucky.

Raging Bull was in no way a small coup for Gainesway, or for Kentucky breeders: with the exception of only the brilliant gelded sprinter Battaash (GB), Raging Bull is Dark Angel's most accomplished son by both earnings (£1,335,394) and Grade/Group 1 wins (3).

Raging Bull was purchased by Eugenio Colombo on behalf of Peter Brant for €90,000 from the Wildenstein Dispersal at Goffs Orby in 2016. Joining trainer Chad Brown from the outset, Raging Bull didn't appear until April of his 3-year-old campaign but soon stamped himself a top-class turf runner in the U.S., winning his first two starts before adding the GII Hall Of Fame S. and the GII Saranac S. at Saratoga, over 1 1/16 miles and 1 1/8 miles, respectively. He capped a 3-year-old season in which he won five of his seven starts with a victory in the 1 1/8-mile GI Hollywood Derby in his first attempt at the highest level.

Though Raging Bull didn't find the winner's circle during a 4-year-old campaign in which he ran exclusively in Grade Is, he was never disgraced and picked up placings in the GI Manhattan S. and the GI Fourstardave H. Raging Bull kicked off his 5-year-old season in 2020 with a win in the GI Shoemaker Mile at Santa Anita before finishing third in the GI Maker's Mark Mile. He would return to Keeneland last spring to win the Maker's Mark, and was also third in the GI Woodbine Mile. In a career that spanned 22 starts over four seasons, Raging Bull ran in 15 Grade Is at seven different racetracks. He won seven times for earnings of over $1.7-million.

Raging Bull stands for an advertised fee of $10,000. He has been syndicated at Gainesway, with Brant staying in, and Gainesway's Director Of Stallion Sales and Recruitment, Sean Tugel, said he expects Raging Bull to cover “150-plus” mares this season.

“He has been very popular,” Tugel acknowledged. “He's been well-supported by his syndicate and that includes Mr. Brant-he's going to breed a large number of mares to him. The breeders who have come to see him, most are leaving here booking a mare to him; they like what they see. Certainly the initial contracts and the initial interest in him tells us he's going to be very well supported his first year.”

Among the black-type mares booked to Raging Bull before the start of the covering season are Boat's Ghost (Silver Ghost), the dam of Grade I-winning turf horse Finnegans Wake (Powerscourt {GB}) and the stakes-winning filly Puca (Big Brown); the multiple stakes-winning and graded-placed Courtesan (Street Sense); the multiple Grade II winner and Grade I-placed Great Hot (Brz) (Orientate); the multiple graded stakes-placed General Consensus (Giant's Causeway); and Concert Strike (Smart Strike), the dam of three stakes horses including the listed-winning Night Strike (Liaison).

Indeed, social media was awash with praise for Raging Bull as breeders ventured out to inspect him during the November sales.

“I think breeders were pleasantly surprised by his physical presence when he comes out,” Tugel said. “He has a lot of leg under him and he has bone and substance. Not everybody who was coming out to see a son of Dark Angel was expecting to see that kind of physical presence. He's an extremely good mover and uses himself extremely well. Everyone wants to breed an athlete and he certainly presents himself as an athlete.”

With his aforementioned size, scope and leg, Raging Bull takes the eye as a dirt horse just as much as a turf horse. That could be down to the American influence lent to his pedigree by damsire Mr. Greeley, a son of Gone West and grandson of Mr. Prospector. Raging Bull's dam, Rosa Bonheur, was also purchased by Brant from the Wildenstein dispersal in 2016; she cost €80,000 in foal to Siyouni (Fr), who was at the time a rising talent but not the breakout star he is today. Rosa Bonheur was bred by the Wildenstein family out of their Rolly Polly (Ire) (Mukaddamah), whose versatility and talent on the track is indicative of her grandson's: Rolly Polly won group/graded stakes races in England, France, Italy and the U.S. during a career that spanned three seasons, 18 starts, 10 wins and eight stakes wins. Though Rosa Bonheur's racing career was shorter, the daughter of Mr. Greeley showed the constitution that is evident in Raging Bull when running eight times between April and December of her 3-year-old campaign.

While breeders will overwhelmingly send their mares to Raging Bull expecting to get a turf animal, Tugel noted that it is a distinct possibility, given his pedigree and physique, that Raging Bull's progeny could handle the dirt, too.

“I think being out of a Mr. Greeley mare–who is from the Gone West line and very influential to American dirt and speed– certainly will help,” Tugel said. “Having Northern Dancer lines as well as multiple Mr. Prospector lines–that blood has worked extremely well in America. The amount of leg that he has; you need leg to win dirt races and get over the dirt. So if he transfers that on to his offspring I think he could absolutely be a multi-surface type of sire.”

Raging Bull's sire, Dark Angel, has certainly proven to be that. While his success as a sire, naturally, has been heavily focused on the turf, he has had 366 winners on the dirt and 13 stakes winners on that surface. Last month, Dark Angel's Golden Goal (Ire) established himself as a leading contender for the Gulf region's best dirt races with a win in the G2 Al Maktoum Challenge R1 at Meydan, while a week later Godolphin homebred Real World (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}) made it five wins in a row with victory in the G2 Zabeel Mile. That win was on the turf, but trainer Saeed bin Suroor was vocal post-race that Real World, who is already stakes-placed on the dirt, may switch surfaces to target the likes of the Dubai World Cup or Saudi Cup.

It is worth noting, too, that Golden Goal and Real World are eight and five, respectively, making them just the latest stakes winners by Dark Angel to still be at the top of their game well into their careers. Dark Angel was among the very first of a wave of commercial stallions to retire to stud at the end of a 2-year-old campaign, and while that trend is a polarizing one in bloodstock circles it has undeniably in this case resulted in a sire that routinely begets that rare combination of early speed, longevity and class. And it won't hurt Raging Bull's profile that another son of Acclamation who retired at two, Mehmas, is already looking like following Dark Angel's path.

Tugel noted that, like all of Dark Angel's best progeny, Raging Bull had speed, and that he was most effective at or around a mile.

“Dark Angel is a source of speed and that's what we're all looking for in America,” he said. “Raging Bull is a miler and we always say milers make sires. Plus you add Mr. Greeley on the bottom side, it's really speed on speed which is what we're trying to produce here in America.”

“Raging Bull ran through his 6-year-old career and he was a multiple graded stakes winner over multiple seasons,” Tugel added. “To be able to hold that type of form is fantastic. In America we need outcrosses, and he is a complete outcross to all major sirelines barring Mr. Prospector, but you can find many different lines of Mr. P and go different ways. The fact that he can go to all the Storm Cat, Unbridled's Song and Unbridled lines, and Seattle Slew; having that ability to mix with every great American line you want will help him.”

It is no small matter, either, that turf milers are a pivotal part of the bedrock on which Gainesway is built; throughout its history, the farm's various owners have imported turf influences to mix with the American breed, including no fewer than five winners of the G1 Poule d'Essai des Poulains: Blushing Groom (Fr), Green Dancer, Riverman, Irish River (Fr) and, most recently, Karakontie (Jpn). The 2014 Poulains and GI Breeders' Cup Mile winner has, with three crops of racing age, established himself as a very solid and versatile source of winners and stakes horses for his $10,000 pricetag; his first crop includes the high-class turf horses Kenzai Warrior and Princess Grace, as well as Sole Volante, the GII Tampa Bay Derby winner on the dirt. It is most certainly not lost on breeders that Gainesway has a proven track record of turning high-class turf horses into a sought-after sires. And Tugel said he expects Karakontie to go to the next level once his better-bred crops hit the track.

“The last two seasons, once Karakontie's runners got to the track, we've seen his best quality books come,” Tugel said. “His initial crop was his most mares bred, but in the past two seasons he has bred his second and third largest books and best quality. He has graded stakes winners in both of his first two crops of racing age and he has black-type horses in his third crop and hopefully they can go on to be graded stakes winners. But the 2-year-olds coming behind them we have great expectations for, as well as the yearlings and the foals that are hitting the ground this year.

“I truly believe over the next several years we're going to see a lot more from Karakontie. He gets you good, honest horses that train on. They run on dirt and turf, they run on synthetic, he's had a Kentucky Derby starter, he's had multiple graded stakes winners on the dirt. Princess Grace looks like she could be a top level filly, and she's almost a millionaire. His commercial presence has continued to grow; he's only averaged about nine to 10 yearlings per year through the ring but still gets multiple six-figure horses throughout the year. He's just a good, honest horse with great value and potential.”

With the path to success for a turf sire paved at Gainesway, Raging Bull has the chance to cement not only his own legacy, but also that of his sire, Dark Angel, as a sire of sires.

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A Golden Opportunity At Sumbe

Sumbe-under its previous guises as Haras de la Cauviniere and Haras de Montfort et Preaux and still today under the guidance of new owner Nurlan Bizakov-has made a concerted effort to upgrade the level of stallions standing of France. It has done so with success, too; as part of its fruitful relationship with Gerard Augustin-Normand, the Cauviniere principals retained the 2009 G1 Prix du Jockey Club winner Le Havre (Ire) to stand in France, and the son of Noverre rose through the ranks to become one of the most successful domestic sires ever, climbing to a career-high fee of €60,000 and leaving behind 50 stakes winners and five Group 1 winners and counting.

Shortly after changing its name to Montfort et Preaux, the stud added Recorder (Ire), The Queen's homebred G3 Acomb S. winner by Galileo (Ire) who was well supported by breeders and, with eight first-crop winners this year, sits behind only Zarak (Fr) on the French first-season sires' table.

Last year, Golden Horde (Ire) (Lethal Force {Ire}) became the first stallion recruited to the stud since it was purchased by Bizakov and renamed Sumbe in homage to his hometown in Kazakhstan. The G1 Commonwealth Cup winner Golden Horde represents a unique opportunity for French breeders, he being one of very few representatives of the red-hot Acclamation sireline in the country, and its only Group 1 winner.

Bred by CN Farm, Golden Horde was picked up by trainer Clive Cox for £65,000 at the Goffs UK Premier Yearling Sale of 2018. He made his debut in mid-May for owner Al Mohamediya Racing and broke his maiden at second asking two weeks later when making all to win a Windsor maiden by 4 1/2 lengths. Two lengths from the winner Arizona (Ire) (No Nay Never) when fifth in the G2 Coventry S., Golden Horde won the G2 Richmond S.-just like Acclamation's ascendant sire son Mehmas (Ire)-over Threat (GB) (Footstepsinthesand {GB}), who would go on to add the G2 Gimcrack S. and G2 Champagne S. in his next two starts. Golden Horde, meanwhile, stepped up to Group 1 company finishing third behind Earthlight (Ire) (Shamardal) in the G1 Prix Morny before running that rival to a neck when second in the G1 Middle Park S.

Golden Horde returned to Royal Ascot for a belated 3-year-old debut in the G1 Commonwealth Cup, and shook off the cobwebs in decisive fashion when racing prominently and pulling 1 1/2 lengths clear in the closing stages for a first top-level win. Facing older horses for the final three starts of his career, Golden Horde made a good account of himself on each occasion, beaten 1 1/2 lengths when third in the G1 July Cup, fifth in the G1 Prix Maurice de Gheest and third in the G1 Sprint Cup S. Golden Horde proved both consistent and versatile, having been Group 1-placed over both good and soft ground.

“He was very consistent, very tough, and I loved his way of racing-first out, running hard all the way and very, very tough and genuine,” said Sumbe's Mathieu Alex. “It's a great pleasure to have him here too, he is very well behaved and has a great mind, and we have a lot of faith in him.”

Golden Horde's pedigree has continued to go from strength to strength since his purchase as a yearling. His dam, the Pivotal (GB) mare Entreat (GB), was sold by her breeder Cheveley Park Stud for 14,000gns at Tattersalls July in 2016 carrying Golden Horde. A month after Golden Horde became a pattern-race winner, his elder sister Exhort (GB) (Dutch Art {GB}) also scored at listed level. Line Of Departure (Ire) (Mehmas {Ire}), Entreat's 3-year-old of 2021, won the Listed Cathedral S. in June, and was ultimately gelded after tall assignments in the July Cup and G2 Hungerford S. Entreat has a 2-year-old filly by Zoffany (Ire) named Heart To Heart (GB) who was a 580,000gns Tattersalls October purchase last year by MV Magnier and won one of nine starts this year, and a filly foal by Zoustar (Aus) who was bought back for 240,000gns at the same sale. Golden Horde traces back to a highly productive American family: his third dam is Imagining (Northfields), best known as the dam of the champion and Group 1 producer Serena's Song (Rahy), whose legacy includes G1 Coronation S. winners Sophisticat and Rizeena (Ire), Jim Bolger's useful sire Vocalised, dual Grade I winner and Grade I sire Honor Code and G1 Prix d'Ispahan victor Zabeel Prince (Ire).

The recent death of Golden Horde's broodmare sire Pivotal may mean that his genes are more highly sought after than ever, especially considering Pivotal's position in the pedigree of French champion sire Siyouni as well as exciting young stallions like St Mark's Basilica (Fr), Sottsass (Fr), Cracksman (GB) and Advertise (GB).

“Golden Horde's sireline is very proven-Acclamation, Dark Angel, and his dam Entreat is by Pivotal and is the dam of six winners including three stakes winners, and it is the family of American champion Serena's Song and Sophisticat,” Alex said.

Breeders can be encouraged, too, by the fact that Sumbe threw the strength of its broodmare band behind Golden Horde, who Alex describes as “a very good-looking horse,” in his first season at stud.

“He's very masculine and has a lot of strength, and he's a great mover,” Alex said. “We supported him heavily on the farm sending 20 very good mares–stakes performers and dams of stakes performers. He's been very well received in France, and across Europe.”

After covering his first book in 2021 for a fee of €10,000, Golden Horde will be available for €8,000 next year.

“I think Golden Horde should be a very commercial sire because he was a very talented 2-year-old who brings a lot of precocity, but also trained on and won a Group 1 race at Royal Ascot as a 3-year-old,” Alex said. “He's a fast horse, a very good-looking horse with a great pedigree, so fingers crossed-he has a lot of things going for him.”

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