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For much of the season it appeared Queensland-based stallion Better Than Ready would dominate all aspects of the race to be Australia’s leading first season sire.
His brilliant start to the 2YO season in the spring gave him a dominant early advantage as leading new sire by prizemoney, winners, wins and stakeswinners.
Of course the prizemoney order among 2YO sires changes dramatically when the big money races kick in from February.
It has been standard for the sire of the Golden Slipper winner to be a big show of being the leading 2YO sire by prizemoney and in the first season category that will be the case this season as Sideshow easily eclipsed the early lead held by Better Than Ready when his daughter Kiamichi won the Rosehill classic in March.
Sidestep, like Better Than Ready standing in Queensland, has had only four first crop winners of seven races from 16 runners this season but his prizemoney earnings have reached $2.48 million, $800,000 more than Better Than Ready.
And the further we have progressed into the season Better Than Ready’s lead in other categories has diminished to a point that with less than eight weeks remaining he is under siege to be the leading new sire by winners.
He has 18 on the board but throwing down the gauntlet is Deep Field, the NSW-based stallion who was responsible for his 17th individual winner on Monday when his Victorian-trained colt Scorpius won at Moe.
Deep Field’s 17 winners of 22 races have come from 42 runners compared to Better Than Ready’s 18 winners of 28 races from 39 runners.
Back in third place is Rubick with 11 winners (14 wins) from 40 first crop runners followed by Wandjina and Shooting To Win with six winners each.
Better Than Ready and Deep Field are also engaged in a tense fight to be the leading first crop sire of stakeswinners.
Again Better Than Ready, with three stakes winners, holds a lead of one over Deep Field.
Better Than Ready’s stakes winners have been The Odyssey (Listed Phelan Ready Stakes), Better Reflection (Listed Calaway Gal Stakes) and Jagged Edge (Listed Dalrello Stakes) while Deep Field’s progeny have won the G2 Karrakatta Plate (Dig Deep) and G3 Pago Pago Stakes (Cosmic Force).
On the 2YO Sires table it’s a similar tight race between champion sires I Am Invincible and Snitzel in both the prizemoney and number of win and winners categories.
I Am Invincible ($3,160,340) is leading Snitzel ($2,833,915) by $300,000 while they each have sired 18 2YO winners.
Snitzel will be a big winner of his third Australian General Sires Premiership with all his runners earning more than $22.475 million this season to June 3, $7 million clear of I Am Invincible ($15.635 million).
I Am Invincible has set a new record of 28 stakes winners this season but the pair are head to head for total winners with each sire having 164 winners to their credit at June 3.
It should be noted that Snitzel’s prizemoney lead is due to Redzel being his leading earner with $6,833,250 for the season while I Am Invincible’s highest prizemoney for the season has been Invincibella with only $903,775.
First Crop Sires Premiership 2018/19
SIRE STRS WNRS/WINS SW PRIZEMONEY
Sidestep 16 4/7 1 $2,480,995
Better Than Ready 39 18/28 3 $1,671,200
Brazen Beau (3) 27 4/5 1 $1,291,130
Deep Field 42 17/22 2 $1,201,785
Rubick 40 11/14 1 $1,111,370
Toronado 15 4/6 0 $803,275
Safeguard 12 2/5 0 $656,050
Time For War 11 3/6 1 $516,030
Wandjina 26 6/7 0 $362,195
Shooting To Win 19 6/7 0 $335,525
2YO Sires Premiership 2018/19
SIRE STRS WNRS/WINS SW PRIZEMONEY
I Am Invincible 57 18/24 8 $3,160,340
Snitzel 51 18/23 3 $2,833,915
Sidestep 16 4/7 1 $2,480,995
Exceed and Excel 31 8/12 3 $2,304,275
Lonhro 20 6/9 3 $2,098,480
Dundeel 10 6/9 1 $1,815,475
Fastnet Rock 39 10/13 1 $1,804,280
Not A Single Doubt 40 8/13 2 $1,700,625
Better Than Ready 39 18/28 3 $1,671,200
Brazen Beau 27 4/5 1 $1,292,165
