Run The Numbers – Sires of the decade
With the 2020s now past their halfway point, it seems a good time to reflect on the most dominant Australian stallions on the track over the past six-and-half seasons, with one champion dominating almost every category.
Yarraman Park’s I Am Invincible may have an uphill challenge to claim a fourth successive Australian champion sires’ title, but he sits without par as the most dominant Australian sire of the 2020s.
The three-time defending champion is fourth in this year’s sires’ race, $2.3 million off the leader Zoustar, with long-term rival Snitzel only $60,000 above him in third place, while second-placed Pride Of Dubai another $1.4 million in front.
I Am Invincible has more Australian winners than Zoustar (180 to 177) this season and looks destined to break through the 200-winners-in-a-season mark for the third time, a milestone only he and Zoustar have achieved in history.
Over the course of this decade, the son of Invincible Spirit sits unparalleled in Australia in nearly every major category.
Run The Numbers has gone back to the start of the 2019/20 season and found that his progeny have earned a remarkable $127.5 million in Australia, a rate of just under $60,000 a day.
Snitzel is second on that 2020s list with $104.5 million in progeny earnings, while Zoustar sits third on $99.2 million. So You Think, Written Tycoon, Savabeel, Pride Of Dubai, All Too Hard and Fastnet Rock round out the Top 10 over that period.
I Am Invincible has had 666 individual Australian winners since August 1, 2019, clear of Written Tycoon (590) and Snitzel (580). When it comes to racetrack wins by his progeny, that number stands at 1857, 212 more than Written Tycoon.
The two key metrics I Am Invincible does not lead in since 2019/20 are Australian stakes winners and Australian Group 1 winners.
Snitzel has 69 stakes winners to I Am Invincibe’s 68, while a gap back to third is Zoustar on 49, just ahead of Written Tycoon on 47.
I Am Invincible leads the Arrowfield champion when it comes to stakes wins, 133 to 121, with Zoustar on 96.
Leading the way for Australian Group 1 winners in the period are Snitzel and Written Tycoon, who both have nine each, while I Am Invincible has eight. Dundeel and Zoustar have seven apiece.
I Am Invincible’s progeny do lead the way in total Group 1 wins, with 16 out of the 436 Group 1s run since August 2019, more 3.6 per cent.
All Too Hard is second, with 15 from his four Group 1 winners, while Savabeel has 13, Street Boss and Written Tycoon 12 apiece, 11 each for Fastnet Rock and Pride Of Dubai and 10 for Dundeel, the same as Snitzel.
A nod to Australia’s sire diversity is that there have been 146 different sires to have produced a Group 1 winner since the start of the 2019/20 season.
In terms of key performance metrics such as stake winners-to-runners, Extreme Choice has the strongest record of those sires with more than 100 runners in that time. His Australian SW/R rate since the start of the 2019/20 stands at an impressive 11.9 per cent (Frankel’s is 20.8 per cent but he has only had 96 Australian runners).
Next best is Snitzel on 8.5 per cent, ahead of Savabeel on 7.9 per cent and I Am Invincible on 7.5 per cent. Zoustar is on 6.7 per cent, Fastnet Rock and Exceed and Excel, 6.4 per cent and Justify on 6.11 per cent.
I Am Invincible comfortably leads when it comes to winners-to-runners for those horses listed above. His Australian W/R rate in that time is 73.6 per cent. Zoustar is 72.4 per cent and Deep Field 71.8 per cent.
Top performing sires in Australia since start of 2019/20 season
Earnings per Australian runner is another metric which helps equalise for numbers. Top of those rankings for the sires with more than 100 runners mentioned above since 2019/20 is Extreme Choice on $217,320. The average earnings of I Am Invincible’s runner since 2019/20 is $140,865, Zoustar is on $136,462, Fastnet Rock is next on $132,434, ahead of Street Boss on $131,445.
Taking a look and the global earnings of Australian top stallions, casts another lens on performance this decade.
I Am Invincible’s global progeny earnings since August 1, 2019 have been $154.5 million. To give that context that is more than Frankel’s progeny have earned globally over the same period ($152.9 million).
That stat owes a deal to Australia’s prize money returns given Frankel has had 30 Group 1 winners to I Am Invincible’s nine in that time, while he has 125 stakes winners compared to the Australian sire’s 75. Vinnie does lead him on overall winners since that point, 733 to 554.
Zoustar is the second on progeny earnings with $145.1 million, with Snitzel on $132.3 million. Deep Field, who has been the leading sire in Hong Kong for the past three seasons, is third on $131.1 million.
I Am Invincible also the top-ranked Australasian stallion on global stakes winners, with 78 from August 1, 2019 until now, three more than Snitzel and 11 more than Exceed And Excel and Savabeel.
Savabeel, on track for a 10th New Zealand sires title, has more global Group 1 winners, 17, over that period than his top Australia counterparts, which features Snitzel, Zoustar and Written Tycoon on 10 apiece. Vinnie has nine along with fellow champion sire Fastnet Rock and Exceed And Excel.
Top performing Australian sires globally since start of 2019/20 season
Source: Arion.co.nz
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