At the weekend, Spirit Of Boom and So You Think became the fifth and sixth Australian stallions so far to register 100 individual winners for the 2024/25 season. It is a historically high number for this time of year. Run The Numbers digs into the background of this trend.
When Blake Shinn picked his way through the field to salute aboard Mighty at Sandown on Saturday, it represented a milestone 100th winner of the season for Spirit Of Boom.
It was far from the Eureka Stud stallion’s first seasonal century – he has now reached that mark in each of the past five Australian seasons, but he had never reached the milestone so early, just six months and one day since 2024/25 got underway.
It puts Queensland’s leading sire well ahead of pace to better his previous seasonal mark of 149, achieved in 2022/23. In that season, by early February, he had 81 winners. His century would not arrive until March 8.
Spirit Of Boom has had eight two-year-old winners, the most of any sire in Australia, and 20 three-year-old winners, with the vast proportion of his winners being four and over (72). Given that sire’s own race profile, it is not surprising to see his horses training on past their classic year.
He is not the only stallion on record pace in 2024/25. Swettenham Stud’s Toronado recently brought up his century in record time. He currently sits third when it comes to total Australian winners with 106. At the same point last season, he had 77, while two years ago it was only 59.
His rise, in terms of the volume of winners, has been one of the under-the-radar trends of the 2024/25 season. He remains on track to easily eclipse his previous overall seasonal best for Australian winners of 145, set last season
His total runners have also increased significantly, 212 at this point last season as compared to 273 currently, as he benefits from the big books he received in 2019 (197) and 2020 (210).
Unlike the four others to have reached the century mark this year, Toronado has had no assistance from his current two-year-old crop, only one of which has hit the track. A total of 27 of his winners are from his three-year-old crop while 79, including his three stakes winners in Australia this year, are four and older.
Unsurprisingly given it is where he is based, the majority of Toronado’s winners have been in Victoria, with 62 individual horses represented, 59 per cent of his overall total.
What is a quirk is that the most successful trainer in Australia this season when it comes to the progeny of Toronado has been Queensland-based Tony Gollan, with seven wins from two horses led by Torabella, who registered her fifth win of the season at Doomben on Saturday.
Less startling is that Gollan is also the most successful trainer of the progeny of Spirit Of Boom this season, with 23 wins from 18 individual horses across 2024/25 to date. Of Spirit Of Boom’s 100 Australian winners, 81 have been in Queensland.
So You Think became the sixth sire to notch the century of Australian winners when So Nataya won at Bunbury on Sunday. It is his seventh straight season of breaking that barrier, but by far his quickest ton, as he chases down his seasonal best of 149.
The other three stallions to have reached the century are familiar names, I Am invincible, Zoustar and Written Tycoon.
It is the seventh season in a row that I Am Invincible has reached the 100-winner mark by the halfway point of the season. He is currently on 123, which is 13 more than he had at this point of last season when he finished with 175.
Zoustar is on 121, nine fewer than he had halfway through last season when he equalled I Am Invincible’s record mark of 208 winners. Both have had slightly fewer runners – Vinnie 287 compared to 294 and Zoustar 298 compared to 300 – to the same point.
Both are trying to chase down Pride Of Dubai – currently on $17.2 million progeny earnings - for the Australian sires championship, with Zoustar on $14.5 million and I Am Invincible on $12.1 million.
Sires to have reached 100 Australian winners by February 1 in each season
Fourth overall, and fourth when it comes to winners, is Written Tycoon.
The Yulong resident has 105 Australian winners, which is nine more than he had at the same point of last season, although in the four previous seasons before that, he had cracked the century by halfway through the campaign.
Written Tycoon’s number of Australian runners has increased by around 10 per cent from 249 to 276 so far this season. All that growth has been from his current three-year-old crop, conceived during his one season at Arrowfield. His three-year-old runners to this point of the season have grown from 54 to 86 and his winners from 21 to 39.
As far as our records go back, there has never been a season where six stallions have surpassed 100 Australian winners by this point. Last season to this point, it was three, while it was two in the previous five seasons before that.
Deep Field (92), Snitzel (92) and Capitalist (91) are all poised to mark the milestone soon, while Better Than Ready, who had five individual winners across Australia on Saturday, is on 87, as is Dundeel.
Leading sires by Australian winners 2024/25
*Data Courtesy of Arion
