It is not often in harness racing that a great sire doesn't go on to become a great broodmare sire although the degree of that success can vary every now and again.
In The Pocket has done in the broodmare paddock exactly what he did as a sire, having already won the overall title of leading broodmare sire and being the leading pacing broodmare sire in the season just concluded.
In The Pocket has been first or second on the New Zealand broodmare siring charts for the last five years but is under real pressure going forward to hold off the challenge of one of his sons in Christian Cullen.
Christian Cullen has made rapid progress up the broodmare siring charts in the last five years as more of his mares are bred from, rising from 27th in 2011 to third overall last season and a close second on the pacing list to In The Pocket.
The rise has been startling and Christian Cullen has the same potential to click with champion sires Bettors Delight and Art Major as his sire In The Pocket has done.
Mares by Christian Cullen have only produced 605 foals three year old or older to date which has put him at a major disadvantage against the likes of Holmes Hanover and In The Pocket whose foal numbers are counted in the thousands not hundreds.
However as more and more Christian Cullen mares move into the breeding barn, those numbers will change quickly.
This season there are 180 two year olds in New Zealand from Christian Cullen mares and there are also 184 yearlings from Christian Cullen mares on the ground so he will quickly catch up numbers wise over the next few years.
When you look at the quality of the racehorses his mares are producing, it is no surprise that he has moved up the charts so quickly.
Horses of the class of Ohoka Punter 1:51.1p ($599,013) – Te Kawau 1:54.3p ($131,674) – Express Stride 1:54.3p ($132,395) alongside two of last season's standout two year olds in Lazarus 1:52.9 ($265,562) and Chase The Dream 1:53.1p ($212,026) have helped establish Christian Cullen as an elite broodmare sire.
One thing of note is that all five of the horses quoted above are sons of Bettors Delight.
The best performer produced by a Christian Cullen mare to date is of course Highview Tommy 1:55.2 ($1.021,904) who is also by Bettors Delight.
Broodmare earnings in New Zealand have already topped the $6,000,000 mark while over the Tasman in Australia he is slightly ahead of that with $6,179,816 in earnings to date.
Looking ahead to next years yearling sales, vendors with Bettors Delight progeny from Christian Cullen mares can expect their stock to be keenly sought after by buyers from both sides of the Tasman.
Harnesslink Media