In juvenile Group One harness racing events it is very rare to find a large number of stallions represented.
In this day and age where ‘boom’ stallions are all the rage, it is interesting to look at the number of different stallions which will have runners in tomorrow night’s two feature events at Bathurst.
In the Alabar Bathurst Gold Crown, with emergencies included, there are 13 stallions with progeny engaged.
This is in stark contrast to last year’s Gold Crown where only five stallions had sons compete in the $100,000 event.
Art Major is the only stallion with dual representation in the Crown.
Also pleasing for HRNSW and its breeding initiatives is 10 runners are eligible for the Breeders’ Challenge series later in the year.
“The Breeders’ Challenge for 2014/15 will begin in May with heats for the two and three-year-olds run across New South Wales and it is exciting to see so many breeders and owners supporting the series,” HRNSW Chief Executive Officer John Dumesny said.
“With such a wide range of stallions represented on Saturday night it goes to show that there is a lot of support for the different sires available to both the hobby and professional breeders.”
It is a similar story in the Slingsby Holdings Bathurst Gold Tiara, with the 14 finalists representing 12 different stallions.
If the two emergencies fail to gain a start then every runner in the race will be by a different sire. Of the 14 fillies, 11 are eligible to compete in the Breeders’ Challenge.
When the two races are combined, there are 20 stallions represented. The list of stallions include; Sportswriter, Always A Virgin, Village Jasper, Rock N Roll Heaven, Four Starzzz Shark, Village Jolt, Art Major, Mach Three, Jeremes Jet, Rock N Roll Hanover, American Ideal, Bettor Delight, Shadow Play, Kenneth J, Somebeachsomewhere, Gotta Go Cullect, Modern Art, Courage Under Fire, Tell All and Lis Mara.
Of the current top 10 stallions on the NSW premiership, five have runners in the Gold Crown or Tiara, while it is no surprise that every stallion in the top 10 of the Leading Two-Year-Old Sire category has a qualifier.
Five of the youngsters are also eligible for the rich Breeders’ Challenge Blue Series.
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HRNSW Media