Danon Platina, who is fast becoming the new sire sensation of South Africa (Picture: John Lewis)
This has been a vintage season for freshman sires and two stalwarts, Danon Platina and the late Lancaster Bomber, are close to record-breaking statistics.
Captain Al holds the record of 22 individual winners in his freshman season, which he achieved in the 2004/2005 season, although the great Jet Master was actually the freshman champion sire that season because his progeny raked in more stakes earnings.
Captain Al also holds the record two-year-old statistics overall as he had 30 individual winners of 40 races in 2009.
Danon Platina is the first son of the late superstar Japanese sire Deep Impact to stand in South Africa and has made a huge impact already.
The Mauritzfontein Stud-based grey made quite a slow start, but it is clear his progeny will get better and better with age.
Therefore it is exciting that there are no fewer than 17 individual two-year-old winners in his first crop already.
They have won 21 races between them and although he is yet to have a stakes winner he did get the one-two in the BSA Yearling Sales Cup with Betula and Oriental Bouquet.
The latter is running in the Gr 2 World Pool with Gold Circle Debutante on World Pool Gold Cup day.
Danon Platina has two horses running in the Gr 1 Douglas Whyte Stakes, Lady Lacewing and Platina Princess, and he has two running in the Gr 1 World Pool Moment Of The Day Champion Stakes, Romance In Rome and Kyomai.
Danon Platina has an outstanding 50% winners to runners strike rate. This is higher than any sire in the country in the two-year-old statistics for those who have had a significant number of runners.
Lancaster Bomber is going to be a great loss.
The late Drakenstein Stud-based son of War Front leads the freshman sire championship, although he has had significantly more runners than Danon Platina.
He has had 18 individual winners of 21 races and he has a winners to runners percentage of 35.3.
His one stakes winner Rascova finished second to the superstar filly Mrs Geriatrix in the Gr 2 Zulu Kingdom Explorer Golden Slipper on Hollywoodbets Durban July day.
Rascova’s win in the Listed R500,000 City Of Cape Town Summer Juvenile Stakes, and her second place finish in the R400,000 Golden Slipper, are the chief reasons for Lancaster Bomber being out in front in stakes earnings.
His progeny have earned R2,240,975 which is R538 875 clear of Danon Platina’s R1,702,100.
Lancaster Bomber’s 18 individual winners are the joint most for any sire of two-year-olds this season together with champion sire elect Gimmethegreenlight, who is way out in front in the Sires Championship.
Lancaster Bomber has Zoombomber in the Moment Of The Day Champion Stakes and Rascova in the Douglas Whyte Stakes, so he is going to be hard to catch in the race for the Freshman Champion Sire title.
Another sire to have done well is Fire Away with ten individual winners of 14 races and a winners to runners percentage of 35.7.
This son of War Font’s best progeny to date is the Alan Greeff-trained Luna Halo, who has won three Listed races at Fairview.
New Predator by New Approach has had 4 winners of five races from just 18 runners (22.2% winners to runners) and there are some promising sorts among them including Pure Predator, who was fourth in the Gr 2 SA Nursery and third in the BSA Sales Cup.
New Predator has been moved from KZN to the region where mare strength is highest, the Western Cape, such was the impact he made with his early runners.
