'Trippi'
Former great 3YO sprinter-miler of the world and highly successful Sire

What has been the recent trend in the world’s top races in regards to producing subsequent leading sires? Is there one major race which has produced more top sires than another, or do champions come from anywhere?

When looking at past results of the 2000 Guineas, probably the world’s most famed mile race, it’s horrifying to realise that the last winner to become champion sire was Nijinsky II back in 1970. While there have been high-class stallions to come out of the race, such as El Gran Senor, High Top, Rock of Gibraltar and Nonoalco, it’s hard to argue the fact that the 2000 Guineas winners of late have had a mixed record at stud.

The Epsom Derby has a more respectable record of late, thanks largely to the 1998 winner, Galileo – who has now been champion sire in the UK on three occasions. Still a young sire, Galileo looks certain to rank highly among the more successful sires to have come out of the Epsom Derby. Galileo, however, is the first Derby winner since Mill Reef (back in 1971) to follow up his Derby win with a general sires title. In between Mill Reef and Galileo, there have been just eight other Derby winners who could been qualified as successful stallions. (The 1972 winner Roberto and 1978 Shirley Heights were both highly successful at stud, and both have left considerable legacies behind). 

The Derby did suffer a bad patch in the early 1980’s, when all of Troy, Shergar and Golden Fleece died young, and both Troy and Shergar did enough with their sole crops to suggest he could have made a significant contribution. 
Other Derby winners to leave some sort of mark at stud over the past 20 years were Nashwan, Kahyasi, Slip Anchor and Generous. None, however, achieved the consistent high-level widely expected of an English Derby winner, although neither Kahyasi nor Slip Anchor received many outside mares and both covered small books of mares. 

One of North America’s most famous “sire making races” is the Met Mile. In between the years 1996-1998, the race was won, consecutively, by successful sires Honour and Glory, Langfuhr (who conquered SA’s champion sire Western Winter) and Wild Rush. Subsequently, none of the winners, however, have proved successful, although the 2007 winner Corinthian, whose first are now two, does look promising. In previous years, the Met Mile had been won by such top sires as In Excess, Gulch, Cox’s Ridge and Fappiano (while 1982 winner, Conquistador Cielo, also enjoyed success at stud). This happened over a period of 13 years, which is a high rate for one individual race to throw top-class stallions.

The US Triple Crown races have also produced a number of champion sires. However, the last Kentucky Derby winner to become champion sire was Thunder Gulch – victorious in 1995. Subsequently the race has been run a further 16 times, and produced only one fairly successful stallion in Fusaichi Pegasus.

The Preakness Stakes has a slightly better recent record, with recent winners Bernardini (2006) and Afleet Alex (2005) both proving successful and popular young sires. However, the last Preakness winner to achieve champion sire title was the 1989 victor, Sunday Silence, who went onto dominate the sires lists in Japan. Rather amazingly, the last Preakness winner to head the US sires list was the 1977 victor Seattle Slew!