BILL OPPENHEIM MORE APEX FROM Thoroughbreddailynews.com

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Bill Oppenheim: More APEX

Galileo

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Last week we looked at the top 50 sires with 200+ year-starters ('runners') 2008-2014 by the signature APEX A Runner Index (
click here

). This week we'd like to look at three more Top 50's, as well as sires with first foals 2010 (4-year-olds of 2014) and 2011 (3-year-olds of 2014).

As we mentioned last week, when you look at the quantity of A Runners since 2008, Coolmore's Galileo is really in a class of his own, with 149 A Runners (keep in mind one horse can be counted as a separate A Runner each year it reaches the relevant A Runner earnings threshold) (click here). Coolmore's Kentucky arm, Ashford, stands Giant's Causeway (114), who is nearly as far clear of the third-ranking sire of 2008-2014 A Runners, Juddmonte's Dansili (90). WinStar's Speightstown and Lane's End's Smart Strike are tied for fourth, with 89 each. The top 10 is rounded out by: Coolmore's Montjeu (died 2012, 85); a three-way tie among Darley's Medaglia d'Oro, Juddmonte's Oasis Dream, and Coolmore's now-retired Danehill Dancer, each with 78; and Gainesway's 2014 Leading North American sire, Tapit (76).

The ABC Index is a calculation based on a sire's percentage of A, B, and C Runners combined, divided by the population's average of 8%. Fifteen sires with 200 or more year-starters 2008-2014 returned ABC Indexes of 2.00 or higher; 2.00 equals 16% of runners.

The former Ontario sire, Niigon, a son of Unbridled who died in 2012, actually registers the highest ABC Index among this group, at 2.70, which equals 21.60% of his runners (click here). Adena Springs' Ghostzapper is the leading active sire by ABC Index; his rating of 2.48 means that 19.84% of his runners achieve ABC status--in other words, just under 20%. He is the narrow 'active' leader over Speightstown (2.45, or 19.60% of runners). A.P. Indy (2.43) is number four, with Galileo (2.39) number five; that's 19.12% of 1,822 runners--we'll come back to that. California's Unusual Heat (2.31) ranks sixth, ahead of War Front (2.30%, or 18.40% of runners); Adena Springs North's Silent Name (2.25); Lane's End's leading third-crop sire of 2014, Curlin (2.21); and another ex-Canadian sire, South Africa's Drakensburg Stud's Philanthropist (2.19). The fact that three of the top 10 sires by this measurement stand or stood in Ontario is testimony to the strength, at least up until now, of their long season with good purses, due to slots and a synthetic surface.

Among sires with under 200 year-starters 2008-2014, the top three sires by ABC Runner Index are: New York's Keane Stud's Frost Giant (2.55); France's Haras de Colleville's Kendargent (2.36); and Kentucky's Spendthrift Farm's Into Mischief (2.35).

Not entirely surprisingly, Galileo (348) and Giant's Causeway (335) are clear leaders by the number of ABC Runners (click here); 348 is just under 50 ABC Runners a year, 335 equals nearly 48 a year. WinStar's Distorted Humor (276) and Speightstown (250) come next, ahead of Smart Strike (242), Oasis Dream (240), Spendthrift's Malibu Moon (238), Danehill Dancer (231), England's Cheveley Park Stud's veteran Pivotal (219), and a tie for 10th between Tapit and Dansili (217 each, an average of 31 ABC Runners a year).

Into Mischief, Pioneerof the Nile Top Younger Sires...

The impact of the 2008 world financial crisis really showed up in the Thoroughbred business in the reduction in number of sires which qualified for APEX ratings between the 'sire crop' which retired in 2009 (first foals 2010), of which there were 89, and the sires which retired in 2010 (first foals 2011), of which there were just 65--a fall of 25% to what must be the lowest number (65) in at least the last 30 years.

One sire in each crop finished the 2014 season with an A Runner Index over 4.00, which equates to 8% of runners. Among the F2010 sires ('third-crop sires' of 2010), Spendthrift's Into Mischief has registered an A Runner Index of 4.51, or 9.02% of runners (click here); if he sustains anything like that ratio as his crop sizes quadruple, he will be a very serious sire.

Among F2011 sires the standout is WinStar's Pioneerof The Nile, with a 4.24 A Runner Index (8.48% of runners). Historically, sires which score 4.00 are the truly elite 'World Top 12' sires.

Besides Into Mischief, the others among the top five F2010 sires by A Runner Index are: Frost Giant and Hill 'n' Dale's Midnight Lute, tied with 2.69 A Indexes; Lane's End's War Pass (2.33), who unfortunately sired just two crops before dying; and Darby Dan's son of City Zip, Run Away And Hide (2.11). Frost Giant (2.55) is of course the leading F2010 sire by ABC Index, ahead of: Into Mischief (2.35); Curlin (2.21); Midnight Lute (1.83); and War Pass (1.74) (click here).

Midnight Lute (14) is the top F2010 sire by number of A Runners (click here), followed by Into Mischief and Curlin (tied with 12); former Spendthrift (now South Korean) stallion Tiz Wonderful (10); and Coolmore Ashford's Majestic Warrior and Darley GB's New Approach (nine each). Curlin is the runaway leader by number of ABC Runners, with 57 (click here); Midnight Lute (38), Majestic Warrior (36), Tiz Wonderful (33), and New Approach (32) round out the top five in that category.

Among the 65 F2011 sires, Pioneerof The Nile is the dominant name: number one by A Runner Index (4.24) (click here) and number of A Runners (10) (click here); tied for first with Coolmore's Mastercraftsman by number of ABC Runners (18 each) (click here); and narrowly edged by California's Vessels Farm's Square Eddie (1.92 to 1.91) by ABC Runner Index (click here). Adena Springs North's Giant's Gizmo (2.94) and Square Eddie (2.88) are two-three by A Runner Index, followed by Florida's Getaway Farm's Two Step Salsa (2.31) and Ireland's Gilltown Stud's Sea The Stars (2.30). Sea The Stars is also second to Pioneerof The Nile, with seven A Runners, and a narrow third, behind Pioneerof The Nile and Mastercraftsman, with 17 ABC Runners. France's top second-crop sire, Haras de la Cauviniere's Le Havre, is also among the top five by number of A Runners (5) and ABC Runners (14), and ranks sixth by A Runner Index (2.03).

Click here for the complete alphabetical tables of 89 F2010 North American and European sires and here for the 65 F2011 sires.

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