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87.
Hunter Valley's 25th premiership in 50 years
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29/07/2002 |
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Racing & Breeding News
Brian Russell Bloodstock Media Service
Phone (02) 6543 3051, Fax (02) 541 1022
Although official figures for the 2001-02 racing year are not yet available, the Danzig dual hemisphere sire Danehill has easily captured the title of champion Australian sire on earnings, finishing with approximate statistics of 108 winners of 175 races and $7,700,000, over $2million clear of his nearest rival, the New Zealand based Zabeel.
It is the sixth time in eight years that Danehill, a former champion European three-year-old sprinter which visited the Coolmore Stud at Jerrys Plains every year from1990 to 2001, has collected the title. He was second to Zabeel in1997-98 and again in1998-99.
Danehill's success gives a Hunter Valley based sire the champion sire honour for the 25th time in the past half century. In that period other Hunter Valley sires to head the list have been Star Kingdom (five times), Delville Wood (also on five occasions), Bletchingly (three times), Midstream (twice), Marscay (twice) and Last Tycoon and Vain (once each). In addition another NSW sire, the Newhaven Park Stud, Boorowa importation Wilkes was three times champion sire in the1960s.
The only other sire to head the list six times in that period has been New Zealand's phenomenal Sir Tristram.The latter has the distinction of being the first sire to have progeny earnings of over $1million, finishing with $1,982,315 in1982-83.The dramatic rise of Australian prize money in the past twenty years has seen a least seventy sires each surpass the $1million mark in 2001-02.
Danehill and Sir Tristram are one behind Heroic, a horse bred on Arrowfield at Jerrys Plains, the Hunter Valley home for the international Coolmore organisation, for the most number of champion sire titles. Heroic, the king of the Tarwyn Park Stud in the Bylong Valley in the1930s, strung together seven successive premierships. Although he is not coming back to Australia this year, Danehill is very likely to match the successes of Heroic in the future.
Since he had his first Australian runners in1993-94,Danehill has been represented here by some 360 winners of 1130 races and record earnings of $60million. Besides his six general leading sires' premierships he has been the national leader numerically twice and six times champion Australian sire of juveniles.
Racing & Breeding News
Brian Russell Bloodstock Media Service
Phone (02) 6543 3051, Fax (02) 541 1022
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