We all know the saying ‘never judge a book by it’s cover’, but in the bloodstock industry that might be better applied as ‘never judge a sire on what he does in his first season’.
The busiest Australian sire in 2020 and one of the most successful this year in terms of racetrack results finished his first season with just one winner and five years on So You Think has gained as many fans for his efforts at stud as he did for his heroic performances on the track.
So You Think finished 12th on the Australian First Season Sires List in the 2015/2016 season and here we are in 2021 and he has emerged clearly superior to every other sire above him on that list still active in Australia.
Coolmore will be hoping they have another sleeper sire that can jump right out of the ground as his progeny mature in Triple Crown hero American Pharoah (USA), who had a smart winner on Monday at Taree.
Trained by Neil Godbolt, Buck Pharoah went to the paddock after winning at Port Macquarie back in March and resumed from a spell to win over 1000m beating older horses as favourite.
Godbolt bought Buck Pharoah for just $33,000 at the Magic Millions National Yearling Sale from the Highgrove Stud draft and the gelding has already won back his purchase price banking over $40,000 from two wins and two seconds from four starts.
Buck Pharoah is a half-brother to stakes-winner Excitable Boy and is the fifth winner from Sequential, a half-sister by Lion Hunter to stakes-winners Order of the Sun, Beauty and Get to Work as well as to the dam of Group I winner Summer Passage.
Buck Pharoah is one of three Australian winners for Coolmore’s high profile shuttler American Pharoah, who has sired 19 stakes-winners worldwide including three Group I winners in the Northern Hemisphere where his oldest progeny are now four year-olds.
American Pharoah has over 80 unraced two year-olds and has very similar numbers and quality to come in his next two crops, so when the tide turns for the Triple Crown hero it may well turn with a tidal wave.
Yearling buyers at the sales this year are obviously keeping the faith with some 60 of his stock averaging around $160,000 this year.
Among his unraced stock is the Mike Moroney trained filly Asteroidea, who looked good winning a jump out at Flemington last Friday over 800m, while another to keep an eye out for will be the Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott trained filly Tattooist, who won two trials in Sydney earlier this year.
American Pharoah returns to Australia this spring at a fee of $49,500.
