The current Australian Second Crop Sires table looks like this.
A son of former Queensland favourite Sequalo, Spirit of Boom was a revelation last season with his amazing 18 first crop Australian winners, five of which were stakes-winners! For a stallion coming off an $11,000 fee it was heady stuff and sparked a sharp service fee increase last year with Eureka Stud bumping him up to $55,000. The fee increase was obviously considered well justified by the market as he covered 217 mares last spring, his biggest ever book.
Below are Spirit of Boom's overall statistics – courtesy Arion
He runs at 43.8% winners to runners and 7.1% stakes-winners to runners with his best horses the Group III winners Boomsara and the Kiwi based Spirit of Aubeer. His total of eight stakes-winners is one more than both Zoustar and Dundeel. When you consider the quality of mares he has covered in his first two books that have produced these results you can see why many astute judges see this stallion as a potential I Am Invincible of the future.
Below are Epaulette's overall statistics – courtesy Arion
By Danehill's sometimes under-rated sire Commands, Epaulette's figures here take in his Northern Hemisphere runners, however for his winner to runner and stakes-winner to runner strike rates, we will look only at his Southern Hemisphere foaled progeny as his six stakes-winners are all Southern Hemisphere bred. Epaulette has 45.6% winners to runners and 6.5% stakes-winners to runners with his best horse the South African trained triple Group I winning colt Soqrat.
Priced at $27,500 this year, Epaulette might be the value pick out of the leading second crop sires when you compare his statistics and service fee with his peers at the top end of this group.
