5 Sires To Follow For The Flat Season

The flat season got underway in Ireland last weekend at Naas, with Doncaster kicking things off in the U.K on Saturday the 30th of March. With that in mind, we look at five sires who we will be keeping on side for our horse racing tips this summer.

1- Frankel

Galileo may be the king of sires at the moment but Frankel was not only a superstar on the track but has quickly made up into a leading sire. 32% of his progeny in England and Ireland last year achieved an RPR of at least 100.

Galileo and Dubawi got 27 and 26% respectively and while they both had far more runners which made it harder to get such a high percentage, it does show that Frankel has the potential to get to the very top of the tree as a sire.

2- Kingman

Just a single crop to judge Kingman on so far but they were a promising bunch that yielded twenty-two individual winners. They include a Royal Ascot scorer in the form of Calyx who won the Coventry from what looked the wrong side.

Kingman himself came into his own as a three-year-old so that first crop all have the potential to do better in 2019 while we can also look forward to his second year of juveniles hitting the track. It promises to be a huge year and a Classic would come as no surprise.

3 – Nathaniel

A smart horse in his own right on the track but rather in the shadow of Frankel. He has quickly stamped himself as a Classic sire with Enable ruling the roost over middle distances.

It’s no surprise that his progeny are progressing well with age – as he did – with three-year-old handicaps an interesting port of call with colts and geldings. A 20% strike-rate for an £11 profit in these races, with 41% of these finishing first, second or third. Beware of his fillies in similar races however, they are just 9/75 for a -£37.

4 – Ruler Of The World

Given that he wasn’t seen until the April of his three-year-old campaign, it’s no surprise that he made a limited impact as a sire of juveniles last year. That said, his Iridessa won the Group 1 Fillies’ Mile so, despite only two of his progeny notching a success in 2018, one was a huge one!

The 2013 Derby winner should be set for a better 2019 as his first crop matures. He won his Classic sporting cheekpieces so the addition of headgear to any of his progeny has to be noted with interest, with stepping up into middle-distance races likely to see his offspring in a far stronger light this time around.

5 – Gleneagles

The only first-season sire on the list but one that has to be watched with huge interest in 2019. A four-time winner himself as a juvenile, including a Group 1 level, he should hand down enough precocity for his offspring to hit the ground running.

His first crop sold well last year as yearlings though the pick for 2019 may be one kept at Ballydoyle out of Peeping Fawn. That makes this juvenile colt a half-brother to September who was only beaten a nose at Group 1 level as a juvenile herself. With more than a hundred two-year-olds to go to war with, Gleneagles may easily make a significant impact with his opening progeny.