Six new stallions had their first turn in the covering yard in 2012 and their progeny will start racing towards the end of this year. This is the smallest group of stallions to enter stud since 2005 when just four stallions made their debuts. The reduced number is not due to the tough times that the breeding industry is currently encountering because they were registered in 2011 when the outlook wasn't so grim.

There is an old Zulu saying that the fruit doesn't fall far away from the tree. What it means is that a stallion, unless he is exceptionally prepotent, conforms to the standards established by the stud he is standing at previously. Some of the stallions who have previously had a stint at the farms where the newcomers are starting their innings are mentioned in their pen-pictures. That should temper the expectations. Similarly, it is a well known fact that some sire lines do extremely well in one set of circumstances but fail to reach the same heights in another. The Mr. Prospector male line, for instance, has been all conquering in U.S.A. but not so in Europe. That is why the previous stallion sons of sires of the newcomers are mentioned below.

ABOLINE (b 2006 Burden of Proof - Super Fan by Lear Fan)
Stood at Hurricane Stud, Somwarpet, Karnataka
7 wins in India at 3 and 4 from 1200 m. to 2000 m. Best Official Rating: 124
Other stallion sons of Burden of Proof in India: Fantabulous King
Previous stallions at Hurricane Stud: Hurricane, Big Dad, John Wayne, Cassis, Albertini, Enrico, Fantabulous King.

Aboline, who was owned by Mr. Deepak Khaitan and trained by Arjun Mangalorkar, won six of his first seven races including the Kingfisher Derby Bangalore, Gr.1 - where C. Alford rode a brilliant front running race and the Casino Royale Goa Calcutta 2000 Guineas, Gr.2. His only defeat came in the Bangalore Colts' Trial Stakes, Gr.1 where he finished third as a 18/10 favourite behind rank outsiders Sprint Star (40/1) and Leonardo (100/1).  He won the 2000 Guineas at Calcutta comfortably but was outclassed in the Eveready Calcutta Derby, Gr.1 over a distance which was beyond his tether. He bounced back brilliantly to win the Maj. P.K. Mehra Memorial Super Mile, Gr.1 at Mumbai. The remaining four runs of his career were an anti-climax.

Most farms abroad endeavour to get back a son of a stallion which done well for them.  In India, where an Indian-bred stallion is not commercially viable, it is not so. So an Indian-bred stallion often gets a chance only at a smaller establishment. Burden of Proof has been a consistent leading stallion in India but it is unlikely that his male line will go into third generation. Aboline's dam comes from Aga Khan's brilliant Mumtaz Mahal family. For almost 100 years now, the descendant's of "Mumty" - as her Cockney fans called her - have consistently shown outstanding calibre on the track as well at stud.

In the case of Aboline, all those points are only academic because he died in August 2012 after his first covering season. He covered just two mares and a filly out of the Tejano mare Cindy Girl is all that he has left behind.

BECKET (dk b 2006 Hawk Wing - Boiling River by Dayjur)
Standing at Vikram Greenlands, Tohana, Haryana
8 wins at 3 and 4 from 1200 m. to 2400 m.  Best Official Rating: 130.
First son of Hawk Wing to stand at stud in India.

Previous stallions at Vikram Greenlands: Lord of Light, Ponza, Amundsen, Mulhollande, Imp Society, Bees Prospector, Itaquere Power, Charmo.

Aboline and Becket were high rated contemporaries but they never raced against each other. Trained by S. Padmanabhan and owned by Mr. Haresh Mehta and Partners, Becket made his debut, a winning one, only in August. The three Gr.1 wins in his career of 17 starts were the Poonawalla Bangalore Derby, Vandrevala Foundation Indian Turf Invitation Cup and President of India Gold Cup. He was beaten just under a length in the McDowell Signature Indian Derby, Gr.1 by Jacqueline.

His sire Hawk Wing was a Champion Older Horse in Europe who won his five races from 1400 m. to 2000 m. and earned GBP 1,060,491. His principal victories were Eclipse Stakes, Gr.1, Lockinge Stakes, Gr.1 and National Stakes, Gr.1. Retired to Coolmore Stud, he had only a short stint in Ireland before he was sent to South Korea. The average winning distance of his progeny is 1920 m. Some of his progeny stayed further than he himself. He achieved only limited success in Ireland and England  though his runners like Stand To Gain (Sydney Cup, Gr.1), Cambina (American Oaks, Gr.1), Bank of Burden, Nova Hawk, Touch of Hawk and others did well elsewhere. Becket's dam is a daughter of the brilliant sprinter Dayjur and she traces to Straitlace through Native Street. This is a good sire producing family.

Being a standby to the farm's main stallion Charmo, Becket's opportunities are very limited. He had just  three foals in his first crop and four in his second. With those numbers, it will be hard for him to make a significant impact.

FANTASTIC DUBAI[USA] (b 2006 Storm Cat - Shy Lady by Kaldoun)
Standing at Krishna Stud, Tohana, Haryana
2 wins at 3 and 5 in England and Dubai (1400 m., both on All Weather)  Best Official Rating: 80

Other stallion sons of Storm Cat in India: Ontario, Emerald Cat, Ivory Touch, Sharp Attack, Lucifer Sam, Hurricane Center, Top Class, West Virginia.

Previous stallions at Krishna Stud: Chantry Bridge, Sir Bedevere, John Balliol, Hammerstein.

Fantastic Dubai raced just once at 2 but made up for lost time by winning on his first appearance at 3 with a hard fought victory at Lingfield. He was owned by Mr. Jaber Abdulla and trained by international footballer turned trainer Mick Channon. The colt was a close second in his next three starts. He migrated to Dubai as a 4YO where he was lodged in M Al Muhairi's stable. His three year stay in Dubai brought him one more victory. Having won or placed in two thirds of his 15 starts, he was a consistent runner who was never raced beyond a mile.

Nothing needs to be said Fantastic Dubai's sire Storm Cat, probably the most popular in U.S.A. in the post-Mr. Prospector era and a proven sire of sires. It can, though, be mentioned that Quasar by is a son of Storm Cat. Fantastic Dubai is a half-brother to Zafeen, a Champion 3YO Miler in Europe and a moderately successful sire. His grandam is a half-sister to Diffident whose services have  been much sought after in India. He has eight foals in his first crop from the 32 mares that he covered. The ratio is significantly better with his second crop in which he has 29 foals from the 43 mares that went to him in 2013.

PAST THE POST

The remaining three stallions - Green Coast, Total Gallery and Whatsthescript - will be discussed in brief next time.

It may be of interest to some to know who the Champion Freshmen Sires were in this millennium:-

         2000-01  Serious Spender
         2001-02  Diffident
         2002-03  Glory of Dancer
         2003-04  Burden of Proof
         2004-05  Royal Kingdom
         2005-06  Mudeer
         2006-07  Black Cash
         2007-08  Ontario
         2008-09 Puerto Madeiro
         2009-10  Emerald Cat
         2010-11  Rebuttal
         2011-12  Ace
         2012-13  Multidimensional
         2013-14  Win Legend