Chettinad Stud's Mr. Prospector horse Always A Rainbow became the Champion Sire for the first time in 2008-09 and has held on to the premier position since then except for two years. The exceptions occurred in 2010-11 (Placerville) and 2013-14 (Multidimensional). It is a contrived honour considering that his progeny confine their exploits to the state of Tamil Nadu. It is not the fault of the stallion nor of the people exploiting the loop-holes in the system. The fault lies with those who have failed to monitor the system and stopped its exploitation. When Douglas Jardine devised and unleashed his Bodyline concept in Australia in 1930s, it almost created a diplomatic row. To be sure, Jardine was well within the rules of the game as they then stood even if he breached the spirit of the game. To its credit, the M.C.C. stepped in and the rules were changed forthwith.

In the years that Always A Rainbow has been the Champion Sire, the stallions who were denied the top slot were Placerville (twice), Alnasr Alwasheek and Burden of Proof. Placerville did win the title outright several times but the other two have been thwarted from getting their name in the record books. Unlike the Champion Stud Farm table which is based on a complicated points system, the Sires' Championship is decided simply on the stakes won by the progeny. The top slice of the 2014-15 table reads:-

Note: Noverre stood at Sohna Stud

So rather than pay a tribute to the de facto Champion, I would prefer to do so for Burden of Proof, the deserving one. By moral rights, this should have been his second title.

Usha Stud edged out Kunigal  Stud from the third spot by a slender margin of just 13 points. Burden of Proof (Fairy King - Belle Passe by Be My Guest), the Kunigal Stud stallion has extracted retribution by besting the reigning Champion Sire by a margin of mere 12,000 rupees ! (A photo finish print would probably have shown a dead-heat !! ). Burden of Proof came to India in time for the 2000 covering season after a six-year racing career. He was sparingly raced, came under the orders just 32 times, all his starts except one being in Ireland, his country of birth where he was bred by Lyonstown Stud. He was initially owned by Dr. M.V. Obrien and trained by Charles O'Brien and he remained with those connections for his first 28 starts. Then, he was acquired by Mr. Michael Tabor and moved to Aidan O'Brien's Ballydoyle establishment. In all,  Burden of Proof won 12 races of which ten were black-type events, the best of them being the Budweiser World Cup International Stakes, Gr.2 and his best official rating was 118. Like his sire, he preferred a cut in the ground.

In his very very first crop, he sired five Classic winners - Lindsay, Fantabulous King, Camarioca, Full Speed and Staranzano - to establish a new record, eclipsing the one set by Razeen. That record was later equalled by Rebuttal and bettered later on by Multidimensional. A slightly lukewarm period followed as Kunigal Stud underwent management changes but he struck back with a vengeance and has churned out a steady stream of Classic winners. He will be 24 years-old when the next covering season starts and with Admiralofthefleet no more and Brave Act almost pensioned, he will have to bear the brunt along with Air Support. As of now, he has sired 22 individual Classic winners of 33 Classics:-

             Fantabulous King

             Lindsay

             Full Speed

             Camarioca

             Staranzano

             Fleeting Arrow

             Abs Fabs

             Aboline

             Sans Pareil

             Arabian Prince

             Siachen

             Chase The Sun

             Jersey Girl

             Acclaimed

             Apparition

             Mariinsky

             Charlatan

             Sur La Tete

             Agostini

             Spreadeagle

             New Alliance

             Desert God

Twelve of his Classic winners are Gr.1 winners. Though he himself never won beyond a mile, he could blend with stamina-based mares and has sired winners of Winter Derbies as well as the Stayers' Cup, Gr.1. His progeny has been easy to train and some of it has shown a preference for soft going.

Multidimensional (Danehill - Sacred Song by Diesis) started of sensationally, his first crop providing no less than seven Classic winners. Three early Classic winners from his second made him the fastest to sire ten Classic winners and get his photograph on the Wall of Fame in the Stud Book Department. His third crop has been a bit lukewarm and that has cost him the top honours in the current year. It will be interesting to see how his fourth crop comes along.

Noverre (Rahy - Danseur Fabuleux by Northern Dancer) came to India with high expectations. A genuine Gr.1 miler, he had been fairly successful as a sire at Darley. The expectations rose sky high when he had four Gr.1 winners abroad including the Prix du Jockey Club, Gr.1 winner Le Havre before his first Indian runner stepped on the course. He did produce two Gr.1 winners in India - Hachiko (Poonawalla Breeders'Multi-Million, Gr.1) and Commander (Nanoli Stud Pune Derby, Gr.1) - but overall he failed to reach the highs anticipated. He died in March 2012 but has this year the credit of recording more winners and more wins than any other stallion in India.

Phoenix Tower (Chester House - Bionic by Zafonic) and Multidimensional were both lodged in the late Sir Henry Cecil's Warren Place yard at Newmarket. Multidimensional was a Gr.2 winner while Phoenix Tower had won only a Gr.3 race. However, the future Manjri Stud stallion was rated higher on account of his four seconds in Gr.1 contests. While Multidimensional took off spectacularly, Phoenix Tower had a comparatively quiet start. He got winners aplenty but not enough black-type performers or those that stayed a trip. His two Classic winners - Phoenix Tiger and Mogadishu have come this year from his third crop and Maogadishu's Mysore Derby Gr.1 win over 2000 m. has temporarily suspended the talk of the stamina he imparts his progeny. He gets a bag full  of winners and they are precocious but it is far from certain that they can be effective over 2400 m. To Phoenix Tiger and Mogadishu you can add the name of Costa del Sol and that is plenty of ammunition for the stallion for the winter Classics. All three of them are Western India based but it is presumed that they will avoid taking each other on.

Just for the record, Marcus Andronicus (Chettinad), Rebuttal (dead; stood at Hazara), Seeking The Dia (standing abroad), Decado (Chettinad) and Ace (Poonawalla Farms) occupied the places sixth to ten.

PAST THE POST

For those who are interested, here's a list of Champion Sires in this millennium:-