The annual breeding statistics in India are compiled, maintained and published by the Stud Book Authority of India. The publication Return of Mares which comes out towards the end of January every year contains them apart from a host of other information which is useful to everyone connected with racing. For many punters, pedigree is one of the aspects that goes into narrowing the choice of what to back and what not back. For such people, small in number they may be, Return of Mares is a valuable publication.

The most important Tables for the year 2017-18 have been published in the three previous articles. Here, some of the other tables get a due mention. One important aspect in looking at these Tables is to distinguish which are "quality" tables as opposed to those which are "quantity" based.

Note:- 1. In all the above Tables, 'x' indicates that a stallion was not active in India.
2. In some of Tables, the rank of a stallion standing abroad has been ignored.

The first two tables are 'quantity' whereas the third reflects 'quality'. For instance, Tazahum ranked higher in the Freshman Sires' Table because he had more runners than Knight's Tour -- leading to higher earnings -- but both the stallions are on the same level as far the AE Index is concerned.

This Table restricts itself to to the statistics of the Juvenile Crop which, in this instance is the one born in 2015. Generally, this table shows which stallions produce more precocious stock than others. A stallion which figures in the Top Five of this table consistently can be considered as a good sire of juvenile winners. Burden of Proof and Multidimensional are two glaring names absent from this year's Top Five. The former had his smallest crop in over ten years. No such excuse can be found for the latter and for the time being, it can be put down as an aberration.

Note:- CHINA VISIT did not figure in the Top 5 of this Table in 2013-14 and 2012-13

Northern Dancer and Mr. Prospector were among the most sought after stallions in the last quarter of the 20th century and it was fortunate to have had a son of each doing duty in India. Razeen -- a son of Northern Dancer-- and Placerville -- a son of Mr. Prospector dominated Indian breeding for about two decades. Those two outstanding stallions were engaged in many a battle over those years. Placerville was the Champion Sire on seven occasions while Razeen won only six titles. Razeen's progeny won more Classics (110) while the 'gets' of Placerville won only 77. Both died in February 2011. Their rivalry continues through their daughters and as both have proven to be exceptional damsires, this is another dog-fight that is being bitterly contested. Despite having been the Champion maternal grandsire for the last two years, Placerville trails 4-8.

PAST THE POST

The Champion Family Table holds significance for the breeders while for the common racing man it is more academic in nature. Lord Derby's Schiaparreli family has a virtual stronghold over this particular Table and this year annexed its eleventh title. The Aga Khan's Mumtaz Mahal family, a close second, has finished on top twice previously while Pretty Polly (7) and Admiration (1) account for with honours. It needs to be mentioned that Pretty Polly was a daughter of Admiration but so successful have her descendants been that she is recognised as a 'tap-root' in her own right.

The Dinner family has made spectacular progress in the last couple of years and burst in to the Top Five.That has been almost exclusively on the back of Hall of Famer and Sir Cecil. The Dinner family existed in India before the late Maj. P.K. Mehra imported the Irish mare Amber Forest in 1977. She proved to be a wonderful acquisition, producing 13 foals of which a dozen were winners including four Classic winners Blue Ice, Amber Flash, Snow and Oncidium . Amber Forest had seven daughters to extend the line further and it is through the Classic winners Blue Ice and Snow that the best winners have emanated.

Sir Cecil is the 13th Classic winner tracing back to Amber Forest. Speed was the first ingredient that Maj. Mehra looked for in the mares that he imported and and with Amber Forest being a daughter of speedy Yellow God -- and in-foal to a sprinter Balliol -- the mare suited his requirement to a T. Of the four Classic winners that Amber Forest herself produced, Blue Ice had a bit of stamina and she counted the South India Oaks among her five Classic victories. There are seven winter Classic winners over 2400 m. descending from Amber Forest. Connections of Sir Cecil will welcome that fact!