In the last ten years -- not counting 2022-23 which will end in October -- we have had five different Champion Sires with Multidimensional winning the title five times, Always A Rainbow twice and Burden of Proof, Excellent Art and Air Support finishing on top once each. Of those five Champion Sires, only Excellent Art is still active. The son of Pivotal is now 19 years old. He is the oldest of stallions at Poonawalla Farms which has imported Leitir Mor, Roderic O'Connor, Baratti, Satono Impressa subsequently and they are soon to be joined by Chindit. Excellent Art stood at Kunigal Stud for the 2023 season and is likely to remain there for the rest of his career.
 
Thus, there is room at the top and it is very much on the cards that we will have a new Champion Sire when the year ends in October. Five new stallions will be in action when the covering season gets underway in February 2014. Will one of them announce his arrival with a blare of trumpets and make a bid for the top honours in the coming year ? Their pen pictures are given below for the readers to make their own assessment.
 
ACCOLADE (b 2013, Burden of Proof[IRE] - Alnasreya[IRE] by Machiavellian)
Standing at Paramvir Stud, Tohana (Haryana)
Racing Performance. From 29 starts at 2 to 6, won five races (1200 m. to 2000 m.) and placed 13 times earning Rs. 2,66,01,499. Best Official Rating 117.
Other stallion sons of Burden of Proof[IRE]. Fantabulous King, Fleeting Arrow, Aboline, Agostini and Desert God.
Some earlier stallions at Paramvir Stud.  Knight of Medina*, Aztec, Classic Tale[GB], Classic Sport[USA], Ansbach, Chinese Whisper[IRE], etc.

Accolade started his racing at Mahalakshmi as a two year old. He was owned by URBB Ltd. and stabled in trainer Pesi Shroff's yard who saddled him to win all his five races. Subsequently, he moved to SS Attaolahi at Bangalore. His last two starts were at Kolkata when he had passed into the ownership of Mr. Rustom Daroga and was trained by Shafiq Khan. A winner of Poonawalla Breeders' Multi-Million, Gr.1, Kingfisher Ultra Pune Derby, Gr.1 and placed second in Calcutta 2000 Guineas, Gr.2 and third in Calcutta Derby, Gr.1 -- to mention his best performances -- Accolade was a high class horse. Later in his career, he switched to shorter distances but failed to get a winning bracket.
 
His sire is responsible for some excellent stayers like Agostini, Arabian Prince and Desert God but he needed the stamina element in his mares. Accolade's dam Alnasreya, who traced to the Aga Khan's wonderful tap-root mare Mumtaz Mahal, scored on her debut over a mile for Sheikh Hamdan but never raced over further.  Apart from Accolade, her last foal, she had two other winners; Dherghaam (by Exceed and Excel) who won twice over 1400 m. in England and Acclaimed, a full brother to Accolade, whose ten wins were at a mile or shorter distances. The successive maternal grandsires in Accolade's pedigree -- Machiavellian, Green Desert and Habitat -- are speed influences.
 
The problems confronting Accolade are the same as faced by any Indian-bred stallion -- smaller farms, insufficient support, numerically and quality-wise, in terms of mares and apathy from leading buyers. Accolade has just 13 foals on ground in his first three crops. His first crop of seven foals contains a colt out of Fond Fantasy, a daughter of Razeen who won several Classics and is herself the dam of Classic winners Bold Majesty and Antibes. Fond Fantasy was culled by Usha Stud due to advancing age. There is also a Accolade - Fond Fantasy weanling filly. Some of Usha Stud's discards have done well at other studs. Accolade needs one of his two Fond Fantasy foals to strike if he is to secure his future.
 
AROD[IRE] (b 2011, Teofilo - My Personal Space by Rahy)
Standing at Sans Craintes Stud, Coimbatore (Tamil Nadu)
Racing Performance. From 31  starts at 2 to 8, won 5 races (1600 m. to 2000 m.) and placed 11 times, earning GBP 609,932. Best Official Rating 118
Other stallion sons of Teofilo in India. Sanus Per Aquam.
Some recent stallions at Sans Craintes. Lord Admiral[USA], Lucifer Sam[USA], Mathematician[IRE], Midtown[IRE], Tazahum[USA], Be Safe, Czar of Romance, Indian Bolt, Akeed Champion[GB], etc.
 
The first crop of Akeed Champion is racing and next year we will see the first crop of another new Sans Craintes stallion, Arod. Stallions come and go rather quickly at India's southernmost farm. It was at Sans Craintes that Ajaad lived to a ripe age of 28 and that farm must be hoping that the newcomers are as blessed with Ajaad's longevity.
 
Named, probably after the famous baseball star, Arod was owned by Qatar Racing Limited but was schooled by three different trainers during his long career. He started with Peter Chapple Hyam at his St. Gatien yard in Newmarket; sent to Australia, he was with Hall of Fame trainer Chris Waller at a time when Winx was making waves and on returning to England he entered the yard of David Simcock at Trillium Place. Arod's first two wins came at 3 over 2000 m. in ordinary races but between them he was second in the Dante to The Grey Gatsby and fourth to Australia in the Epsom Derby. At 4, he was probably at his best, racing mostly around a mile, picking up the Summer Mile, Gr.2 at Ascot and Diomed Stakes, Gr.3 at Epsom as well as placing in Sussex Stakes, Gr.1, Lockinge Stakes, Gr.1 and Earl of Sefton Stakes, Gr.3. The rest of his career was rather patchy but his best rating of 118 warrants much respect as does his miler aptitude.
 
Arod's pedigree is interesting. He has three-parts brothers Sadler's Wells and Nureyev 3x3 and half-sisters Natalma and Cosmah 5x5. There are 20 foals in his first crop, 25 in his second and 29 in the crop born this year. It is fair support and the numbers are sufficient for a stallion to show his mettle.
 
DESERT GOD (ch 2012, Burden of Proof[IRE] - Running Flame by Steinbeck[USA])
Standing at Pratap Stud, Himmatnagar (Gujarat)
Racing Performance. From 39 starts in India, Dubai and England at 3 to 8, won 19 races (1400 m. to 2800 m.) and placed nine times, earning Rs.8,73,83,456 + GBP 3,871. Best Official Rating in India 122. 
Other stallion sons of Burden of Proof. Fantabulous King, Fleeting Arrow, Aboline, Agostini and Accolade.
Some earlier stallions at Pratap Stud. Tecorno[USA], Mischevious Music[USA], Duja[USA], Oath[IRE], Exclusive Virtue, Royal Gladiator, Sussex[GB], Phoenix Tiger, etc.
 
Desert God is India's highest stakes earner ever. He is also a winner of 11 Classics which betters Chaitanya Chakram's record of ten though it is a moot point if the five St. Legers and the Invitation Cup which he won -- and which were open to older horses -- can be called a Classic. Bred at Kunigal Stud by the Padmanabhans, owned by them in partnership with Col. Swapan Bhadra and trained by S Padmanabhan himself in India and Dubai (Desert God was with trainer Richard Hughes during his stint in England), Desert God began his second innings at Pratap Stud in 2020.
 
A dozen of Desert God's wins were 2400 m. or more. Strictly from memory, it is hard to recall another Indian-bred who has won more long distance races than the son of Burden of Proof. That makes him an out and out stayer and hence his progeny will be at a disadvantage in a country which has so few staying races. The stallion has 30 foals in the first three crops but his first contains just three. With that meagre number, Desert God faces a Herculean task to establish himself.
 
DREAMFIELD[GB] (b 2014, Oasis Dream - Izzi Top by Pivotal)
Standing at Dashmesh Stud, Sarai Nanga (Punjab)
Racing Performance. From 7 starts at 2 and 4, won 3 races (1200 m. and 1400 m.) and placed once, earning GBP 59,425. Best Official Rating 110.
Other stallion sons of Oasis Dream in India. Gusto[GB], Perfect Stride[GB] and Shine So Bright[GB].
Some recent stallions at Dashmesh Stud. Carnival Dancer[GB], Hurricane State[USA], Princely Heir[IRE], Rosmini, Abbeyside[GB], Dandified, Win Legend[JPN], Sir Cecil, Tokyo Gold[FR], etc.
 
Dreamfield was bred by Meon Valley Stud near Southampton in South of England. At the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale, he was snapped up by the agent John Fergusson on behalf of Godolphin for a staggering seven figure sum, 1,100,000 Guineas to be precise. Dreamfield then entered John Gosden's Clarehaven Yard in Newmarket. He won both his starts at 2 but a setback meant that he did not race in his Classic year as a three year old. Despite being off the course for 570 days, he was installed as a favourite on his reappearance at Ascot, duly justified the odds and completed his hat-trick. Though he never won again, he was the favourite to win the Wokingham Stakes, a Heritage Handicap at Royal Ascot in which he was beaten just a neck in a field of 26 runners. He failed to hit the board in his remaining three starts. In all his seven races, he was ridden by jockey James Doyle.
 
By Oasis Dream out of a Pivotal mare, the speed genes have obviously fallen rightly in the stallion's pedigree. However, it needs to be mentioned that his dam line contains plenty of stamina. His first three dams are all Gr.1 winners. His dam Izzi Top and grandam Zee Zee Top both won the Middleton Stakes at York over 2100 m. while the next dam Colorspin won the Irish Oaks over 2400 m. What's more, Colorspin produced the Ascot Gold Cup winner Kayf Tara and Opera House, a winner of the Coronation Cup at Epsom. The line goes back to Scapa Flow, the dam of redoutable sires Pharos and Fairway.
 
Will Dreamfield be just a speed stallion in keeping with his own racing performance or will he produce Classic aspirants with the right kind of mares ? That's an intriguing question. His 35 first crop foals should provide an early hint, if not the definitive answer, in 2023-24. With 42 foals in his second crop and 33 in his third, the stallion has had good support from the farm. 
 
MULTITUDE (b 2012, Multidimensional[IRE] - Haedi[GB] by King's Best)
Standing at Usha Stud, Jhoond Sarai (Haryana)
Racing Performance. From 44 starts at 2 to 8, won 25 races (1200 m. to 1800 m.) and placed 13 times, earning Rs. 2,62,72,550. Best Official Rating 127.
Only stallion son of Multidimensional[IRE] at stud.
Some recent stallions at Usha Stud. Razeen[USA], Steinbeck[USA], China Visit[USA], Multidimensional[IRE], Speaking of Which[IRE], etc.
 
In 2020, Multidimensional, the reigning Champion Sire, was pipped on the post by Air Support by a difference of less than  ? 200,000. That was heartbreaking for Usha Stud but even more disturbing was the fact that the stallion's fertility dropped down to 58.54 % from his cumulative percentage of 82.15. Based on scanning reports at the end of 2019, this was anticipated and there was an urgent need for a stallion to support Speaking of Which. Usha Stud was against making a hurried import under duress and hence Multitude, who was running in Kolkata in Ms. Ameeta Mehra's colours, was drafted in as a 'Super Sub'. Speaking of Which covered 50 mares in 2020, Multitude got 33 and Multidimensional was given 25. 
 
The crisis was tided over. Galileo's Gr.1 winning son Deauville was imported in 2021 and Plumatic (by Dubawi) was added in 2022. Speaking of Which has had stellar results in the current year which means that Multitude's career is effectively over even before his first crop of 21 foals starts racing. Usha Stud has always been fair to standby stallions and some choice mares visited Multitude in 2020. The stallion's first crop consists of a three-parts sisters to Immortality, Imperial Power, Supreme Fragrance and the Eclipse Stakes winner Smasher; a half-sister to Salento and a half-sister to Dangerous; there is colt out of Long Beach who is inbred 2x2 to Multidimensional (shades of Coronation V ! ) and a colt out of the Classic winning of Woman O War. There is also a filly out of Godolphin's Elusive Quality mare Devotee -- a winner of the UAE Oaks -- who has an interesting pedigree. Multitude may currently be 'on ice' but if he shows some of his sire's spark, he could be back in business.
 
Multitude is a son of five times Champion Sire while his full-sister Sheryl has already produced a Classic winners in Stockbridge and Something Royal. He is from the immediate family of Dream Ahead, a successful sire of speedy horses now standing in England. On paper, his performance looks outstanding but in truth it is a bit inflated as most of his wins came in less demanding waters of Kolkata. The performance of his first crop is crucial to Multitude's future as he has only a dozen foals in his next two crops.
 
PAST THE POST
 
One of these five stallions will become the Champion Freshman Sire in October 2024. In India, this is a minor accolade since the number of new stallions each year is small. In the last 50 years, only seven Freshman Sires have gone on to become Overall Champion Sires subsequently. Another fact of the last fifty years is that only one Indian-bred stallion -- Prince Pradeep -- has become the Champion Sire and none has become a Champion Freshman Sire.