VINERY Stud sire Congrats’ winners-to-runners has raced to 65 percent with a flood of recent winners in North America led by the boom filly Applauding.
At last count, the son of A.P Indy had sired 85 individual winners from 132 starters with earnings of more than US$5 million which has him in second spot on the Leading USA Second Crop Sires table (Cummulative).
(Congrats was crowned Champion First Season Sire in the USA in 2010).
Congrats has delivered 7 stakeswinners/12 stakes placed up until this point but that number could soon rise when the untapped Applauding lines up in the Rachel Alexandra Stakes (1m) in Louisiana on Feb 28.
“How many horses break a track record on debut as a 2YO?,” asks Vinery’s Conor Phelan.
“She proved she was no one hit wonder when she went to Fair Grounds and won by six and a half at 10’s on next start, so she is the real deal. She could be anything is she wins the Rachel Alexandra because it is the first time she’s had to run a trip and if she can be as good at a mile as she is at six furlongs, all the big races open up for her.”
Congrats served a full line-up of 130 mares in Australia during the spring of 2011 and is in line for another sterling book this season according to Phelan.
“By the time his first Australian yearlings go to the sale, he would have already established himself as one of the leading sires in the USA which takes out the unknown factor for buyers.
“If he was to repeat what he did in the States here and be the champion first season sire, the resulting foals from his second crop are going to reap all the benefit.”
