REIGNING USA Champion First Season sire Congrats is perfectly placed to repeat his 2010 success as he sits poised in fourth spot on the Leading Second-Crop sires’ table at this moment and still heads the list of total progeny earnings for first and second year crops.
From 107 live foals in his first crop, the Champion son of A.P Indy has already managed 76 runners for a remarkable 44 individual winners with progeny earnings well over U.S$2,000,000. This first crop consists of 4 Stakes winners thus far and a further 13 Stakes placed runners.
Congrats sired 25 winners in his debut year, including Group 1 winners Turbulent Descent and Wickedly Perfect, to claim first season sire honours in North America.
Since then a host of his winning two-year-olds have trained-on to add more races to their resumes while a number of promising three-year-olds have emerged to make the case for Congrats encore in 2011.
Leading the charge for Congrats this year is last years’ Group 1 Hollywood Starlet Stakes winner, Turbulent Descent, who has returned at three to claim the Group 1 Santa Anita Oaks and Group 2 Beaumont Stakes in Kentucky.
”Congrats sired four Group 1 performers in his first crop as well as score’s of winners,” Vinery Stud’s Adam White said.
”He has already sired 22 individual winners this season. What that says is that his two-year-olds are training on and he has a whole new batch of juveniles to follow them.
”I think now that trainers know their worth, they’ll be aiming a bit higher with them than perhaps they would have it Congrats hadn’t be so successful.”
That has certainly been the case in terms of his sale ring success, the price of owning a Congrats has increased proportionately to his success and popularity.
Congrats’ current crop of two-year-old’s (2nd crop) have proven to be a particular favourite with buyers.
There has been 20 Lots from Congrats second crop sold at US auctions this year for a total of US$2,623,000 and an average of $131,150 (median $100k) representing over ten times the stallion’s 2008 fee ($12,500).
There was heavy demand for Congrat’s follow-up crop at the prestigious Ocala Breeders’ March sale where agent Seth Semkin forked out $350,000 for an outstanding colt who breezed his quarter mile in a slick :21.2s.
”Congrats covered what you could term average books of mares in his first season at stud in Florida but with the move to Kentucky and the success’ that he had, the quality has increased markedly,” said White.
”If he doing this with middle of the road mares, imagine what there is to look forward too in the coming seasons.”
SECOND CROP STATS:
Lifetime statistics for sires who stand in North America (or stood in North America if pensioned or deceased) or foreign-based sires who have a minimum of 10 lifetime starters in North America. Second-crop sires are those sires whose oldest foals are age three in 2011. – Thoroughbred Times 9/05/2011
Statistics include racing in the United States, Canada, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Chile, England, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Puerto Rico, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, and United Arab Emirates. North American data through Friday, May 06, 2011. International data generally is delayed three to four days.
