NEWS
Freshman Sire Blog: When one can make a Hat Trick
Posted: Friday, September 02, 2011 7:00 PM
by John Egan
Ah, the elusive hat-trick. Three goals in a game of soccer, three try’s in a rugby match, three wickets in three straight deliveries in cricket (I appreciate the very idea of cricket confuses most people, but please bear with me). The prize for achieving the hat-trick is always the game ball.
As for Hat Trick (Jpn), a freshman sire of 2011 and Japanese-bred son of Sunday Silence, success this year may not necessarily need to come in three’s. It may come in the form of just one horse; Dabirsim.
When winning the Darley Prix Morny (Fr-G1) at Deauville on August 21, Dabirsim extended his unbeaten streak to four and increased his total earnings of about $375,385.
The freshman sire standings at the time of writing this blog puts Hat Trick in third place -- for sires standing in North America -- with only Scat Daddy and Hard Spun ahead of him.
Typically the freshman sire champion in recent years has relied upon the result or results of a juvenile Breeders’ Cup race, but should those four Breeders’ Cup races this year be dominated by two-year-olds from established sire lines, it could well be that a freshman sire champion could be decided, not at Churchill Downs, Kentucky, but at Longchamp.
The next race on the agenda for Dabirsim is slated to be the Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere (Fr-G1) (Grand Criterium) on Qatar Prix de L’Arc de Triomphe (Fr-G1) day on October 2. When Wootton Bassett won the race last year, he earned about $285,000 in purse earnings. It is therefore feasible that victory in this race by Dabirsim could be enough to propel Hat Trick to the top of the freshman sire standings.
Maybe, as a good omen, it should be noted that Wootton Bassett was by European 2010 freshman sire champion Ifraaj.
It is a horse such as Dabirsim that makes me enjoy the freshman sire competition every year. The one that you can never see coming and makes a stallion that could have been obscure have his moment in the limelight. She Be Wild making Offlee Wild freshman sire champion of 2009 is a prime example.
It is true that one horse does not make a stallion, but when it comes to freshman sire standings, and also the outcome of the 2011 freshman sire competition, it is very true that one horse can still make a champion.
Previous Freshman Sire blogs:
Spring at last
It's a marathon, not a sprint
Alright son, you're nicked!
Remembering Rags to Riches
Is 2011 a safe bet for a Darley double?
What is your name? What is your favorite color?
A change of pace
Small victories
Spin around
The passing of a legend
Zen proves to be good karma
Let's Sheikh on it
I saw him first
Royal Ascot, Part 1
Royal Ascot babies for Thursday, Friday, Saturday
A 'Flash' of brilliance
Spa treatment
Frankly amazing
Dark Angel is the dark horse
A new hope
Awesome 'Wells'
About John Egan
A native Londoner, John Egan has been a racing enthusiast from a very young age and even owned interests in Thoroughbred racehorses with his parents. After graduating from University with a business degree in 1997, John spent three years working in the London insurance market before pursuing his desire to work in the racing industry. He began work as an assistant to a trainer and was predominately based at Wolverhampton racecourse in England. After a spell in training, John then went to work for Lord and Lady Lloyd Webber's farms of Watership Down in England and Ireland before relocating to Kentucky and Lane's End Farm in 2002. After two years at Lane's End, John decided to combine his experience in the horse and insurance industries and became an equine insurance agent, which he did for three years, before making the transition to underwriter for a large multi-national insurance company. In 2008, he became underwriting manager of the Lexington office of Markel Insurance Company, which was opened in October of that year with the primarily focus of writing Thoroughbred equine mortality insurance.
With the launch of the Lexington office, John has become actively involved in Thoroughbred media to help promote Markel. He appeared on the Horse Racing Radio Network's Saturday morning show in 2009 and 2010 to discuss horses on the Kentucky Derby trail. In 2009, John also began a freshman sire competition and created a newsletter with that competition called The Freshman. That contest caught the eye of THOROUGHBRED TIMES and a partnership was formed to present the Freshman Sire Contest together in 2010. The partnership continues with the 2011 competition also being presented by Markel and THOROUGHBRED TIMES.
John lives in Lexington and is married to Melissa, who is a small animal veterinarian.
Also check The Freshman Facebook page for more freshman sire information.
