Stud Dog Leaders

Australia’s top stud dogs are generally high class race dogs on the track but have a diverse pedigree influence.Generally weight of numbers helps most succeed, but there have been many notable sires over the years that have not succeeded despite having more than enough chances to do so.

So what is behind the best of the crop? What lines are clicking with each of the stars? Let's go through the top 10 in the country today. (NGF statistics were used.)

BOND

(Brett Lee-Thai Magic)

Went to stud with the biggest of booms after a track record and Group performances. Has far and away more runners than any of the top sires, thus it can naturally be expected he will top the tally for winners. He has an interesting pedigree with Brother Fox duplicated 3x3 top and bottom of his pedigree, and significantly the import Grove Whisper* as his damsire.

Bond has suffered because rearers and trainers have labelled his offspring as noisy... a major "no no" in any kennel. More notable is probably the fact they show great potential but many don't seem to go on to reach great heights.

His feature winners, and thus the quality performers, are not as great as one would expect for this dog's opportunities.

His pedigree demands the bitches he mates carry a duplication of Grove Whisper (or his sire Whisper Wishes, or grandsire Sand Man), or New Tears and his sire Pretty Short, or Chariot Supreme. Many of Bond's top performers do just that.

Few breeders would be willing to duplicate Grove Whisper* in a pedigree. Those that do with Bond as the sire will reap the rewards, as long as Grove Whisper appears in the fourth line or beyond.

His best son Aston Trivett has duplications of New Tears, Chariot Supreme and Sand Man... everything Bond needs to produce quality performers like the Maturity winner.

SURF LORIAN

(Just The Best-Barrio Fiesta)

His second wave of progeny are thrusting him back in the spotlight with renewed vigor. Made an incredible and immediate impact at stud with such greats as Slater, Big Swell, Miss Hot Gossip, Made To Size, Technoman, Nicely Done, Overflow Breaker, Honey Mist, Gnarraloo etc etc.

Now comes the likes of Nova Surf, Outa Credit, Santino Marella, Banzai Pipeline, Genuine and a host of quality city performers from Paul Wheeler's kennels like Whitfield Bale, and the SA Oaks winner Jean Jeannie.

Another multiple record breaker and Group winner on the racetrack, Surf Lorian has three of his four sirelines run directly to Brother Fox. Only the Chariot Supreme and New Tears influences in Surf Lorian's pedigree allow duplication.

Surf Lorian does exceptionally well when mated with bitches that carry duplications of New Tears and Chariot Supreme (88% of his best progeny are bred this way), bitches with an import close up in their pedigree, or daughter strains of Brother Fox. Bitches that carry Awesome Assassin and Malawi's Prince do well with Surf Lorian, as does the Fortress line which brings in a close-up duplication of the litter brothers Waverly Supreme and Laurdella Fun.

But there is also an enigma with Surf Lorian. He clicks perfectly well with bitches that carry his grandsire Credibility. Technoman, his younger three-quarter brother Genuine, and the sensational young dog Outa Credit all are bred this way.

Surf Lorian's sire Just The Best did well when Worth Doing (sometimes through Worthy Reward) were duplicated in his offspring (Smooth Syrah etc). Made To Size (Surf Lorian-Queen Size by Deep North) carries a duplication of Worth Doing.

It is a pity Miss Hot Gossip is not a male. She has an ideal stud dog's pedigree.

COLLISION

(Awesome Assassin-Rumble Spirit)

I have always thought this dog would become a top sire. His record breaking speed was the first of his great attributes. The second was he was in-bred to the half brothers Acacia Park and Brother Fox, and also carried a cross of Pretty Short, the close relation to Brother Fox's sire Little Blade.

But it is the fact Collision carries only one cross of Brother Fox, through a daughter in his immediate damline, that makes his appeal and success so great at stud. He is ideal to pick up on those thousands of bitches that carry Brother Fox through a son.

Most of his best progeny do this, and a number also duplicate his damsire Malawi's Prince (High Earner is bred this way). Duplicating Malawi's Prince 3x3 produces high speed. Back 3x4 or 3x5 and it should not have such an intense speed influence. Collision's Golden Easter Egg winner Dana Beatrice carries a 3x4 duplication of Malawi's Prince.

Collision also does well when New Tears is duplicated and can achieve a higher quality of offspring when Shining Chariot is brought in through the bitches he mates to link up with his sister Centrefire in Collision's immediate sireline.

Because Collision has only one cross of Pretty Short (through a son) and one of Brother Fox (through a daughter) he does well with bitches that carry more of these two in their pedigree. Hanify's Impact's dam has multiple crosses of both.

BOMBASTIC SHIRAZ

(Black Shiraz-Bombastic Blonde)

Swept through the glamour races in Victoria and set himself up as a sire on those racetrack performances. Has lived right up to that at stud and is a sire for all seasons producing sprinters and stayers.

He has an in-bred pedigree, but he is rare in that he has no Brother Fox or Pretty Short within that pedigree. He carries the litter brothers Buka Sunset and Malawi 3x3 through the middle of his pedigree. And his own dam Bombastic Blonde is the result of some fascinating reinforcement of that famous Princess Diro damline.

Has done exceptionally well when the Princess Diro damline is returned to him within the bitches he mates. Flashing Floods (her dam is by Awesome Assassin who carries Princess Diro's granddaughter Centrefire) is the best of Bombastic Shiraz's progeny.

Bombastic Shiraz has Malawi's Prince as his damsire. A reinforcement of Malawi's Prince in the offspring of Bombastic Shiraz can produce lightning speed i.e. Super Hornet and current boom Queensland bitch Velocity Force. Super Hornet's granddam Voodoo Princess and Bombastic Shiraz's dam Bombastic Blonde are bred on an identical cross.

Duplicating Shining Chariot also works well and often with success with Bombastic Shiraz.

BIG DADDY COOL

(Just The Best-Sobbing Sal)

Yet another track record breaker who has made it at stud. Probably had to succeed simply because he is Brett Lee's half brother who could run just as fast. But did struggle with fertility problems early and that eventually saw his sale to China.

Big Daddy Cool is a much, much underrated sire. He might not get a champion like himself or his half brother Brett Lee, but he gets a constant stream of better than handy city performers. And he has a real affinity with daughters of Token Prince.

Token Prince's dam True Temptation and Flying Amy, dam of Big Daddy Cool's sire Just The Best, are bred on exactly the same cross by Amerigo Man out of daughters of Waverly Supreme/or his son Chariot Supreme, from the Bay Road Queen damline. This is all powerful in this cross and is what is behind the JTB/Token Prince nick.

Big Daddy Cool carries two daughter strains of Chariot Supreme so does well with bitches that carry sons of Chariot Supreme (like Shining Chariot). He also does well when New Tears is duplicated. He can also take a duplication of Amerigo Man.

Gets lots and lots of city winners, and many of them carry Token Prince in their dam.

ELITE STATE

(Just The Best-Spark Again)

Elite State probably should be standing at stud in Ireland. He seems to click so well with a multitude of Irish and English pedigrees and most of his best progeny are bred this way and are in Ireland. The speed influence of Elite State's dam Spark Again seems extremely dominant in this dog's offspring.

Elite State didn't break any track records, but proved himself a Group 1 performer and he has been a successful sire without shaking the tree of sires' premierships. Has a pedigree mix of a male line duplication of Brother Fox (through his sire Just The Best), but brings in a son strain of New Tears (Dagenham) and Acacia Park (Acacia Ablaze) the latter a half brother to Brother Fox. He also carries a double-up of Chariot Supreme through the middle of his pedigree, but a balance of this through Waverly Supreme's daughter Versatile Miss.

For Elite State to succeed at stud, he probably best needs bitches that carry daughter strains of Brother Fox and New Tears (Back Tonight does this) or even a son of Acacia Ablaze (like Hotshot).

His best son Knocka Norris has an interesting pedigree. His dam Oriental Angel carries Light Of Fire 3x3 top and bottom of her pedigree. To succeed at stud she needs to reinforce those ancestors around Light Of Fire. She did this when mated to Elite State because Knocka Norris duplicates Amerigo Man (through daughters) and Acacia Ablaze (sex balanced).

His brilliant bitch Miss Elly Mint has a male duplication of New Tears. Elite State also carries a cross of New Tears' sire Pretty Short (significantly through a daughter).

PURE OCTANE

(Token Prince-Elusive Rebel)

The standout performer of his time and became Victorian and Australian greyhound of the year. A sprinter who probably would have been a superstar as a stayer if tried. But with stud beckoning, that was never going to happen. Carries a 3x3 duplication of Amerigo Man through two daughters. But significantly for his offspring, he also has Bobniak as his damsire. Bobniak's real worth to the pedigrees of today's great stars is that he is out of the bitch Paris Match (Brother Fox-Osti's Shadow).

This bitch is a virtual sister to Gun Law Osti, the sire of Brett Lee. Duplicating the Osti Lee damline is a real plus in pedigrees, twice and even three times it can be done with confidence.

Hallucinate and his litter brother Where's Pedro (both sire successes) are by Brett Lee from a Bobniak bitch Elusive Rebel (significantly the dam also of Pure Octane). Meticulous, Prang, Elma Fud etc are all bred on this cross. And Pure Octane is proving this cross all over again. Many of his best progeny, and certainly a big number of his city winning progeny are out of Brett Lee bitches.

His best offspring, the champion stayer Mantra Lad carries 3x3 duplication of Malawi's Prince and while we have already said this is dominant for speed, Mantra Lad has a special pedigree pattern. His dam, the former top staying bitch Al Fresco, is by Royal Pilgrim whose own dam Pilgrim's Star was a litter sister to Paris Match (dam of Pure Octane's damsire Bobniak).

His other two star gallopers Vintage Octane and Octanol carry Gun Law Osti in their damline... thus duplicating the Osti Lee damline once again.

It is significant though that Pure Octane seems dominant for high class sons. There is a distinct lack of high class females sired by him... to this stage.

HALLUCINATE

(Brett Lee-Elusive Rebel)

The Melbourne Cup winner took a long while to prove himself at stud, and he is noted for getting strength into his offspring. That doesn't always sit well with trainers because they often want that quick return on their investment.

Hallucinate has become a good sire without being a great sire. And he seems to be able to link up with a number of lines to produce smart city performers.

His pedigree is significant in that it carries three crosses of Brother Fox (two through sons and one through a daughter) as well as a daughter strain of New Tears. This daughter strain of Brother Fox allows him to mate bitches with further male or female strains of Brother Fox... but not much more.

The daughter strain of New Tears allows duplication of him through either son or daughters, and significantly Pretty Short as well (Lilley Criminal is bred this way).

Many of the best progeny of Hallucinate are bred this way, specially through broodbitches that carry the daughter strain of Brother Fox (Miagi is bred this way as are the litter brother and sister Shadow Boxer and Millennium).

Bitches from the Awesome Assassin sireline (New Tears) suit Hallucinate. Awesome Assassin also carries a cross of Brother Fox's half brother Acacia Park.

And Hallucinate also seems able to duplicate Amerigo Man with good results (Genista Thunder is bred this way, Miagi is too).

An extremely interesting pedigree is that of McCracken (by Hallucinate) and his Group class littermates in New Zealand. They are in-bred 4x3 to the half brothers Bobniak and Smart Woods (both out of Paris Match) and further enhancing the Osti Lee damline.

Remember Mantra Lad is bred on a similar duplication.

Paul Wheeler has also bred an extremely good litter by Hallucinate which includes Ashby Bale, Bartrim Bale, Princess Bale etc which duplicates Farloe Melody*.

Hallucinate also does well in Ireland and England with outcross bitches.

WHERE'S PEDRO

(Brett Lee-Elusive Rebel)

The litter brother to Hallucinate and significantly was kept to stand at stud by the connections of both dogs while Hallucinate was sold.

Has proved an exceptional sire of very fast dogs, El Galo, Tasman Queen, Hot To Rumble, Mogambo, Axe Handle and many many more.

There is a thought among some observers that Where's Pedro does not get progeny with strength but he's still fourth on the Victorian sires standings, and fourth at both The Meadows and significantly the strong dog's track at Sandown.

Like most "rumours" that one is unfounded. Breeders are never likely to look at and point the finger at the dams of pups by a sire they perceive doesn't get strong types.

Hot To Rumble was as strong a dog as you could wish for. What a tragedy he died. He too could have been a sensational sire prospect.

Where's Pedro is perfectly positioned at stud in Victoria. He does exceptionally well with bitches from the Malawi's Prince sireline (El Galo, Tasman Queen, Top Fuel etc etc). He also loves bitches that carry Brother Fox through a daughter strain in their pedigree (El Galo and Hot To Rumble are bred this way among many others).

And that daughter strain of New Tears (the sire of Sobbing Sal) is perfect for Where's Pedro to mate bitches from the Awesome Assassin sireline (bringing in New Tears through his son Light Of Fire).

Smart gallopers like Birthday Boy and Din's Son are bred this way. Brilliant local bitch Blue Storm Miss and her stout brother Big Baz are bred this way as well.

In fact, the one strain of Pretty Short in Where's Pedro's pedigree allows him to mate bitches that carry multiples of this influential sire.

PRIMO UNO

(Black Shiraz-Prima Portrait)

Went to stud with bigger wraps than Bond but it took him a little time to prove himself. There are still some who have a set against Primo Uno but he has been a consistent sire of high quality gallopers in recent years.

Probably suffered by having the import Moral Standards as his damsire. The English Derby winner was quickly culled from his homeland when some of his progeny became more famous for their antics rather than their undoubted ability.

Significantly, Primo Uno carries Walkabout Sid through a daughter (Polly's Portrait) in his immediate damline. As we said with Where's Pedro, being in Victoria has worked in Primo Uno's favour.

He gets to mate so many bitches with Head Honcho (a SON of Walkabout Sid) in their pedigree. Check out Primo Uno's best progeny, and then look through his many, many city winners. There is an overriding factor within their pedigrees. It's a duplication of Walkabout Sid, mostly with Head Honcho in the dam's pedigree.

Some of the best examples of this are: Turbo Uno, Sonador, Turanza Bale, Cash Up, Uno Witch, Uno Joel, Run The Risk, Wot Price Harold, Live The Dream, Tin Roof Rusted etc etc etc.

Another aspect of Primo Uno that breeders should take notice of. He does extremely well when he mates bitches that carry Tangairn in their damline (Elektra is bred this way), he also can duplicate his own damline the famous Portrait line (Run The Risk is bred this way), and he can even accommodate a duplication of the August Morning damline (through Barney's Alarm, or a duplication of Moral Standards himself).

Tangairn's dam Del Bairn Babe is from a branch of the Portrait damline.

Train A Journey, probably Primo Uno's best son, is perfect for bitches that carry Head Honcho, the Portrait damline, Tangairn, and Barneys Alarm.