Find out who's top of the class with our first-season sire half-term report

Assessing stallion performance can be a tricky business, particularly with first-season sires.

However, the emergence of the next generation of star sires provides a fascinating subplot to each campaign, and as such it is well worth digging deeper to discover who is flying and who is floundering.

With Glorious Goodwood now in the rear-view mirror, this year's first-season sire standings have become that bit clearer, so we have used four key criteria to run the rule over the class of 2019.

By number of winners

Winning is everything in racing and none of this year's first-season sires have supplied more successful offspring than Yeomanstown Stud's Gutaifan. The son of Dark Angel, who won the Prix Robert Papin and the Flying Childers Stakes during his sole season in training, has 18 European winners to his name.

His stud record is currently topped by Fan Club Rules and Istanbul, who recorded Racing Post Ratings of 101 and 100 respectively when they finished fourth and fifth behind A'Ali in the latest running of the Prix Robert Papin.

Gutaifan's tally of winners has been achieved from a large early representation of 57 runners. However, he proved so popular with breeders during his debut season at stud, when he was available at a fee of €12,500, that he may still have upward of 100 more two-year-olds to be unleashed, with his first crop containing 164 foals.

Gutaifan: leading first-season sire by number of European winners with 17Credit: Peter Mooney

Iffraaj holds the record for the most European winners supplied by a first-crop sire, having delivered 37 in 2010. While Gutaifan still has some way to go to scale those heights, his early results and weight of ammunition mean doing so is no forlorn hope.

Three other first-crop stallions have hit a double-figure number of European winners, with Highclere Stud's Cable Bay and Darley's Dalham Hall resident Night Of Thunder both having made hugely promising starts with 14 winners apiece. Whitsbury Manor Stud's Due Diligence also catches the eye with 12 winners on the board.

Cable Bay and Due Diligence deserve a bit of extra credit for having supplied so many winners to date, having covered smaller books containing fewer quality mares during their debut seasons at stud. Both were available at just £6,500 when their first crops were conceived.

By winners-to-runners

While winners are what every stallion needs, the rate at which they are supplied can often be a revealing statistic when it comes to predicting who will prove capable of maintaining a fast start. By this measure, one first-crop sire (among those with ten or more runners) stands head and shoulders above the rest at present.

Night Of Thunder has not only sired 14 winners already, no mean feat in itself, but they have come at an impressive strike-rate of 52 per cent, having had just 27 runners across Europe. Moreover, that number features a trio of stakes performers, including unbeaten Group 3 Princess Margaret Stakes winner Under The Stars, indicating quality as well as quantity.

Given that Night Of Thunder's debut crop contains 102 foals, he could have as many as 75 sons and daughters still to be unleashed. It will be fascinating to see if he can maintain his early potency as he gains a bigger racecourse representation.

Night Of Thunder: sire of 14 winners at a strike-rate of 52 per centCredit: Darley

It stands to reason that Night Of Thunder has made a bright start given he was an unbeaten Listed winner at two. There is also an element of him following in the footsteps of his own sire, Dubawi, whose debut crop yielded 34 winners from 70 runners for a strike-rate of 49 per cent in 2009.

Others who are proving particularly potent at present include Due Diligence and Cable Bay, with the former firing at a strike-rate of 41 per cent and the latter at a similarly commendable 39 per cent.

Darley's Brazen Beau's nine winners have come at a clip of 35 per cent, while Ballylinch Stud's Make Believe is also worthy of a mention by this metric, with his seven winners coming at a clip of 32 per cent.

By black-type performers

Any young stallion requires headline performers to propel him to success, so progeny capable of making an impact at stakes level are vital. A total of 13 freshmen have supplied a European black-type performer so far in 2019, with 12 of those having sired a stakes winner.

Topping the list of stakes-performing progeny is Coolmore's Gleneagles, who has already supplied an impressive five black type two-year-olds.

Among that number are Royal Lytham, winner of the Group 2 July Stakes and third to Siskin in the Group 1 Phoenix Stakes, and Southern Hills, who got his sire on the scoresheet at Royal Ascot when landing the Windsor Castle Stakes.

Southern Hills (dark blue): the Windsor Castle Stakes winner is one of five black-type performers sired by flying freshman GleneaglesCredit: Alan Crowhurst

That pair are joined by the Group 2-placed duo Precious Moments and Royal Dornoch, and the Chesham Stakes third Highland Chief.

Hot on Gleneagles' heels is Cable Bay, whose four black-type runners are headed by the lightning fast filly Liberty Beach, who handed out a beating to the colts when running away with the Group 3 Molecomb Stakes. Highclere's son of Invincible Spirit has also been represented by the Listed-placed trio Isabeau, Ropey Guest and Visayas.

American Pharoah and Night Of Thunder have both supplied a trio of stakes-calibre runners, including one Pattern winner apiece. The former was represented by Maven, winner of the Group 3 Prix du Bois, while Night Of Thunder struck with Under The Stars.

American Pharoah is also the sire of Monarch Of Egypt, runner-up in the Phoenix Stakes and Railway Stakes and the highest-rated runner sired by a first-season sire this year with an RPR of 114.

Good Vibes: gave Due Diligence his first black type winner when landig the Langleys Solicitors British EBF Marygate Fillies' Stakes at YorkCredit: Mark Cranham

Due Diligence was the first of this year's freshmen to be represented by a stakes winner when Good Vibes won the Listed Marygate Fillies' Stakes at York. Outstrip added his name to the list when Flippa The Strippa landed the National Stakes.

Three more first-season sires supplied their maiden stakes performer this weekend. Derby and Arc hero Golden Horn was responsible for West End Girl, a game winner of the Group 3 Sweet Solera Stakes, and Prince of Wales's Stakes victor Free Eagle was on the mark with Listed Coolmore Caravaggio Stakes scorer Justifier. Tweenhills' Hot Streak, meanwhile, struck with Flaming Princess in the Listed Prix Cavalassur at Deauville.

Given that Free Eagle and Golden Horn's progeny can be expected to prove better with the benefit of time, it is eye-catching that they are already on the board with stakes-winning juveniles.

Golden Horn: Darley's Dalham Hall Stud resident was represented by a breakthrough Group winner when West End Girl landed the Sweet Solera StakesCredit: Edward Whitaker

Galiway and Sidestep have also sired French Listed winners, with Kenway and Real Appeal, while Brazen Beau's first northern hemisphere crop produced Avengers Queen, who won the Premio Vittorio Crespi at Milan.

By ratings

One of the most illuminating methods of assessing a stallion's performance, and also one of the least subject to variance and context, is through the Racing Post Ratings of his progeny. These results have been calculated using the average peak Racing Post Rating for each sire's runners in Britain and Ireland, with results taken up to and including Saturday.

This measure also shows Gleneagles in a positive light, as not only has Coolmore's son of Galileo sired more stakes horses than his peers, but his progeny's average RPR of 85 puts him far ahead of his nearest rival, Night Of Thunder, who sits on a praiseworthy 76.

Gleneagles: the leading first-season sire by average progeny Racing Post RatingsCredit: Patrick McCann

Cable Bay again performs admirably by this metric with an average of 73, as do Brazen Beau and Due Diligence with marks of 72 and 70 respectively.

It is interesting that Muhaarar also shows up well with a progeny average of 73. The son of Oasis Dream has perhaps fallen foul of the impatient side of the industry, but it is worth noting that he has sired six winners in Britain and Ireland since mid-July, including the smart prospects Custodian, Unforgetable and Yorkshire Gold.

Conclusion

It is, of course, still early days in the stud careers of this year's first-season sires, and plenty will change in the fullness of time.

However, it is hard not to be impressed by the start Gleneagles has made, with so many precocious talents looking particularly noteworthy given that he hails from the dominant Classic sire-line of the era.

Night Of Thunder has undoubtedly earned himself a host of new fans having supplied an abundance of quality performers too, while Gutaifan's trailblazing tally of winners should not be overlooked.

A special mention must also go to Cable Bay and Due Diligence, as they have punched well above their weight given that their results have been achieved without mammoth books of mares brimming with stakes performers, from relatively small fees.

More stallion news:

Golden Horn sires debut Group winner as West End Girl steals Sweet Solera show

Japan loses another sire legend as King Kamehameha dies aged 18

Cable Bay given green light to shuttle to Woodside Park Stud in Australia