The real gauge of success for a young stallion on the rise is when his achievements can be measured against the very best older stallions rather than his second crop peers.
Newgate Farm’s Deep Field has moved into that stratosphere as the leading sire of three year-old winners in the country this season, his 52 individual winners putting him ahead of Snitzel (49), Fastnet Rock ( 48) and I Am Invincible (45).
His winners have come from 104 runners giving him a 50% strike rate, which is the equal of Snitzel.
His tally of three 3YO stakes-winners is one more than Fastnet Rock and only two shy of Snitzel and I Am Invincible.
The really remarkable thing is that all of this has come from his second crop conceived at a $22,000 fee, whereas these older champion sires are fielding three year-olds bred from superb books of mares conceived at far greater fees giving them what should be a massive advantage.
The fact Deep Field has achieved what he has bodes well for the future and it’s interesting to take a look into the past to see where the still active champion sires listed above were at in the same point in their careers.
The growing admiration for Deep Field has been reflected at the yearling sales in 2020 where his progeny have averaged $163,201 ( 52 sold) with a median of $145,000. These are his best results so far and up markedly from his 2019 average $105,444 and median $70,000.
His best result of $800,000 for a colt from Roulettes at Magic Millions gave him a new benchmark as his most expensive yearling and was also the highest priced sale recorded in 2020 for any of his second crop peers such as Brazen Beau and Rubick.
Again, worth remembering that his current yearlings were conceived from a $22,000 fee so represent an impressive 7.4 times return on service fee and they are also his smallest crop to date, just 107 foals.
Deep Field has covered over 500 mares in his past two seasons, so has big numbers coming through to build on his burgeoning success, a recipe that has worked wonders for champion sires Fastnet Rock, Snitzel and I Am Invincible.
Breeders were quick to support Deep Field last season at the increased fee of $44,000 and everything we have seen since has vindicated their judgement and given every indication there is a great deal more to come!