Sire Stats

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Studying the sire stats is such an interesting strategy for shrewd horse racing punters.

The sire statistics show the best soft-ground horses and best fast-ground horses based on breeding and real-time statistical data.

The bloodstock industry within the horse racing game is of significant importance as they say, “Apples do not fall far from the tree”.

Breeding is so important for thoroughbreds, and we will fully analyse Sire & Dam statistics.

Many horse racing owners used to question whether breeding is really that important or if it is all smoke and mirrors for bloodstock agents to make big money.

Over the years, as more data was released showing the ratings of the sire and dam statistics of every horse, it was very clear that breeding is of huge importance.

In our Sire & Dam statistics guide, we show the raw data on sire stats and how ground conditions can influence the winning strike rate of some progeny.

What Are Sire Stats?

Sire stats help study whether a horse will be suited to a particular type of race.

The sire stats are calculated from the results of all of sires’ offspring.

Some of the best sire stats to use are:

  • Going Statistics
  • First Time Out and Lay Off Statistics
  • Age Statistics
  • Course Form

The sire statistics will look at the results of the horse’s brothers and sisters to see how well they performed under the same racing conditions.

2025 Leading Sires

Here is the full list of leading sires in Britain and Ireland.

RankNameSireDamStartsWinsWin %Earnings
1Dark Angel (IRE) 2005AcclamationMidnight Angel2153025.58£357,660
2Night of Thunder (IRE) 2011DubawiForest Storm992140£349,133
3Lope de Vega (IRE) 2007ShamardalLady Vettori1341928.81£293,302
4Kodiac (GB) 2001DanehillRafha2503027.47£291,939
5Mehmas (IRE) 2014AcclamationLucina1882626.19£251,189
6Starspangledbanner (AUS) 2006ChoisirGold Anthem1452430.5£222,597
7Kingman (GB) 2011Invincible SpiritZenda1231728.84£186,794
8Saxon Warrior (JPN) 2015Deep ImpactMaybe781425£179,938
9Sea The Stars (IRE) 2006Cape CrossUrban Sea971724.56£176,185
10Cotai Glory (GB) 2012Exceed And ExcelContinua1112136.58£163,738
11Dandy Man (IRE) 2003MozartLady Alexander2451617.07£152,615
12Invincible Spirit (IRE) 1997Green DesertRafha1291322.41£148,517

Data supplied by Weatherbys Ltd – Last Updated in April 2025.

Why Are Researching Sire Stats Important?

If a horse is trying something new for the first time how can you base a decision on whether it will like it?

Researching sire stats allow you to make informed decisions on the following:

  • Horse running on soft ground for the first time
  • The horse running on firm ground for the first time
  • Horse running over a long distance for the first attempt
  • Having its first-ever run on turf

There will be nothing in the form book to give you any information if the horse will handle the going conditions or new distance.

The sire stats will look at the results of the horse’s brothers and sisters to see how well they fared under those same race conditions.

Sires Going Preferences

The table gives you the actual data as to what the going preferences are of particular progenies.

NameHeavySoftGoodFirmFibresandPolytrack
Acclamation11%11%8%7%11%12%
Anabaa9%11%11%15%12%13%
Alhaarth18%11%9%9%9%10%
Arcano14%8%10%14%13%16%
Archipenko6%8%8%10%14%21%
Aussie Rules8%14%6%0%6%9%
Australianr9%0%nrnr19%
Avonbridge7%7%9%13%12%8%
Bahamian Bounty8%9%9%10%10%8%
Barathea7%9%9%10%13%7%
Bated Breath9%14%13%10%11%14%
Beat Hollow14%14%11%11%11%7%
Bertolini17%7%8%13%12%10%
Bold Edge0%7%8%3%13%10%
Born to Sea21%15%11%9%0%4%
Bungle Inthejunglenr0%18%17%20%7%
Bushranger8%9%7%8%11%11%
Cadeaux Generoux12%13%12%9%8%12%
Camelot0%14%7%0%0%7%
Canford Cliffs7%18%10%11%4%12%
Cape Cross6%9%11%13%10%13%
Captain Rio13%14%4%10%17%5%
Champs Elysees13%10%8%10%17%13%
Charm Spiritnr0%6%21%0%7%
Choisir11%11%10%1%8%9%
Compton Place11%8%8%8%5%10%
Dalakhani13%15%12%19%18%11%
Dandy Man17%9%7%9%10%16%
Danehill13%13%15%17%13%13%
Danehill Dancer17%13%11%17%5%11%
Danetime12%9%9%7%7%13%
Dansili8%14%14%17%17%13%
Dark Angel11%11%11%13%15%16%
Daylami4%9%8%18%12%13%
Delegator0%4%3%17%0%12%
Diktat9%9%8%10%14%7%
Dream Ahead10%15%15%23%9%10%
Dr. Fong8%10%8%7%17%10%
Dubai Destination11%10%12%18%19%12%
Dubawi16%18%15%20%37%23%
Dutch Art11%17%13%10%16%8%
Dynaformer9%14%14%7%38%13%
Efisio10%10%10%10%14%11%
Elusive Quality2%13%13%12%15%16%
Equiano0%8%11%15%25%28%
Exceed and Excel8%7%11%24%20%18%
Excelebration7%13%17%25%11%8%
Excellent Art15%12%9%10%10%13%
Fantastic Light8%9%8%9%21%12%
Fasilyav8%8%7%10%19%10%
Fastnet Rock20%12%15%10%19%10%
Footstepsinthesand12%11%10%11%15%10%
Foxwedge7%8%10%11%27%11%
Frankel27%28%24%27%0%19%
Galileo15%15%15%20%15%15%
Giants Causeway14%9%14%19%24%10%
Gone West6%13%4%14%19%8%
Green Desert8%8%11%13%7%15%
Haafhd0%3%11%10%16%17%
Halling11%11%13%12%17%13%
Harbour Watch8%7%8%6%22%8%
Havana Gold10%4%11%0%7%9%
Hawk Wing9%10%7%9%13%10%
Helmet33%5%9%7%0%8%
Hernando15%11%10%12%17%10%
High Chaparal16%12%10%13%14%11%
Holy Roman Emperor9%11%13%33%11%18%
Iffraaj10%9%10%0%16%9%
Inchinor8%10%10%9%5%7%
Indian Ridge12%11%12%13%11%11%
Intikhab7%20%8%12%9%14%
Invincible Spirit12%9%11%16%13%11%
Ishiguru23%9%9%7%14%9%
Johannesburg6%9%13%9%16%9%
Key of Luck6%6%7%5%17%9%
Kheleyf9%3%8%11%11%7%
Kingmambo15%14%14%28%17%13%
Kingmannr10%25%nr0%21%
Kings Best11%13%10%10%10%13%
Kodiac11%11%11%19%12%12%
Komaite6%7%6%8%10%9%
Kyllachy16%12%9%11%7%9%
Lethal Force12%4%11%22%36%12%
Lomitas7%8%10%28%0%10%
Lope de Vega22%20%18%10%18%12%
Makfi4%9%14%10%17%14%
Mark of Esteem14%9%8%11%11%11%
Marju6%9%10%11%16%11%
Mastercraftsman12%14%14%5%6%11%
Medicean9%13%10%17%19%8%
Monsieur Bond10%6%9%8%13%5%
Montjeu18%13%13%15%18%11%
Motivator17%13%11%16%3%11%
Mujadil6%9%6%16%7%8%
Mr Greeley8%8%8%8%9%12%
Namid5%9%8%14%13%8%
Nathaniel5%16%16%20%0%12%
New Approach8%14%14%14%15%0%
No Nay Nevernr20%6%nrnr23%
Noverre8%8%11%15%15%8%
Oasis Dream14%10%12%11%13%16%
Observatory8%11%11%4%1%8%
One Cool Cat11%10%6%7%16%10%
Oratorio11%8%10%7%24%13%
Orpen14%9%8%9%14%9%
Paco Boy0%12%12%0%5%11%
Pastoral Pursuits18%11%11%10%10%14%
Piccolo9%7%6%12%11%10%
Pivotal19%15%13%16%12%15%
Poets Voice13%10%11%10%12%0%
Rainbow Quest10%10%11%17%21%12%
Ravens Pass14%13%12%12%18%15%
Red Clubs5%14%7%6%18%13%
Red Ransom0%8%12%16%14%17%
Red Jazz14%8%7%nr0%8%
Refuse to Bend9%11%9%12%23%8%
Rock of Gibraltor11%10%11%14%10%9%
Royal Applause7%10%8%10%10%9%
Sadlers Wells13%15%14%20%10%10%
Sakhee8%12%14%12%12%11%
Sakhees Secret11%10%7%8%11%9%
Sea the Stars18%11%23%15%12%30%
Selkirk6%13%13%14%11%9%
Sepoy9%10%6%31%9%11%
Shamardal22%16%13%14%29%20%
Showcasing8%14%14%10%13%16%
Sinndar9%6%9%32%0%8%
Singspiel6%8%12%26%16%14%
Sir Percy21%11%10%12%15%9%
Sir Prancealot4%8%16%17%23%13%
Slade Powernr8%6%nr0%17%
Sleeping Indian6%8%8%11%10%15%
Society Rock0%9%12%15%25%12%
Street Cry5%10%11%11%27%9%
Tagula6%6%9%5%10%11%
Teofilio12%11%15%0%16%16%
Tiger Hill13%15%7%17%14%11%
Toronadonr9%13%nrnr17%
Verglas9%9%9%11%8%10%
War Chant25%11%9%12%17%11%
War Front50%11%26%15%17%11%
Wolfhound5%2%7%8%9%4%
Zamindar7%13%13%11%8%11%
Zebedee14%9%8%13%12%10%
Zoffany25%23%13%10%14%10%

The table of sires provides real factual information on the winning strike rate on each ground.

The Sadlers Wells progeny is well-known to prefer a bit of cut in the ground, and knowing what breeding goes well in the ground can add an edge to your tipping analysis.

The higher the percentage provides data on which is the breeding going preference.

The data is provided here, highlighting the going ratio in red and blue. A going ratio of 1 would indicate that a sire’s progeny has absolutely no preference with regard to going. Sadlers Wells at 1.02 is a good example of this. The higher the number, the greater the preference. So a ratio of 2, which was blue, would indicate that that particular sire has twice as many winners percentage-wise on good ground as it does on soft. The Fibresand and Polytrack columns on the far right indicate a particular stallion’s percentage of winners on either of these surfaces.

Summary

Sire stats are invaluable for races such as Maiden Stakes, races for 2yos, or for examining lightly raced horses.

If racehorses are unraced, the sire statistics are the only information you can research to determine who is valuable in the betting market.

The only other information you can study is if the selections are drifting in odds or their betting odds are shortening.

Popular Questions

What is a sire rating?

A sire rating stands for “Sire Production Index” which is a rating used to compare the average earnings of a stallion’s progeny with the average earnings of the progeny of all other stallions.

The sire production index gives information on how successful a sire’s offspring have done.

What does Sire mean in horse racing?

A sire in horse racing means the father of a horse.

A horse becomes a sire after one of his offspring wins a thoroughbred horse race.

What horse sired the most winners?

Galileo is the most successful sire in horse racing history.

At the time of his death on 10th July 2021, the Galileo progeny had sired 338 stakes winners, 228 group winners.

Galileo generated an estimated £40 million per year in stud fees for Coolmore.

Here are all the articles about horse racing stats for the UK and Irish races.