1 – SNITZEL. No prizes for guessing this one as he had a rare Group I trifecta in the Group I ATC Sires Produce Stakes
(Invader, Summer Passage Trapeze
Artist) at Randwick on Saturday and then for good measure posted his tenth
Group I winner with his South African based colt Heavenly Blue winning the
Group I SA Classic (1800m) at Turffontein.Snitzel is leading the Australian General Sires List, the 2YO Sires List and 3YO Sires List – he's the man of the moment and also the most represented sire at the Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale, so you'd love to be a vendor with a Snitzel in your draft.
Timing is everything and Arrowfield's heavy hitter is in hot form just when you want him to be.
2. ENCOSTA DE LAGO. The now retired Coolmore favourite is the reigning Champion Broodmare Sire and leads the way again in that division this year, his daughters supplying the quinella in the Group I ATC Sires Produce Stakes - Invader and Summer Passage.
Encosta demonstrated just why he is such a potent force as a broodmare sire when producing a Group I quinella of his own as a sire when his freakish son Chautauqua outgunned his star daughter English to win the Group I ATC TJ Smith Stakes for the third year running.
Encosta de Lago is the sire of the dam of 62 stakes-winners, eight of them Group I winners, so look at hard at the many yearlings (23) entered for Inglis Easter from his daughters .
There are four Snitzel yearlings from daughters of Encosta de Lago – click here to see them.
3. IFFRAAJ (GB) – Haunui Farm's Iffraaj sired Jon Snow to win the Group I ATC Australian Derby and back in New Zealand his daughter Meleka Belle produced Melody Belle (by Commands) to win the Group I Manawatu Sires Produce Stakes.
You won't find a sniff of Iffraaj at Inglis Easter, but he's a stallion that has had a few ups and downs and has now settled in as a proven source of high class horses. Jon Snow aside, we've also had Gingernuts and Turn Me Loose as Group I winners here in Australia, so he's more than proved his stripes.
