Top Sires per ground conditions
Below we have had a look at which are the best and worst sires in Soft and Fast ground, together with the two artificial surfaces which are prevalent in the UK. Namely Polytrack and Fibresand.
For a complete list of the main sires in the UK go to this page Sire Statistics. This also gives a detailed explanation of how the sire stats are worked out. But basically the Going Ratio column is the key one. Red indicates a preference for soft ground, Blue for good or better. The higher the number the more pronounced the going preference is.
For a complete list of the main sires in the UK go to this page Sire Statistics. This also gives a detailed explanation of how the sire stats are worked out. But basically the Going Ratio column is the key one. Red indicates a preference for soft ground, Blue for good or better. The higher the number the more pronounced the going preference is.
Top 5 Fast Ground Sires
| Name | Heavy | Soft | G/S | Good | G/F | Firm | Going Ratio | Fibresand | Polytrack |
| Wolfhound | 5% | 2% | 3% | 7% | 6% | 8% | 2.22 | 9% | 4% |
| Singspiel | 6% | 8% | 6% | 12% | 14% | 26% | 2.10 | 16% | 14% |
| Exceed and Excel | 13% | 4% | 7% | 13% | 12% | 24% | 2.01 | 20% | 18% |
| Street Cry | 0% | 3% | 9% | 7% | 13% | 11% | 1.96 | 27% | 9% |
| Lomitas | 7% | 8% | 8% | 10% | 14% | 28% | 1.74 | 0% | 10% |
As you would expect a lot of US pedigrees on show for the horses which prefer rattling fast ground.
Top 5 Soft Ground Sires
| Name | Heavy | Soft | G/S | Good | G/F | Firm | Going Ratio | Fibresand | Polytrack |
| Captain Rio | 13% | 14% | 8% | 4% | 5% | 10% | 2.27 | 17% | 5% |
| Intikhab | 7% | 20% | 17% | 8% | 13% | 12% | 1.50 | 9% | 14% |
| Hawk Wing | 9% | 10% | 9% | 7% | 7% | 9% | 1.35 | 13% | 10% |
| Shamardal | 22% | 16% | 20% | 13% | 13% | 14% | 1.34 | 29% | 20% |
| Avonbridge | 18% | 11% | 8% | 8% | 7% | 13% | 1.24 | 12% | 8% |
Not to many surprises here as Captain Rio is well known for producing horses which love soft ground. Hawk Wing is an interesting one. He made his name by winning the Lockinge by 11 Lengths in testing ground, so it perhaps should come as no surprise that his progeny have a distinct preference for cut in the ground.
Polytrack Sires
Best
| Name | Heavy | Soft | G/S | Good | G/F | Firm | Going Ratio | Fibresand | Polytrack |
| Dubawi | 56% | 12% | 13% | 14% | 10% | 20% | 1.00 | 37% | 23% |
| Exceed and Excel | 13% | 4% | 7% | 13% | 12% | 24% | 2.01 | 20% | 18% |
| Red Ransom | 0% | 8% | 10% | 12% | 11% | 16% | 1.55 | 14% | 17% |
| Haafhd | 0% | 3% | 16% | 11% | 10% | 10% | 1.14 | 16% | 17% |
| Dalakhani | 12% | 18% | 18% | 18% | 28% | 25% | 1.36 | 25% | 16% |
Worst
| Name | Heavy | Soft | G/S | Good | G/F | Firm | Going Ratio | Fibresand | Polytrack |
| Wolfhound | 5% | 2% | 3% | 7% | 6% | 8% | 2.22 | 9% | 4% |
| Captain Rio | 13% | 14% | 8% | 4% | 5% | 10% | 2.27 | 17% | 5% |
| Barathea | 7% | 9% | 11% | 9% | 10% | 10% | 1.03 | 13% | 7% |
| Diktat | 9% | 9% | 8% | 8% | 6% | 10% | 1.22 | 14% | 7% |
| Observatory | 8% | 11% | 7% | 11% | 9% | 4% | 1.11 | 1% | 8% |
Interestingly a lot of the worst performing sires on Polytrack also appear in the list of horses whose progeny prefer soft ground. It may be a generalisation but it there does appear some truth in the statement that Polytrack equates to fast turf and Fibresand equates to soft turf.
Fibresand Sires
Best
| Name | Heavy | Soft | G/S | Good | G/F | Firm | Going Ratio | Fibresand | Polytrack |
| Dynaformer | 9% | 14% | 19% | 14% | 20% | 7% | 1.02 | 38% | 13% |
| Dubawi | 56% | 12% | 13% | 14% | 10% | 20% | 1.00 | 37% | 23% |
| Shamardal | 22% | 16% | 20% | 13% | 13% | 14% | 1.34 | 29% | 20% |
| Street Cry | 0% | 3% | 9% | 7% | 13% | 11% | 1.96 | 27% | 9% |
| Giants Causeway | 14% | 9% | 7% | 14% | 14% | 19% | 1.60 | 24% | 10% |
Worst
| Name | Heavy | Soft | G/S | Good | G/F | Firm | Going Ratio | Fibresand | Polytrack |
| Lomitas | 7% | 8% | 8% | 10% | 14% | 28% | 1.74 | 0% | 10% |
| Sinndar | 9% | 6% | 11% | 9% | 14% | 32% | 1.57 | 0% | 8% |
| Observatory | 8% | 11% | 7% | 11% | 9% | 4% | 1.11 | 1% | 8% |
| Danehill Dancer | 17% | 13% | 11% | 11% | 11% | 17% | 1.14 | 5% | 11% |
| Aussie Rules | 8% | 14% | 10% | 6% | 14% | 0% | 1.19 | 6% | 9% |
Not surprisingly the top sires on Fibresand are dirt bred mostly US horses.