While Arrowfield Stud's Snitzel looks certain to become Australia's Champion Sire for the third straight year, the battle between he and Yarraman Park's I Am Invincible for the honour of being Australia's Champion Sire of 2-year-olds looks to go down to the wire.

I Am Invincible may have set a new record for Australian stakes winners in a season last weekend, but the weight of Redzel's (Snitzel) second consecutive win in The Everest sees Snitzel with a near $7 million lead on his rival in the standings which determine Australia's Champion Sire.

The closeness between them is indicated by the fact that as of May 15, Snitzel had had two additional winners (161 to 159) and they have the same amount of total wins (244).

The battle for supremacy among their respective 2-year-olds crops is even closer, with Snitzel having one additional winner (18 to 17) while total wins are tied on 22. I Am Invincible holds sway on 2-year-old stakes winners, seven to three, and accordingly leads the overall 2-year-old race, determined by prizemoney, but by just a tick under $100,000 - $2.8m to $2.7m.

'Vinny' has established that lead on the weight of consistent performers, with his leading 2-year-old earner the filly Loving Gaby, who through one Listed win and a couple of seconds in Group 1s, has compiled just over $580,750.

Magic Millions 2YO Classic winner Exhilarates has been Snitzel's 2-year-old flagbearer this season, with the Godolphin filly clocking up $1.37m worth of prizemoney across her seven starts.

It's an amazingly tight battle between the two super sires which will likely be fought out both via the weight of metropolitan 2-year-old races as well as feature races upcoming in Brisbane.

The decisive race may prove to be the final 2-year-old Group 1 of the season, the JJ Atkins S. to be run at Eagle Farm on June 8, which is worth $600,000, including $360,000 to the winner.

Chris Waller is looking for his fourth win in the JJ Atkins, including The Autumn Sun (Redoute's Choice) last year, and holds a major hand in early markets. The ruling favourite is his Snitzel colt Reloaded, who like The Autumn Sun won on debut on ANZAC Day.

Reloaded looks likely to fly the flag for his sire in both the JJ Atkins and the traditional lead-up, the G2 BRC Sires' Produce S, which is worth $400,000, including $232,000 for the winner, at Eagle Farm on Saturday week.

Reloaded is one of six of Snitzel's 2-year-old crop among the 163 early nominations for the JJ Atkins, while I Am Invincible has eight.

I Am Invincible's best hope, according to the early markets, is the John O'Shea colt Twentyfour Carat, who was sixth behind Reloaded in that ANZAC Day race at Randwick, although beaten just 1.6l, and subsequently ran fourth in a Canterbury maiden last week.

Record depth of 2-year-old sires

It’s not necessarily just a two-stallion race for the 2YO Championship with Darley pair Exceed And Excel and Lonhro also theoretically within striking distance. Exceed And Excel, through a significant contribution from Group 1 winner Microphone ($1.59m), is around $560,000 behind I Am Invincible, while Lonhro has enjoyed his most lucrative 2-year-old season since Pierro's Triple Crown winning year, with his progeny winning $2.06m ($790,000 off the lead), thanks to a big help from his G1 Blue Diamond S. winning filly Lyre.

Darley stallion, Sidestep, sits above them in third place, on $2.46m, but with a huge chunk of that coming from G1 Golden Slipper S. winner Kiamichi, who is in the paddock, he is unlikely to be able to get the $400,000 to bridge the gap on the top two.

He will, however, easily capture the first-season sire title, a terrific achievement for a stallion who stood his first season at Darley for $11,000 (inc GST), was just $7700 in his first season at Queensland's Telemon Throughbreds last year and still looks value at $22,000 in 2019.

The depth of first-season sires this season, plus the terrific state of Australian prizemoney, is evidenced by the fact that for the first-time ever, there are five freshmen whose progeny have earned over $1 million.

Sidestep is joined by Better Than Ready, Brazen Beau, Rubick and Deep Field in the millionaires' club and there is still two and half months of the season remaining.

That quintet is part of a record 12 stallions whose progeny have earned over $1m this year. Along with the ones already mentioned, there is also Arrowfield pair Dundeel (NZ) and Not A Single Doubt and Coolmore's Fastnet Rock.

When I Am Someone (Onemorenomore) arrived at Shadow Hill in Victoria as an underdeveloped 2-year-old, Kim Alderton couldn’t have imagined that he'd ever make it as a racehorse, let alone contest a Group 1 race, as he does on Saturday in The Goodwood at Morphettville.

Breeder Brad Scott had been sent to Shadow Hill, run by Alderton and her husband Dale, by a local breaker who felt the horse needed to develop significantly both mentally and physically if he was ever a chance to make it to the track.

After seven months of education, I Am Someone emerged looking a completely different horse, albeit with some of the same quirks which made his time with Alderton so memorable.

"He arrived with us as a very undergrown 2-year-old colt. He was about the size of some of my weanlings at the time. He came to me to grow out," Alderton told TDN AusNZ.

"The physical change in him was huge. He was always a quirky fella. He was always very nervous and I had to spend a lot of time with him."

Alderton spent considerable time on her special project, dropping in on him during feed runs to get him comfortable with stable life.

"He was a really nervous guy. He was funny. Some days, you’d catch him no problems, but the girl that was working for us, she couldn't catch him. But he trusted me so it was easier for me. He was just a funny little fella. He still has some of those traits, but you can deal with him now," she said.

"He is one of those horses who will always have that little bit of that nature about him, but he was settled enough that he could deal with life as a racehorse."

As if often the case with an unsettled colt, a gelding operation also helped remedy some of his wayward ways, but even after all the work she had done with 'Onesy', Alderton was never certain he'd make it on the track.

"As a young horse they said he could buck like no tomorrow. I always wondered how he'd go as a racehorse. But he had a lot of time off which was beneficial for him to forget his bad traits," she said.

Off to become a racehorse

Sent to Horsham trainer Paul Preusker, I Am Someone has developed into a sprinter of some ability, winning five of his 15 starts, including a last start stakes win in the Listed Wangoom Hcp at Warrnambool.

On Saturday, he is considered a leading chance in South Australia's richest sprint race.

While a lot of the credit for that belongs to Alderton, she says Preusker has done a great job of continuing the education she began with I Am Someone.

"I know Paul puts a fair bit of work into him and I'm sure he has given Paul plenty of grief along the way, but he seems to have him well under control," she said.

"Early in his career one day, he got scratched when he rushed the barrier, but now, even in the mounting yard, he seems a lot more relaxed."

Alderton has plenty of confidence in his ability and in his prospects of adding a top-flight win on Saturday.

"He's run second to Nature Strip (Nicconi) earlier in his career, that looks good," she said. "If you look at his form, the races he hasn't won, he's either been held up or overraced, which is a bit of a trap of his. I think he has every chance of winning on the weekend, so fingers crossed."

Preparing for Gold

Having done such a fantastic job with I Am Someone, Alderton was asked by Scott to prepare his younger half-brother by Stryker for this year's Inglis Melbourne Gold Yearling Sale.

There was more than a sense of deja-vu when he arrived at Shadow Hill for his yearling preparation earlier this year.

"He was very similar, but not quite as behind as I Am Someone was, but he really kicked on in the prep," she said. "He was a bit behind, and we had a bit to do to get him in the sale because we only had him for eight weeks, but he came along very well."

"He will be a nicer type than I Am Someone. He'll certainly be bigger than him."

Paul and Tracey Templeton picked up the colt for $56,000, which was a great result for Scott and another endorsement for Shadow Hill, which also offered a small draft at the Inglis Melbourne Premier Sale earlier this year.

But while sales successes are nice, Alderton, who worked at Eliza Park for 18 years before setting up Avenel-based Shadow Hill with Dale a few years ago, takes most pride in the behaviour of the horses that come under her care.

"It comes down to their start in life. That's got a huge part to play in how they go into the stables," she said. "That education when they are babies is the most important thing."

"My babies now you can go out and trim their feet and they have not long been off the farm. That's what I take my pride in handling and educating those young ones."

Timing is crucial to the success of any stallion and the win of The Bostonian (NZ) in last Saturday's Doomben 10,000 was a considerable boost to his sire Jimmy Choux (NZ) ahead of his first season at Rosalee Park Stud in Serpentine in Western Australia.

Alan MacAlister, who owns Redwood Park Stud, was the man behind securing Jimmy Choux from Rich Hill Stud in New Zealand last month. Thanks to The Bostonian's narrow win at Doomben on Saturday, he now owns one of what will likely be only four Group 1 winning stallions in WA for the upcoming season.

"We knew that they were knocking on the door to win a Group 1 with the The Bostonian, but it’s absolutely fantastic timing for us. We've had a few people on the phone since then, so it's a good result," MacAlister told TDN AusNZ.

The Bostonian, from Jimmy Choux's second crop, always loomed as his banner horse, winning stakes races in New Zealand and Australia as a 3-year-old and early 4-year-old before being set for the Brisbane carnival by his trainer Tony Pike.

Saturday's success was also significant for the fact that he defeated Osborne Bulls (Street Cry {Ire}), previously placed in four Group 1 sprints this campaign, as well as Group 1 winner Nature Strip (Nicconi).

And MacAlister feels that while The Bostonian is one of only two stakes winners for Jimmy Choux to date - the other is the Tony Noonan-trained Manolo Blahniq (NZ) - there is plenty to come from his remaining NZ crops before his first WA foals hit the ground in 2020.

"There's a few more out there that people have got good opinions of him. We have spoken to a few trainers who have got Jimmy Chouxs and they got a few wraps on some of them which is good," he said.

MacAlister has a broodmare band of about 20 of his own mares, the majority of which will be sent to Jimmy Choux at Wayne and Tracy Rodwell's Rosalee Park Stud this year.

He said interest from other breeders has been strong with the stallion to stand at $4500 plus GST.

"Everybody is very interested. I guess you can't tell this early on as the breeding market is a bit fickle over here, and some people seem to think they can get something for free. But we won't be doing that, he will stand for $4500 plus GST and the only deal we’d do will be on multiple mares or maybe black-type," he said.

"I've bought him to service my mares, and while I'm involved with other stallions, I need some new blood and it was a good opportunity to purchase him."

A fantastic racetrack record

Jimmy Choux's race record certainly stands up well, given he was a five-time Group 1 winner and a stakes winner at two, three and four, winning from 800m up to the 2400m of the G1 NZ Derby.

"He's certainly one of the best credentialled stallions WA has stood for a long, long time. Now he's produced a Group 1 winner, there are not too many in WA who have produced one," MacAlister said.

The other appeal for Jimmy Choux is that he is Danehill-free, being a son of Thorn Park out of a Centaine mare.

Watch: Jimmy Choux winning the G1 NZ Derby

"As a breeder it gives you plenty of options and we know the Danehill cross works. The Bostonian has Danehill on his side and so that was a fantastic result. He's an outcross sire, and if you breed Danehill with him, it works as well," he said.

MacAlister believes that versatility, both in Jimmy Choux's own race performance and in possible pedigree matches places him well to target a wider range of Western Australian feature races.

"He’ll throw a few 2-year-olds, and they’ll be classy enough to go for races like the (G2) Karrakatta Plate and the G3 (WA) Sires' (Produce S.) and as a 3-year-old onwards, they can still be there for the big sprint races, and for the longer distance ones as well," he said.

"He's throwing speed and distance. You've got all bases covered which is really nice."