Cosmic call a feather in Deep Field's cap

Cosmic Force, who is from Deep Field's first crop, won the G3 Pago Pago S. and the G2 Roman Consul S. in a 12-start career that saw him competitive with the best colts of what has been a standout 3-year-old crop in 2019/20.

One of four stakes winners by Deep Field, he becomes the first of his progeny to retire to stud. Thus continuing a legacy for the sireline, which stretches back to his grandsire Northern Meteor and his great grandsire Encosta De Lago.

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Given the success Deep Field has had with his first two crops, Cosmic Force is unlikely to be his only son to be given a chance at stud.

Deep Field is setting the pace when it comes to producing winners in his year group of stallions, and to this point of his career has matched his own sire Northern Meteor in that regard. Up to May 4 in their second-season of having runners to the track, they have produced an identical amount of winners, 74.

That tally holds up remarkably well when you compare that to some of the most successful stallions of recent years. At the same stage of their careers, Snitzel had 53 winners, I Am Invincible 61, Sebring 67, Pierro 57, Zoustar 66 and All Too Hard 66.

Looking back further, Deep Field's own grandsire Encosta De Lago had 45 winners to this point of his career, while Redoute's Choice had 61 and Fastnet Rock 70.

Table: Deep Field's record (at May 4) compared to proven sires at the same point in their careers

With 62 winners in total for the current season already, Deep Field is also a good chance to surpass the high-water mark of 80 set by Northern Meteor when it comes to most winners by a second-season sire in recent times. The only other second season sire in the past decade to have close to Northern Meteor's tally from 2013/14 was All Too Hard in 2017/18 with 75.

Interestingly, neither Northern Meteor, beaten by Sebring, or All Too Hard, eclipsed by Pierro, were crowned Champion Second Season Sire. That fate will also befall Deep Field, with Rubick holding an unassailable lead of over $6 million in the fight for that price in 2019/20.

Grabbing the opportunity

Having covered 257 and 204 mares respectively in his first two seasons, Deep Field has certainly been given every opportunity to secure a high volume of winners, with 147 runners to date, compared to Northern Meteor who had 120 at this point.

But Newgate Director Of Stallions Bruce Slade said success is never a given and the way Deep Field is tracking shows him to be in the upper echelon of young stallions in Australia.

"People might say well he's got plenty of runners, but there is a number of stallions who covered a lot of mares in those first couple of seasons along with Deep Field. It's one thing getting runners to the track which is a really positive thing to say they are sound and forward, and to have them winning too. His winning strike rate is enormous, which is terrific," Slade said.

Slade said Newgate has been closely tracking Deep Field's record in comparison to the country's top stallions such as Snitzel and I Am Invincible at a similar stage of their careers and is very happy with the correlation it is seeing.

"I'm not saying he's Snitzel or Vinnie just yet and he still has to keep getting good horses, but there are a lot of positives on a number of fronts, when you compare him to those proper and proven horses in the market," he said.

"He's a horse that we really want to look after at Newgate going forward. We think he's going to be with us for a long time and have a really important impact on our farm and all the people that have supported him."

Deep Field is also the leading sire of 3-year-old by winners in the country with 53, one more than both Fastnet Rock and Snitzel and while he is yet to produce a Group 1 winner, Slade said the consistency of good horses he gets is a source for much optimism.

"He is coming off a $20,000 service fee and if you look at the horses from that first crop that have rated 90-plus, I think there's a lot of good signs there in terms of quality as well as quantity," Slade said.

"I think you will find in time as the 3-year-olds have more black-type opportunities at four, he's a horse that will continue to rise through the top 10 stallions in Australia."

In the sale ring and in Hong Kong

The constant flow of winners has certainly increased the desirability of Deep Field's progeny in the marketplace.

He had 56 of his third crop sold through the sales ring this year at an average of $152,623 and a median of $135,000. That median was the best of any stallion of his class and is comparable with some of the country's best young stallions, such as Pierro at $150,000.

"That median was a lot better than a lot of really good stallions in the marketplace that we like and respect," Slade said.

Slade points to the popularity of his progeny in the Hong Kong market, where he has already had winners in Californiadeepshot, All In Mind and True Legend, as one of the driving forces behind that demand.

"He's had 15 or 16 colts sold to Hong Kong and he's really starting to make a name for himself there. I would think he would have the most amount of winners from that crop of stallions in Hong Kong and hopefully he will have more. He had two trial the other day who won well," he said.

"You will find that there will be a nice Hong Kong option for his colts going forward. They respect him up there and they will be chasing them out of races in Australia and New Zealand."

In terms of his fillies, they are also getting the job done, with Xilong adding a second stakes success on Saturday in the G2 Euclase S. and Fituese seemingly on her way to stakes company after winning impressively at Randwick.

A change in approach

Slade said that having got the numbers on the board and with his son Cosmic Force ready to make his impression as a stallion, it was now time for Deep Field to move into a different stage of his career, with smaller books and higher quality.

"He's covered the numbers and now from this year on, we will really play it much tighter with him and look after him for the long term," he said.

"We don't see a lot of longevity in covering 250 mares a year for the rest of his life. We'll peg him right back and cover high-quality mares."