Sejardan, trained by Gary Portelli, is a member of the final crop by Sebring and will be given the chance to emulate his sire and win the G1 Golden Slipper S. in the autumn after backing up his G3 Breeders' Plate victory last month with a barnstorming win in the $1 million Golden Gift on Saturday.
He is already the second highest-earning 2-year-old ever by Sebring, behind only G2 Magic Night S. winner and Golden Slipper S. placegetter Bring Me The Maid, and Portelli believes he can become the first Group 1-winning juvenile by the stallion.
Sejardan | Image courtesy of Ashlea Brennan
That a potential star might emerge from that final crop of Sebring is not surprising, given the quality and quantity of mares he served in that 2018 season, when he stood for $66,000 (inc GST), producing a posthumous crop of 152 foals.
But as has often been the case with Sebring, it is his older progeny who have been putting the runs on the board.
His amazing consistency as a producer, which has seen him finish top 10 in the Australian Sires' Table in the past seven seasons, has continued in 2021/22 and he sits sixth on the table this year having produced four stakes winners.
He was the leading sire by winners through the Melbourne Cup Carnival, with three, highlighted by the breakthrough Group 1 success from the Danny O'Brien-trained and Bob Peters-owned Superstorm in the G1 Cantala S.
Gallery: Sebring's winning progeny over the Melbourne Cup Carnival
He had a stakes double on that day, with Fangirl, from his penultimate crop, winning the G3 Carbine Club S. in impressive fashion for Chris Waller. Last Saturday 4-year-old Our Playboy became the third winner by the late son of More Than Ready (USA) across the four days at Flemington.
Across the past week, as well as Flemington and Rosehill, he also had winners at Belmont Park, Morphettville, Riccarton and the Gold Coast, while as things stand there are only three sires who have more Australian stakes winners than him so far this season.
Before and after
When a stallion dies prematurely, there is often a focus on what they left us with in their final few crops, perhaps as a measurement of the opportunity lost by such misfortune.
In order to look at that aspect, it is worth looking at the respective records of his produce in the time before and after Widden Stud announced he had died of heart failure in February 2019 at age 13, at the peak of his breeding career.
Prior to his death, with seven crops at the track, from 703 runners, Sebring had produced 51 stakes winners and a total of 469 winners.
At that point, Sebring had five Group 1 winners, Dissident, Criterion (NZ), Egg Tart, Amphitrite and Lucky Bubbles.
Gallery: Sebring's Group 1 winners prior to his death
Since his death, he has had 508 runners for 25 stakes winners and 350 winners in total. Dual Group 1 winner Nettoyer and the aforementioned Superstorm have been his two elite winners since that time. It is also worth noting, he has had winners in six different countries since February 2019, with total progeny earnings of $45 million.
Sons and daughters
Sebring's bloodlines continue to have an influence through both his sire sons and broodmare daughters. His five-time Group 1-winning son Dissident, now a resident at Riverdene Stud, has not set the world on fire as a stallion, but has produced 131 winners from his previous base at Newgate, including two stakes winners.
His other star son, Criterion, had a breeding career curtailed by fertility issues and has only produced 11 starters. Three of them have been winners including Saturday's Rosehill winner Blaze A Trail. Western Australian-based Longma was another son who showed potential at stud, but he died prematurely after only two seasons, leaving the stakes winner Hoi An.
There are several other sons of Sebring with progeny coming through, including his speedy son Supido, who stands at the same stud his sire did, Widden, and whose first crop have hit the racetrack this season.
Gallery: Some of Sebring's sire sons
Spendthrift Australia's Gold Standard and Glenthorn Park's Sebring Sun also have their first 2-year-olds this season.
Meanwhile, the first foals of Riverbank's Prince Of Caviar and Wyndholm Stud's Ringerdingding have arrived this spring.
From a broodmare sire perspective, Sebring's daughters have already produced three stakes winners, including G1 Manawatu Sires' Produce S. winner On The Bubbles (Brazen Beau) and recent Listed Mitchell McKenzie S. winner He's Xceptional (Xtravagant {NZ}).
All in all, Sebring is the damsire of 73 winners across seven different countries, with the majority of those coming in the past 12-18 months.
