The offspring of mares from both hemispheres sired by American stallions have for a long time punched well above their weight, both in the sales ring and on the track, and yet again they have had a successful year in Australia.
With Fasig Tipton’s November Sale right around the corner, a question looming for Australian breeders is whose daughters will be the next star producers in our Southern Hemisphere broodmare bands?
Stallions like Blame (USA) and War Front (USA) have established themselves as desirable stallions in the pedigrees of horses like Switzerland, St Gotthard (Snitzel), Xtremetime (Extreme Choice), and multiple Group 1 winner Full Count Felicia (USA) (War Front {USA}), who kicked off her broodmare career with an Alabama Express filly this spring. Group-performed Miss Hellfire (Hellbent), out of a daughter of War Front, commanded a $2.05 million price tag at the Magic Millions Gold Coast National Broodmare Sale this year.
Several former shuttlers such as More Than Ready (USA), Medaglia D’Oro (USA), Shamardal (USA), and Bernardini (USA) continue to perform with daughters born on both sides of the equator producing the likes of high flyers Ceolwulf (NZ) (Tavistock {NZ}), Campione D'Italia (Snitzel), and Apocalyptic (Extreme Choice).
Perhaps Street Sense (USA) is the most current of all, given his position as broodmare sire of G1 Cox Plate hero Cosmic Crusader (NZ) (Maurice {Jpn}).
Who could be next to join this group of broodmare sires who have made an impact down under?
Last season’s headliners
Amongst the top 100 broodmare sires in Australia in the 2025/26 racing season, 21 carrying the (USA) suffix, and understandably it is former shuttler More Than Ready who appears highest, sitting within the top 10 with over $17.4 million in earnings from the progeny of his daughters. Gerringong (Blue Point {Ire}), out of This Time Bridie (More Than Ready {USA}), was the top performer by earnings, accruing over $640,000 in three campaigns that saw her pick up black-type in three states.
More Than Ready (USA) | Standing at Vinery Stud
Third in the G1 Tattersalls Tiara in the winter, she resumed with her well deserved first stakes victory in the G3 Nivison Stakes and followed it up with a fourth in the G2 The Invitation.
More Than Ready daughters produced nine individual stakes winners in 2025/26, headed by G2 West Australian Derby winner Sentimental Legend (Brutal {NZ}), and we already know that he works with a variety of established domestic and international sirelines.
Sentimental Legend | Image courtesy of Western Racepix
One of his greatest nicks was with Redoute’s Choice, producing 23% stakes winners from 26 runners, and he has produced double digit percentages of stakes winners from Redoute’s Choice’s sons Snitzel and Not A Single Doubt, and further descendants of this line in Russian Revolution and Shamus Award. He is also the broodmare sire for G1 Melbourne Cup winner Knight’s Choice (Extreme Choice).
Shamardal and the late Medaglia D’Oro came next, with seven and eight individual stakes winners apiece. Shamardal owes over $5 million in his broodmare sire earnings to Ceolwulf, a dual Group 1 winner last spring. While he is most exposed to fellow Northern Hemisphere sires, his 18% stakes winners strike rate with Too Darn Hot (GB), and the same percentage with his sire Dubawi (Ire), is applicable to the sireline’s growing desirability in Australia.
Medaglia D’Oro celebrated two Group 1-winning descendants with Campione D’Italia and Apocalyptic, and he also has a 25% stakes strike rate with Too Darn Hot, being the damsire of Bangkok Hottie. He was also the damsire of Listed winners Different Gravy (Ghaiyyath {Ire}) and Band Of Brothers (Omaha {USA}) last season.
Medaglia D’Oro | Image courtesy of Darley
Bernadini, Hard Spun (USA), and long-time Arrowfield Stud resident Hussonet (USA) are amongst the other broodmare sires with three or more individual Australian stakes winners last season.
Cosmic Crusader won the G1 Northerly Stakes last summer before his Group 1 double this spring, but Street Sense isn’t the only representative of the Street Cry (Ire) sireline to experience success as a damsire last season.
The great son of Machiavellian (USA) was a lynchpin in Darley’s American and Australian operations, and his daughters served up 11 individual stakes winners in Australian soil last season, led by G1 Golden Rose Stakes and G1 All Aged Stakes winner Beiwacht (Bivouac), while Victorian resident Street Boss (USA) coupled a star-studded season on the track with a brace of stakes winners out of his daughters. His New Zealand-based son Per Incanto (USA) had his name in lights thanks to his grandson, the G1 The Everest winner Ka Ying Rising (NZ) (Shamexpress {NZ}).
Banking on Storm Cat
Several descendants of the Storm Cat (USA) lineage have already enjoyed success in Australia, with particular popularity for the branches of Giant’s Causeway (USA) and Hennessy (USA). The South African-based Var (USA) is another descendant of Storm Cat who has enjoyed immense success from limited opportunities, chiefly as damsire of superstar mare Autumn Glow (The Autumn Sun) and In The Congo.
Like Shamardal before him, Not This Time (USA) profiles as another son of Giant’s Causeway who holds potential for the Australian market. A Grade III winner at two over 1700 metres and second in the G1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf over the same trip, he made a dynamite start to his stud career with 79 individual stakes winners from seven crops of racing age, 17 of whom came from his first crop. This number was surpassed only by his current 4-year-olds, who number 18 stakes winners so far at an astonishing strike rate of 18.9%.
Not This Time (USA) | Standing at Taylor Made Stallions
His 15 Grade 1 winners to date include Cogburn (USA), triple Grade 1 winner Up To The Mark (USA), and Epicenter (USA). In addition, Not This Time’s damsire Trippi (USA) produced the South African G2 Woolavington Stakes winner Little Suzie (SAf) out of a Street Cry mare bred in Australia.
There are no daughters of Not This Time at stud in Australia yet, but the Fasig Tipton November Sale will present four opportunities to purchase one, including G1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint winner Cy Fair (USA), who is entered to run in the G1 Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint this weekend.
Further potential from the Storm Cat line is seen in his triple Grade 1-winning great grandson Practical Joke (USA), a son of American supersire Into Mischief (USA). Currently shuttling between Kentucky and Chile, he has produced 12 Grade 1 winners with just six crops of racing age. His sons Domestic Product (USA) and Wit (USA) have already entered stud.
Cy Fair (USA) | Image courtesy if Fasig-Tipton
Into Mischief is the damsire of 56 stakes winners so far, including White Abarrio (USA), Grade I winner Troubleshooting (USA) (Not This Time {USA}), and multiple Graded stakes winner Pin Up Betty (USA) (Constitution {USA}).
He has limited daughters in Australia, but 2024 Fasig Tipton November Sale graduate Downtown Mischief (USA) has already produced the goods in the ring for owners Arrowfield Stud, who purchased her in foal to Gun Runner (USA) for US$800,000 (AU$1.15 million) before selling the resultant filly this year for US$1.1 million (US$1.58 million). There are four opportunities apiece to purchase daughters of Into Mischief and Practical Joke in Monday’s sale.
A descendant of Hennessy who has already more than proven his worth in Australia is Justify (USA), whose elite juvenile daughter Learning To Fly kicked off her broodmare career this year by delivering a colt by Wootton Bassett (GB). Australian breeders have already embraced his sons Storm Boy and City Of Troy (USA), both of whom welcomed their first foals this spring,
Living Magic (USA) | Image courtesy of Fasig-Tipton
One of two daughters of Justify in the sale is the black-type winner Living Magic (USA), whose full brother Appeared (USA) races in the Darby Racing colours for Bjorn Baker and has won all three starts he has had on Australian soil. Through damsire Footstepsinthesand (GB), who is son of Giant’s Causeway, Living Magic carries two strains of Storm Cat, a duplication that has produced 73 individual Group/Grade 1 winners to date and over 700 stakes winners.
Ones to watch
The youngest stallion in the top 40 of the USA/Canada broodmare sires’ premiership this year, Uncle Mo (USA) also celebrated a Group 1 winner as damsire in Australia thanks to G1 VRC Oaks victress Strictly Business (Grunt {NZ}).
In the 2026/27 season, he has already added Beyond The Reef (Flying Artie), who won the G3 Reginald Allen Quality Handicap, to his record. His sire Indian Charlie (USA) appears in the pedigree of G1 Moir Stakes winner and sire Wild Ruler as broodmare sire of his second dam.
Uncle Mo (USA) | Image courtesy of Coolmore
Over in the States, Uncle Mo has been particularly prevalent in the top echelon in recent years thanks to his daughters producing the likes of triple Grade 1 winner and G1 Kentucky Derby runner-up Journalism (USA) (Curlin {USA}), Eclipse Champion Nitrogen (USA) (Medaglia D'Oro {USA}), and five-time Grade 1 winner Thorpedo Anna (USA) (Fast Anna {USA}), plus multiple Group 1-winning Japanese horse Wilson Tesoro (Jpn) (Kitasan Black {Jpn}).
Given the success that Medaglia D’Oro continues to enjoy on Australian soil, it may be worth paying attention to his son Violence (USA), already the broodmare sire of multiple Group performer Mayfair (Fastnet Rock) from a handful of opportunities in Australia.
Murky (USA) | Image courtesy of Fasig-Tipton
From small crops, Violence has already produced 57 individual stakes winners with a stakes horses to runners ratio of 12.6%. His headline act Forte (USA), winner of four Grade 1 races, including three as a juvenile, is out of a mare by Blame - as is November Sale offering Murky (USA), a 1300-metre turf winner on her juvenile debut. The cross creates a double up of the influential Thong (USA) family.
