It was during the Darley stallion parade at Kelvinside last Saturday that a statement made by the stud's head of sales, Alister Pulford, really hit home regarding the number of new sires on stallion rosters throughout Australia.
Pulford pointed out that of the 15 stallions standing at their Hunter Valley base this season only five had representatives on the track. He highlighted the fact three of the 15 were newcomers in 2015 - Shooting To Win, Hallowed Crown and Sidestep.
There are a number of absentees from Darley's 2014 roster due to deaths and some stallions not measuring up - Street Cry, Commands, Time Thief, Ad Valorem and Kuroshio all missing.
Bloodlines, however, looked further into Pulford's announcement. Of Darley's team, only Lonhro, Exceed and Excel, Medaglia d'Oro, Bernardini and Denman are represented on the track.
This means that their remaining seven stallions are virtually untested and breeders and racegoers alike are full of excitement for the appearance of Sepoy, Poet's Voice and Benfica's two-year-olds leading into 2016.
Waiting in their shadows are Albrecht, Carlton House, Dawn Approach and Epaulette, whose first Australian progeny are foaling right now.
Pulford did point out that buying the right young stallion was now a battle royale with Darley, Coolmore and the new kid on the block, Newgate Farm, clashing. There are multimillion dollar offers for the right group 1-winning horse, as has been evident over the past couple of years.
Coolmore has been right up there buying the local products and has Pierro waiting in the wings with his first yearlings selling next year. Bloodlines predicts they will go through the roof.
Coolmore also reportedly paid $40 million for Golden Slipper winner Vancouver and he will begin his stud career after his three-year-old season.
Missing, nonetheless, from last year are Encosta De Lago, High Chaparral, Haradasun and Camelot.
Their replacements this year are Cox Plate winner Adelaide and the American and European star Verrazano, while Holy Roman Emperor, who first shuttled to Australia in 2007, returns after producing some of the world's most prolific stakes winners.
It was quite surprising to see that only two of Coolmore's current dozen 2015 stallions have local runners - Fastnet Rock and Choisir - while Holy Roman Emperor has had the odd representative bob up.
Coolmore, like Darley, is anxiously awaiting the debuts of three of their past racetrack superstars - So You Think, US sprinting sensation Uncle Mo, and Zoffany who already boasts 16 European two-year-old winners this year.
Cause for Excelebration
Apart from Pierro's presence, the yearling ring will be bolstered by the eagerly awaited progeny of Excelebration, one of Exceed and Excel's best sprinters worldwide, as well as Declaration of War.
One can say the future looks quite bright for Darley and Coolmore, but it is quite alarming just how many of our former stars have come and gone.
Newgate newcomers
Prior to attending the Darley stallion parade, the hordes of breeding tragics made their way to Newgate Farm, which is only a five-minute drive from Darley.
Newgate is now one of the heavyweight Australian studs in what has been a whirlwind five years since coming to fruition under Henry Field and some cashed-up overseas backers.
Its roster this year features six colonial breds and flying US sprinter The Factor, whose yearling sale deeds have been well documented in recent weeks in America.
The Newgate newcomers are Dissident, Deep Field and Wandjina and they were fully booked within a fortnight of being put on the market. Foxwedge, Sizzling and Eurozone have all turned into eye-catching individuals after having settled into their new careers.
But when it comes to seeing what looks close to the perfect horse, Yarraman Park's I Am Invincible is hard to go past. He gets a Bo Derek rating of 10 out of 10.
Hoofnote: Unfortunately the Coolmore parade on Sunday was called off due to thunderous conditions and Bloodlines missed out on seeing Adelaide, Verrazano and Rubick, but they can wait for another day.
