Top Of The Crops 2024 - Number 5

Weatherbys has published the 60th edition of the Bloodstock Sales Review — a must-have resource for those purchasing horses in all sections of the market, as well as breeders putting together their mating plans, whether Flat or National Hunt.

The book provides a complete analysis of European bloodstock sales in 2024 for all foals, yearlings and older horses in Britain, Ireland, France, Germany and Italy. It also includes foals and yearlings either foaled in Europe or by European-based sires at the major auctions in North America and Japan.

Furthermore, the Bloodstock Sales Review features comprehensive overviews of the trading year for Tattersalls, Goffs, Tattersalls Ireland and Arqana, as well as tables of the leading sires of 2024 by yearling average, lists of the year’s most expensive yearlings and foals, and a roll of top historical auction prices.

To mark the publication of the book, we compiled a top ten of the most profitable British and Irish-based yearling sires last year.

We have worked out each sires’ profitability index by dividing their 2024 yearling average by their covering fee of 2022, when the offspring in question were conceived.

In fifth place...

Territories

2024 yearling ave: 48,085gns/€58,062

2022 covering fee: £10,000

Profitability index: 5.05

Territories confirmed himself a useful accomplice to breeders on a budget by delivering Group 1 winners Lazzat, Regional and Rougir, as well as Derby runner-up Hoo Ya Mal, from inexpensively bred early crops. However, like Bradsell, he is now standing in India – at Poonawalla Stud from this year, in his case.

The son of Invincible Spirit’s third-last crop, conceived at Dalham Hall Stud at a fee of £10,000, was responsible for 36 lots who sold for an average price of 48,085gns (€58,062), making a profitability index of 5.05. It must be pointed out, though, that those figures were skewed by his biggest seller, the full-brother to Group 2-placed Masseto sold to Sumbe for 750,000gns, making more than 500,000gns in excess of his next most expensive lot.