The whips are cracking inside the final furlong in the Victorian Division of the Australian Second Season sires, as promising young sires
Reward for Effort and
Stryker fight out the finish.
REWARD FOR EFFORT winning the Blue Diamond
Dynamic Syndications Blue Diamond winner Reward for Effort, a son of Exceed and Excel, has
33 winners on the board with earnings of
$1.8 million, while Fastnet Rock’s son Stryker also has 33 winners of $1.2 million.
Both sires are
equal 4th on the Australian 2nd Season Sires list for Individual Winners, behind
Star Witness (40) and equal second
Hinchinbrook (38) & Rothesay (38).
The competition between the two Victorian sires is intense and both have done an outstanding job to date for their respective farms
Chatswood Stud (Reward for Effort) and
Three Bridges Thoroughbreds (Stryker).
Reward for Effort leads on the score of stakes-winners with three (3) in Australia this season – Gold Symphony, Take Pride, Dalradian and Stakes Placed Gratwick – while Stryker hasn’t had a Stakes Winner in Australia (but has Rangipo in NZ), but has had 2 stakes place-getters Labdien and Miss Nymeria.
On the two year-old front,
Stryker (8) individual Australian two year-old winners leads over Reward for Effort (6).
Stryker has had 79 Runners : 33 Winners whilst Reward For Effort has had 89 Runners : 33 Winners.
That represents Stryker narrowly ahead by strike rate this season with 41.8% winners : runners, but Reward for Effort is close up with 37.1%.
On the Number of Race Wins tally,
Reward For Effort has had 46 Races Wins including 4 Stakes Wins whilst Stryker has had 40 wins but zero (0) stakes wins.
On the Yearling Sale front, Reward For Effort dominated Stryker in 2016. In previous seasons both sires stood at $11,000 Service Fee.
Reward For Effort had 53 yearlings sell – Gross $2,704,000, Average $51,019, Median $40,000.
Stryker had 32 yearlings sell – Gross $872,000, Average $27,250, Median $19,000.
With yearlings selling for up to $380,000 this year, Reward for Effort has had a fee increase this spring and moves up to $16,500, while Stryker remains at his fee of $11,000.