First season sires - Let the games begin!

Several high-profile first-season sires are set to make their mark on the Australian and New Zealand standardbred racing and breeding scene in 2026.

Key names leading the charge are the three-time Australian Horse of the Year King Of Swing, Cattlewash, who finished third on the USA two-year-old sires’ stakemoney list in 2025, and the USA Breeders Crown champion Dancin Lou.

King Of Swing, who is located at Belinda McCarthy’s Cobbitty Equine Farm in NSW, commanded almost full books in his first three seasons at a service fee of $8,000. 

The thrice Miracle Mile winner and dual Hunter Cup champion, King Of Swing has 100 foals to represent him on the racetrack this season. They include colts from 10 Group winners headed up by Miss Hazel, Royal Story, Shes A Lefty, Write About Lexy, Nuala, Dancing Diamonds, Highview Ebony and Iamajoyride and fillies out of the Oaks winners Shes A Runa and Has No Fear and other Group winners in Queen Of Pop, Nuala, Fake News and Too Smart For You.

The Rocknroll Hanover triple millionaire was among the leading first-season sires across all major yearling sales in 2025, with a colt selling for $85,000 at Sydney Nutrien and a filly fetching $82,500 at APG Melbourne.

The Somebeachsomewhere horse Cattlewash, the sire of last year’s USA and Canadian 2YO Colt of the Year Beau Jangles, has 13 live foals from his first frozen crop at Yirribee Stud, Wagga (NSW). There’s colts from the $100,000 earner Ima Grumpy Possum, Colada Belle (half-sister to Blacks A Fake), the Group 3 winner Victree Bonita, Indigo Breeze (dam of Sirletic) and Mardees Victory (dam of Rock With Sam) and fillies from the Group 1 winner Lady Waratah (dam of Steno) and Jet’s Girl (dam of Tay Tay). 

Dancin Lou, a millionaire son of Sweet Lou who stood two seasons at Trump Bloodstock in Queensland, left 22 live foals from his first ‘down under’ crop. They include colts from the handy racemares Ideal Pleasure, Gidup Tuscany Gold, A Victor and Chrissy Styx and Top Shelf Hanover USA and a filly from the dam of the Group 3 winner Hold Onto Ya Bling.

The world champion and dual Prix d’Amerique winner Face Time Bourbon, regarded as the hottest young sire in Europe today, heads up the list of new boys among the trotting ranks. He has a colt from the three-time Group 1 winner Dance Craze and a filly out of a daughter of the Hambletonian winner and USA Horse of the Year Continentalvictory.

Dancinginthedark M, the fastest two-year-old trotter ever imported to Australia, is represented by 26 foals from his first season at Aldebaran Park, Nagambie (Vic.). The Readly Express horse has colts out of a pair of half-sisters to the 2YO Trotting Colt of the Year Eljaykay Phoenix, a half-brother to Keayang Bazlenka and fillies from the Group 2 victors Waikare Patricia and Monaro Mia.

Completing the lineup is On A Streak, a brilliantly fast son of Cantab Hall who left 49 foals from his first Australian crop when located at Yabby Dam Farms, Ballarat (Vic.). 

Among his first drop are colts from the Group winners Moonlight Dream, My Arya, Hotjane Bling and Idle Lea, Imsettogo, Zhenya, Showmethemaori (dam of Vincennes) and fillies out of the Group 1 winners Kinvara Sue, Maidstone Miss, My Valerie and Our Dolly Would, Diamond Insitu (dam of Sparkling Success), the Group 3 winner Iona Spider, Rompers Monarchy and I Am Who I Am (dam of Jaxnme).

by Peter Wharton for Harnesslink