Monday, 29 July 2019: Boom first crop sires Better Than Ready and Deep Field have added more winners as they fight for premiership honours in the last days of the season.

Better Than Ready  has been the pacesetter from the very first 2YO races last spring and with the season ending on Wednesday is set to claim the first season sire title by wins and winners despite a late charge from Deep Field.

The son of More Than Ready was represented by his 23rd individual winner from just 47 starters on Sunday when the Yulong Investments-owned filly Green Rules (Better Than Ready x Hannigan Rules by Rock Of Gibraltar) won on debut at Bendigo.

The victory kept Better Than Ready, standing at Lyndhurst Stud in Queensland, two winners ahead of Newgate Farm's Deep Field  who also added another winner to his tally when Go Deep (Deep Field x Que Cee by Choisir) won at the Sunshine Coast on Sunday.

Better Than Ready's 23 individual winners have won 37 races while Deep Field's 21 first crop scorers have won a total of 26 races.

Sidestep , the sire of Golden Slipper Stakes winner Kiamachi, will win the first season sire's table by prizemoney with his six winners of 10 races earning $2,557,890, almost $600,000 more than Better Than Ready's progeny earnings for 2018-19.

Better Than Ready

It's been quite a season for the first crop stallions with Better Than Ready's number of winners the best since Without Fear set an Australian record some 40 years ago.

Better Than Ready served 236 mares in his first year at stud on a fee of $9900. His fee in 2019 has risen to $33,000.

In any other season Deep Field would be a clear winner of the first crop title by wins and winners.

His late charge at Better Than Ready included an impressive debut winner at Morphettville on Saturday when the Tony McEvoy-trained Deep Force (Deep Field x Kapala by Danehill Dancer) won easily as an odds on favourite after winning a Murray Bridge barrier trial by four lengths.

Rubick, with 15 winners of 19 races, and Shooting To Win (10/11) have also made strong starts their stud careers.

New Zealand-based first crop sire Charm Spirit, standing at Windsor Park Stud, also had a winner at Bendigo on Sunday with Heirborn his second 2YO winner in Australia.

He has also sired four first crop 2YO winners in New Zealand this season.

Sidestep is holding down third place on the overall 2YO prizemoney premiership behind champion sires I Am Invincible and Snitzel.

I Am Invincible extended his lead over Snitzel in the 2YO category when his impressive filly Lucicello (I Am Invincible x Lucciola by Verglas) won at Rosehill on Saturday.

She is among his 27 juvenile winners of 36 races this season who have earned $3,601,250, just $306,000 more than Snitzel's earnings from his 23 2YO winners of 29 races.

Both sires have had 65 2YO starters this season, underlining the close rivalry between the two stallions.

LUCICELLO

Lucicello,  who has won two of her four starts, was a $190,000 Easter Yearling Sale purchase from the Middlebrook Valley Lodge draft by Anton Koolman.

Her stakes placed dam Lucciola won 11 races and is from a three-quarter sister to the multiple G1 winner Conduit and half sister to the dam of G1 winner Glass Harmonium.