Commanding attention...

As we head towards the Spring carnival, it is exciting to note that Commands is once again a leading Stakes-producing sire less than six weeks into the current racing season

Renowned for his ability to sire winners - and plenty of them - Commands finished the 2009/10 racing season as the leader of that division with 143 individual winners, and has wasted little time in staking an early claim for this year's title.

He has currently sired the second-largest number of individual winners, but it is his number of Stakes performers which sees him leading the way among his peers. With five individual Stakes horses highlighted by the G2 winner Soul, Commands (pictured) is currently matched only by barn mate Street Cry.

One particularly pleasing fact is that four of the five are horses which have gained their first Black type this season, indicating there is more to come from these lightly-raced gallopers as we progress further into the season.

Racing in the colours of Sheikh Mohammed, three-year-old gelding Soul started his campaign with a promising win as a late two-year-old, before finishing a very good second at his first start of his current campaign behind subsequent G1 winner Toorak Toff.

At his most recent start, Soul defeated a quality field of gallopers to win the G2 Danehill Stakes, a race won two years back by Strategic gelding Aichi. This race has historically been a springboard to further carnival success with the likes of Time Thief, Jet Spur, Fastnet Rock, Choisir, Scenic Blast and Anamato all having recorded a top-three finish in recent years.

Consistent throughout her career to date, five-year-old Commands mare Brasileira recorded her fifth win and first at Stakes level with a gutsy performance in the Listed Mona Lisa Stakes at Wyong, where she defeated G1 AJC Oaks winner Once Were Wild.

Another five-year-old mare to show she has come back even stronger this time in is the dual G1 winner Purple. Resuming with a very good fourth at G2 level, she went one better at her last start, rushing home from the tail of the field to take third place behind multiple G1 winners Theseo and Metal Bender in the Chelmsford Stakes. As she reaches her optimum journey of 2000m, Purple will really come into her own this campaign, especially if the way she has returned from her break is anything to go by.

With two Commands colts contesting the recent running of the G3 McNeil Stakes, Intencion and Servant finished second and third respectively, beaten only by the lightly-weighted filly Sistine Angel. In fourth place was last season’s G1-winning juvenile Yosei, who at her last run of her two-year-old campaign finished just over a length behind Commands colt Skilled in the G1 Champagne Stakes.

With the likes of last season’s Stakes horses such as Skilled, Rarefied, Conquered Dream, Kanzan and Demanding Miss already starting their Spring carnival lead ups, it appears only a matter of time before further Stakes success is on the cards.

Having never finished outside the top ten on the general sires' table during the past five racing seasons, Commands is well on his way to repeating that effort once again, thanks in part to the recent efforts of the above mentioned gallopers.

Commands is now also starting to add another facet to his illustrious stud career. With nine winners from 21 runners as a broodmare sire, G3 San Domenico winner Obsequious, a three-year-old filly by Lonhro, leads the way.

Standing at Darley Kelvinside at a fee of $66,000 including GST, if you would like to speak to any of the Darley nominations team about Commands, please call + 61 (0)2 6543 9000.