G'day Troops,

In virtually all instances... save of course the rare superstar sire... you have to consider the opportunities that were afforded each sire by way of mare numbers and mare quality.
In that respect everyone's going to have their own views on what constitutes a good, bad or indifferent shot at the big leagues...however it is obviously reasonable to suggest that a horse like Dawn Ofa New Day got both significantly fewer and generally lesser quality mares than did the likes of Art Major. For Dawn Ofa New Day to then produce an Oz 2yo colt of the Year was really quite significant while had Art Major done so it would still have been an achievement but it would also have been somewhat expected of him.
Going back to the opening question of this thread... the best value sire under 5k in Australia at the present time, IMO, is Artistic Fella. I've only relatively recently come to this conclusion by way of seeing some of his first foals. If he doesn't make the grade as a sire here in Oz I'll eat my old Lawn Mowing Shoes.