2019 is still a very young year, but the leading sires of three-year-olds, thus far, is worth examining. The usual suspects have changed, at least enough to remark upon. After a couple of stellar weekends in which his youngsters won nearly everything, stakes and maiden special weights, Violence leads the pack. Though his stud fee, at Hill ‘n’ Dale in Lexington, has rightly been upped to $40,000, it’s still unusual for a stallion with such a relatively low stud fee to be number one.

Violence, however, doesn’t present the best bargain on the early top ten list. Tapit, at number three, logs in with his $225,000 stud fee, with Curlin at number seven ($175,000), Into Mischief at number eight ($150,000), and Quality Road at nine ($150,000). The rest of the top ten, however, represents a bit of a surprise.

Young Cairo Prince, standing at Airdrie, is number three, at a stud fee of $25,000. At $40,000, at Darley, Hard Spun is a surprise, but has been coming on for most of 2018, and seems to be continuing his winning ways.

Here’s where the real shocks begin. Congrats, a stalwart stud who gets good winners yearly, is number five, at a lowered stud fee of only $12,500. Immediately following him, however, is Paynter, at the same fee as Congrats. Paynter started hitting in 2018 after a rather disappointing beginning. After standing at Winstar for $20,000 last year, his fee was wisely lowered, and his page in the Bloodhorse’s Stallion Register for 2018 is devoid of stakes winners, though his first crop raced in 2017. Then his graded stakes winner Knicks Go, and the speedy Needs Supervision, and others, began to hit the boards, and this young stallion, from the stellar family of Tiznow, started to come on.

Now leading Curlin, Into Mischief, and Quality Road on the leading sires of three-year-olds, all with six-digit stud fees, Paynter seems an incredible buy, and if his book isn’t filled already in this first full week of February, with breeding season about to begin, I’d be surprised. Bred similarly to Awesome Again’s most successful son, Ghostzapper, Paynter seems poised for great success.

The true surprise on this top ten list, however, is Kentucky Derby-G1 and Preakness S.-G1 winner I’ll Have Another, newly relocated from Japan to California, and standing for only $6,000, with three-year-old earnings this year of only about $130,000 less than leader Violence. He is the only non-Kentucky located stud on the top ten list, and has the most starters at 48.

I’ll Have Another is in a class by himself in the California stud ranks, with his dual Triple Crown wins (not to mention his win in the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby). The list of horses he defeated in his Grade 1 wins includes such young stud stand-outs as Bodemeister, Creative Cause, and Union Rags. A suspect pedigree, being by Flower Alley, may have led to his hasty exportation to stand at stud, but I’ll Have Another is back, with a vengeance. Ballena Vista Farm is to be congratulated for their acquisition of him.

-- Roberta Smoodin