The dust has settled from the Travers Stakes (G1) weekend and as attention now turns to the Breeders’ Cup World Championships, the top of the General Sires List is beginning to come into focus.

Into disaster The top spot is not in danger. He is on track for his sixth consecutive title in total earnings of Northern Hemisphere offspring. As of August 26, he is almost $10 million ahead of second-place sire, Mine shaft And this is where the intrigue begins.

Mineshaft has comfortably held on to second place for most of the year, but the numbers game is catching up with him.

His main earner, Mr Searcher has earned more than $11.7 million this year. The problem for his sire is that Senor Buscador’s winnings account for more than 80% of the prize money won by Mineshaft’s offspring. If more runners won money, that would be the solution, but that’s easier said than done. Mineshaft had the fewest number of runners (100) and winners (58) of any sire in the top 25. Without greater success, Mineshaft will likely be overtaken for second place.

Nibbling on his hooves is Arms smugglers which is less than $1 million behind Mineshaft. Should Sierra Leone For example, if Gun Runner’s best offspring wins the Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) this year, the winner’s share of that race of over $3 million would change the standings. Gun Runner also has a strong reserve, as he is the leading sire to date with four Grade 1 wins.

In fourth place is currently Justify and his son City of Troy He is being talked about more and more. He recently received the best odds (+400) from bet365 to win the Classic. For some, City of Troy’s popularity has become like that of the Beatles; all reason is lost and the world stops when his name is mentioned.

A victory at Del Mar from the American-bred, British-raced stallion could put Justify in second place in progeny earnings among North American stallions. It could also be the turning point that catapults Justify into a new stratosphere among stallions at home and abroad.

There were only minimal changes in the top 25 in this edition, which might be a bit surprising given the level of racing over the last two weeks. Justify and Quality Road No. 4 and 5 swapped; Curlin And Uncle Mo No. 8 and 9 exchanged; and American Pharaoh And Mendelssohn The same thing happened with numbers 16 and 17. Ghost Zapper fell two places to 25th place.

There was an addition from two weeks ago: City of Light . The sire has been up and down in the rankings all year. The son of Quality Road has come and gone on the success of his top runner. Wildness . All Fierceness did was win the Travers at Saratoga Racetrack August 24. Now that he appears to have regained his form with his first back-to-back victories, the question must be asked: How far can he take his father?

A potential Classic win won’t put the sire in the top five, but combined with the award for best three-year-old, it could make City of Lights one of the most sought-after sires in 2025.