Darley sire Nadeem joined the leaders at the top of the first-season winners’ list when Irish Times was successful at Randwick on Wednesday.

Irish Times (2c Nadeem – Heat Of The Fire by Strategic) is trained by Clarry Connors and he beat stablemate Seven Fly Seven (Flying Spur) by over a length on debut in the Sydney Carnival On Sale Now Maiden (1000m).

Nadeem has now sired three individual winners to join All Bar One, Red Dazzler and Excites at the top of the freshman winners’ category.  They are well in arrears of last year’s first-season stallions.  At the same stage in the 2009-10 season, Jet Spur and Snitzel were level-pegging with six individual winners.

Nadeem’s earlier winners arrived at Port Macquarie (Bengal Angel) and Hobart (Triple Asset).  He was installed a $2.50 favourite when Sportingbet Australia opened its market on the first-season (winners) premiership at the start of the season.

Connors will keep both Irish Times and Seven Fly Seven on track for the G1 Golden Slipper which he has won four times with Tierce (1991), Burst (1992), Prowl (1998) and Belle Du Jour (2000).

“There is not much between them in trackwork,” Connors said.  “The winner is still very raw yet and both will improve a lot but from now on they will be separated.”

Irish Times was passed-in for $240,000 by Newhaven Park at the 2010 Inglis Easter yearling sale.  He is the first foal of Heat Of The Fire, a Randwick winner who was also stakes placed in the G3 AJC Silver Shadow Stakes and Listed AJC Keith Mackay Hcp.  Second dam On Fire (Octagonal) is a half-sister to the dam of Melito.