Deep Impact’s Satono Aladdin to make return to Rich Hill Stud
Japanese shuttler Satono Aladdin (Deep Impact) will return to Rich Hill Stud in New Zealand this year after Covid interrupted his southern hemisphere stint last year.
Rich Hill managing director John Thompson yesterday confirmed that the Grade 1 winner, whose yearlings sold up to NZ$360,000 at the New Zealand Bloodstock Karaka Yearling Sale in January, would be one of five stallions on the stud’s roster.
Final details of the agreement between Thompson and Japan’s Shadai Stallion Station are almost complete but one fact already determined is that he will stand for NZ$12,500 (all fees plus GST) in 2021, the same fee he stood for in 2019.
Fellow shuttler Vadamos (Monsun) will return from Europe at a reduced fee of NZ$12,500 while Proisir (Choisir) has had his fee increased to NZ$12,500.
Barnmates Ace High (High Chaparral), whose first crop weanlings will be offered to the market this year, will stand for an unchanged fee of NZ$10,000 while Shocking (Street Cry) will stand for NZ$8,500, up $500 on his 2020 fee.
Thompson was delighted about the return of Satono Aladdin.
“We’re really excited to have him back the way his yearlings sold this year. We had a top price of $360,000 at Karaka off a $12,500 service fee and his average was $110,000,” Thompson told ANZ Bloodstock News.
“The Moroneys (Mike and Paul) bought the $360,000 one out of our draft and the New Zealand trainers like Roger James, the O’Sullivans bought them, too.
“If you analyse his pedigree, he is out of a Storm Cat mare, out of a Fappiano mare and Fappiano was the dam sire of Northern Meteor and his third dam is a stakes-winning Nijinsky mare, so it’s blood that works in Australasia and that’s probably a bit different from any other son of Deep Impact who has gone to stud in Australasia.
“He’s a Group 1 winner over a mile and a couple of Group 2s over 1400 metres.”
After last year’s disappointment about Satono Aladdin missing his third southern hemisphere season in succession, Thompon’s determination to bring him back was heightened after the Karaka sale.
He said: “We had a lot of enquiries after the Karaka sales, so I have been keeping in close contact with Shadai right through and, fortunately, there are some stallions coming back to Australia as well.
“It’s all looking positive now.”
Thompson also has high hopes for Vadamos, who sired his first southern hemisphere-bred juvenile winner, the Andrew Carston-trained Art De Triomphe, at Riccarton and an unnamed barrier trial winner at Taupo on Tuesday.
“He’s only had a few runners and we weren’t expecting them to be out as two-year-olds, so they’ve probably surprised us a little bit with what he’s done here and in the northern hemisphere,” he said.
“He had one starter in Australia, With Your Blessing, who was placed at Canterbury at his first start and then was placed fourth in the Pago Pago. He looks a very promising horse for next season when he’s running fourth behind Slipper horses like he did (for Randwick trainer John Thompson).”
Studmaster Thompson’s optimism about the upcoming season doesn’t end with Satono Aladdin and Vadamos.
Spring Champion Stakes (Gr 1, 2000m) and Victoria Derby (Gr 1, 2500m) winner Ace High who will have seven weanlings on offer at the upcoming Karaka May Sale.
“The way the sons of High Chaparral are going, with his pedigree and race record, you’d have to say that he’s been a great buy at this stage, but we’ll find out in due course,” he said.
“There’s hardly a son of High Chaparral who hasn’t made it. Contributer is starting to go pretty well; Redwood sired a Group 1 winner this year, there’s So You Think, Toronado and Dundeel.
“Ace High is producing the sort of horse that people from Australia will be able to pinhook and take back to Australia. He went through the Magic Millions himself, Ace High. You could also take them to Melbourne as he won Group 1s in Melbourne as well.”
Proisir, meanwhile, has enjoyed a good season with his progeny, led by Group 2 winner Levante, Riodini and the now Australia-based Aimee’s Jewel. It prompted Thompson to lift the stallion’s fee by $3,500 this year.
“He’s doing a great job. You have got to remember he started at $7,000 and his race record doesn’t quite tell what a good horse he was,” he said.
“He was a bit unlucky in such a good year of three-year-olds. He ran into Dundeel, who came over from New Zealand, and to quinella two Group 1s and there were large margins back to the third horses both times. Then he injured himself as an autumn three-year-old.
“He’s got some really nice first crop horses with the likes of Levante and Rhiodini and he came over (to Australia) and ran third in the Epsom behind Probabeel, which is very good form, and then unfortunately he just didn’t come back in the autumn with minor setbacks but he will be back next season.”
Melbourne Cup (Gr 1, 3200m) winner Shocking has sired three stakes winners this season, Hezashocka, New Zealand Cup (Gr 3, 3200m) winner Dragon Storm and Defibrillate who is racing well in Melbourne this campaign.
Rich Hill Stud stallion roster
2021 (2020)
Satono Aladdin (Deep Impact) NZ$12,500 (unchanged from 2019)
Vadamos (Monsun) NZ$12,500 (NZ$15,000)
Proisir (Choisir) NZ$12,500 (NZ$9,000)
Ace High (High Chaparral) NZ$10,000 (unchanged)
Shocking (Street Cry) NZ$8,500 (NZ$8,000)