Gold Standard to stand at Widden after Thompson reaches 11th hour deal
Widden has swooped on young stallion Gold Standard, a son of the stud’s late Golden Slipper-winning sire Sebring (More Than Ready), staving off competition from a number of rival farms, to ensure the Group 2 winner remains in Victoria.
Already the sire of Western Australian stakes winner and Brisbane-placed first crop juvenile Sheeza Belter, the stakes-placed Golden Queen and debut winner Everylittle Breeze from just five starters, Gold Standard will stand at Widden Victoria for an increased fee of $8,800 (inc GST) this year.
Sheeza Belter, who is now trained by Peter and Paul Snowden in Sydney, is accepted for today’s BRC Sires’ Produce Stakes (Gr 2, 1400m) at Eagle Farm, while the Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott-trained Woodlands Stakes (Listed, 1100m) runner-up Golden Queen, is accepted for a two-year-old race at Randwick.
About to enter his fifth season at stud, Gold Standard stood the first four seasons at Spendthrift Australia at Romsey, but he was put up for tender following the US-owned farm’s shock decision last December to cease operations Down Under.
Prominent Victorian owner-breeder David Moodie and his business partner Ash Hardwick recently bought the Spendthrift Australia farm and the majority of its bloodstock portfolio consisting of racehorses and stallions, including second season sire Dirty Work (Written Tycoon) and fourth season stallion Overshare (I Am Invincible), under their Hesket Thoroughbreds banner.
Widden had already agreed to take on Dirty Work and Overshare, but principal Antony Thompson last night announced that Gold Standard would also join them on the stud’s Victoria stallion roster, after they joined forces with Moodie at the 11th hour to successfully buy Gold Standard through Magic Millions.
It is understood that at least one interstate stallion farm was close to striking a deal on Gold Standard until yesterday’s development. The young stallion, who was trained by Waterhouse and Bott during his six-start career and defeated multiple Group 1 winner Trapeze Artist (Snitzel) in his Stan Fox (Gr 2, 1500m) victory, has covered 195 mares in his first four years at stud.
“He is a replica of Sebring, so we’ve always had an interest in him and with two legitimate stakes horses from just five runners he has made an incredible start to his stud career,” said Thompson, who also won negotiations to stand this season’s Golden Slipper and Inglis Sires winner Rebel Dane (California Dane) in 2022 upon his owners’ wish to have him relocate to NSW from Victoria.
Moodie believes the talent displayed by Gold Standard’s limited number of first crop two-year-olds so far this season was too hard to ignore.
“Although there was a high level of interest in Gold Standard from a number of major farms, we view the partnership in this lightly raced but highly talented horse as an exciting opportunity to strengthen our association with Widden Victoria,” Moodie said.
“His incredible start at stud is highlighted by 20 per cent stakes winners to runners and 40 per cent stakes horses to runners, making him the leading first-season sire by stakes performers. He’s tracking a similar trajectory to Extreme Choice and Rebel Dane with a phenomenal start from limited numbers.”
A deal for another former Spendthrift Australia stallion, the Group 3 winner Swear (Redoute’s Choice) to relocate to another stud is also expected to be announced in the near future.
Sebring, the 2008 Golden Slipper and Sires’ Produce Stakes (Gr 1, 1400m) winner, completed ten seasons from 2009 to 2018 at Widden in the Hunter Valley, until his premature death in February 2019.
He was the sire of 76 individual stakes winners, eight of them at Group 1 level. He has eight sire sons at stud, the Group 3-winning, Group 1-placed Widden sire Supido among them.
Spendthrift Australia sold 33 broodmares at the Magic Millions National Sale earlier this week, grossing $7.33 million. The most expensive of those was the stakes-winning three-year-old filly Mac ‘N’ Cheese (Sebring), who is trained by Tony and Calvin McEvoy, who was sold for $1.6 million to Yulong.
Spendthrift also sold 12 weanlings at last week’s Magic Millions sale, as part of its unreserved dispersal, realising $1,108,500.