Record-priced Anamoe full as breeders flock to leading stallions
As he did on the racetrack, Anamoe (Street Boss) is already setting the scene alight in the breeding world as his first season at stud approaches.
The superstar four-year-old, who won nine Group 1s in becoming Godolphin’s highest-earner in Australia, has gone to stud on an appropriately hefty fee of $121,000 (all fees inc GST), and Darley reports demand has been as high as expected.
Anamoe’s first book is already full, capped at around 145 mares, some 90 per cent of whom are outside bookings with the rest Darley’s own broodmares.
The Champion Australian three-year-old’s popularity has contributed to an ebullient pre-season for Darley’s Kelvinside farm in the Hunter Valley.
UK shuttler Harry Angel (Dark Angel), with a fee doubled to $33,000 after stakes-winning progeny including Tom Kitten and Arkansaw Kid helped him to a current rank of third among Australian first season sires, is also full, at around 120 mares.
And, after a worryingly slow start was resoundingly ended by third-season stars such as Golden Mile, Affaire A Suivre and Aft Cabin, Astern’s (Medaglia D’Oro) book is also full at around 110 mares, again on a 90-10 split of outside and Darley stock, following his own fee doubling to $22,000.
“Anamoe is chockers, Harry Angel is chockers, and Astern is chockers,” Darley’s head of stallions Alastair Pulford told ANZ Bloodstock News.
“A full book for us is a bit different, because we’re a lot more conservative with our numbers than a lot of other studs. But overall we’re very happy that we’ve priced our rosters correctly. We feel the New South Wales roster is in a very good place.”
Also at Kelvinside, Pulford said demand was strong for shuttlers Too Darn Hot (Dubawi), who’s about to stand his fourth season at an unchanged $44,000, and Pinatubo (Shamardal), who’ll spend his second spring in Australia at an unchanged $55,000.
At Darley’s Victorian base of Northwood Park, Pulford said shuttling sprint sire Blue Point (Shamardal) was proving “extremely popular” after his impressive stock made him leading first-season sire by averages at the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale and Inglis Easter sale this year. The triple Royal Ascot Group 1 winner will stand his fourth straight season for $44,000.
Kermadec (Teofilo), about to stand his third season at Northwood after a switch south to tap into more staying-minded breeders, was also expected to go near last year’s full book of 120 mares, at an unchanged $16,500, after two more Group 1 winners this season in Tuvalu and Amokura.
A round-up of leading Australian studs has revealed few surprises in terms of popularity, although Yarraman Park may not have dared hope for such strong results so soon from a strategic addition to their barn.
I Am Invincible (Invincible Spirit) is full, of course, standing on the cusp of his second straight general sires title. With his fee now at a personal high of $302,500, the rising 19-year-old will have his book capped “in the low 150s”, after the past four years of 207, 193, 193 and 179 mares.
“He’s fabulous, fit and well,” Yarraman co-director Arthur Mitchell said. “There’s no problem with his fertility, it’s just that at his age and four mares a day, it was time to back off a bit and manage him.”
Mitchell said the stallion’s son and studmate Hellbent was also full, after a fee bump from $22,000 to $38,500 reflecting his first two stakes winners, Kristilli and Magic Time, who’ve helped him to second on the list of leading second-season sires.
And after acquiring the majority share in a very different line of stallion – the Japanese-bred Brave Smash (Tosen Phantom) – Yarraman reports he, too, has a full book. The sprinter will stand his first season at the Scone farm for $33,000, up from the $22,000 for his last spring at Queensland’s Aquis Farm, having risen to fourth among first-season sires this term through smart performers such as Brave Mead and Brave Halo.
“All three of our sires are over-subscribed, and have been full since the end of the Magic Millions mares sale,” Mitchell said. “We’re very happy with Brave Smash’s popularity this soon. We always liked him by the quality of his first foals. We’ll be looking at 130-odd mares with him, but it’ll be a huge lift in quality.”
At Arrowfield, books were full for four-time champion sire Snitzel (Redoute’s Choice), Dundeel (High Chaparral) and Japanese shuttler Maurice (Screen Hero), said bloodstock manager Jon Freyer.
Though rising 21, Snitzel’s fee has increased from $220,000 to $247,500 after a season in which he was again Australia’s champion two-year-old sire thanks to his second Golden Slipper winner, Shinzo. In a nod to the great sire’s age, though, his book this year will be capped at 125, down from mid-160s in the past two seasons.
“His fertility is brilliant. We’re just managing him a little,” said Freyer, adding Snitzel, Maurice and Dundeel had again been patronised “by breeders who’ve been solid supporters all the way through and had indicated their intention of sending mares to them early on”.
For the second straight year, Maurice will be on his limit of 165 mares at $82,500. Dundeel has had a raise from $66,000 to $82,500 after a break-out season in which he’s jumped from 26th on the general sires’ table to a personal best of sixth at present, and with Group 1 winners in two-year-old Militarize (twice) and Dunkel.
Freyer said The Autumn Sun (Redoute’s Choice) was “heading towards” capacity after reaching a current rank of seventh among first-season sires, while he was hopeful Maurice’s son and new studmate Hitotsu would reach “130-140” mares in his first season, at $22,000.
Newgate Farm has one superstar in Extreme Choice (Not A Single Doubt), whose sub-fertility demands management at around 75 mares a year. In his second season on a fee of $275,000, Extreme Choice will be scheduled to cover just one a day from September 1 to the end of December, or perhaps early January, Newgate’s director of bloodstock Bruce Slade said.
But the farm has another burgeoning titan with no such fertility issues in Russian Revolution (Snitzel), and breeders have been beating a path to his door after he followed his first-season sires title of 2022, by setting an unassailable lead to become champion second-season sire this term, earning a fee rise from $71,500 to $88,000.
“Russian Revolution has been full since before his fee was announced,” Slade said of the rising ten-year-old, who had his first Group 1 winner this term in Randwick Guineas (Gr 1, 1600m) hero Communist. “He’s had a fantastic season, with two crops of racing age, putting himself in the top ten in terms of stakes-winning two-year-olds and three-year-olds. He’s a horse breeders see a big future in. We had to turn away a lot of mares, unfortunately.”
Capitalist (Written Tycoon), in his first season at $77,000 down from $99,000, was also attracting strong interest, Slade said, along with three in the $27,000-$44,000 band in newcomer Artorius (Flying Artie), In The Congo (Snitzel) and State Of Rest (Starspangledbanner).
Cox Plate (Gr 1, 2040m) winner State Of Rest’s sire Starspangledbanner (Choisir) has returned to Australia after a year off from shuttling, and the former Rosemont stallion’s first spring at Coolmore Australia is looking like a busy one, the farm’s nominations and sales manager Colm Santry said.
With another Group 1 winner this season in Hong Kong’s California Spangle, Starspangledbanner will start with Coolmore on a $33,000 fee, double his 2021 mark at Rosemont. Santry said the rising 17-year-old was among the most popular few stallions at Coolmore, along with the returning Justify (Scat Daddy, $77,000), Wootton Bassett (Iffraaj, $93,500) and Yes Yes Yes (Rubick, $33,000).
So You Think (High Chaparral) remained in strong demand as a second-straight runner-up’s place on the general sires’ list prompted a second successive fee rise, from $93,500 to $99,000. Also popular were rising 22-year-old legend Fastnet Rock (Danehill, $110,000), Home Affairs (I Am Invincible, $99,000) and Pride Of Dubai (Street Cry), after his first two Group 1 winners in Dubai Wonder and Bella Nipotina brought a rise from $16,500 to $27,500.
Widden flagbearer Zoustar (Northern Meteor), sitting at a personal best of fifth on the general table in his sixth year of runners, had been fully booked for more than a month, the stud’s nominations and sales manager Matt Comerford said.
With a fee rising from $198,000 to $220,000, the rising 13-year-old will have his numbers capped at around 160 mares, down from 185, in light of his increasing shuttling commitments following a strong first two racing crops in Britain.
Widden’s first-year $33,000 sire Jacquinot (Rubick) was “all but full”, Comerford said, while Zousain (Zoustar), Supido (Sebring) and Widden Victoria’s Russian Camelot (Camelot) were also drawing strong support.
Vinery Stud reports third-year sire Ole Kirk (Written Tycoon) was on target for his third straight book of around 170 mares at his $55,000 fee, while All Too Hard (Casino Prince, $38,500) and the consistent Star Turn (Star Witness, $27,500) were also in strong demand.
“Ole Kirk’s been very popular on the back of his weanlings,” bloodstock manager Adam White said of the rising six-year-old, whose 11 weanlings sold at a live auction this year averaged $92,000.
Elsewhere, Toronado (High Chaparral), who sits 16th on this season’s leading sires list, was fully subscribed three weeks ago, Swettenham Stud’s Sam Matthews said. In his second season at an increased $88,000, the sire of four Group 1 winners including March’s Galaxy (Gr 1, 1100m) winner Mariamia was on track to cover some 170 mares. Rubick (Encosta De Lago), heavily boosted by Jacquinot’s two Group 1s this season, was “well ahead of where he was this time last year” for mare bookings.
Rosemont’s Anthony Mithen said Shamus Award (Snitzel), standing at a reduced $60,500 this year, was also tracking well.
In Queensland, Lyndhurst Stud’s Jeff Kruger said Better Than Ready (More Than Ready) was set to serve some 180 mares at a slightly increased $27,500 – after covering mid-140s for the past three years – boosted by his career-high 14th place on the general sires’ table.
Eureka Stud’s Harry McAlpine reported another prolific Queenslander with a slight increase, Spirit Of Boom (Sequalo, $38,500), was on course for a managed book of “around 160 mares”, while Encryption (Lonhro), set to rank second to Justify among first season sires for 2022-23, was also popular after Cifrado’s two recent Brisbane Group 2 wins.