Value Sires Part IV: Moving On Up

It is perhaps at this level of the market that bookings have not yet been finalised for this year's matings. While a number of those named here have since moved up in fee bracket on the back of success with runners and subsequent market response, there is still plenty of value to be found in the hope that stallions coming through could be similarly upwardly mobile.

The aim of this exercise has been to show the average profit for stallions at each of four different levels of the market according to their yearling prices of last year. Those youngsters were of course conceived in 2020, and the table takes into account the stallions' fees at that time plus a general keep fee for the mare and foal/yearling as well as sundry costs and sales expenses of £20,000. Only stallions showing an average profit with five or more yearlings sold last year have featured in these tables and assessments have already been published for stallions standing at £50,000 and above, between £20,000 and £49,999, and earlier this week for those at £10,000 to £19,999.

Next week we will also consider the value among those sires who have not yet had yearlings at the sales, but for now we will deal with the end of the market that will particularly resonate with a wide range of smaller breeders, involving stallions who were standing at less than £10,000 in 2020.

We can sadly discount the name at the top of the list as Adlerflug (Ger) is no longer with us. The German champion died in April 2021, halfway through covering the mares who will have provided his small final crop. This penultimate crop was not large either, which tends to be the norm for Germany, but his yearling results reflect what was then Adlerflug's growing international status on the track. He was standing at his highest level when he died, but even then a €16,000 fee looked incredibly reasonable. With this class act no longer available we can look instead to his sons at stud, which include the brilliant Arc winner Torquator Tasso (Ger), who is about to embark on his first season at Gestut Auenquelle, and the German Derby winner In Swoop (Ire), who covered a large book at the Beeches Stud in Co Waterford and whose first foals are expected imminently. In Swoop's full-brother and fellow Group 1 winner Ito (Ger) was recently transferred from Germany to stand at Yorton Stud in Wales.

Still very much in active service and now flying high beyond this tier is Mehmas (Ire), a horse we've heard plenty about over the last few years and it is easy to imagine that will continue. The son of Acclamation (GB) actually stood at his lowest fee in 2020 of €7,500 in his fourth season but then his first runners woke everyone up to his prowess and he hasn't looked back, climbing to €25,000 then €50,000 and now €60,000. There will be no trouble encouraging mare owners to use him even at this level, and as our table shows, his first runners helped Mehmas's second crop of yearlings to sell for an average price which was 11.6 times his fee back then.

He will soon face competition from his own sons as three of them — Minzaal (Ire), Persian Force (Ire) and Caturra (Ire) — have already been retired to studs in Ireland and Britain and he can be regarded as one of the most exciting young stallions in Europe.

Ardad (Ire) was a year behind Mehmas in retiring to stud and the yearlings shown here represent his smallest crop of only 19. Once his first runners hit the track in 2021 and started winning early, the mares visiting him at Overbury Stud suddenly increased in number and he has 98 yearlings registered this year. In 2020, Ardad's fee had remained at his opening mark of £6,500 (it dropped to £4,000 in 2021 and is now £12,500) and, like Mehmas, they sold for an average price which was more than 11 times his fee. He too has been joined in the stallion ranks by one of his sons, the treble Group 1 winner Perfect Power (Ire). 

Ardad still looks good value at his adjusted fee, and the same can be said for Havana Grey (GB), who was also standing at £6,500 in 2020 but has risen to £18,500 on the back his first-season sires' championship laurels. The winners came thick and fast for the Whitsbury Manor Stud resident last year and it will be intriguing to see how they fare as three-year-olds. He trained on himself, from starting his campaign as an April juvenile and running eight times each at two and three before landing his Group 1 on Irish Champions Weekend in his second season. With a whopping 81 of last year's yearlings making on average nine times the fee for which they were conceived and showing average profit of £31,871, it was clearly a good move to be in the Havana Grey camp in his second year at stud.

As we can see, and for obvious reasons, not many of the stallions near the top of this table are still covering at fees within this tier, and that is the case for Kodi Bear (Ire), whose lowest fee of €6,000 came in 2019 and 2020 and is now €15,000, while Cotai Glory (GB), who brought more first-season sire glory to Tally-Ho Stud the year after Mehmas, is now €12,500, having previously been €5,000. The Platinum Queen (Ire) was the star for the latter last year and she subsequently fetched 1.2 million gns when sold to Katsumi Yoshida. That obviously doesn't figure in Cotai Glory's yearlings figures which were good nonetheless, at an average nine times his fee and average profit of £17,478 for 47 yearlings sold. That figure was just slightly below Rathbarry Stud's Kodi Bear, whose average profit was £18,247 for 32 sold.

Two sons of Invincible Spirit, Invincible Army (Ire) and Inns Of Court (Ire) have potentially exciting seasons ahead of them with their first runners. The vibes appeared to be very positive about Yeomanstown Stud's Invincible Army, who was dropped from a starting fee of €10,000 to €7,500, where he remains. Given that these yearlings were conceived off that higher opening mark, his average profit of £14,896 is decent from 72 yearlings sold and he is at a level which makes him very attractive if his first crop of runners deliver in the way which appears to be anticipated. 

Similar comments apply to Tally-Ho's Inns Of Court, who had a massive group of yearlings at the sales last year with 122 sold for average profit of £3,052. His fee has been kept at a lower level, dropping from an initial €7,500 to €5,000.

With these two stallions, as with Highclere Stud's Land Force (Ire), who also has his first runners this year, there is of course the chance for things to go very much in the breeeders' favour if they make a promising start and sustain it through to when their later crops are being offered at the sales. The risk involved is often reflected in dips in fees in the third and fourth seasons, though in Land Force's case he started an acceptable level of £6,500 for one year and had been £5,000 since then. Again, there were some favourable comments from yearling buyers, to the extent that 75 of his first-crop yearlings sold for an average price of £32,779, or five times his fee, at average profit of £6,279.

We'll see what the coming months bring for these young stallions as the eagerly anticipated early juvenile races get underway. One whose early results were encouraging on the track last year was Tasleet (GB), one of two sons of Showcasing (GB) to be standing at Shadwell's Nunnery Stud. Considering the increasing focus on success at Royal Ascot, a first-crop G2 Coventry S. winner is just what the doctor ordered for any budding sire, and that is exactly what Tasleet had in Bradsell (GB), one of 16 winners for the sire last season. The Archie Watson-trained colt went amiss when contesting the G1 Keeenland Phoenix S. but is reported to be on the comeback trail. Bradsell clearly has plenty of talent, so let's hope he is able to show that again this year.

Tasleet started out at £6,000 and has returned to that fee after two years at £5,000, but he remains competitively priced to give breeders a return on their investment. His average profit last year was £6,304 for 23 yearlings sold. 

Cheveley Park Stud's Twilight Son (GB) is another who has remained at an accessible price for breeders. He's still at his 2020 fee of £7,000, and his yearlings from that crop made on average five times that fee, with an average profit of £8,942. Both his sire and grandsire, Kyllachy (GB) and Pivotal (GB), were hugely dependable and successful members of the Cheveley Park Stud roster and there is no reason that this dual Group 1-winning sprinter can't develop into a similarly reliable sire capable of getting some fast and commercial offspring if granted enough support. 

VALUE PODIUM

Gold: Tasleet

It is an important year for him but his support is growing and he has been kept at an affordable level to give both him and those who use him a chance.

Silver: Cotai Glory 

Yes, his fee has now crept up into the next bracket but not by much and his star package The Platinum Queen was no fluke. There is some depth to his stakes horses from just two crops to race so far, and he can continue the solid work of his sire Exceed And Excel (Aus) as a dependable source of good sprinters. 

Bronze: Ardad 

He too is now in a higher fee bracket, but his fee remains sensible. This year's crop of juveniles is small, but he covered bigger and better books in the last two years, making it a reasonable proposition to use him now in anticipation of plenty more to come from his offspring on the track.

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12 Questions: Kevin Philippart de Foy

First job in the Thoroughbred industry?

I started riding for Stephane Cerulis during the summer holidays back in Belgium when I was aged 14.

Biggest influence on your career?

Criquette Head. She is like a second mum, the best advisor and most importantly she made me fall in love with training.

Favourite racehorse of all time, and why?

Treve. I was lucky enough to ride her while she was in training which was a fantastic experience.

Who will be champion first-season sire in 2023?

Blue Point.

Greatest race in the world?

Being born on the continent, I have to put the Arc on par with The Derby.

If you could be someone else in the industry for a day who would it be, and why?

Aidan O'Brien. I have been fascinated by him since I was young, and his track record speaks for itself.

Emerging talent in the industry (human)?

Tegan Clarke and Ellie Whittaker at WC Equine in Newmarket. They have broken and pre-trained several horses for me since I started training and have consigned some breeze-ups with great success.

Name a horse TDN should have made a Rising Star, and didn't?

Vadeni.

Under-the-radar stallion?

Cotai Glory.

Friday night treat?

A glass of red (preferably Bordeaux) with my girlfriend and the dog.

Guilty pleasure outside racing?

Eating. I'm a massive fan of good food.

Race I wish I'd been there for…

Alpinista winning the Arc this year. I watched it in the green room at Tattersalls and the atmosphere was amazing. I can only imagine what it must have been like on course. A well-deserved result for a great team.

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From Havana Grey To Rajasinghe – Which Freshmen Are Here To Stay?

Not only did Havana Grey (GB) record more individual winners and total wins than any of his first-season sire rivals in Great Britain and Ireland, but he also broke the £1-million marker for total earnings, which is why he deservedly wears the champion freshman stallion crown.

Those earnings were propped up by big sales race winners Shouldvebeenaring (GB) and Eddie's Boy (GB), with the latter going on to bag a Group 3 before selling for 320,000gns at the Tattersalls horses-in-training sale in October.

Havana Grey had 36 winners for 76 runners this year and his progeny recorded total earnings of £1,074,697, which was almost £420,000 more than his nearest rival Sioux Nation could manage in what was a pulsating race for first-season sire bragging rights.

But with four stakes winners and 57 total wins achieved in 2022, Whitsbury Manor Stud's emerging force confirmed himself the undisputed top dog of the young sire brigade, and earned himself a fee rise from £6,000 to £18,500 in the process.

Joe Callan, head of Whitsbury's bloodstock and sales, said, “We knew Havana Grey was going to be popular after what his first runners achieved this season but the demand for him has been unprecedented. It's been crazy and it's got to a stage where we've stopped counting [the number of mares who have been put forward to visit the stallion next year]. You can see why people are so keen to use him. He's had a fantastic season with 13 stakes horses and is operating at 16% stakes horses to runners and almost 50% winners to runners in Britain and Ireland. He has big crops coming through over the next couple of years so he deserves the accolades that he is getting.”

Havana Grey was kept honest all year by Coolmore's Sioux Nation, who had an excellent campaign in his own right and earned a fee rise to €17,500 for 2023. By Scat Daddy, Sioux Nation ended the year with 29 individual winners from 65 runners and his progeny amassed £657,000 worth of total earnings in Britain and Ireland.

Matilda Picotte (Ire) was Sioux Nation's biggest earner having accounted for £124,667, highlighted by victory in the Listed “Bosra Sham” Fillies' S. at Newmarket in October.

That effort came off the back of a busy campaign with Kieran Cotter's star juvenile winning her maiden at the Curragh on debut in May, placing in two Group 2s and finishing runner-up in the valuable Ballyhane S. at Naas. Sydneyarms Chelsea (Ire) also secured Group 3 glory for Sioux Nation at Deauville in August for Charlie Hills.

Little separated Harry Angel (Ire) and Kessaar (Ire) in third and fourth, respectively. The Dalham Hall Stud-based Harry Angel had 21 individual winners from 45 runners and recorded £433,814 in earnings while Tally-Ho Stud's Kessaar made a similarly respectable start with 20 individual winners from three fewer runners and amassed £351,906 in prize-money.

Tally-Ho Stud has enjoyed top honours with Mehmas (Ire) and Cotai Glory (GB) in recent seasons and, while the early signs are that Kessaar is not on that trajectory, he has proven a solid addition to the ranks. A classy sprinter, Kessaar's progeny appear to stay further than he did, which is somewhat surprising, and it will be interesting to track their progression in 2023.

Cracksman (GB) came up trumps with Listed winner Dance In The Grass (GB) along with a host of promising youngsters with a view towards next season. He sired nine winners from 39 runners and one would expect his offspring to build on that next year.

The GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf success of Victoria Road (Ire) obviously doesn't contribute towards the leading freshman sire championship in Britain and Ireland, but it's worth bearing in mind with a view to the results of Saxon Warrior (Jpn).

Coolmore's G1 2000 Guineas-winning son of Deep Impact (Jpn) went from strength to strength this year, building to that almighty crescendo in Keeneland with Victoria Road, but he also enjoyed some major triumphs domestically to finish fifth in the British and Irish first-season sire standings.

Saxon Warrior was responsible for 13 individual winners from 41 runners and £351,906 in prize-money. Joseph O'Brien's Lumiere Rock (Ire), winner of the G3 Staffordstown Stud S., and G2 Debutante S. third Thornbrook (Ire) flew the flag for the stallion in Ireland, while Jim Bolger's Gan Teorainn (Ire) enjoyed notable success on and off the track.

After winning her maiden impressively at Naas in August, Gan Teorainn carried the familiar Ennistown Stud silks to finish second in the G1 Prix Marcel Boussac at ParisLongchamp.

That form ensured that one of Saxon Warrior's highest-rated daughters would be in high demand when selling at the December Mares Sale at Tattersalls and so it proved with BBA Ireland paying 1 million gns to secure the filly who is understood to have been bought to continue her career in Australia.

Despite being based in Ashford Stud in Kentucky, Coolmore's Justify enjoyed a notably good first season with runners in Britain and Ireland.

The unbeaten Statuette, successful in the G2 Airlie Stud S., and Group 3 scorer Aspen Grove put the US Triple Crown winner in lights in Ireland this year.

Meanwhile, it was just last week when the Willie Browne-trained Diamondsareforever (Ire) posted a taking debut victory at Dundalk, further solidifying the notion that Justify is a coming force on the international stage. Five winners from just 11 individual runners in Britain and Ireland including £146,963 in prize-money represented a strong start for Justify.

Fellow Coolmore-based US Navy Flag had eight individual winners from 35 runners. It should be noted that two of his best horses enjoyed listed success abroad; Ocean Vision (Ire) in France and Love Reigns (Ire) in America.

Tasleet (GB) is another freshman sire worthy of mention, not least because he sired the brilliant G2 Coventry S. winner Bradsell (GB). Set to stand for just £6,000 at Nunnery Stud next year, Tasleet had a solid 34% winners to runners, which was more than Saxon Warrior, Expert Eye (GB), US Navy Flag, Cracksman (GB) and more.

But the biggest surprise in the first-season stallion ranks came from the figures posted by the largely unheralded Rajasinghe (Ire), who is set to stand for just £3,000 at the National Stud next year.

Winner of the G2 Coventry S. in 2017 for Phil Cunningham, who has been a big supporter of the horse since he went to stud, Rajasinghe had eight individual winners from 10 runners which equates to a whopping 80% strike-rate.

All of this has been achieved with average mares which suggests Rajasinghe could have the makings of becoming a pretty decent sire if provided with the right ammunition.

 

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Hollie Doyle Keeps Ride On Breeders’ Cup-Bound The Platinum Queen 

Hollie Doyle will maintain the partnership with The Platinum Queen (Ire) as the pair bid to follow up on their brilliant Prix de l'Abbaye success with victory at the Breeders' Cup.

Oisin Orr, who joined The Platinum Queen's trainer Richard Fahey earlier this year, does most of the work with the speedster. However, Orr was unable to do the weight about the daughter of Cotai Glory (GB) in France.

With the Middleham Park Racing-owned youngster set to carry just 8st 7lb in the Juvenile Turf Sprint at Keeneland, the Irishman will once again be forced to sit the big race out. 

Fahey told Sportinglife, “I feel sorry for Oisin as he's done so much work with The Platinum Queen at home, but he can't do the weight.

“The owners Middleham Park very much want him to have the ride when he can, but unfortunately that won't be in America.

“Hollie has done a fine job on her twice before, including when winning the Abbaye, so she knows her well.”

 

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