Newgate to stand Wild Ruler at $38,500

Cover image courtesy of Bronwen Healy

Just days after confirming G1 Golden Slipper S. winner Stay Inside (Extreme Choice) would enter stud at $77,000 (inc GST) and having recently confirmed Tiger Of Malay (Extreme Choice) and Profiteer (Capitalist) would both stand at $16,500 (inc GST), Newgate has released the fee of the fourth addition to its already star-studded roster.

Wild Ruler was retired earlier this month after a 15-start career for Peter and Paul Snowden which saw him earn $2.62 million in prizemoney, winning the G1 Moir S. as well as the G2 Roman Consul S., G2 Arrowfield 3YO Sprint and a pair of Listed races.

Among those he joins at Newgate are fellow Group 1-winning son of Snitzel, Russian Revolution, who campaigned for similar ownership interests and for the same stable during his racing career and it is that stallion which Field feels draws the most parallels with Wild Ruler.

"Our view on the horse is that he has very similar credentials to Russian Revolution and we felt this was comparable to where Russian Revolution was last year in terms of price ($44,000 inc GST)," he said.

"He was a very fast son of Snitzel, and a horse that Peter Snowden held in very high regard, out of a really high-class American mare that was imported to Australia by Kia Ora Stud.

"He was an expensive Easter yearling who was a very, very good-looking horse. He was able to do it at two, three and four, so we thought $38,500 was a fee that would put us in a position that would make him very, very popular."

Wild Ruler was purchased for $525,000 by Newgate Farm in partnership with China Horse Club and WinStar at the 2019 Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale from his breeders at Kia Ora Stud.

He is the third foal from the imported American mare Gypsy Robin (USA) (Daaher {Can}), a dual Group 2 winner in the United States and a half-sister to stakes winner Tiger Cat Lilly (USA) (Tale Of The Cat {USA}).

Field said that in assessing a service fee for Wild Ruler they not only looked at his own credentials and his parallels with Russian Revolution, but also what else is likely to be out in the market.

"I can't see many other Australian horses that are going to retire in that $30,000-$50,000 price bracket this year. We thought we’d price him competitively in that bracket at $35,000 ($38,500 inc GST) and hopefully in a position where we can get a really good book of mares for him."

Russian to support Ruler

Field said many of those who had early success both commercially and on the track with the early crops of Russian Revolution had expressed strong interest in supporting Wild Ruler.

"We got a terrific bunch of mares to support Russian Revolution in his first season and we got terrific shareholder support. Wild Ruler is owned by a very similar syndicate to Russian Revolution and all the partners have vowed to get behind him and support him," he said.

Field described Russian Revolution as a horse who will be a pillar of the powerhouse Newgate roster for years to come and sees no reason why Wild Ruler can’t follow suit.

"If we look through the sires' table, we see history repeating time and time again. Good stallions can come from anywhere but the top-level, fast Australian Group 1 calibre sprinters have dominated the sires' table for many years," he said.

"This horse, being by a Champion Sire and retiring to stud with almost identical credentials to one of the most exciting sires in the land and being priced so competitively gives commercial breeders a massive chance.

"He should be one of the most popular first-season horses at stud this season, there's no doubt."

Stay ready to go

Stay Inside's service fee of $77,000 (inc GST) will see him as the highest-priced first-season sire in Australia this year, but Field said that was a reflection of the exceptional demand for his services and the unique situation of being by one of Australia's top young stallions, Extreme Choice, whose own books have been restricted because of fertility issues.

"Initially we will be only selling limited outside bookings to Stay Inside. We currently have more applicants than nominations available," Field said.

"We will work our way through the mare quality after the Easter Yearling Sale. It’s no surprise that he has been as popular as he has been, being a dominant Golden Slipper winner by Extreme Choice.

"The unique nature of Extreme Choice, who is quite clearly the best young stallion in Australia and potentially the best stallion overall, has created a high level of uniqueness around Stay Inside."

Stay Inside will be the highest-price first-season Golden Slipper-winning stallion since Pierro, who stood for the same price in 2013, with Field indicating the market demand justified the size of the service fee.

"The market feedback that we had was that people were looking to get a good commercial return, which they believe they will. The feedback from most of the operators out there is that they just wanted access to him," he said.

"We will do the best we can to get the horse the best book of mares possible, and those breeders who have been great supporters of Newgate will be prioritised."

Gallery: Other new stallions to stand at Newgate Farm in 2022

Field believes the pricing and marketing strategies around the four newly announced stallions should give them all the free air to gain traction with breeders.

"The beautiful thing with the four horses that we Have announced on our roster is that they are all different. They are all high-level Australian horseS by top Australian stallions," he said.