Widden Stud announced its stallion roster this week and, among its 17 sires standing between two farms in as many states, the upswing in Zoustar’s fee was the overwhelming highlight.
This spring, Zoustar heads towards his ninth season at stud and his service fee has been announced at $198,000 (inc GST). It’s a rise on last season’s fee of $154,000 (inc GST), and it puts the son of Northern Meteor into the major league, as if he weren’t already there.
“He’s been considered the up-and-coming stallion of the Australian sire ranks for a long time, and we saw that last year,” said Antony Thompson, the principal of Widden Stud. “He was right up there in the handful of top sires by service fee, sales success and racetrack success, and we’ll see him to continue to rise as some of the other horses around him get older.”
Zoustar | Standing at Widden Stud
As recently as last week, Zoustar’s star was still rising.
At Riverside, he topped the Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale with Lot 434, a $3 million-selling colt from the prolific producer Solar Charged (Charge Forward) and, as such, a full brother to both Sunlight and Sisstar. On the very same day, he posted a juvenile quinella in Sydney’s midweek feature.
Equally, Zoustar’s 2-year-olds in England had significant results as Widden announced its fees this week, with the stallion getting the second highest-priced filly of the Tattersalls Craven Breeze-Up Sale at 400,000 gns (AU$740,000).
The filly, from an Exceed And Excel mare, had been a €75,000 (AU$110,000) pinhook just last year.
Lot 434 - Zoustar x Solar Charged (colt) | Image courtesy of Inglis
The Star of the show
Zoustar’s 2022 fee of $198,000 puts him right among I Am Invincible and Snitzel at the top of the Australian fee table, and landing on this figure was a matter of supply and demand for Thompson.
“Speaking to major breeders and seeking advice from independent bloodstock agents... those things are helpful when it comes to setting a service fee,” the studmaster said.
“It’s really just supply and demand, and you also get an understanding of where you are with enquiries and pre-bookings from breeders, which indicates that they’d like to use Zoustar this year and which mares they’d like to send.”
Antony Thompson
Widden starts to get enquiries on Zoustar around about the time of the Magic Millions National Sale Series.
“But people have also told us last year that they’ll breed their mare this year, or they’ll breed her two years in a row,” Thompson said. “So you’ll have a good lot of interest and commitment already, and you can gauge the market that way.”
Zoustar’s $3 million colt at Riverside last week was obviously welcome to Widden Stud, but likewise, Thompson said it didn’t necessarily influence Zoustar's fee this year.
“It’s not one horse that ever sets the fee,” he said. “It’s across the year, and across all the yearlings selling, plus the racetrack results and performances. It’s about having an understanding of all those factors that can affect the market.”
“It’s not one horse that ever sets the fee. It’s across the year, and across all the yearlings selling, plus the racetrack results and performances. It’s about having an understanding of all those factors that can affect the (stallion) market.” - Antony Thompson
So where does Thompson put Zoustar in the long history of Widden stallions?
Pushing $200,000 a cover, the son of Northern Meteor, and the most successful one at that, shares good billing with some of the stud’s past legends, including Bletchingly, Vain, Todman and Marscay.
“Zoustar wouldn't be at the highest fee that we’ve stood,” Thompson said. “I think both Bletchingly and Marscay were standing at fees of $200,000 back in the eighties.”
While Zoustar’s fee is top-end in Australia, Thompson said it’s relative to the local market.
Zoustar | Standing at Widden Stud
“Australian service fees, on a global scale, are probably the only thing in our market that are undervalued,” he said. “When you look at what we pay for stallion prospects, we’re up there with some of the most expensive stallions in the world off the track, and our prizemoney is also one of the best in the world, along with our yearling prices.
“But our top sires, in a fee sense, sit well below those of Europe and America, even without converting dollars. The top sires in Europe have been upwards of £500,000 (AU$880,000), and in America too, so Australian leading sires are undervalued on a global scale. We’re seeing the demand for them rising every year as people appreciate them for what they are.”
“Australian service fees, on a global scale, are probably the only thing in our market that are undervalued... our top sires, in a fee sense, sit well below those of Europe and America, even without converting dollars.” - Antony Thompson
The reason for this could be competition, according to Thompson. Historically, he said there’s been a healthy and widespread choice in the Australian sire ranks.
“The stallions have served very large books here too, and because we’ve got shuttle sires and plenty of competition, the service fees have stayed relatively low on that global scale,” he said.
Trapeze act
Zoustar heads the 2022 Widden roster by a significant way, with Trapeze Artist running along next.
Trapeze Artist | Standing at Widden Stud
The prolific son of Snitzel had his first yearlings sell on the circuit this year, and they were headed by an $850,000 colt at Magic Millions in January, and a $500,000 filly at Inglis Easter last week.
Trapeze Artist will cover his fourth book of mares in the Widden Valley this spring at a fee of $55,000 (inc GST), and it’s a slight decrease on his 2021 figure of $66,000 (inc GST).
“We really just wanted to cement another good book for him,” Thompson said, explaining the stallion’s fee.
Trapeze Artist yearlings | Image courtesy of Bronwen Healy
“It was Bert Vieira (Trapeze Artist’s breeder and co-owner) who said he wanted to make sure that, in year four, no one hangs back and waits to see how the progeny go, that he wanted the horse to get good numbers in his fourth season.
“Bert’s opinion was that if we have him very well-priced in the marketplace, we’ll make sure we get another solid book.”
“It was Bert Vieira (Trapeze Artist’s breeder and co-owner) who said he wanted to make sure that, in year four, no one hangs back and waits to see how the progeny go, that he wanted the horse to get good numbers in his fourth season.” - Antony Thompson
Thompson has every confidence that the Trapeze Artists will come out in the spring and run, and by then, he expects the stallion to be fully booked. The studmaster knows there’s sometimes a lull between early books and those of the fourth and fifth seasons, as horses of racing age emerge and post results on the track.
“There can be a tendency for people to sit back and have a look at the trials, or wait until they start running,” Thompson said. “I guess his fee was a way to make him busy in September and into October before we’ve really seen too many races, and to make sure people aren’t just jumping into him late in the season.”
In with the new
Widden’s New South Wales headquarters will be home to nine stallions this spring.
Along with Zoustar and Trapeze Artist, there are the newcomers Portland Sky and Rebel Dane at $27,500 (inc GST), along with Written By at that fee, the latter also heading into his fourth book.
Gallery: Widden Stud's young stallions
Zousain will cover his third book at $22,000 (inc GST), while Anders is back for his second at an unchanged $16,500 (inc GST).
Whipping in the New South Wales roster is Supido at $8800 (inc GST) and Stratum Star at $5500 (inc GST).
“We’re very excited about Rebel Dane,” Thompson said. “He’s a new sire for a lot of breeders to consider, but he’s also a proven sire.
“His statistics are quite phenomenal. To have three stakes performers from only 14 starters, and when you break down those 14 starters he’s had seven winners and six of the other seven have been placed. He has a potential Triple Crown winner from so few foals, and he’s proving to be a stallion that can really upgrade his mares.”
“We’re very excited about Rebel Dane. He’s a new sire for a lot of breeders to consider, but he’s also a proven sire.” - Antony Thompson
Portland Sky, meanwhile, holds court with a few exceptional names. As a 3-year-old winner of the G1 Oakleigh Plate, he joined the likes of Fastnet Rock, Snitzel and Starspangledbanner.
“He’s a good-looking son of Deep Field that’s going to be very popular,” Thompson said. “I think he’s the horse that a lot of breeders who’ve had success with Deep Field will be breeding to, and he’s at a similar sort of introductory fee.”
Portland Sky emerged from Deep Field’s second book, in a crop that also got Isotope and Aysar. Deep Field entered stud in 2015 at a $22,000 (inc GST) service fee, which places his Group 1-winning son comparatively well at Widden this spring.
South of the border, the stud’s Victorian roster is headed by Nicconi and Russian Camelot (GB) at $22,000 (inc GST), while both Doubtland and evergreen Magnus, who is rising 20 years old, will stand at $16,500 (inc GST).
Gallery: Some of Widden Victoria's sires
Star Witness’ fee has dropped slightly to $14,300 (inc GST), and Fiorente (Ire) has gone down from $11,000 (inc GST) to $9900 (inc GST). National Defense (GB) and Thronum are the final horses on Widden’s Victorian roster, and they will stand at $7700 (inc GST).
All up, the Widden operation has slightly condensed its roster from last year’s 21 stallions.
It will stand 17 this season, with the relocation or retirement of several stallions, including the high-profile Bel Esprit, who served his final book of 23 last spring, along with Palentino, Outreach, Your Song, Squamosa and Ready For Victory.
