Service fees for 2023: Who and what has got people talking

Cover image courtesy of The Image Is Everything

Off the back of a year which saw sales records tumble like pins in a bowling alley, stallion service fees rose accordingly in 2022 as stud farms across Australia and New Zealand sought to capitalise on the insatiable demand for bloodstock.

Twelve months on, the picture looks a little different, with rising interest rates and a turbulent economy prompting somewhat of a correction in certain areas of the market, as evidenced by metrics falling at yearling sales across the Eastern Seaboard earlier this year.

In spite of those economic factors, not one of this year’s five highest-priced stallions in Australia saw their fees reduced this year, with three of the quintet receiving increases on their 2022 figures. But while the top end has held strong for the most part, uncertainty in other areas of the market will undoubtedly have left studmasters in a quandary when pricing their stallions for the upcoming Southern Hemisphere breeding season.

Amidst that change in the market, leading bloodstock agent Suman Hedge feels those tasked with making said decisions are on a hiding to nothing, especially given the subjective nature of assessing stallions.

“It’s always a bit of a tricky one with stallions because it comes down to perspective - it’s never possible to please everyone,” he said. “If you’re involved in the farm or the stallion, you’re always kind of defending the service fees, and then the breeders are often a little bit unhappy with the fees.

“A lot of the stallions at the top end at the moment in terms of performance are on the older side, so a few of those only have a limited time of commercial usage left and the farms are conscious of that, which I think is probably influencing the fees at the very top end.

“There hasn’t been much change at the top-end, but certainly in the middle to lower end of the market we’re starting to see some changes now in the behaviour of buyers. Whereas before you might have had four or five people that you’re trying to beat to secure a horse, you now only have one or two.

“I think that will probably take more effect next year after we see the yearling sales next season. I think there will be an adjustment again and then we might see a bit more activity in service fees coming back a bit.”

Those sentiments were echoed by Jo Griffin, who together with her husband Greg, owns and operates Lime Country Thoroughbreds in the Hunter Valley.

“I think next year things will soften more,” Griffin said. “I don’t think prices are any more sensible this year and I’ll be telling our clients to be very careful about where they send their money.

“I understand that some of the proven sires have gone up, because there is a lack of depth in the stallion ranks as far as proven horses go. Do we like having to pay it? No, but I understand we’re all going to have to pay more for proven sires.

“I think there is some caution around market forces going forward, and I think that trainers, agents and syndicators are potentially going to have an easier time selling stock by proven sires in the next 24 months.”

One such trainer is Peter Moody who, having bred a number of high-quality horses himself, has plenty of experience on both sides of the spectrum as both a breeder and a buyer.

The multiple Group 1-winning trainer offered a word of caution for those planning to hedge their bets on this year’s most expensive stallions, and was quick to point out that a stallion’s service fee is rarely taken into account once the individual enters the sales ring.

“If you’re spending a couple of hundred thousand on a service fee, you’ve got to be wary of the product that the stallion produces in the sales ring, because if it’s not up to scratch, don’t be expecting X just because you paid X,” he said.

“For me, it’s predominantly about the end product, the racehorse. I go to the market and try and find a product that I think I can get the job done with for clients.

“I’m not going there thinking that this is bred off a $275,000 mating, so it has to make $500,000 - I don’t think that at all. If I think the horse in front of me is worth that, then so be it, but if I think it’s worth $100,000 then I’m not even going to consider it.”

The usual suspects

Having sold two million-dollar lots by Arrowfield Stud stallion Snitzel at last month’s Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale, Griffin revealed that Lime Country will once again be supporting the four-time Champion Sire this year despite a $25,000 increase in his service fee for 2023.

Of the other proven sires in Australia, Griffin gave honorary mentions to Snitzel’s barnmate Maurice (Jpn) and Eureka Stud’s Spirit Of Boom, while a stallion with a burgeoning reputation overseas has once again caught Lime Country’s attention this year.

Gallery: Proven sires Lime Country Thoroughbreds will be utilising in 2023

“We’ll no doubt send mares to Snitzel again this year,” Griffin said. “Vinnie (I Am Invincible) is probably a bit out of our reach and we love Zoustar, he has been very good to us as well. But they’re expensive horses to go to.

“We’re also fans of Wootton Bassett. We sent a mare to him last year and I was overjoyed to get one. I felt he was very good value last year for the track record that he had.

“He’s obviously gone up this year by $20,000 without even having a horse sold by him here (in Australia), which is interesting, but I guess that is their (Coolmore’s) feeling on where the horse is going to be.”

Hedge, meanwhile, is adamant there is value to be found in the price of Wootton Bassett's (GB) Coolmore barnmate So You Think (NZ), who will stand for a marginally increased fee of $99,000 (inc GST) this year.

The bloodstock agent is also a huge admirer of Swettenham Stud's stallion Toronado (Ire) and Arrowfield Stud's Dundeel (NZ), the latter of which enjoyed a particularly fruitful autumn spearheaded by dual Group 1-winning 2-year-old Militarize (NZ).

“Through connections and clients we are fairly wedded to Zoustar and Written Tycoon, but outside of that, I think that So You Think is very well priced for what he is doing,” Hedge said.

Gallery: A selection of stallions Suman Hedge is considering for his clients this breeding season

“I think he is arguably the most versatile stallion there (in Australia). He probably doesn’t get many 2-year-olds, but he just gets winners every week - colts and fillies, varying distances. If it’s possible I think he is still underrated in some respects for what he’s achieving as a stallion.

“Dundeel and Toronado are two other stallions that I’ve got a lot of time for. I’ve been backing Dundeel very heavily, I’ve probably bought more of them than anyone over the past couple of years.

“With him we are now seeing the results of the better quality mares over the last two or three years, and also breeders are starting to understand what works with him as a stallion. I still think that he’s still got some levels to get to and that there is still some upside with him.”

The revolution continues

Like many of the industry’s best judges, Hedge is also a big fan of Newgate Farm's stallion Russian Revolution, who has already sired eight stakes winners from just two crops of racing age. The son of Snitzel will stand for an increased fee of $88,000 (inc GST) in 2023, a figure that was no doubt boosted by the arrival of his first Group 1 winner in the shape of G1 Randwick Guineas hero Communist.

“I think that he seems the most likely to become an elite stallion of the younger ones coming through,” Hedge said of last year’s Champion First Season Sire.

“He’s consistently getting winners, his first crop were very good and then they’ve trained on and won significant races up to a mile at three, both colts and fillies.

“It’s not a cheap fee, but there’s a good opportunity to use him this year. If we think about the way he should trend in a couple of years’ time, that fee might look quite cheap.”

Griffin is another admirer of the dual Group 1-winning sprinter, who holds a commanding lead in the race to be crowned Champion Second Season Sire for 2022/23.

“Horses like Russian Revolution are on that cusp and he’s had a Group 1 winner from his first crop of 3-year-olds,” she said.

“His second and third crops have been better type-wise than his first crop, and as breeders it’s our job to keep improving what we send as we see what they’re delivering.”

Too quick to judge

Not every stallion can burst onto the scene in the manner in which Russian Revolution has, and there are countless examples of sires who have gone on to enjoy hugely successful stallion careers after fairly uninspiring starts in the breeding barn.

You need only look at the deeds of Darley stallion Astern this year to find a recent example, while Coolmore’s Pride Of Dubai is another sire enjoying a renaissance after being somewhat written off by the Australasian market.

Citing the latter as a prime example, Hedge would like to see a shift in attitudes towards stallions in the infancy of their stud careers, and called for sires to be given more time to demonstrate their credentials.

Gallery: Stallions Suman Hedge identifies as enjoying a renaissance after experiencing a slower start to their breeding careers

“I try not to be too opinionated on stallions, especially when they’re just starting out,” he said. “I’ve just come to learn over the years that stallions continually surprise, and the most important thing is we have to give them a bit more time.

“I think we are a little bit too quick, especially in Australia, to knock stallions. If they don’t get instant results, we are very quick to bag them.

“I think a good example recently is Pride Of Dubai. He’s a horse who won a (Blue) Diamond and had a profile to throw 2-year-olds. I think everyone was hoping that he’d throw that kind of horse, and when they didn’t just do that initially the market went really cold on him, but he has had a very respectable season.

“We’ve just got to be a little bit more patient with them. Some of them you start to see the results coming through when they have 4-year-olds, but there’s this tendency to bag them and get onto the next one sort of mentality, and sometimes there is a bit of wastage because of that.”

Moody was another to reference the rapidly judgemental nature of the Australian market, highlighting two examples of sires who are entering a pivotal phase of their stallion careers off the back of some promising early results.

“It’ll be interesting the next couple of years for some of these second-season stallions, your Autumn Suns and your Justifys,” he said.

Gallery: Peter Moody is keen to see the second-season progeny of The Autumn Sun and Justify on the racetrack

“Justify has had a couple of winners and fortunately I’ve had one of them, but you want to see them come on and be 3-year-olds, because if they don’t, they will quickly be yesterday’s news.

“Our marketplace is very quick to write them off.”

Under the radar

Of the younger sires across Australia, Lime Country will again throw some support behind Widden Stud-based stallion Zousain this year, a stallion whom Griffin has high hopes for, while she will also be supporting an up-and-coming sire in her native New Zealand off the back of a breakthrough year on the track.

“It would be unusual for us to send any of our farm mares to stallions that are in the bracket under $50,000, but I have to say, we sent one of our mares to Zousain this year for the first time,” Griffin revealed.

“We hadn’t sent any previously because we felt they warranted a higher service fee. But his stock that we have seen on the farm from client horses have improved the mares every single mating, so we sent one of our own to him this year.

“He’s a young horse that I’m excited about. He’s still value and I’ll definitely look at him for a mare that we’re still a bit on the fence with as to what to do.

“We’re also holding a nom for Satono Aladdin, I think he’s an exciting horse over there (New Zealand). He’s an outcross and I think he’ll really suit those bulkier, Australian style of mares. We had a client send two of his mares over to him last year, so he’s going to be a very happy camper.

“He’s still value and you know he can throw a very good horse."

Gallery: Stallions which, according to Jo Griffin, offer breeders value

Given the success he has enjoyed with the World’s Best Sprinter I Wish I Win (NZ) (Savabeel) over the past few seasons, it should not come as a surprise that Moody will also be looking closely at the stallion pool across the Tasman this year, with the incredible breakthrough season of Rich Hill Stud-based stallion Proisir certainly not going unnoticed by the master trainer.

“You’d be stupid as an Australian buyer not to look at the New Zealand stock because their record is too good,” he said.

“It’s hard not to be taken with the performance of Proisir, even though he’s in about his seventh crop. It’s quite remarkable how he has put his hand up, it’s probably a bit like Written Tycoon in a way.

“I actually bought a couple of Proisirs this year and a couple of Per Incantos before he had the Blue Diamond winner. They’re stallions that are doing a tremendous job on both sides of the Tasman, as is Savabeel, who is just a superstar.

“We’ve seen him go to a whole new level this year, siring a TJ Smith winner and a Derby winner on the same day. That has an unbelievable uniqueness about it, which probably only happens with those New Zealand stallions. You don’t see Snitzel or I Am Invincible do that on any one day, but Savabeel has done that for the best part of a decade now, maybe not to that extremity, but it’s remarkable for a horse to be able to do that.”

New kids on the block

Arguably one of the most exciting aspects of service fee announcements is seeing the introductory fees for the newest intake of stallions, and plenty of Australasia's leading stud farms have been busy adding further quality to their rosters this year.

Multiple Group 1 winners Jacquinot, Artorius (Flying Artie) and Anamoe will all cover their first books of mares later this year, but it is the latter who has Hedge particularly excited as one of the best-credentialed colts to retire to stud in the past few decades.

“The highest profile one that we are all interested in and thinking about is Anamoe,” he said. “He’s just got such a profile to make it as a stallion.

“It’s a high fee, but he’s clearly going to serve a limited book and they (Godolphin) will be supporting him themselves.”

With Anamoe set to stand his debut season at Darley’s Kelvinside base for a fee of $121,000 (inc GST), Griffin is happy to look elsewhere in search of value among the first-season sires, which is not always a market that Lime Country operates heavily in.

“We are generally cautious on first-season sires, but I’m going to send a mare to State Of Rest,” she revealed.

Gallery: A selection of stallions who will stand their first season at stud in 2023

“I think he’s good value - he’s obviously high-class, he won Group 1 races in four different countries. He’s by Starspangledbanner, who we know works here and works in Hong Kong.

“I think Newgate have done well with him.”

Rather than focusing on any one new stallion in particular, Moody was quick to stress the importance of the speed element in a first-season sire, pointing to Australia’s current trio of leading stallions as prime examples.

“If I was looking left field as a breeder or a trainer, I’d probably want to have a pretty strong speed influence involved, because if you take a punt on a speed horse in Australia they seem to work better than a mile-plus horse,” he said.

“Our better stallions have always had that strong speed influence, you only need to look at the three at the top of the market, Vinnie (I Am Invincible), Snitzel, Extreme Choice and the like. They were all very fast horses.”

A fitting conclusion from a man who knows fast horses better than most.