'We're confident with what we've got': Anders set for strong Inglis Classic Yearling Sale

Cover image courtesy of Widden Stud

In a first-season sire class widely considered to be one of the best in years, it was a stallion with a relatively cheap service fee that generated some sweeping interest in recent weeks.

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Earthlight (Shamardal). Undefeated Champion Two-Year-Old. Dual G1 winner at two. First yearlings at the sales in 2024.

Standing for $16,500 (inc GST), Anders has made an instant impact for Widden Stud, averaging the fourth highest sale price of first-season sires to offer 10 or more yearlings in Book 1 at the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale.

With a peak price of $330,000 and a Book 1 average of $194,000, there was interest across the middle portion of the market, with only Wootton Bassett (GB), Farnan and Ole Kirk outpointing him on average for first-season sires.

With the spotlight now shining on the fast son of Not A Single Doubt, The Thoroughbred Report caught up with the nominations, sales and client relations manager at Widden, Matt Comerford, to learn more about how he is ticking along as an emerging sire.

Hot start didn’t catch Widden by surprise

Anticipation as to how the new kids will perform in the competitive, and often brutal sales market is one of the parts of the yearly breeding cycle you could set your watch by, although Anders, at least broadly, was not a name on everybody's lips heading in to Magic Millions.

There was definitely an undercurrent of interest in what the first progeny would look like though, with the Bundall auditorium frequently warming up when one of his debut crop emerged in the ring.

As Comerford tells it, the confidence and belief in Anders internally was high, and there was no shock to see his first progeny be so well-received by the wider market.

“To be honest with you, without sounding arrogant from a studmaster or sales side of things, we had a lot of confidence in the stock that he had on the farm,” he told The Thoroughbred Report on Monday.

“The reports that we've had from some of the really good supporters (of him) around the industry have been positive, so we weren't overly surprised that he sold so well.

“He's a stallion that's been supported by the likes of Glenlogan and Bell River and, Segenhoe consigned one (Lot 141 at the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale) that they paid a bit of money for as a pinhook out at the (Inglis) Great Southern Sale.

“So you could see the people that wanted to get behind him and the mare support, he profiles up like such a good stallion, he’s a good, fast son of Not A Single Doubt. He was well-priced when he went to stud, and people saw him as being really good value and supported him with good quality mares have been rewarded.”

The vendors boasting an Anders in their draft for Inglis Classic is a reflection of the broad support for him, with a number of major operations joined by respected boutique farms in offering a yearling by him.

Names cropping up with an Anders in their draft include Yulong, Yarraman Park and Sledmere Stud, with farms from Victoria to Queensland all preparing to watch their investment in the young sire walk through the ring in the coming days.

Momentum to continue at Classic

There’s plenty of his sons and daughters on offer this week in Sydney, with no less than 20 being offered at the dazzling Riverside complex, with a range of breeders converging with their slice of the Anders pie.

Widden takes a quintet with them, and according to Comerford, there’s plenty to like about the individuals they have set to go under the hammer.

“I think on the back of how well they've sold at the Gold Coast. They'll be on a lot more people's lists to look at. We have good representation by this stallion and without singling too many out, the Adventura filly (Lot 52) is a beautiful filly.

“He has stamped the horses so consistently well and with big numbers at Classic, there's going to be plenty of buyers and sellers well rewarded hopefully in the marketplace.

“We're confident with what we've got, and we have a beautiful colt out of Pretty ‘n’ Perfect (Lot 599), and he's an outstanding individual to boot as well. So you just see them as good physicals and with a bit of mare support behind him, I think they'll sell accordingly well.”

One attribute that Anders is showing early on is his compatibility with a range of sirelines, with Comerford explaining there’s still yet to be a definitive cross that looks to be head and shoulders above the rest.

“Nothing really significant as far as identifying (potentially successful crosses). I think he's such a consistent producer of a type.

“His sire, Not A Single Doubt, was so prolific, and you're seeing what Extreme Choice can do. A lot of people are trying to replicate those damlines and those nicks and crosses, whether it's Show A Heart or, you know, up breeding an outcrosss here and there, and we've put a good variety of different mares to him and had a good consistent line.

“I think a stallion that can stamp them like that can go a long way.”

This is illustrated throughout the lots at Classic, with a number of different damsires being represented.

Stallions that have proven ability to produce progeny that can get over a trip are represented, with the likes of Pins and Akeed Mofeed (GB), alongside names such as Street Cry (Ire), I Am Invincible and Northern Meteor.

Gallery: A selection of the broodmare sires of yearlings by Anders.

With an array of different sirelines bursting through, one of the most intriguing narratives awaiting Anders in the next 12 months is which crosses will demonstrate an ability to jump and run, in a manner very similar to himself as a racehorse.

Even so, the diversity in crosses and different pedigree influences give him a sense of versatility, with the ever-increasing prizemoney across the country (and indeed the Tasman) consistently targeting types that can mature into smart 3-year-olds and beyond is becoming increasingly viable.

The price is right

As highlighted earlier, Anders clocks in at the cheaper end of stallion fees, both in terms of those offering their first yearlings in 2024, but also across the marketplace holistically.

In fact, he was the cheapest stallion by service fee in 2023 on the Widden roster in New South Wales, where he is joined by the likes of Zoustar, Jacquinot and Trapeze Artist.

Gallery: Anders is joined by the likes of great, Widden stallions, images courtesy of Widden Stud

Plenty can change in racing, sometimes seemingly the blink of an eye, but according to Comerford, there’s no burning desire to send him careening up the price charts, despite what looks to be a strong start to his stallion career.

“We have seen that (increasing a stallion fee) happen before, and we've done that due to supply and demand. He (Anders) just started at a service fee that was below where he should have been.

“I think it was a year (2021) that we thought the market might come back a little bit. He probably should have been the $20,000 sire.

“We probably valued him in the marketplace at $16,500 to ensure that we got the support to him, which was exactly what happened.

“You never say never, but, you know, I think he's well marketed, well placed and well priced at the present time, and we'll just sort of see how things unfold for the rest of the year before we make any of those decisions.

“He's a big, powerful style of horse.

“He has a bit more presence to him. He’s also just very much like Not A Single Doubt, very strong with a big hip.

“You see that he is being able to put that into his progeny, which is reflected in how well they've sold to date.

“We like what we're seeing from his first crop of yearlings and hopefully, that'll continue through, and that's what people pick up in the marketplace, really identify with and are happy to purchase off the back of that a bit.”