Which stallions impressed in New Zealand?: 'He was a real showstopper'

Cover image courtesy of Rich Hill Stud

The Hunter Valley wasn’t the only hotspot for last minute matings decisions on the weekend, with the annual New Zealand stallion parades taking place on Saturday and Sunday. Eight studs opened their doors to the public over the weekend, and four of them were showcasing some exciting new stallion prospects standing in the land of the long white cloud.

Amongst the crowds were breeders, syndicators, and bloodstock agents, all of whom were impressed by different factors and different horses at every farm.

An international flavour

From four first season sires on display over the weekend, the two international editions to the New Zealand stallion pool were amongst the most talked about.

Having built a robust roster utilising Northern Hemisphere talent, Cambridge Stud added another in 2026 with the arrival of Charyn (Ire), a grey son of Dark Angel (Ire) who shuttles from Nurlan Bizakov's Sumbe in France. Ranked Timeform’s World Champion Miler in 2024, the grey won the G1 Queen Elizabeth II Stakes, G1 Queen Anne Stakes, and G1 Prix Jacques le Marois, plus recording placings in a host of high calibre events such as the G1 Lockinge Stakes and the G1 St James’s Palace Stakes.

Marcus Corban, bloodstock manager for Te Akau Racing as well as an agent in his own right, was particularly taken with the 6-year-old, who stands for NZ$35,000 (plus GST).

“I just loved his physique,” he said. “He has great conformation and a lovely action. He's the right type of stallion for New Zealand and I really, really liked him. And for old Sir Patrick up in the sky, he would be proud to have a horse like him at Cambridge Stud. He was a real showstopper.”

“I think Charyn is a very good addition to the stallion ranks,” said bloodstock agent Dylan Johnson.

The other new international addition is The Foxes (Ire), a multiple Group 2-winning son of Churchill (Ire) who ran second in the G1 Belmont Derby, as well as fourth-placed finishes in the G1 International Stakes at York and the G1 Hong Kong Cup.

Introduced at a fee of NZ$10,000 (plus GST), The Foxes is one of six stakes winners for modern blue hen Tanaghum (GB) (Darshaan {GB}), who has also produced G1 Al Maktoum Challenge Round 3 Stakes winner Matterhorn (Ire) (Raven’s Pass {USA}) and Chapel Stud’s Group-winning sire Bangkok (Ire), whose first 2-year-olds arrived in 2025.

Amongst The Foxes’s sisters are the dams of Ribchester (Ire) and record-setting Group 2 winner Marbaan (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}).

“The Foxes adds something different to the first season sire cohort,” said Corban. “He is very well bred and is a very European style of horse. He’s very typical of that Sadler’s Wells sireline.”

“Physically, I think The Foxes is a really lovely animal,” Johnson said. “He’s got a lovely head and a real quality to him, and obviously he is very well bred.”

Leighton Howl, the director of Kingmakers Australasia syndication, was also taken by The Foxes.

“I thought he really turned the attention of the crowd,” he said. “It was a good turnout there, and he was very well received by everyone. He’s a very strong son of Churchill and he was almost probably one of the most perfect stallions people looked at. If his progeny turn out looking like him, they’re going to be very popular.”

The local talent pool

Savaglee (NZ) and Return To Conquer join the stallion ranks this spring as proven performers in some of New Zealand’s biggest races.

Return To Conquer, who raced in the tangerine colours of Te Akau Racing, will stand his first season at Waikato Stud for a fee of NZ$15,000 (plus GST). A $1.3 million yearling purchase for Sir David Ellis CNZM (BAFNZ) and concluding his unbeaten juvenile season with victory in the G1 Sistema Stakes, he follows in the strong tradition of Snitzel sons in New Zealand, where the benchmark is currently set by New Zealand Champion 2YO Sword Of State.

“I was very impressed by Return To Conquer and Savaglee, they’re both lovely first season sires,” said Corban. “Return To Conquer is a beautiful Snitzel son, he is still developing and he has a lovely pedigree.”

The newest son of the late Savabeel to retire to stud, New Zealand Champion 3YO Savaglee joins the roster at Mapperley Stud at a fee of NZ$17,500 (plus GST). A Group 3 winner at two, he came into his own at three with four Group wins headed by the G1 New Zealand Two Thousand Guineas and the G2 Levin Classic.

“I feel like Savaglee is a horse that will resonate really well here with New Zealand breeders and will fit well with the broodmare band,” Johnson said. “I really like him. There’s no doubt that Savabeel’s bloodlines will be able to continue through his sons, and Savaglee has the race performance to carry that mantle.

“He is a lovely type too. He’s not overly big, he’s just that lovely athletic type of Savabeel and he has such a good pedigree. There is some very high class blood there that he can impart on his progeny in the future.”

Proven success

The proven ranks amongst New Zealand also delighted breeders over the weekend, and Ancroft Stud’s Philip Brown was particularly appreciative of the presentation of the roster at Rich Hill Stud, highlighted by a stallion who he has enjoyed a lot of success with in the past.

“The horses at Rich Hill looked tremendous,” he said. “I saw Proisir, Ace High, Satono Aladdin, and Shocking, and it was a really nice parade. Proisir is my favourite, of course, I have raced two very nice horses by him.”

Proisir earned another Grosvenor Award in the 2025/26 racing season, and it was no contribution from Brown's race mares. Brown parted ways with his four-time Group 1 winner Legarto (NZ) (Proisir) at this year’s Magic Millions Gold Coast National Broodmare Sale, where she was purchased for $2.8 million by the Devil Night Syndicate.

Gallery: Proisir at the Stallion Parade of Rich Hill Stud

He retains part ownership of another four-time Group 1-winning Proisir daughter in Levante (NZ), who resides at Arrowfield Stud and is currently in foal to The Autumn Sun. Her first foal, a filly by Snitzel, made $600,000 at the Gold Coast in January to the bid of Chris Waller and Guy Mulcaster Bloodstock.

“I will be sending three mares to Proisir this year,” said Brown. “Another is going to Profondo and the last one, we are waiting to see what she foals and then we will decide. It’s an exciting time of year, and it was good to see Proisir again.”

Howl also enjoyed the Rich Hill Stud parade and was particularly a fan of Satono Aladdin (Jpn).

“Satono Aladdin looked amazing,” he said. “I have already bought and raced a good Satono Aladdin called Lupo Solitario who won two Group 3 races, and we have waited four years to find another one, which we finally bought this year and are currently syndicating. I am really happy with the 2-year-old we have now.”

Gallery: Satono Aladdin at the Stallion Parade of Rich Hill Stud

Satono Aladdin is joined in New Zealand by two more sons of Deep Impact (Jpn) in Auguste Rodin (Ire) and Profondo, but what he represents to buyers and syndicators like Howl is the proven ability to get a high quality animal.

“He is just a very classy international stallion,” Howl said. “You get the feeling he is only going to continue in the same manner of producing really serious racehorses. And he has a great international quality to him, he has a size and presence that reminds me of Shamardal back in the day.

“He’s a pretty unique style of horse for us to have access to, and he paraded amazingly. He looked amazing and he obviously has a wonderful temperament, given the way he behaved with his handler. He was the standout for me.”

Howl also had a lot of time for another Novara Park resident in King Of Comedy (Ire), whose eldest crop have just turned four. The son of Kingman (GB) has produced nine winners from small numbers, headed by G3 Manawatu Classic placegetter King Jakkal (NZ).

“King of Comedy was quite an interesting stallion,” said Howl. “There’s a lot of Kingman about him. He's quite underrated actually. I was quite surprised how much of that European quality was in him. I probably should have gone and seen him a couple of years earlier.”

Exciting things to come

Amongst the younger stallions, there are those who will be hoping the spring will herald a wave of winners amongst their first 3-year-olds. Noverre (NZ) and Armory (Ire) both saw their first 2-year-olds arrive last racing season, and while the hype across the Tasman still remains in juvenile racing, the New Zealand industry has a much more patient approach.

Henley Park’s Sarah Devich was drawn to Noverre, another G1 New Zealand Two Thousand Guineas-winning son of Savabeel who stands at Waikato Stud.

“The standout for the whole two days for me was Noverre, not just because of his colour, but also his physique,” she said. “He just looks amazing.”

Devich was also drawn to Mapperley and Windsor Park Stud’s Armory, Galileo’s (Ire) Irish and European Champion 3YO son. A second placing in the G1 Cox Plate to Sir Dragonet (Ire) (Camelot {GB}) stands out amongst his six Group 1 placings.

“Another one that took my eye was Armory,” Devich said. “He has matured really well and really looks like a bull now.”

“Armory really stood out at Mapperley,” said Howl. “I think he has the potential to produce some really quality horses. He’s a really strong son of Galileo and he has something really unique about him. I feel like you can definitely find a high quality style of horse from him if you do your homework.”