Strong fee reductions as Newgate adds Ozzmosis, Militarize and King's Gambit to biggest ever roster

Cover image courtesy of Newgate Farm

Newgate Managing Director Henry Field says the farm has listened to breeders during the 2024 sale season and priced their stallion roster accordingly ahead of the 2024 breeding season.

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Newgate will stand 17 stallions in 2024 – up three on last year and the biggest contingent ever for the Hunter Valley-based operation.

Newgate has made reductions in fees to 11 of the 14 stallions it stood last year.

“We want to lead the market, rather than follow it,” Field said.

“We understand the yearling market by aggregate was comparative with the last two years, but we’ve listened to breeders and feel there’s an obligation to price our stallions most competitively to keep breeders profitable and keep breeders in the game and that’s what we aim to do this season.”

Newgate stallions collectively covered more mares in 2023 than any other farm, with the 14 sires reaching a total of 1964 mares for the season.

Those 14 stallions are all back again in 2024 and now joined by three of the most exciting young colts to retire to stud in Australia this year.

Coolmore Stud Stakes winner Ozzmosis will stand at a fee of $44,000 (inc GST), three-times Group 1 winner Militarize (NZ) is at $38,500 (inc GST) and the gifted King’s Gambit is starting at $22,000 (inc GST).

“In 2024 we have an even bigger and better roster. This is the most stallions we’ve ever stood, with three of the most exciting first season sires on the roster at Newgate,” Field said.

Ozzmosis and Militarize join Artorius, In The Congo, Stay Inside, State Of Rest and Wild Ruler as Australian Group 1 winners to retire to Newgate in the last three years.

“We have seven elite Australian Group 1 winning first, second or third season sires on our roster,” Field said. “That’s almost the same as all of our competitors’ horses combined, so the pipeline is unbelievably strong for our stallions coming through.”

Four generations of Coolmore Stud Stakes winners

Ozzmosis is out to continue a fine tradition for his sire line in making his stud debut in 2024.

The son of Zoustar was a $250,000 graduate of the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale from the Sledmere Stud draft and he accumulated $1.44million in prizemoney from his seven race starts.

Sent to top trainer Bjorn Baker, he was unbeaten in two starts at two before stepping straight to stakes level at three, beating the subsequent dual Group 1 winner Celestial Legend (Dundeel {NZ}) convincingly in the Listed Heritage S.

Two starts later he won the stallion-shaping G1 Coolmore Stud S. in a field that included the Golden Slipper winner Shinzo and future autumn Group 1 winners Cylinder (Exceed And Excel) and Veight (Grunt {NZ}).

He is from the Group 3 winning Darci Brahma (NZ) mare No More Tears (NZ) from the family of Hips Don’t Lie (NZ) (Stravinsky {USA}).

“In our opinion he’s an absolute bullseye commercial play for Australian breeders,” Field said.

“An unbeaten 2-year-old rated by trainer Bjorn Baker as the best he’s ever trained, he came back as a spring 3-year-old and was dominant in the Heritage S. before blowing them away in the Coolmore Stud S. in a near identical rating (according to Daniel O’Sullivan’s Weight-for-age Performance Ratings) to his own sire Zoustar.

“Zoustar is the most commercial stallion in Australia currently.

“He’s the fourth generation of Coolmore Stud S. winners and all of those above him were outstanding sires; Encosta De Lago, Northern Meteor, Zoustar … Ozzmosis with a very similar racing pattern and a very similar body of work on the racetrack to his lineage before him.”

Field noted that not only does Ozzmosis have a similar racetrack record to Zoustar, but he’s retiring to stud at an identical first season fee.

Militarize reputation enhanced in Doncaster defeat

Militarize was a $550,000 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale purchase from the draft of Bhima Thoroughbreds.

He lived up to his price tag – and then some – across two Group 1 winning seasons on the racetrack and he retires with prizemoney in excess of $2.5 million.

“Militarize is the most accomplished colt of his generation,” Field said of the Chris Waller-trained three-times Group 1 winner.

“He was all bar put through the rail in the Golden Slipper before blowing them away in the Sires Produce and Champagne.

“He came back as a 3-year-old and showed an electrifying turn of foot to win the Golden Rose.

“He finalised his career in the Doncaster, giving Celestial Legend 5kg and only beaten the shortest of margins.

“Those 3-year-old colts who are high in the weights in the Doncaster and ran well like he did, only the really exceptional ones can do that.”

Militarize is from the Dubawi (Ire) mare Amerindia (GB), who in turn is a daughter of the French Group 1 winner Satwa Queen (Fr) (Muhtathir {GB}), whose daughters’ progeny have included the Group 1 winners Nations Pride (Ire) (Teofilo {Ie}) and Lucky Vega (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}).

“He’s a spectacular physical, he’s by an elite sire in Dundeel out of a Dubawi mare. He’s an outcross and a horse we think that comes along only every few years,” Field said.

Unlimited potential

Unlike the aforementioned duo, King's Gambit does not retire to stud as a Group 1 winner, but few would doubt he was possessed with Group 1 ability.

“King’s Gambit is potentially the most talented horse we’re retiring this season,” Field said.

“A horse that absolutely decimated the 2-year-olds in the Debutant, his run in the Golden Slipper was outstanding. I’ve never seen the Snowdens more confident about a horse going into the Slipper and I’ve never seen them more disappointed after a Golden Slipper.

“To run third to Shinzo and Cylinder after the run that he had I think was testimony to what a brilliant colt he was on his day.

“I think he was the most talented colt of his entire generation.”

King’s Gambit is a son of Champion Sire I Am Invincible from the Group 3 winning Encosta De Lago mare Sultry Feeling, who also placed in a Group 1 Tatt’s Tiara.

“He came back at three and won a Roman Consul and beat Celestial Legend and Ozzmosis,” Field said.

“He’s standing at a fee of $22,000 (plus GST) and he has been described by our stud manager Jim Carey as close to a perfect 10 physically as a stallion can get and he had the ability to match.”

Tassort earns a hike as First Season boys make promising starts

As Tassort dukes it out with Darley’s Too Darn Hot (GB) for First Season Sire honours, his fee was always going to rise on the modest $11,000 (inc GST) breeders were asked to pay in 2023.

Tassort landed his first Group 1 winner earlier this month when Manaal beat the big guns in the ATC Sires Produce S. (1400 metres).

The stallion is the sire of five individual winners in Australia from just 15 runners to date.

“We are putting Tassort at $38,500 (inc GST). He’s obviously fighting out (the First Season Sire title) and has a brilliant filly in Manaal, plus another lovely contingent of 2-year-olds,” Field said.

“He’s the only stallion on our roster with a higher fee this season and we’ve priced him, we think, unbelievably competitively when you compare the other sires on the First Season Sire table.”

Barn mate Brutal (NZ) (O’Reilly {NZ}) is also enjoying solid early success, ranked sixth on the First Season Sire charts with five individual winners, headed by the Magic Millions The Debut (Colts and Geldings) winner Lead Me On.

Cosmic Force gives Newgate three of the top eight First Season Sires at this stage, with his four individual winners headed by Stay Focused, who ran second in the Group 3 Blue Diamond Prelude (Colts and Geldings).

Despite their solid starts, Newgate has given breeders the opportunity to get in on the ground floor on the pair this year, with Brutal down to $16,500 from $22,000 and Cosmic Force staying at $11,000.

“They are horses that have started their career really well and we’ve priced them competitively,” Field said.

Second and third year reductions

Field noted each of the farm’s second season sires – State Of Rest (Ire), In The Congo and Artorius - all had reductions in their fees.

State Of Rest and In The Congo are both at $27,500 (inc GST) (from $44,000 (inc GST) and $33,000 (inc GST) respectively) and Artorius is $22,000 (inc GST) (from $27,500 {inc GST}).

“They were all incredibly popular first season sires and covered big, robust books. The breeders that liked them in 2023, they should welcome the 2024 pricing,” he said.

Gallery: Second season sires at Newgate Farm all have reductions in their fees, standing at Newgate Farm

“The Golden Slipper winner Stay Inside has been reduced from $77,000 (inc GST) to $55,000 (inc GST). His first foals are as good as any stallion we’ve ever had at Newgate, they really are spectacular foals,” Field said.

Likewise, the quartet entering their third year at stud will also be offered at reduced rates.

“He wasn’t just any Golden Slipper winner. He was dominant.

Gallery: Stallions at Newgate Farm entering their third year at stud, standing at Newgate Farm

“Wild Ruler is down to $27,500 (inc GST). He was a really top class sprinter at three and four with lovely foals at foot. Profiteer and Tiger Of Malay are $11,000 each (inc GST).”

North Pacific, whose oldest progeny are being sold as yearlings this year, is $16,500 (inc GST).

“He was similar to Tassort. He may not have won his Group 1 but had Group 1 ability,” Field said. “He was retired prematurely but was a very talented colt, beaten the shortest of margins in the Golden Rose.”

Flagbearers to be popular again

Extreme Choice once again heads the Newgate roster, staying at the $275,000 (inc GST) fee he covered 108 mares off last year.

But Russian Revolution and Capitalist are available to breeders at lower fees in 2024, both standing at $66,000 (inc GST).

Capitalist is on target to have his first Top 10 finish on the General Sire List, with his 121 individual winners (which includes six stakes winners) accumulating earnings in excess of $9million so far this season. His yearlings have sold up to $800,000 in 2024 and on the Gold Coast in January, he was fifth leading sire by aggregate, with his 46 yearlings selling for a total of $11.7 million.

Gallery: Flagbearer stallions of Newgate Farm are set to be popular again, standing at Newgate Farm

Russian Revolution is the sire of five individual stakes winners this season for earnings approaching $7million.

“Russian Revolution and Capitalist – both Champion First Season Sires, both very good commercial young stallions with big books and their best books coming through at the moment,” Field said.

Extreme Choice was again one of the most sought-after stallions at Easter, having 10 yearlings sold at an average of $551,500, which placed him in the top five sires (by average, five or more sold) at the sale.

Group 1 winning mare Espiona has been Extreme Choice’s flagbearer this season, earning almost $2.4 million.

“Extreme Choice is statistically the best stallion in Australia, it’s as simple as that,” Field said.