Coolmore

At Coolmore, there were 14 stallions on parade on Sunday, including three making their first appearance.

"We have three very exciting new horses to add to the roster in Caravaggio (USA), Churchill (Ire) and Merchant Navy (Aus) and they were the focal point of a lot of people's attention," Coolmore's Racing, Sales and Marketing Manager Sebastian Hutch said.

The addition of Caravaggio (USA) (Scat Daddy {USA}) and Churchill (Ire) (Galileo (Ire}) continued Coolmore's focus on finding the right shuttle stallions for the Australian market.

"Obviously there is a huge appetite for Danehill-free stallions, given the proliferation of that line in Australia and bearing that in mind, it’s a great opportunity for Australasian breeders to patronise elite racehorses from around the world which are Danehill-free," Hutch said.

There was also plenty of attention for American Triple Crown winner American Pharoah (Pioneerof The Nile {USA)}, who will stand for his second year in Australia.

"American Pharoah has a star appeal that is almost unparalleled anywhere in the world. He was as good a racehorse as one could possibly wish to breed," Hutch said.

"The fact that that Australian breeders get a chance to patronise him at a value fee, people are genuinely excited about that."

"He covered an outstanding book of mares in his first season and he also has the capacity to make a very profound effect on the Australian racing and breeding landscape."

Hutch said the current stallion roster, which includes two of the leading locally-bred stallions, Pierro (Lonhro {Aus}) and So You Think (High Chaparral {Ire}) was Coolmore's strongest in recent times.

Widden

Widden have had a very busy extended weekend, stretching their stallion parades from Thursday until Monday.

Ryan McEvoy, Widden's Marketing and Stallion Nominations Manager, said the interest was high in both the stud's established stallions and those who were building their reputations.

"Sebring (More Than Ready {USA}) and Zoustar (Northern Meteor {Aus}) are always popular horses. Those two have certainly stood out. I must say all the stallions looked really well, they are all in good nick," McEvoy said.

G3 winning sprinter Supido (Sebring {Aus}) made his first appearance at a parade along with his sire Sebring having settled in well at his new home.

"He came to us about two months ago and he's a young stallion who fits really well on our roster," McEvoy said.

"He's Sebring's fastest son. He's a really quick horse, particularly over 1000m-1200m. He's got a big pedigree and he's a good-looking horse."

Sires with speed are in huge demand in Australia at the moment and McEvoy said Widden have a philosophy when it came to getting the right ones.

"He (Supido) was really effective down the Flemington straight and that really appealed to us, given a lot of our successful stallions have shared that trait," he said.

"Horses like General Nediym and Northern Meteor, to current day horses like Star Witness, Zoustar and Nicconi have all been able to do that."