Cover image courtesy of Newhaven Park Stud
Cool Aza Beel, a winner of the G1 Sistema S. and the R. Listed Karaka Million for trainer Jamie Richards and Te Akau Racing, will stand at Newhaven Park in 2021 alongside young stallion Xtravagant (NZ), who remains at his existing price of $11,000 (inc GST).
Newhaven Park announced in January that it had secured Cool Aza Beel for stallion duties and Principal John Kelly said the response since that point had been very positive.
"We’ve been really pleased with the response we have got. He's got a very good syndicate behind him that have taken shares in the horse and we are receiving quite an amount of enquiry about bookings to him. We are over the moon with that," he said.
"I think being out of a fast Australian family and being such a good 2-year-old, and then having the attraction of Savabeel, really helps. He's a six-time Champion sire, Savabeel, and he is doing such a great job, and he is having such a great run in Australia."
Cool Aza Beel (NZ) | Standing at Newhaven Park Stud
Backing up Cool Aza Beel's efforts on the racetrack, where he won four of his six starts, including those dominant wins in the Karaka Million and the Sistema S. in 2020, is a pedigree which most Australian breeders will be well familiar with.
His dam, Cool 'N' Sassy (Testa Rossa), is out of Elle's Decree (Red Ransom {USA}), who is a half-sister to G1 VRC Sprint Classic winner Malaguerra (Magnus). Another half-sibling is Tennessee Midnight (Danehill {USA}), who is the stakes-winning dam of Group 1 winner Aloha (Encosta De Lago), grandam of Group 1-performer Libertini (I Am Invincible) and great-grandam of G1 Champagne S. winner Seabrook (Hinchinbrook).
"That Australian family is a big help as well. There have been four or five Group 1 winners in that pedigree in the last five or six years, plus Libertini. It’s an evolving family," Kelly said.
"There have been four or five Group 1 winners in that pedigree in the last five or six years, plus Libertini. It’s an evolving family." - John Kelly
The other great advantage for Cool Aza Beel in the Australian market is that he is Danehill (USA)-free in his pedigree.
"If you look at his pedigree, he's by Savabeel and out of a Testa Rossa mare. She's out of a Red Ransom mare who is in turn out of a Bletchingly mare. They are the three strains we want to use with these Snitzel, Not A Single Doubt mares and the daughters of every Danehill-line stallion," Kelly said.
"If you go and look at the statistics of all the nicks around those lines, they are fantastic. That's what really attracted us to him. The whole package. His sireline and his female-line will be pretty appealing to most broodmare owners in Australia."
Backing that up, according to Kelly, is a stallion who has the physique to really appeal to Australian breeders.
"He has that presence about him. He's 16 hands, he's strong, and he's got a lovely head and hip on him. He's a great mover and our experience would be that most stallions produce what they are. If he does that, he's going to produce really attractive foals and hopefully they can turn into good racehorses," he said.
Watch: Cool Aza Beel (NZ) win the G1 Sistema S.
Assessing the right fee for a new stallion to the market can be tricky, but Kelly is confident Newhaven Park has got the balance right at that $16,500 (inc GST) introductory price point.
"I think you'll find that he’ll be very attractive at that price. We haven't seen many service fees yet, but as a Karaka Million winner and a Group 1-winning 2-year-old, he will be very attractive to people. We need to stand stallions where people can make a dollar and we feel that's what he is," he said.
Xtravagant on the up
Xtravagant, the dual Group 1-winning son of Pentire (GB), enters his fifth season at Newhaven Park having recently celebrated his first winner with the Trent Busuttin and Natalie Young-trained He's Xceptional at Cranbourne.
Also placed twice at metropolitan level, He's Xceptional has proven the flagbearer to date for Xtravagant's first crop of 2-year-olds.
"Obviously, being by Pentire out of a Zabeel mare, he was never going to have a crack at the early 2-year-olds, but he has had seven starters and a winner. He's had a couple of placegetters as well," Kelly said of the stallion.
He's Xceptional, Xtravagant's (NZ) first 2-year-old winner
"Every trainer who has got them likes them and if you watch all of his horses, they all finish their races off. We are very hopeful that as we get into the late part of their 2-year-old careers and the spring of their 3-year-old season, they will really come to the fore.
"He didn't win his first race as a 2-year-old until May, and he was brilliant there, and then he was a brilliant horse through his 3-year-old season."
Xtravagant's had consistently strong books through his four seasons at stud, and his two crops through the yearling sales have proven quite popular.
They averaged $66,994 across 43 sales in 2020 and then $52,550 across 20 sales in 2021 to date. Significantly the median price for his progeny has gone up from his first crop to his second crop, from $40,000 to $42,500.
Kelly said much of the demand at the yearling sales in 2021 has been driven by repeat buyers, which is an endorsement of the impression his first crop has made.
"We've been really happy with the way the people who bought them last year have come back and bought them this year. We can only take positives out of that," he said.
"They've got confidence in him and we will be disappointed if we are not sitting in a position at this time next year with a stallion who has people pretty excited."
