Newgate announce fees - Deep Field retired and Russian Revolution up to $88,000

Cover image courtesy of Newgate Farm

It’s now been a decade since Newgate Farm began standing multiple stallions, and this year they will break their own record, by one, as they add three varied first-season options to their ranks, and lose two.

Whilst Flying Artie will still be supported by the same ownership group as he relocates to Blue Gum Farm in Victoria, sadly for Newgate and the stallion’s connections, Deep Field will not stand this year and has been taken off the roster.

“It’s heart-breaking for everyone involved, but unfortunately, despite our best efforts, he’s just unable to get mares in foal,” Bruce Slade told TDN AusNZ.

The sire of five crops of racing age, it’s a huge loss to the Newgate team, especially as Deep Field appeared to be improving each year, marked last year by his surpassing Medaglia D’Oro (USA) as the most successful Hong Kong sire ever by seasonal earnings.

A palpable loss, true, but they also have plenty to celebrate - not least the remarkable Extreme Choice. Heading their 2023 roster at $275,000 (inc GST), and the only one of their stallions to stand for six figures, he can be fairly described as a statistical anomaly.

A son of Not A Single Doubt, Extreme Choice now has his third crop of juveniles running for him, and balanced against his well-documented fertility troubles early in his stud life is his incredible potency for producing top-class racehorses.

Whilst his first crop included G1 Golden Slipper S. winner Stay Inside (who is now approaching his second season at Newgate), he’s now more than proven as versatile with his other two Group 1 winners being fellow first-cropper and recent Coolmore Classic winner Espiona and the G1 Sires' Produce S.-turned Oaks-winning filly She’s Extreme.

Things have continued apace for Extreme Choice too. Despite his current juveniles consisting of just 31 foals, he’s had Don Corleone finish runner-up in both the G1 Blue Diamond S. and G1 Sires’ Produce S. this season and the multiple stakes-placed Make A Call.

“We’re so surprised he’s doing what he’s doing, given the mares that he covered in his second and third season were sent to him when there was no commercial value that anyone could perceive in the horse at that time,” Slade said.

Gallery: Extreme Choice's Group 1-winning progeny this season, images courtesy of The Image Is Everything

After his 2022 breeding season was interrupted by an episode of colic, Newgate took the enterprising initiative of offering him for select covers on Northern Hemisphere time from their Hunter Valley farm. Despite the interruption meaning he was prioritised for shareholder use last year, Newgate are keen to have him widely available for outside use moving forward, and are confident that they now have a handle on his fertility.

“We know the horse backwards now,” explained Slade. “We’ve got a really good, tight system that we use to give ourselves the best chance for his fertility.

“He’s as good as he’s ever been… I think that’s important for outside breeders to know - that if you send this horse a nice, young fertile mare, let us set her up and we’re confident that he will get in foal for you.”

The Revolution poised to march on

Newcomers aside, just two of Newgate’s remaining 11 stallions will see a fee change this season - one up, one down. It will be no surprise to see that Russian Revolution has seen his fee raised to $88,000 (inc GST) (up from $71,500 {inc GST} last year), given that he backed up his Champion First Season Sire title earned last season by adding his first Group 1 winner this term.

Admitting that Communist’s victory in the G1 Randwick Guineas was the biggest factor, Slade said they’ve also drawn the confidence to raise his fee from a number of angles, all pointing in the right direction for the young sire.

“Hopefully we’ve priced him so that people still see real value in him, and he’s a stallion that you’re hitting on the up,” he said. “I think he’s done an amazing job - he’s only got two crops of racing age out there and he’s already broken into the top 10 in Australia for stakes winners this season.

“It was awesome to see his first Group 1 winner come at a mile, I think that shows the versatility he’s throwing into his stock.”

Now the second-most expensive stallion on the Newgate roster, Russian Revolution’s first 3-year-olds have proven that he’s no flash in the pan, and he is currently leading the second-season sire premiership. At 200, he covered the most number of mares of any of Newgate’s stallions last year, but that’s not a number he’s likely to challenge this year according to Slade.

“He’s a stallion that we see, going forward, as on track to be fighting out premierships, which is really exciting for us, the shareholders and everyone that’s supported him,” Slade said.

“We’re taking a view that we’re going to protect him and look after him going forward, so he certainly won’t be breaking any of his own records in the breeding shed this year.

“He covered an awesome book of mares, his best book of mares, last year. So, again, if you’re sending a mare to him this year you’ll be following on the back of a lot of strength on the racetrack.”

The Capitalist appeal

Perhaps a surprise in comparison, Capitalist is the only Newgate sire to see his fee reduced in 2023, and he will now stand for $77,000 (inc GST) against $99,000 (inc GST) last year. Renowned for his precocity, Capitalist is the sire of four stakes winners this season, led by G3 Sweet Embrace S. winner Lazzago and the 3-year-old Cannonball, who won the G3 Maurice McCarten H. before placing third in the G1 The Galaxy.

Having covered 174 mares last year down from 243 in 2021, and both seasons at $99,000 (inc GST), Slade explained that Capitalist’s 2023 fee is all about making him impossible to ignore in market that’s ‘crying out for young, proven sires in that $50-$80,000 range.’

“We thought: 'What fee does Capitalist stand at to make him a ‘must’ in mating plans for every commercial breeder?',” asked Slade. “And $70,000 (plus GST) is a price point where people can really get stuck into him.

“His oldest crop are only 4-year-olds now and he’s the youngest sire to hit 100 winners this season. He’s knocking on the door in terms of top-10 stakes winners and he’s currently the leading sire of 2-year-old winners this season.”

First looks

Four of the Newgate roster will this season fall into the bracket of the in-between years, with first crops on the ground but still awaiting runners. North Pacific is in the younger bracket of those. A son of Brazen Beau, his first weanlings are set to sell this year and his fee remains unchanged at $22,000 (inc GST).

“Our team’s been around them and we’re just delighted with the product he’s leaving on the ground,” reported Slade.

“He’s leaving really nice, athletic foals with scope and great quality, and he’s obviously a Danehill outcross so that’s worked very well for him. He’ll get a lot of support and a lot of bookings on the back of his foals selling in May.”

Gallery: Sires standing at Newgate in 2023, images courtesy of Newgate

Meanwhile, three of Newgate’s young guns are a year ahead. Brutal (NZ), the G1 Doncaster H.-winning son of O’Reilly (NZ), will stand again for $22,000 (inc GST) having seen his first yearlings sell for an average of $79,313. The precocious pair Cosmic Force and Tassort both remain at $11,000 (inc GST), after their yearlings averaged $91,174 and $51,190 respectively.

“They all had their first yearling sell this year, and they’re all that part of their career, the ‘T’ junction, where they’ll have runners starting in October this year,” said Slade.

“It’s an exciting time for their shareholders, and if breeders want to get behind them then they’ll never access them cheaper than they will this year if they achieve the success that we hope they will.”

Catching the trend

Another quadrant of the Newgate roster will cover their second books in 2023, and again all are unchanged fee-wise. Profiteer and Tiger Of Malay both stay at $16,500 (inc GST), whilst Wild Ruler is at $38,500 (inc GST) and G1 Golden Slipper S. winner Stay Inside sits at $77,000 (inc GST).

Gallery: Newgate's quadrant of sires who will cover their second books in 2023, images courtesy of Newgate

Historically one of difficult years for stallions, as they lose the buzz of being termed a freshman, Slade pointed to the past to argue that breeders should be paying particular attention to these four as they go about their mating plans this year.

“Historically, it’s where people have made the most money with us,” he said. “We pride ourselves on setting our stallions up really well in their first season, and on the back of that people that bred to Capitalist, Russian, Deep Field, Extreme Choice, Flying Artie - they all out-averaged their first crop with their second-crop yearlings.

“Stay Inside in particular. We’ve never set a horse up as well as we’ve set him up. If you go through and break it down in terms of the numbers of stakes winners and 2-year-old winners he covered, he’s set to have a red-hot 2-year-old season as a sire and breeders can capitalise on that.”

Newcomers

Flying Artie may be making his way to Victoria for 2023, but he will still be represented at Newgate this year, as incoming is his son, the 2021 G1 Blue Diamond S. winner Artorius. Despite some valiant efforts, including on his European tour last year, Artorius hadn’t actually crossed the line in front since that day as a 2-year-old until March this year, when he ran down Kiwi star Imperatriz (I Am Invincible) in sensational fashion in the G1 Canterbury S.

He will stand at $27,500 (inc GST), the cheapest of three fresh faces for Newgate this year. At $33,000, G1 Golden Rose winner In The Congo comes next whilst the international ‘Iron Horse’ State Of Rest (Ire) (Starspangledbanner) tops the trio at $44,000.

Gallery: Newgate's freshman sires for 2023, images courtesy of Newgate

“They’ve all gone down really well,” reported Slade. “They’re at nice price points for breeders and they’ve got proper, commercial Group 1 profiles. They’re going to be booked out, which is great.”

New to a roster that has, historically, been dominated by colonial speed, G1 Cox Plate winner State Of Rest is an interesting addition. With his four Group 1 wins across three continents coming at up to 2100 metres, he’s the first truly middle-distance horse to join Newgate.

“The majority of success in the stallion ranks has come from Australian speed, but you have to stand up and take notice with what Cox Plate winners have done in the last 10-15 years with the likes of Savabeel and Shamus Award,” said Slade.

“... with a bit of Australian appeal being by Starspangledbanner who was a proper Australian sprinter/miler, he’s the sort of stallion that you can send speed mares to and you’ll likely get quite a speedy article, and if you send a mare with a bit more distance range in her pedigree then you’ll breed your Guineas and Oaks and Cups winners.”

Table: Newgate's stallion fees for 2023, *all prices inclusive of GST