Coolmore fees: Justify returns, Wootton Bassett, Pride Of Dubai, So You Think up

Each year, with the release of the Coolmore stallion roster, there’s a major talking point. Last year it was the retirement of Home Affairs, and this year it’s the happy return of the Triple Crown-winning Justify.

After a brief hiatus in 2022, Justify will shuttle back to Jerrys Plains for what will be his fourth Southern Hemisphere season. His fee will be determined in the coming weeks, but it’s not likely to be too different from his 2021 price of $55,000 (inc GST).

All roads pointed to Justify’s return this spring. The imposing American has posted a very decent season with his first Australian crop to the track.

To date, Justify has had three winners from 10 starters, and they include the brilliant Annabel Neasham filly Learning To Fly, a winner of the G2 Reisling S. and G3 Widden S. Learning To Fly has been the dominant juvenile filly in Sydney this autumn, and she was luckless in an incident-prone G1 Golden Slipper.

Justify’s two other winners have been Californian and the Peter Moody-trained Legacies, the latter a contestant in this Saturday’s rescheduled Listed Anzac Day S. at Sandown.

So far, Justify has done everything right to warrant a return to Australia. His stock has been sought by not just the best trainers up and down the eastern seaboard; they’ve been sought by astute breeders.

His debut book of mares included the likes of Atlantic Jewel (Fastnet Rock), Fontein Ruby (Turffontein), Global Glamour (Star Witness), Maastricht (NZ) (Mastercraftsman {Ire}) and Srikandi (Dubawi {Ire}), and his second season didn’t look much different.

In fact, Justify’s first two books spoke streets about his popularity.

He covered 149 and 142 mares in 2019 and 2020 respectively. That figure waned only slightly to 82 in 2021 and, with his current sitting at the top of the Australian First Season Sires’ table by earnings (with a healthy $1.62 million in the kitty), it’s expected he will cover an equally healthy book this spring upcoming.

“We welcome Justify back to Australia with open arms,” said Tom Moore, Coolmore’s head of marketing and nominations. “It’s on the back of a remarkable start to his stud career, and while it’s only early days for him in Australia, he has already produced arguably the best 2-year-old filly in Australia in Learning To Fly.

“He’s the leading First Season Sire by a significant margin, and the feedback we’re getting from trainers throughout Australia suggests this is only the tip of the iceberg for him in this part of the world.”

This weekend, Justify has Legacies in stakes company at Sandown, but he also has the juvenile colt Air Assault in the G3 Breeders’ S. at Morphettville. For the squad at Coolmore, it’s a typical weekend of watching the stakes races for Justify results, such has been his ability to hit the mark.

“We expect his credentials to keep improving as the season goes on,” Moore said.

In the sale ring, Justify has had a similarly promising start. There’s been a healthy demand for his stock, with his debut yearlings averaging $244,545 last year, and his second crop averaging just shy of $220,000.

The horse’s top-selling yearling to date has been a $1.4 million purchase for Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott, which was offered by Coolmore at the 2023 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale this year. It was a son of the exceptional race mare Sunlight (Zoustar), while Learning To Fly has lived right up to her $900,000 price-tag as his best-selling filly.

Coolmore has closely watched the nicks and trends that have done the job for its Triple Crown winner, and the son of Scat Daddy (USA) seems to have already demonstrated a few, which will be important for his commerciality in Australia.

“It’s particularly encouraging that Justify has already proven to be extremely effective with Danehill blood,” Moore said. “Learning To Fly is out of a Fastnet Rock mare, while Legacies is out of a Danehill Dancer mare.

“We are immensely confident that Justify will elevate himself into an elite stallion within the Australian ranks and, most importantly, provide another outcross option for top-class mares, just like So You Think, Wootton Bassett and Pierro.”

The steady rise of Wootton Bassett

While Justify’s return is the headline affair, as was the news last week that Starspangledbanner will also shuttle once again to Jerrys Plains, there are a number of further changes to the 2023 Coolmore roster.

Wootton Bassett has climbed from $71,500 (inc GST) last year to $93,500 (inc GST), and that’s off the back of strong books that signal strong demand, as well as promising results for the stallion in the Northern Hemisphere.

The son of Iffraaj (GB) stands at Coolmore Ireland right now for €150,000, which equates to just shy of AU$250,000. It’s an eye-watering comparison.

“Wootton Bassett has been supported with mares of the highest quality in each of his previous seasons in Australia,” Moore said. “When you look at the quality of his foals on the ground, it’s easy to understand the level of demand for him.”

Wootton Bassett will cover his third book for Coolmore since his prolific purchase by the Irish outfit, and in the two Australian seasons he has shuttled, his books were 189 and 169 respectively. They’re very healthy figures given the competitiveness of not just wider Australian farms, but also the roster on which he stands.

“We believe he still represents great value for local breeders,” Moore said. “He’s a stallion of great significance on a global scale, and his stud record to date, paired with the quality of his progeny on the ground, suggest his stock will be extremely well-suited to Australian racing conditions.

“Almost 50 per cent of his stakes winners won stakes races as 2-year-olds and, in fact, a greater percentage of his stakes winners do so as juveniles as against the likes of I Am Invincible, Snitzel and Exceed And Excel.”

While Wootton Bassett’s worldwide stakes winners include the Classic winner Almanzor (Fr), himself a first-class sire, and numerous other European Group-class winners, his first-crop Australian weanlings are looking very good, according to Moore.

“They’re out of Sunlight, Avantage, Nakeeta Jane, Qafila, Celebrity Queen, Invincibella, Tulip and Champagne Cuddles, among others,” he said. “We also have siblings to Group 1 winners like Fangirl, Jacquinot and Madame Pommery.”

Fee hikes for So You Think and Pride Of Dubai

It will surprise very few that both So You Think and Pride Of Dubai have climbed in fee this year.

Off the back of a 2022 racing season that saw So You Think battle out the Australian General Sires’ premiership with I Am Invincible, the son of High Chaparral (Ire) has risen from $93,500 (inc GST) to $99,000 (inc GST).

Pride Of Dubai, meanwhile, has experienced a slighter steeper jump, going from $16,500 (inc GST) to $27,500 (inc GST).

“So You Think is well and truly one of the best stallions in Australia, and he has been for a number of seasons,” Moore said. “Only Snitzel and I Am Invincible have produced more Group winners than him in Australia this season, and his yearlings sold for an aggregated total of more than $18 million.”

So You Think’s highest-seller in 2023 was a $900,000 colt offered by Davali Thoroughbreds at the Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale this month. He sold to the Hong Kong Jockey Club, pushing the stallion’s average this selling season to the best it’s ever been.

So You Think has averaged $191,475 for his yearlings this year so far, which neatly eclipses his previous best of $171,267, set in 2020.

Additionally, So You Think’s 2022 book of 203 mares maintained a five-year run of 200-plus mares each season.

“He was the busiest stallion in Australia last year and a slight increase is more than warranted,” Moore said.

Pride Of Dubai, meanwhile, has also justified his fee spike. Consistently one of the more reliable horses on offer in Australia, he’s been headlined this autumn by the feats of his Northern Hemisphere-produced son Dubai Honour (Ire), who lowered the colours of Anamoe during The Championships.

“Much has been spoken about the phenomenal run of form for Pride Of Dubai this season, which sees him sit sixth on the Sires’ table,” Moore said. “His seven stakes winners and progeny earnings of more than $11.5 million this season make him look like unbelievable value at $25,000 plus GST.”

Pride Of Dubai’s stakes winners include the neat filly Bella Nipotina, Sirileo Miss and the G1 Western Australian Oaks winner She’s Fit. They’ve provided their sire an enviable run of results.

Home Affairs down slightly

There was plenty of chatter last year when Home Affairs went to stud at a debut fee of $110,000 (inc GST), and the smart son of I Am Invincible attracted a stout book of 203. He was the busiest first-season sire in Australia and, this spring, he will stand slightly reduced at $99,000 (inc GST).

“Home Affairs is a commercial breeder’s dream,” Moore said. “He covered an incredibly strong book of mares and was supported by the best of breeders throughout Australasia. Despite pulling his fee back slightly, we have the utmost faith in this horse and we can’t wait to see his first-crop foals later in the year.”

Among the mares that visited Home Affairs last spring were the G1 Oakleigh Plate winner Booker (Written Tycoon) and the superb producer Hips Don’t Lie (NZ) (Stravinsky {USA}). He also got the dual Group 1 winner Shout The Bar (Not A Single Doubt), as well as Sunlight (Zoustar).

“He’s the fastest and best son of I Am Invincible and an incredibly imposing physical,” Moore said. “He’s from the family of leading sires Encosta De Lago, Flying Spur and Russian Revolution, and he was supported by leading breeders last year with their best mares. We think he is an absolute no-brainer.”

Meeting the market

Coolmore will this year present a 15-horse roster and, among the remaining stallions, there are a few fee adjustments.

Fastnet Rock is rising 22 years of age and, with carefully managed books numbering around 50 these days, he has dropped from $165,000 (inc GST) to $110,000 (inc GST). He overtakes Home Affairs at the head of the Coolmore table by price.

Pierro, who stood for $99,000 (inc GST) last year, will stand this spring for $82,500 (inc GST), while Yes Yes Yes, The Everest-winning son of Rubick, has slid slightly from $38,500 (inc GST) to $33,000 (inc GST). Both of these horses covered substantial books last year of 118 and 164 respectively.

Also on a slight decrease is the well-bred King’s Legacy, who goes from $33,000 (inc GST) to $27,500 (inc GST).

Gallery: Coolmore Stud's stallions in 2023

Additionally, this spring will feature the new boy on the block, the rising 4-year-old Best Of Bordeaux. The son of Snitzel has been set at a freshman fee of $27,500, which will rank him favourably in his price point.

It's a competitive corner of the stallion market, even among Coolmore's own roster, but with Snitzel achieving rare heights this season, Coolmore is expecting good patronage of this triple Group winner.

Of the others, the shuttlers St Mark’s Basilica (Fr), a son of Siyouni (Fr), and the Galileo (Ire) horse Churchill (Ire) will both return at unchanged fees. St Mark’s Basilica covered his debut Australian book of 159 mares last spring and his fee is $44,000 (inc GST).

Churchill will stand for $22,000 (inc GST) once again, which is a fee at which he has remained steady for three years. He is currently seventh on the Second Season Sires’ table in Australia, and the highest of any Australian shuttler (Kiwi shuttler Almanzor is third).

Whipping in the Coolmore roster are the well-bred Acrobat, a son of Fastnet Rock, whose debut book last year numbered an impressive 188. This tidy horse stands unchanged at $13,750 (inc GST), while the Cox Plate-winning Adelaide (Ire), among whose stakes winners includes the Group 1-winning Funstar, is also unchanged at $5500 (inc GST).

Table: Coolmore Stud's stallion roster in 2023, *all prices inclusive of GST