'Year-on-year he keeps eclipsing his previous season’s mark' - Zoustar to stand for A$275,000 at Widden Stud

Zoustar has been placed on a pedestal that will see him alongside reigning champion Australian stallion I Am Invincible after Widden Stud unveiled its service fees for its 2024 stallion roster.

The champion first and second-season stallion of late last decade, Zoustar is currently second behind I Am Invincible on the Australian general sires’ table this season but he leads the premiership by winners (173) and is equal with his Yarraman Park-based rival by stakes winners (14).

Now, Widden principal Antony Thompson has raised the bar with Zoustar in line with what he believes to be a worthy representation of his feats on the racecourse and in the sales ring as a sire with his fee increased to A$275,000 (£143,000/€167,000), the same mark set earlier this week for I Am Invincible.

As well as confirming the service fee for Zoustar, Thompson has also revealed that the Widden roster leader’s sire son and barnmate Zousain has also earned a fee increase, which will see him stand for A$27,500 this year, up from $22,000.

And the changes did not end there, with Widden also securing last season’s JJ Atkins Stakes winner King Colorado for its Victorian roster, the first Australian Group 1-winning juvenile to retire to the southern state in four years. He will stand at an introductory fee of A$16,500.

Antony Thompson (left): "The demand will be very strong for him"Credit: Magic Millions

The dual-state operation will stand a roster of 18 stallions in total, nine at the historic Widden Stud in the Hunter Valley and another nine in its relatively new Victorian farm near Romsey, where Russian Camelot heads up the offering at an unchanged A$19,800. 

Zoustar, meanwhile, has continued his charge at the sires’ ranks that have been largely dominated by I Am Invincible and Snitzel over the past seven years.

But his 21 stakes winners globally since August 1 – Zougotcha (two), Joliestar (one), Ozzmosis (one) and last Saturday’s Robert Sangster Stakes winner Climbing Star have all won at the elite level in Australia this season – has made him one of the country’s most commercial stallions. His yearlings have grossed more than A$40 million this year, with a filly selling for A$2.2m and a colt fetching A$1.9m at the recent Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale. 

Zoustar, who did not reverse shuttle to Tweenhills in the UK this year after five seasons, stood for A$220,000 in 2023 and there had been speculation that the stallion’s fee could have been as high as A$330,000 this year.

“We’re probably in a position where price isn’t that important with a horse of his calibre with the value of the mares that are going to him and the people who want to breed to him want to breed to him, so he’s probably not as price-sensitive as a lot of the other stallions in the market at the moment,” Thompson told ANZ Bloodstock News.

“The demand will be very strong for him, but we just thought it wasn’t a year to be too aggressive. Across the board, we’re trying to be quite conservative and we thought that was a conservative sort of step this year [for Zoustar].

“Year-on-year he keeps eclipsing his previous season’s mark and when you look at it now . . . he’s the leading sire of Group 1 winners, stakes winners, winners and he is closing in on A$20 million in prize-money earnings and A$40 million in sales for the year.”

Zoustar’s son Zousain has already sired first-crop Magic Night Stakes-winning filly Drifting and Chateau Miraval, a winner who was placed in the same Golden Slipper lead-up race, as well as five other winners.

They include Sydney winner Froebel Star, Brisbane winner Zouna, the highly impressive South Australian winner Dyer and Wednesday’s first-up Ipswich scorer Rhumb Line.

Zousain’s new fee might be “ten per cent of Zoustar’s” but Thompson holds him in higher regard than that.

Zousain: exciting son of Zoustar has had his fee increased to A$27,500Credit: Widden Stud

“We see him as really growing into his father’s big shoes and the job he’s doing is really exciting for this time of the year coming into their own like he did,” said the Widden studmaster.

“He’s had the seven winners, and they’ve all been metropolitan winners, and a couple of stakes horses. I think he has a lot of nice horses going to Brisbane [for the winter carnival] and into the spring next year.

“He’s always been a very popular and commercial horse and we’re seeing that already. He’s nearly fully booked for this year already, so a slight increase is well and truly justified.”

The only new stallion to be added to Widden’s two-state roster is King Colorado, who is out of the Dubai Listed winner More Aspen, who in turn is by elite broodmare sire More Than Ready.

King Colorado, who ran fourth in a Caulfield Guineas and was placed in a Manfred Stakes and a CS Hayes Stakes, was bred by Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Maktoum, who leased him to a large syndicate of owners for his 11-start race career, providing Ciaron Maher with his first Group 1-winning two-year-old as a trainer.

Sheikh Khalifa has retained equity in King Colorado and will support him at stud.

“He’s obviously got a fantastic international pedigree being from Dubai Millennium’s family and one of the great families of the world,” said Thompson.

“Kingman’s a world-class sire on the global scene and to have a Group 1-winning two-year-old at Widden Victoria I think is a great coup.  

“He’s a horse that fills the eye and Ciaron described him as that big imposing horse who has stepped up to win a Group 1 at just his third start. 

“The last horse to win a JJ Atkins at his third start was The Autumn Sun, so that puts him up there in pretty serious company.”

Shares will be offered in King Colorado, who is by the same Juddmonte sire as this season’s VRC Oaks winner Zardozi.

Trapeze Artist: "He needs to be given serious consideration"Credit: Widden Stud

Trapeze Artist, the second highest-priced stallion on the Widden roster, has had his service fee maintained at A$55,000 after a breakout season, particularly with his first crop three-year-olds.

Griff won this season’s Caulfield Guineas while Facile and Ducasse won Group races and Spywire and Fly Fly have emerged as talented stakes horses in his second crop.

“Again, he’s had an incredible year, he’s the leading second-crop sire by winners and earnings and he’s sitting above Justify and The Autumn Sun, so that makes him a pretty serious horse, and he needs to be given serious consideration,” said Thompson. 

“They’re trainers’ horses and we’re seeing that across the board. People really like them, they’re good types with great temperaments and I think he’s going to be another really serious stallion for us in the future with the job he’s doing already.” 

Reacting to the economic climate, as most if not all studs have, half the Widden stallion roster has had their service fees cut.

“When you look at it, of our proven stallions on the roster, 75 per cent of them who have had a crop to race have sired a Group 1 winner, and those stallions have produced the winners of 29 Group 1 races,” said Thompson. 

“Then obviously there’s also huge commercial success when you look through the stats by horses on the roster as there’s been 346 stakes horses producing 1110 yearlings which have sold for A$100,000 or more.

“I think there’s a great cross-section of sirelines and horses in all price points with a lot of potential in young stallions on our roster as well.”

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