March 28, 2018 October 27, 2020 SPECIAL .COM OCTOBER The Art And Science Of Setting Stud Fees By Joe Nevills As the November mixed sales approach and mares start With four first-season stallions expected to enter to the getting booked to stallions, practically all of North Ameri- breeding shed in 2021, WinStar Farm has had to walk ca’s significant stud farms have released their advertised that tightrope on a large scale. fees for the 2021 breeding season. “You look at their race record and pedigree,” WinStar Each advertised fee is the end result of a decision-making Farm’s Elliott Walden said. “It’s a bit of an art, it’s not a process that can vary from farm to farm, whether a stal- science to get it right. There’s quite a bit of comparative lion’s fee is being decided for the first time, if it’s being analysis with horses that have had a similar body of work raised or lowered, or if it’s holding steady from the previ- that have gone to stud in the past, or this year.” ous year. The intention behind a stallion’s direction can also factor in There are few concrete “sliding scale” indicators when it the decision on an initial stud fee and beyond. comes to setting or moving a stallion’s fee. They certainly help, but a Grade 1 victory on the racetrack or a fashion- A syndicate built with “breed to race” operations who plan able pedigree are no guarantee of a sky-high introductory to wait on the foals to prove themselves on the racetrack fee. The only hard and fast rule is that supply and demand might be less swayed by the whims of the marketplace, as should guide the ship, or else it might take on water. opposed to syndicates comprised of commercial breeders. Continued on Page 6 For Bill Farish of Lane’s End, setting fees means an ex- tended series of feedback, starting with internal meetings, then picking up the phone to hear from outside breeders. “I try to keep it pretty open in our organization,” he said. “Jill McCully, Levana Capria, Chance Timm, David Ingordo, GORMLEY we all talk about it pretty extensively, and then come up Malibu Moon’s Only G1 2YO At Stud. with it. I make the decision, but it’s a collaborative effort, because if everyone’s not comfortable with it, it’s not going to work. TREMENDOUS “We try to get a good feeling internally where we all are,” FIRST YEARLINGS: Farish continued. “We talk to a lot of people that breed $270,000 | $160,000 with us and get a feel for where they are, and to make sure we’re not way off with our thinking. You want to touch $140,000 | $140,000 etc. base with those that are going to be buying seasons. Gen- erally, we’re in the same ballpark with them, anyway, but we do have informal polling with them.” Setting fees for incoming stallions presented a unique challenge for the 2021 breeding season. An increasingly fickle marketplace still responds positively toward first- crop sires at auction, giving them a unique premium in that first book of mares. However, the bloodstock industry has been rattled by the shrinking foal crop and economic uncertainty inside and outside of the Thoroughbred business. Practically all of Kentucky’s stallions except for the ones on meteoric rises saw decreased fees for the upcoming season. Most stal- lions will never stand for a fee as high as they do in their Look for more at F-T October first season, but in a year where the purse strings stand to be especially tight, setting that price too high might turn breeders off. Page 2 Stallion Spotlight Darley’s Darren Fox On Astern By Joe Nevills breeders have leaned into his speed ASTERN with speedier mares and others B. h., 2013 Medaglia d’Oro have used him to inject speed into x Essaouira, by Exceed And Excel their mares. Race Record: 9-5-2-0; $884,734 Advertised Fee: $10,000 I do think Astern, crossed over stouter-bred mares with some of What is Astern’s strongest selling the Medaglia d’Oro coming through, point as a stallion? would produce some horses you wouldn’t be surprised to see go a Darren Fox: Astern scores high route of ground. marks in every category a stallion is critiqued on, so it is difficult to pick For those who might not be famil- one, but his sheer athletic prowess DARLEY PHOTO iar with Astern’s Australian form, and brilliance demonstrated on the Astern do you have races you can draw racetrack cap a stacked resume in to as parallels for the races he terms of looks, sire power and an exceptional female family. won, or perhaps a horse with a similar career arc? Astern is Medaglia d’Oro’s highest rated son anywhere in the world with a 126 Timeform rating which illustrates the Fox: His marquee win came in the G1 Golden Rose, which is point. Australia’s top seven-furlong 3-year-old race, so the equiva- lent of our G1 Allen Jerkens Stakes. He is rated the best- How does Astern compare and contrast physically to his ever winner of that race, which is a key stallion-making race sire Medaglia d’Oro, who also stands at Darley? in Australia. Fox: Astern is a neater version of his sire, coming in right Astern was also a debut winner at two early on in the at 16.1 hands. They are very similar through their head season and won the G2 Silver Slipper (prep for the Golden and shoulder. Astern has a lovely length of body although Slipper) also as a 2-year-old, which could be compared to probably not quite as long as his sire. Astern has a good hip. the G2 Best Pal Stakes. PRS Both are extremely good-looking horses with an abundance of quality apparent. Astern’s win in the G2 Run to the Rose is the equivalent of the G2 Fountain of Youth Stakes early on in the 3-year-old season. Domestically at least, Medaglia d’Oro is known more for his routers than his sprinters. As a horse that did his best work sprinting, how does that change the way breeders have looked – and should look – at Astern com- pared to other sons of Medaglia d’Oro at stud? Fox: I think the best lines that have worked with Medaglia d’Oro will also work with Astern, so it is nice that we have an extensive body of work on which to judge what works best with VIRGINIA-CERTIFIED Medaglia d’Oro and thus funnel high impact matings to Astern. EQUALS MID-ATLANTIC FOR WINS IN THE I am particularly excited about Astern’s speed and precocity MID-ATLANTIC blended with the typical two-turn American dirt mare. I think MONEY that could be a potent combination. So, to that end, some Send your weanlings and yearlings to board YOUR CHANCE TO OWN A UNIQUE or train in VA for a least 6 months and PIECE OF HORSE RACING HISTORY! 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He never done again in many years, was just a magical horse. I was a if ever.” big fan of his, and to watch him go out to Keeneland and dominate the way he did, and the recep- tion he got, it was just a special, NYRA PHOTO NYRA CANTERBURY PARK PHOTO special day.” Valorie Lund Carlos Martin Trainer Trainer “Donegal Racing had over 125 “Selfishly, we had a runner that people at the races that day, and year in the Distaff, Curalina. She I think that was my biggest memo- put up a really game effort to be ry. It was the year Keen Ice won third behind Stopchargingmaria PHOTO NYRA the Travers, beating American Aron Wellman and Stellar Wind. That was my Eclipse Thoroughbred Pharoah, and we, of course, were most vivid memory.” Partners hoping that he’d repeat that feat ERIC KALET PHOTO in the Classic. That wasn’t meant “I had two and a half hours to get Jerry Crawford to be, but it was still a very excit- from Lexington, Ky., to Shelbyville, Donegal Racing ing summer and fall of racing.” Ind., to make it from the end of American Pharoah’s Classic win to Bucchero’s first stakes win as a 3-year-old in the To Much Coffee at Indiana Grand.