News

Widden Stud Announce 2013 Service Fees

16th Apr 2013

Widden Stud - Media Release - Tuesday, 16 April 2013

Widden Stud has announced its service fees for 2013 on a top class roster of nine stallions headlined by Golden Slipper winning sires Stratum and Sebring (pictured).

2013 Service Fees – All fees inclusive of GST

SEBRING (More Than Ready (USA) x Purespeed) $38,500

STRATUM (Redoute’s Choice x Bourgeois ) $38,500

NORTHERN METEOR (Encosta De Lago x Explosive (USA) $27,500

STAR WITNESS (Starcraft (NZ) x Leone Chiara) $22,000

NICCONI (Bianconi (USA) x Nicola Lass) $17,600

SNIPPETSON (Snippets x Snowdrift (Fr) $9,900

TICKETS (Redoute’s Choice x Staging) $8,800

DREAMSCAPE (Choisir x Faith in Dreams (USA) $5,500

LUCKY OWNERS (NZ) (Danehill (USA) x Miss Priority) POA

STRATUM continues to set the benchmark for sire sons of champion stallion Redoute’s Choice.

A current Top 10 Australian sire by earnings and individual winners, Stratum is the sire of 38 stakes horses including three Group I winners from his first four crops and has continued in impressive form this season particularly with his juveniles who include Group III winner I’m All the Talk and Godiva Rock, who finished third in the Group I MRC Blue Diamond Stakes.

Redoute’s Choice has clearly become Australia’s premier source of sires and no other son of his can boast more Group I winners, more stakes winners and stakes horses, two year-old stakes-winners and overall winners in the Southern Hemisphere than Stratum.

Stratum offers a more than a 20% chance of siring a two year-old stakes-winner from a two year-old winner and for those breeders looking to attain valuable black type for the progeny of their mare, Stratum most certainly represents obvious value.

SEBRING is following in the successful footsteps of past Golden Slipper winners in matching strides with some of the very best first season sires of modern years. Already with three impressive stakes winners in Criterion, Dissident and Bring a Ring to his credit, Sebring can boast 67% of his progeny to have won or placed, notwithstanding five others who have collected prizemoney in running fourth.

The main session at Inglis Easter saw Sebring average $200,000 and his seven stakes performers to date have him already outperforming some more recent Champion Australian First Season Sires. This ranks him on par with the likes of Exceed and Excel (9),Fastnet Rock (9) and his own sire More Than Ready (10) who have set the benchmark for stakes performers by a first season sire.

Quite simply, these early numbers suggest Sebring is an emerging ‘elite’ sire in the making and set to continue the phenomenal success of Golden Slipper winners in becoming champion sires.

NORTHERN METEOR has been quick to make his mark with his first runners and is already placed in the Top 10 of Australia’s General 2YO Sires List by winners. The record breaking Group I winning sprinter has more two year-old winners this season than champion sires Fastnet Rock, Encosta de Lago, Lonhro and Redoute’s Choice combined.

With a host of exciting prospects including undefeated Equator, who is headed for the Group I ATC Champagne Stakes, in addition to stakes horses Mount Zero and Swing Vote, many good judges are tipping Northern Meteor to become one of the hottest young sires of his generation.

Northern Meteor yearlings have sold up to $440,00 and he can boast an Inglis Easter average of $124,000. With 60% of his progeny having won or placed already this season, to say Northern Meteor has plenty of upside is clearly an understatement.

NICCONI is a young stallion that has certainly set the tone at this year’s major yearling sales.

Averaging over $100,000 at the major sales earlier in the year, the champion sprinter of his generation has unmistakeably put the quality and trademark movement into his progeny with many a good judge describing the Nicconi yearlings as the most impressive of a stellar lot of first season sire youngsters on offer in 2013.

His yearlings have sold for up to $300,000, $200,000, $190,000, $160,000 etc and highlight a huge return on service fee.

Having covered over 400 mares in his first three seasons at stud, not only does Nicconi have the numbers to prove successful he also has quality types that found their way into the nation’s most successful stables.

STAR WITNESS and TICKETS have attracted overwhelming support since they retired to Widden in 2011.

Both young stallions fit the criteria of what constitutes a champion stallion in this part of the world. Fast, tough, well-bred Australian performers is what we see at the top of the Australian sires lists year in year out and these young stallions certainly fit that category.

With first crop foals attracting much admiration from breeders across the nation it was no surprise both young stallions attracted books of over 100 mares again last season and there progeny are sure to prove popular at next year’s yearling sales.

SNIPPETSON, DREAMSCAPE & LUCKY OWNERS further prove the vale offered by Widden and represent a diverse array of sire lines with their roster catering for all breeders in all price brackets.

We look forward to discussing with you your mating options for the the upcoming breeding season.