The game of musical chairs involving stallions moving from
one state or country to another for the 2015 season is just about over. And the
same goes for stud fee adjustments. Here’s a rundown of what has transpired thus
far.
It was just announced that fourteen-year-old Western Terror,
a grandson of Delinquent Account and full brother to BC and Messenger winner If
I Can Dream, will relocate within Pennsylvania at a reduced rate. He moves to
Nandi Farms and will command a $5,500 stud fee, $2,000 less than last year.
More Western Terror offspring were sold in Lexington than from any other
stallion, but more isn’t always better. The 41 yearling consignment brought an
average a shade over $15,000. Lots of red ink there. Tomy Terror (sic), Hall Of
Terror and Do Your Job were his best young offspring in 2014.
Up The Credit, the richest son of gyno-centric Western
Terror, will take another shot at the stallion game in 2015. The seven-year-old
NA Cup winner, who mined the low to middle NW class at Mohawk until mid-summer,
first stood at Seelster Farms in Ontario for $5,000 in 2012. It wasn’t long
before he was back racing. He’ll now be offered for $3,000 at Casimir Farm in
Ontario.
Six-year-old Heston Blue Chip, 2012 Dan Patch winner, and
five-year-old Sunfire Blue Chip will be the first high profile sons of American
Ideal to embark on stallion careers. Neither one of them lived up to their colt
promise in the aged ranks; Heston won four races and earned $216,000 in 2014,
while Sunfire won five and banked $168,000. Heston will stand for $4,500 at
Winbak, New York and Sunfire will get $4,000 (Cdn.) at Tara Hills.
Twenty-year-old Dragon Again, who now resides in Ohio, has a
penchant for producing hard hitting pacers that last a long time, but he has no
record as a sire of sires. His son Aracache, who ground out $1.7 million in six
years of racing, will stand at Ivy Lane Farm in Indiana for $2,500. Seventeen-year-old
Real Desire, the sire of Tell All and State Treasurer, will also stand at Ivy
Lane in 2015. He moves from Midland Acres, where he sported a $5,000 fee. He
now stands for $3,500. Lots of fee reductions for lower end stallions this
year. The Well Said four-year-old Tellitlikeitis, who didn’t earn enough to be
covered by Gural’s stallion rule, will also stand in Indiana, at Victory Hill
Farm for $3,000. So, Indiana, which hit the lottery with Always A Virgin and
Rockin Image, doesn’t get a whole lot in the way of reinforcements. The latter
two stallions remained at $4,000 and $3,500, respectively.
Ohio, which was already bursting at the seams, found room
for a few more. The casinos in the Buckeye state are the best job plan in NA
for Standardbreds. Uncle Peter, a son of Cantab Hall, will be the most
expensive trotting stallion in the state at $6,000. Fifteen-year-old Broadway
Hall, still one more expatriate from Pennsylvania, will stand at Midland Acres
for $5,000. That’s a third less than he was getting last year. And 2015 BC
winner Rockin Amadeus will stand at Cool Winds Farm in Ohio for $3,500.
Western Vintage, who only won once at three after showing much
promise during his freshman campaign, will stand at Abby Stables in Ohio for
$3,500. Mister Big, who failed to impress in Ontario, will also be at Abby. He
stood for $4.500 at Tara Hills in Ontario last year, but will only get $2,500
in 2015. Jurgen Hanover, the Credit Winner five-year-old who looked like a
budding star early in his sophomore season, also goes to Abby, for $2,500. What’s
their motto, “Give us your wretched castoffs”?
Wishing Stone leaves Deo Volente in New Jersey, where he
stood for $5,000, for Sugar Valley Farm in Ohio, where he’ll get $4,500. Trixton
will take his place in New Jersey for a $12,000 fee. And of course Father
Patrick will serve a one year residency at Walnridge Farm in New Jersey, at a
hefty $30,000 per.
Archangel, who stood in New York for $4,000 in 2013, but
drew so little interest that he returned to the track this past year, makes
another run as a stallion at Winbak Canada for $4,500 (Cdn.). Betterthancheddar
also relocates to Winbak Canada from New York. As is the case with just about
all of the repositioned stallions, his fee takes a 22% hit, dropping from
$4,500 to $3,500. Sportswriter made a splash in the Ontario Sire Stakes and saw
his fee jump 38% to $6,500 (Cdn.) Kadabra’s fee has been cut 20% to $12,000
(US). E L Titan will stand for $8,000 and race as well.
Ten-year-old Crazed returns to New York from Pennsylvania.
He stood for $6,000 at Hanover in 2013, $4,000 in 2014 and is back up to $5,000
at Blue Chip in 2015. Gural Hanover and Crazy Wow were very good in the NYSS
last year and Tirade Hanover is racing very well right now. Lucky Chucky, who
didn’t overwhelm us with his first crop, had his fee reduced 20% to $6,000 for
2015. Chapter Seven, whose first crop sells this year, had his fee dropped a
thousand dollars to $7,500 for 2015. Twenty-year-old Artiscape drops 20% to
$4,000.
The high priced stuff goes to Pennsylvania, where
Captaintreacherous and Sweet Lou both have full books--$15,000 for The Captain and
half that much for Lou. One bright spot in Pennsylvania is Muscle Massive
jumping 20% to $7,500 off first crop performances by the likes of Gatka Hanover
and Speak To Me. Twenty-one-year-old Yankee Glide, who has struggled of late,
had his fee dropped from $12,500 to $10,000.
Still, $15,000 is lower than folks expected The Captain to slot
in at prior to his unsuccessful four-year-old campaign. Modest increases for
Sportswriter, Muscle Massive and Crazed don’t a positive trend make. Father
Patrick will get $30,000, but that’s for an abbreviated book and many of those
bookings are for syndicate members. Somebeachsomewhere had his fee dropped
$5,000 to $25,000 and his book is still open. Muscle Hill’s fee is unpublished.
Maybe he went up. Overall, the trend is not positive.
Joe FitzGerald
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