This year we welcome two new stallions – the first additions to our roster in four years. All American and Manhattan Rain both are major Group One winners from prepotent sire lines and superb female families; they meet all conformation expectations.

We have reassessed Redoute’s Choice’s service fee, notwithstanding his excellent recent results both on the track (now the sire of 17 individual Group One winners among 60 stakeswinners) and in the sale ring (selling to $1,875,000). At his 2010 fee we believe breeders have an outstanding opportunity of breeding a highly profitable yearling, or a champion - or both. Redoute’s Choice has just completed a limited northern hemisphere breeding season and to date has nine of 11 mares covered in-foal on the first cover. We are therefore confident the setback of the 2009 season is well and truly behind us.

Hussonet will, this season, be available for Foal Shares Only. He represents a world class source of “outcross blood” to meld with proven Australian lines and we seek to share this with other breeders.

The modest increases to the fees for Starcraft, Snitzel and Charge Forward are indicative of their excellent results and their ascension to the “proven” ranks.

Flying Spur’s new fee is enticing for a Champion sire of 73 Stakeswinners and over $83 million in progeny earnings and whose 45 Easter yearlings averaged $200,000, while Danzero’s new fee is surely attractive for a stallion of his calibre.

The fee for the highly promising Not A Single Doubt remains steady this season.

Stallion success is about knowledge, experience, belief and commitment; knowledge and experience to identify the right prospects, and belief and commitment to give them every opportunity in terms of broodmare support and marketing to be successful. That’s why we have always taken a long term view of our stallions’ careers and why we are necessarily limited in the stallions we can and will stand.

Our belief is that broodmare support does not mean covering huge books of mares, but rather covering books of higher quality matrons including those in our own broodmare band. Without doubt this gives our commercial breeders the opportunity to sell their yearlings to advantage. Furthermore, once we have made the commitment to stand a stallion we maintain our support for him long after his first year. This ensures that stallions of the calibre of Redoute’s Choice and Flying Spur continue on as they started. That philosophy is being applied to our “young guns” Charge Forward, Snitzel, Starcraft and Not A Single Doubt.

Importantly, breeders also know that, at Arrowfield, our approach to service fees is universally consistent, except for our usual discounts for multiple bookings.

Arrowfield has supported the yearling market this year in a significant way by buying from its customers. This support, not limited to our own stallions, in whom we believe, will continue into the future.

We understand that planning matings in uncertain markets is a difficult task. Whilst our stallions performed well at the Easter Yearling Sales, the selection of a stallion for a mare should encompass a great deal more than last week’s sales results - these will be immaterial when the resultant yearling is sold, or reaches the racecourse. The important questions are: What will be the commercial appeal of this stallion in three year’s time? And, what chance does he give the mare of leaving a stakeswinner or a Group One winner?

In making that determination we simply ask that breeders consider the Arrowfield track record. If they place their faith in Arrowfield we give them our commitment that we will be “playing our part”.

Arrowfield Stud press release

Tags: Arrowfield Stud, freshman 2010
Permalink| Apr 12, 2010

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