 |
|
 |
Keeping Australia’s champion sire Snitzel at a fee of $165,000 - he stood for $220,000 in 2019 and 2020 - was the cause of much debate in the Arrowfield Stud office in recent weeks, but again Messara was keen to maintain a conservative approach with the farm’s roster. This season, Snitzel has sired ten stakes winners and had star New Zealand Gr.1-winning 2YO colt Sword Of State, Saturday’s Arrowfield 3YO Sprint winner Wild Ruler and smart Sydney filly Four Moves Ahead flying the flag for the rising 19YO.
There were those in the camp who felt he was more of a $200,000 horse, but we thought, ‘look, he’s 18, rising 19, $150,000 is a nice figure and it gives people a chance of making a profit at the sales and, occasionally, you get an outstanding price for one like we did this year ($2.5 million at Easter)’
While Arrowfield is fortunate to have the four-time champion Snitzel on its roster, Messara believes Dundeel, already the sire of five Gr.1 winners including sire sons Castelvecchio and the Waikato Stud-based Super Seth, is building towards becoming an elite stallion in his own right. He has 170 weanlings on the ground and covered 196 mares last year.
It takes a while to catch up, even Snitzel, he got his four championships when he was 14, 15 and 16 and 17. It can take them a while for the marketplace to catch up to the performances and to follow up with the good books.
Yearlings of next year, and following on the year after, are going to be the basis of what makes that horse and go right to the top in my view.” Arrowfield, which has lost the services of the now Yulong Stud-based Written Tycoon (Iglesia) for 2021, has stood more than nine stallions in the past but Messara is “happy with what we’ve got”. The stud’s stallions and yearling sale results have generated more than $125 million in turnover this season to date and that momentum can flow through to the upcoming mares’ sales