2023 NZ breeding season: Pacing stallion review

With the figures close to being final for Harness Racing New Zealand’s stallion services report, it’s always interesting to look at the numbers and analyse the trends and the decisions breeders are making with their broodmares.

It’s an incredibly interesting time in the pacing sector as the search for the heir apparent to the living immortal in Bettor’s Delight is starting to percolate into the data before us.

‘The King’ as he has been affectionately coined down under is undoubtedly still the top dog in New Zealand having once again been crowned pacing stallion of the year alongside five of his progeny earning top age group honours. However, recent yearling sales results and stallions serves show that there is a changing of the guard at hand.

Firstly, it is important to point out that the below table is missing at least three stallions whose lodgments are overdue and needed to complete the figures, and based of secondhand information, we can expect the Cobbity Equine trio of King Of Swing, Capt Midnight and McWicked to have served close to 100 mares between them.

If they have, the numbers would be very close to a break-even point on last year and not the 7% reduction that is in the table.

As discussed in another article, the current number of individual mares served sits at 1857, down from 2052 individual mares served in 2022. We can expect this number to creep closer and possibly beyond the 1900+ mark, which would be a decline of around 7-8%. This would mark the first time the number of mares served has sat below 2000 since the 1960’s.

You will also note on the table above that the number of pacing mares served by NZ domiciled stallions has dropped drastically to well below 50%. With the Cobbity Equine based McWicked, King Of Swing and Capt Midnight three of the missing stallions from the current lodgments, that number could well dip below 40%. It creates some negative implications for our future racing population with the percentage of live foals being produced from the number of mares served flailing due to the increase in frozen semen serves and imported semen from Australia.

Enough of the doom and gloom, the table on the right shows the figures for this season and last with the difference in the third table meaning the increase/decrease in serves since last season.

There are no real quantum leaps in terms of upswing, however the Woodlands Stud world champion in Sweet Lou had the biggest swing in fortunes with an increase of 30 mares served from this year to last. He served a book of 82 NZ mares, up from 52.

It’s fair to say he deserves it also on the back of some solid success in North America and on both sides of the Tasman. He was headlined by the likes of dual listed race winning mare Darling Me who attributed to a number of Sweet Lou’s 89 NZ race wins from 49 individual winners across all ages last season.

His largest ever crop of two-year-olds delivered 14 individual winners (third best) and with lots of his progeny going on to be better three-year old’s, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him charge up that list this season.

As we saw at the yearling sales where he knocked Bettor’s Delight off his dominant perch as the leading sire by average, Captaintreacherous was the flavour of the week. Much in the same way Muscle Hill was forced too in the trotting gait, progeny of ‘the captain’ showed their class and delivered on his North American success despite serving limited frozen semen crops.

Breeders were not afraid to pay a premium for his services and the 57 breeders who served their mares by him will be crossing their fingers and toes for their broods to be dropping a foal by him come the spring. Captaintreacherous had 22% live foals to 2YO winners last season in New Zealand to head the field in that respective category for juvenile sires. Despite finishing third on 2YO list for money won and number of wins, he an Art Major (2nd) were the closest any stallion has got for nearly a decade.

His son Captain Crunch got off to a rip-roaring start as a freshman sire at this year’s national yearling sale to be the leading first season sire on averages by some margin. He served 158 mares, up from 129 in 2022. Breeders and trainers are clearly liking what they are seeing from his stock, and it will be exciting to see how a number of those purchases break in in the coming months.

Stay Hungry was an interesting one with astute breeders obviously taking note of the fact he had a very good start to his siring career in North America as the leading first season sire. He finished fourth in the 2YO money won list for 2022 and was only $60,000 away from eclipsing Downbytheseaside into third spot. While his frozen semen will drastically limit his potential down under, climbing from just 7 mares served in 2022 to 33 in 2023 was no mean feat. His backers will have been emboldened by the fact his two offerings at this year’s national yearling sales fetched $51,000 and $42,500 by well-respected stables.

Vincent and Lazarus‘ paths unfortunately never collided on the racetracks, but we as an industry should be collectively cheering them on as if they had as two promising stallions of the future. The two All Star trained superstars of the track both rose in popularity in the 2023 breeding season.

Vincent produced three high caliber juveniles last year with Vinke B winning the G2 Sapling Stakes, Sherlock being twice G1 placed and Seve showing he wasn’t far away from the freakish Merlin earlier in the season. His five individual 2YO winners were good enough for leading first season juvenile sire here in New Zealand and no doubt played a hand in his popularity soaring back close to 100 mares bred with 97 the final figure.

With Sherlock winning the G2 Cardigan Bay stakes and the 2YO full brother to Vinke B winning at yesterday’s Ashburton trials, the purchase of the purchase of three Vincent yearlings by the All-Stars team is looking a lot more than just sentimental.

Lazarus at his new base at Nevele R Stud in Canterbury was able to serve his largest book of mares (124) before departing back for his all-important fourth season at stud in North America. Ged Mooar and the team at Nevele R Stud deserve an enormous amount of credit for helping the fledgling sire fulfil his potential this season, with all accounts suggesting he has done a much better job of getting the mares in foal.

His daughter Eyeliner was a winner yet again at the Ashburton trials yesterday (March 7.) and remarkably she is 3 x 2 to Christian Cullen being out of a Cullen mare. With only 17 juveniles in his debut crop of two-year-olds, much of the focus will now be on whether the dual hemisphere stallion can kick on from a promising start to his North American career which saw him finish ninth on the 2YO money won list.

If his progeny are anything like himself, he could be in for a big year with his three-year-olds reportedly training on well and many having classic race aspirations.

I don’t want to talk about those who trended in reserve except for one that caught the eye.

Downbytheseaside had a reduction is his book by close to 25% and I struggle to understand why! Admittedly it was his fifth season standing at stud here and his progeny now have to do the job. But you can’t do much better than what he has done with his first two crops in North America where has sired the likes the Breeders Crown and North America Cup champion Pebble Beach.

He was the leading sire of three-year-olds in North America and finished third on the 2yo list having finished second to Captaintreacherous a year earlier with his debut crop.

In New Zealand he produced the two-time G1 placed, Aardiebytheseaside and G1 placed Sinbad with his first crop to finish sixth on the money list from his debut crop of 70 live foals. On what we are seeing from Sinbad early in the season, I wouldn’t mind saying he could be a sneaky of winning the Great Northern Derby and truly putting his sire on the map down under!

by Brad Reid, for Harnesslink