Proisir reduced to $70,000 as Rich Hill Stud announce 2025 service fees
Rich Hill Stud have adopted a ‘mindful’ approach to their 2025 service fees despite a successful year for their roster, with the majority of their stallions’ pricetags decreased including champion sire Proisir’s (Choisir), who will stand for $70,000 down from $80,000 (all fees plus GST).
Of the farm’s four stallions, only the up-and-coming Ace High’s (High Chaparral) fee remains unchanged ($15,000) for the upcoming season.
Shuttle sire Satono Aladdin (Deep Impact) offers a significant price drop, standing for $45,000 down from $65,000, while Shocking (Street Cry) will stand for $10,000, down from $12,500 in 2024.
“There is a bit of uncertainty out there at the moment and we’re lucky that we’ve got a proven product, but I’m just airing on the side of caution really and I want to give people the opportunity to stay in the industry and keep breeding, which is our primary goal,” Rich Hill’s managing director John Thompson told ANZ Bloodstock News.
Crowned champion sire for the 2022-23 season, Proisir has had continued success this term for the farm, boasting ten Australasian stakes winners headed by his Group 1 winner Waitak, who has added two Group 2 wins to his record this campaign, as well as star mare Legarto, Wellington Guineas (Gr 2, 1400m) winner Vegas Queen and recent South Pacific Classic (Listed, 1400m) winner Sergeant Major.
The son of Choisir (Danehill Dancer) currently ranks second by earnings on the New Zealand Sires’ Premiership table, while he leads by individual stakes winners (seven), winners (41), and total wins (57).
He sired three of the top–five priced yearlings at Book 1 of Karaka this year, including the Donna Marie (Don Eduardo) filly who fetched $1,100,000, while his 41 Book 1 yearlings averaged $233,171.
“Arguably at the moment he’s New Zealand’s leading commercial stallion,” Thompson said.
“Three of the top five prices at Karaka were sired by Proisir and to put it in perspective too, all those horses we conceived when he was standing at $17,500, which was a step up from where he previously was.
“I think that going forward breeding to him this year, you never know where he’ll be in a few years’ time.
“He had 41 Book 1 horses this year and a few years ago he was lucky to have half–a–dozen, so he’s certainly been a great horse for everyone in the New Zealand industry.
“We probably could have almost put his fee up, but it’s all about giving the breeders a chance to continue to make a profit out of him.”
While Japanese Grade 1 winner Satono Aladdin does not have a current crop of southern hemisphere three-year-olds representing him, he has maintained his profile as one of New Zealand’s most promising young sires with a 12.2 per cent ratio of stakes winners to runners from his Australasian progeny.
His 2020-21 crop produced a 14 per cent ratio of Group winners to foals, with winners including Firestorm, Raf Attack, Lupo Solitario and Tokyo Tycoon.
The son of Deep Impact (Sunday Silence), who shuttles over from his Breeders Stallion Station base in Japan, has also had sales-ring success this year, with 29 Book 1 yearlings averaging $170,690. At the recent Inglis Easter Yearling Sale, his Gallwitz (Bernardini) filly from the Trelawney Stud consignment sold for AU$725,000.
“Satono Aladdin’s progeny display incredible versatility and class,” Thompson said. “If you analyse his statistics in Australasia, they are quite phenomenal. With his larger foal crops now emerging, his future impact on Australasian racing and breeding looks set to ascend to new heights over the next few seasons.
“He’s not a syndicated horse, so when you haven’t got a syndicate behind you, you sort of start from mare one. We’ve placed him at a fee where he’ll be very, very popular, I’ve no doubt about that.
“Commercially speaking, he has certainly gone to new levels the last couple of years. One of his fillies at Inglis Easter just recently made $725,000 and one of his fillies last year at Karaka made $900,000, and he consistently sold well this year too.
“He’s at a very exciting phase with those big books coming through.”
Meanwhile, proven Group 1 producer Shocking has enjoyed another fine season and continues to be a conspicuous source of value on the roster.
The son of Street Cry (Machiavellian) was responsible for a Group 1 double back in February with El Vencedor capturing the Herbie Dyke Stakes (Gr 1, 2000m) and Here To Shock claiming the BCD Group Sprint (Gr 1, 1400m) at Te Rapa, and he is also making his mark as a broodmare sire, with his daughter Repo Bay producing Proisir’s Group 1 winner Waitak.
“He’s always got a good horse,” Thompson said of Shocking. “I’m Thunderstruck and Mr Brightside always raced against each other and Mr Brightside has gone on and done it, so you always get the feeling with I’m Thunderstruck, what could have been.
“He’s just been a really good stallion and I know he’s standing at such value, but the way we look at it, he’s still very virile and he’s still very fertile.
“There’s a lot of people in New Zealand that only have $10,000 to spend on a fee and he’s going to really fit into that bracket brilliantly with what he’s achieved right through his career.
“He’s always had a good horse out there and they sell well and are very popular, so that’s just a decision we made again. I think a lot of people will be able to put just a nice young mare they’ve got to kick off with a proven stallion there and he’ll be a bit of a no-brainer at that fee.”
Shocking’s multiple Group 1-winning son El Vencedor may provide a further boost to his value on Sunday, when he is set to take on some of the world’s best in the QEII Cup (Gr 1, 2000m) at Sha Tin.
“It sounds like he worked well yesterday and they’re going to give him another good workout tomorrow on the turf,” Thompson said. “I’m really quite excited about going up to see that race, because it’s a world-class race, but it’s going to give us a bit of a measuring stick as to where he fits in, and getting Zac Purton on board is a real bonus.”
Having sired 2023 New Zealand 1,000 Guineas (Gr 1, 1600m) heroine Molly Bloom from his first crop, Ace High has made a flying start to his stud career and his momentum has continued this season, with My Lips Are Sealed winning at Group level and his second crop of three-year-olds also impressing, including stakes placegetters Kitty Flash and Dealt With.
“There was a temptation to put him up, but he’s only a young horse,” Thompson said of the decision to remain at $15,000 with Ace High.
“He’s got it all in front of him and again, you need numbers on the ground. There’s plenty of good stallions whose progress has been halted because they lacked numbers on the ground.
“Ace High has always been popular and you’d imagine he would be again this year and he’s got a lot of really promising young horses coming through the grades. This time next year, who knows where he’ll be. We decided to leave him where he is and good luck to the people that support him.”