Waikato announces a supersize fee for Super Seth
After producing three Group 1 winners this season, Waikato Stud has rewarded Super Seth (Dundeel) with a fee increase to $75,000, while the operation’s stalwart stallion Savabeel (Zabeel) will stand once again for $100,000.
Waikato Stud’s principal Mark Chittick admitted there was a temptation to further capitalise on the elite level success of Feroce, Linebacker and La Dorada with an even greater fee hike for Super Seth, who stood for $45,000 last year. However, a happy medium was eventually agreed upon by his ownership group, who are mindful of ensuring he continues to build on the firm foundations already laid for a long and fruitful career in the barn.
Waikato maintained the status quo for Super Seth’s fellow residents Ardrossan (Redoute’s Choice), Noverre (Savabeel) and Banquo (Written Tycoon), whose respective 2024 fees of $20,000, $10,000 and $3,000 will remain at the same levels for the upcoming breeding season; while there was a $5,000 reduction for Ocean Park (Thorn Park) from his previous mark of $20,000.
Super Seth is only just starting out on his journey but so far the signs are positive that he might one day emulate the achievements of his celebrated neighbour at Waikato.
The sharp trajectory of his embryonic stallion career went stratospheric when, in the space of seven days, his sons Feroce and Linebacker claimed victory in two of Australia’s most coveted three-year-old contests, the Australian Guineas (Gr 1, 1600m) and the Randwick Guineas (Gr 1, 1600m).
Savaglee (Savabeel) chased Feroce home at Flemington to complete a quinella for Waikato Stud stallions in the Australian Guineas – a race won in breathtaking fashion in 2019 by Super Seth, who sprang from a seemingly impossible position in the home straight to snatch victory from the jaws of Alligator Blood (All Too Hard).
From that moment on, his future at stud was guaranteed and having won the chase for his signature once he had been retired from the track the following year, the team at Waikato were always confident they had something special on their hands – but perhaps they hadn’t envisioned quite how special he would quickly become.
“I can’t recall another stallion in New Zealand who has made the start to his career that Super Seth has,” Chittick told ANZ Bloodstock News.
“For him to produce the winners of two such time-honoured races from his first crop, and then for La Dorada to win the Sires’ Produce Stakes from his second crop, it’s obviously pretty special. He had three other stakes winners and has been consistently producing winners both over here and in Australia since the start, so we probably could have raised his fee more and some of his owners would have liked us to do that.
“They made some very valid points during our discussions and there’s no doubt that the demand is there for him, especially as his ownership group [including Pinecliff Racing supremo Jonathan Munz] have strong breeding interests of their own, so he will only serve a select number of outside mares – probably around 50 or 60.
“We’re in this game for the long haul so we’ll continue to take appropriate steps with his fee at this stage of his career, because we want to set him up for as bright a future as possible. His sales figures from the start have been very strong, and I would expect another uptick next year.
“We identified pretty quickly after his win in the Australian Guineas that he was the sort of stallion we wanted to stand at the farm, and with Savabeel nearer the end of his career than the start we think Super Seth is well equipped to grow his reputation and ours over the next 20 years.”
The stallion they all aspire to become is Savabeel, who will be inducted into the New Zealand Racing Hall of Fame in May and is on course to claim the Grosvenor Award given to New Zealand’s Champion Sire for a tenth time. That is thanks in no small part to the feats of three-year-old colt Savaglee and five-year-old mare Provence, who carried their famous father’s tally of Group 1 winners to 35 courtesy of their respective wins over the mile in the New Zealand 2,000 Guineas (Gr 1, 1600m) and the NZ Thoroughbred Breeders’ Stakes (Gr 1, 1600m).
Their season’s earnings were both eclipsed by Savabeel’s speedy daughter Damask Rose who, on the same day as her sister Provence’s Breeders Stakes victory at Ellerslie, promptly dashed away with the $1.2 million prize in the inaugural edition of the country’s most lucrative race, The NZB Kiwi (Listed, 1500m).
However, arguably the most significant moment for Savabeel came in the sales ring a few days earlier, when his filly out of the O’Reilly (Last Tycoon) mare Symphonic – the same mating which had produced multiple Group 1 winner Orchestral – was sold for $2.4 million to Chris Waller and his trusted bloodstock agent Guy Mulcaster.
That princely sum set a new yearling record for both Savabeel and the Karaka Sale and delivered a fairytale result for the filly’s breeders Chris and Sarah Green, the proprietors of Barneswood Farm. It also brought almost as much satisfaction for Chittick, who has run out of superlatives to describe the feats of the farm’s flagship stallion.
“That day at Ellerslie when Provence won the Group 1 and her full-sister Damask Rose won The Kiwi was definitely my personal highlight of the year, and proved once again what an incredible stallion Savabeel is,” he said.
“He deserves every accolade that comes his way. He’s as fit and healthy as ever, and he’s not showing us any signs that he’s slowing down or losing interest. So he’s ready to go for the season ahead, the only change is that we won’t be sending any maiden mares to him this year, but I would imagine his numbers will remain unchanged and he’ll serve around 100 mares again.
“With 151 stakes winners he is closing in on Zabeel’s record [of 153], and it would be a remarkable achievement if he was able to catch him. He’s had another amazing season on the racetrack and in the sales ring, and although we’ll continue to manage him carefully we’re confident he’s still got a good few years left in him yet.”
Albeit at a slightly lower level, Ardrossan also hit a purple patch this season as Beau Dazzler, Yaldi and Ardalio all enjoyed stakes success in a six-week period at the turn of the year.
Ardrossan boasted a fertility rate in excess of 90 per cent last season and his progeny proved popular on both sides of the Tasman Sea, with shrewd judges Bjorn Baker (in partnership with Jim Clarke) and Mick Price forking out a combined $380,000 on two yearlings at Karaka earlier this year.
From a service fee of $20,000, Ardrossan is undoubtedly punching above his weight and Chittick is bullish that the best is yet to come given the increased strength and depth of the book he served last season.
“He’s had a big start to his stud career, especially with the fairly limited opportunities he was given at the start,” said Chittick.
“We need to remind ourselves that he started out with low numbers, and some of the mares had very average pedigrees. So for him to have produced that quality of horse from fairly humble beginnings speaks volumes of his potential.
“He’s very capable of producing a lovely type of horse from any kind of mare, and his progeny often get better with age. He had three juvenile stakes winners from his first crop, and even though they had enough ability to win as two-year-olds, I believe you’ll see the best of them when they turn four.
“Codigo is a prime example, he won a stakes race in New Zealand at his second start, then it took him a while to find his feet after he joined Peter Moody’s stable. But he recently won back-to-back city races and was unlucky not to make it three in a row at Flemington on ANZAC Day, so he’s flying at the moment and is typical of the Ardrossans.
“I recently had a conversation with Mat Becker who buys a lot of Ozzie Kheir’s horses, they’ve got a few yearlings by Ardrossan and he said he loves every single one of them. They’re great types, they’re sound, they eat well and they put in maximum effort when they go to the races, so it’s a pretty good combination.”
For any breeders looking to turn a profit, Chittick believes Noverre – who was New Zealand’s most active stallion last season when he served just a clip under 180 mares – represents outstanding value at $10,000.
The fruits of his labour were there for all to see on the Gold Coast in January, when Waikato sold two Noverre fillies at the Magic Millions Yearling Sale for a combined $910,000.
“He was a beautiful foal himself and after he went and won the New Zealand 2,000 Guineas in dominant fashion in 2021, we brought him back to the farm and he’s been producing lovely foals ever since,” Chittick said.
“We knew his foals were outstanding types, so we didn’t have to say anything or spread the word. The breeders flocked accordingly and he served the biggest book in New Zealand last year off the back of the foals he was producing.
“His yearlings sold sensationally well this year, particularly at the Gold Coast, and I believe he’s all set to launch an incredible career as a stallion. We were happy to leave his fee at the same level, but with a few more of his progeny hitting the track this year, we think he’s only heading in one direction.”
Waikato Stud’s fees (all fees plus GST)
2025 – 2024
Super Seth: $75,000 – $45,000
Savabeel: $100,000 – Unchanged
Ardrossan: $20,000 – Unchanged
Ocean Park: $15,000 – $20,000
Noverre: $10,000 – Unchanged
Banquo: $3,000 – Unchanged