‘It’s really the pinnacle’ – Zoustar crowned Australia’s champion sire
Widden Stud held an intimate party for their staff on Thursday night to celebrate its first general sires’ title in 32 years via Zoustar (Northern Meteor), and to raise a glass to the very strong prospect of at least a few more to come.
Zoustar, Darley’s second- and third-season champion shuttlers Too Darn Hot (Dubawi) and Harry Angel (Dark Angel), and Vinery’s debutant sires’ winner Ole Kirk (Written Tycoon) emerged as the undoubted star stallions of the 2024-25 season.
Special mentions could also go to shuttler Wootton Bassett (Iffraaj), who became Australia’s most expensive stallion in history with this spring’s fee of $385,000 (all fees inc GST), and to his plucky Coolmore barnmate Pride Of Dubai (Street Cry), who at one stage looked like pulling off an outrageous general sires’ title despite standing last term for just $22,000.
Across the Tasman, champion sire went yet again to Savabeel (Zabeel) – his tenth New Zealand general sires’ crown in the past 11 years – while his Waikato Stud barnmate Super Seth (Dundeel) took the second season and two-year-old laurels, with Cambridge’s Hello Youmzain (Kodiac) winning the debutant title.
But in Australia, the main prize deservedly went to Zoustar, the dual Group 1–winning sprinter who followed general sires’ finishes of eighth, fifth and second in the past three seasons with his ascension to the top – Widden’s first such title since Marscay (Biscay) won his second in 1993.
On progeny earnings Zoustar won by $3.56 million, a comfortable margin over the three-time champion he deposed in I Am Invincible (Invincible Spirit). Yarraman Park’s flagbearer came late to nab second from Pride Of Dubai, whose Everest (Gr 1, 1200m)-winning, $11.7 million earning daughter Bella Nipotina will visit Zoustar for her first cover this spring.
It wasn’t just that Zoustar had progressed to the title that left Widden ebullient as the champagne corks popped at the season’s close on Thursday night, but the fact it came without inflation from any of this era’s huge prize-money races, such as the Everest.
“It’s a very proud achievement for Zoustar and for the farm,” said Antony Thompson, who took over Widden aged 21 a few months after Marscay’s last title.
“As a studmaster, and having taken over the reins of Widden back then, it’s really the pinnacle – something you set your sights on, and that we’ve worked very hard to achieve. So there’s a great sense of satisfaction to be on top of the podium at Widden again.
“I guess what stands out for me is just the consistency and the longevity of Zoustar’s progeny. To win the champion sires’ award without winning any of the enormous prize-money races – the Everest, the Golden Eagle, the Melbourne Cup – it just shows Zoustar’s had a lot of horses who’ve had a lot of success and won a lot of prize-money without having one real stand-out. So it’s really about the consistency of his stock across the board.”
Zoustar’s even spread of results shows in a few areas.
He had 15 stakes winners for the season, ranking third behind Snitzel’s (Redoute’s Choice) 18 and I Am Invincible’s 16. But in the matter of stakes wins, he had 23 to be second to Snitzel’s 25, with I Am Invincible third on 19.
Zoustar had 198 winners, second to Vinnie’s 203. The pair streaked away, with Written Tycoon (Iglesia) third with 168.
But Zoustar shone for consistency, his progeny racking up 335 wins compared to the 315 of second-best I Am Invincible, who incidentally has also never sired a winner of the Everest, Golden Eagle or Melbourne Cup. So You Think (High Chaparral) ranked third on 292.
Zoustar had two Group 1 winners for the season in Joliestar and Schwarz, with his highest earner not among them in Growing Empire, who took third in the Everest en route to Yulong’s stallion barn this spring.
Four sires shared top billing for Group 1 winners with three each – Snitzel, Pride Of Dubai, Super Seth and Harry Angel.
Aside from such a widely spread body of results, Thompson had other sound reasons to feel the future looked golden for Zoustar.
The stallion turns only 15 on Friday, far younger than four of the other other sires in the top six, not counting the outlier Pride Of Dubai. I Am Invincible is 21, Snitzel died last month aged 22, Written Tycoon is 23, and Fastnet Rock (Danehill) is 24 and retired.
Thompson said Zoustar would serve “150 to 160” mares this spring at his unchanged fee of $275,000, the equal third-highest in the country. That’s down from the 188 he covered last season, yet the standard of mares keeps improving, Thompson said.
“I think there should be a few more titles to come,” the Widden boss told ANZ News. “With the quality of mares he’s seeing now, the stables his progeny are going to, and the stock coming through, I think the best is still in front of him.
“We won’t overtax him in terms of his mares. We think he’s well poised for a long run of success, and we’re really excited about the future and what that brings for Zoustar.”
Zoustar also has weight of numbers on his side. In his eighth season with stock on the track, he had 375 runners – five more than second-highest So You Think, with I Am Invincible next on 368.
Aside from Bella Nipotina, mares Zoustar will cover this spring including Arrowfield pair Ms Bad Behavior (Blame) – dam of Group 1 winner and new Coolmore sire Switzerland (Snitzel) – and Shoals (Fastnet Rock), the triple Group 1-winning mother of one Group winner from three named foals in Isthmus (I Am Invincible).
Jolie Bay, dam of triple Group 1 winner Joliestar, will be back for her sixth cover from Zoustar, while Growing Empire’s dam Miles Of Krishan will return for her fifth.
Others in the book include Magic Millions 2YO Classic (RL, 1200m) heroine Skirt The Law (Better Than Ready) and fellow stakes winner She Dances (Street Boss) for their first matings, as well as Mumbai Rock (Fastnet Rock) – dam of dual black-type victor Mumbai Muse (Zoustar).
Also locked in is Listed winner The Actuary, whose second foal, also by Zoustar, was the top-priced filly at this year’s Inglis Easter, fetching $2.6 million.
Zoustar is Australian to his bootstraps, with the first 11 mares on his female line carrying the (AUS) suffix, and with just one foreign name among the six in the first two generations of his pedigree.
But two of the other siring stars of 24-25 were a pair of European Darley shuttlers.
British-bred Too Darn Hot continued his stellar beginning in Australia, following last term’s first-season crown with the second-season title, dominating in all categories. It sums up why he’s returning to the shuttle this spring after a year off, with his fee hiked to $275,000 – up from the mere $44,000 of 2023.
His earnings of a few grand over $10 million were almost $4 million ahead of his fellow Darley shuttler Blue Point (Shamardal) in second.
Too Darn Hot had 58 winners, seven clear of second-best Pierata (Pierro), and his 86 wins were well ahead of the 78 of second-ranked Zousain (Zoustar).
But it was on the score of stakes winners that Too Darn Hot most stood out.
He had ten of them, headed by dual Group 1 victor Broadsiding, who’s now joined him on the Darley stallion roster. That haul was four more than the second-highest among second season sires in Castelvecchio (Dundeel). It also put him equal fifth among all sires in Australia, and off a vastly lower number of runners than his rivals – 98, while the four above him averaged 337.
Plus, Too Darn Hot’s stakes winners kept coming back. He had 15 stakes wins, equal fourth in the land, and six clear on the second season chart, ahead of Castelvecchio’s nine.
By earnings, Too Darn Hot finished 17th on the general sires’ table – a fabulous achievement in only his second season of runners. He ranked fifth on the two-year-old sires’ table – topped by Snitzel thanks to his third Golden Slipper (Gr 1, 1200m) winner Marhoona – and third in the three-year-old sires’ contest, which was won by Written Tycoon.
“What Too Darn Hot has achieved is pretty significant so far and we’re delighted with the success he’s had,” Darley’s head of stallions Alastair Pulford told ANZ.
“He’s carried on his second season much as he did in his first, and we think he’ll keep going that way.
“His quality of mares will obviously go up this year with his new fee, and we think he’ll continue his way forward to hopefully become one of the pre-eminent sires in both hemispheres.
“There’s also no sign of him stopping in the northern hemisphere, where his results keep coming, including another Group 1 winner there last weekend,” Pulford said, referencing Tornado Alert’s victory in Munich’s Grosser Dallmayr Preis (Gr 1, 2000m).
“He’s a genuine, all round stallion who can get you pretty much anything. To become champion stallion you have to have a bit of versatility, and the fact he can get horses who win at 1200 metres, 1600 metres, 2000 metres and beyond is very encouraging.
“Ten individual stakes winners in his second crop is no mean feat. From 98 runners, those percentages are pretty good. If he can continue like that, maybe one day he can become champion stallion.”
Too Darn Hot has one headlining mare coming his way this spring in Winx (Street Cry), but will attract plenty more quality with breeders including John Camilleri, Arrowfield and Segenhoe booked in.
Pulford said Darley would put some 20 of its finest mares to the rising ten-year-old this spring, including In Secret (I Am Invincible), Zapateo (Brazen Beau) and Alizee (Sepoy), plus two daughters of Street Cry in Circular, dam of Group 1 winner Cylinder (Exceed And Excel), and Transfers, mother of dual Group 1 winner Tom Kitten (Harry Angel).
On that note, Darley’s Irish-bred shuttler Harry Angel also enjoyed a strong season, franking his fee rise this spring from $38,500 to $66,000.
The rising 12-year-old streaked away with the third season sires’ title, his earnings of $15.2 million more than double that of second-placed Justify (Scat Daddy). Harry Angel’s quality was also shown in the fact he ranked only fourth by winners, with 67 behind leader Trapeze Artist’s (Snitzel) 79. He had six stakes winners, level with The Autumn Sun (Redoute’s Choice) behind Justify’s seven.
Harry Angel finished seventh on the general sires’ table – a powerful feat in only his third season of runners, compared to an average of 12.3 seasons for the six sires above him.
“He’s done a fantastic job off a relatively low fee,” Pulford said. “He’s the youngest horse in the top 10 and he’s done it off some pretty impressive horses, with three Group 1 winners in Private Harry, Tom Kitten and War Machine.
“These high class European horses are really showing their worth and it’s great to see. We need that variety in our genetics and our market. We can’t keep breeding the same thing over and over again and expect the breed to improve, so it’s very pleasing to see this variety of horses and bloodlines doing so well.”
Similar can be said of Wootton Bassett. The rising 17-year-old, well proven in the northern hemisphere, finished second on Australia’s first-season table behind the exciting Ole Kirk. No one was quite able to work out how Wootton Bassett went without a stakes winner, though his star offspring Wodeton ran a narrow second in the Golden Slipper (Gr 1, 1200m).
Kia Ora’s Farnan (Not A Single Doubt) topped the first season table for winners, with 14 to the 13 of Ole Kirk and Wootton Bassett’s ten.
Special mention must also go to Newgate’s sub-fertile sensation Extreme Choice (Not A Single Doubt), who sired the vastly divergent winners of the Melbourne Cup (Gr 1, 3200m) in Knight’s Choice, and the Blue Diamond Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m) in Devil Night.
Despite his fertility problems, Extreme Choice finished 21st on the general sires’ table, with the lowest number of runners (87) in the top 25.
The 12-year-old earned a fee rise to $330,000, which was an equal Australian record with Redoute’s Choice’s (Danehill) 2007 and 2008 figures before Wootton Bassett’s bump was announced a few weeks later.
Fastnet Rock had the most Group 1 wins among sires with eight, thanks mainly to the seven of Via Sistina. Snitzel had five, while three each went to Zoustar, Harry Angel, Super Seth, Bullbars, Pride Of Dubai and Alabama Express – the last of those earning his thanks to star daughter Treasurethe Moment.
And Fastnet Rock won his second broodmare sires’ title – and in as many years – ahead of Redoute’s Choice and Snitzel.
Of Australia’s 57 individual Group 1 winners, 37 were bred in Australia – one fewer than 2023-24 – with 11 bred in New Zealand, four each in Ireland and France, and one in Britain.
On the sales front, Coolmore sire Home Affairs (I Am Invincible) was the undoubted headliner, achieving the astonishing feat in his first season of topping Australasia’s two biggest auctions.
At Magic Millions Gold Coast, his daughter of Sunlight (Zoustar) sold to Japanese trainer Mitsu Nakauchida for $3.2 million, while at Inglis Easter, his colt first foal of dual Group 1 winner Shout The Bar (Not A Single Doubt) went to Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott and Bruce Slade’s Kestrel Thoroughbreds for $3 million.
For broodmares, Zougotcha (Zoustar) topped the Gold Coast National Broodmare Sale, selling to Coolmore’s Tom Magnier for $5.25 million, while Bella Nipotina ranked second for the year when Michael Christian bought out his fellow owners, paying $4.2 million at the Inglis Chairman’s sale.
Yulong ranked as the season’s most successful owner, with five Group 1 winners in Via Sistina, Treasurethe Moment, Kimochi, Deny Knowledge and Devil Night. Their 13 top tier wins is believed to have brought Zhang Yueshen’s empire the Australian record for a single owner.
Chris Waller set a trainers’ record of 19 Group 1 wins for the season – including the seven of Via Sistina – with Ciaron Maher ranking second with ten.
James McDonald landed 15 elite victories, one short of Malcolm Johnston’s national jockeys’ record, alongside six overseas elite victories since last August 1. Damien Lane ranked second with eight Group 1 wins.