First Settler to stand at Yulong for opening fee of $11,000
Yulong Stud has announced that Danehill Stakes (Gr 2, 1100m) winner First Settler (Written Tycoon) will be joining their stallion roster for the 2025 season and will stand for an introductory fee of $11,000 (inc GST).
The Group 2-winning son of Written Tycoon (Iglesia) went unbeaten as a juvenile, recording dominant back-to-back 1000-metre victories in a handicap at Caulfield and the Russell Dawson 2YO Plate at Flemington.
Trained by Mick Price and Michael Kent Jnr, First Settler returned as a three-year-old to run second in the Poseidon Stakes (Listed, 1100m) – where he finished 1.3 lengths behind his fellow stallion Growing Empire (Zoustar) – before then landing the Danehill Stakes where he defeated Reserve Bank (Capitalist), winner of The Goodwood (Gr 1, 1200m) last Saturday.
Two further runs saw First Settler come ninth in the Coolmore Stud Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m) before running down the field in the HKJC World Pool Sprint Classic (Listed, 1100m).
Bred by Gerry Harvey, he was purchased for $750,000 by Yulong Investments and Mick Price Racing and Breeding at the 2023 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale.
The colt is out of the winning Street Cry (Machiavellian) mare Graciousness who descends from one of Australia’s most influential families as a daughter of the blue hen Lady Capel (Last Tycoon) – dam of Group 1 winner and proven sire Casino Prince (Flying Spur).
Lady Capel also produced Chateau Cheval (High Chaparral), a three-time winner and dam of Best Of Bordeaux (Snitzel), a dual Group-winning juvenile, who now stands at Coolmore Stud.
Graciousness has also produced the stakes-winning filly Vienna Princess (Snitzel), winner of the Twilight Glow Stakes (Listed, 1400m) and $1 million Silver Eagle (1300m).
“He’s a horse that showed great promise from day one with Mick Price,” Yulong’s chief operating officer Sam Fairgray told ANZ Bloodstock News.
“He was a beautiful yearling, we paid $750,000 for him at Magic Millions and we’ve sort of wanted to have a few new stallions with Written Tycoon in his twilight years.
“But it’s not just about standing any horse, he’s a horse from a very good family by a damsire in Street Cry that was just a fantastic stallion.
“There were lots of reasons why we wanted to stand him, not just because he is by Written Tycoon and we own him.”
Of the decision to start the colt off at a price of $11,000, Fairgray said: “He’s definitely a stallion that is going to produce nice foals that will sell so breeding to him at that price figure is very realistic and gives breeders a great opportunity of getting a return in the sale room.”
First Settler will stand alongside Yulong’s other new acquisitions in Growing Empire and More Than Looks (More Than Ready)..
Last year’s Breeders’ Cup Mile (Gr 1, 8f) winner More Than Looks will stand for a fee of $22,000 (inc GST).
“He’s had good support so far, it will be exciting when he actually arrives at the farm,” Fairgray said of the shuttler. “He’s a very good-looking horse so if anyone that is sitting on the fence sees him I’m sure that’ll be the deciding thing for them.
“He’s an exciting stallion for us and is going to work a lot on pedigree, he’s a Breeders’ Cup winner so there’s a lot of boxes ticked for him so very exciting.”
Meanwhile, four-time stakes winner and three-time Group 1 placegetter Growing Empire will also be available at a fee of $22,000 (inc GST).
“Growing Empire has been fantastically received, he made quite a following on the track and even when he was still racing we had lots of breeders still enquiring about possibly buying shares in him or breeding rights so we are going to do some breeding rights to answer their call,” Fairgray said.
“He’s a pinnacle racehorse and so consistent and tough at that highest level without winning, but as we’ve seen with I Am Invincible and Not A Single Doubt that they don’t have to be Group 1 winners to be champion stallions.”