‘He could become the next superstar sire’ – Alabama Express and Lucky Vega rewarded with fee hikes
Yulong have rewarded Alabama Express (Redoute’s Choice) and Lucky Vega (Lope De Vega) with fee increases for 2025, while US shuttler More Than Looks (More Than Ready) has been introduced into the Australian market at a fee of $22,000 (all fees inc GST).
Alabama Express will stand his sixth season in the covering barn at a fee of $66,000, up from the $55,000 he stood for in 2024. Lucky Vega, who shuttles to Yuesheng Zhang’s operation from the Irish National Stud, has had his fee more than doubled and will now command a figure of $38,500, a 133 per cent increase on his previous price of $16,500.
A son of the breed-shaping stallion Redoute’s Choice (Danehill), Alabama Express has had his talent as a stallion advertised by Yulong’s homebred Treasurethe Moment, who became the first filly in 19 years to seal the VRC Oaks (Gr 1, 2500m) / ATC Oaks (Gr 1, 2400m) double.
This term to date, the stallion has been represented by 30 winners from 78 starters and is also the sire of New Zealand-based Group 2 winner Alabama Lass and Glasgow Lass, winner of the Ascot 1,000 Guineas (Listed, 1800m).
Jun Zhang, Yulong’s new general manager, told ANZ Bloodstock News that the team had deliberated over Alabama Express’ fee.
“A lot of thought and discussion goes into whether we raise his service fee and by how much, but we really believe Alabama Express could become the next superstar sire. His results in the ring have been very strong this year and the feedback we have received from breeders has been very positive, so we do think an increase in his fee for this year was warranted,” he said.
“He’s just going from strength-to-strength as a stallion. Obviously what Treasurethe Moment did this season has been amazing, so Alabama is very special to the team. He’s proven how versatile he is, producing stakes winners over sprint trips and also over classic distances and further,” he said.
“Alabama Lass and Shangri La Express have both won big sprint races and then you have the filly [Treasurethe Moment], who has won two Group 1 Oaks over staying trips. So you’ve got the whole range there and there’s not too many stallions you can say that about, which is why we believe he has justified an increase in his service fee.”
Overall, Alabama Express has sired 36 winners from 79 starters, while his total number of stakes winners stands at four. The stallion commanded a fee of $27,500 in his first season at stud and dropped to as low as $22,000 in 2022 and 2023, before rising to $55,000 last year, covering 223 mares.
“We think he’s just going to keep improving with age,” said Zhang. “In the early days we mainly supported him with mares from his own family, but more recently we have outcrossed so the foals he will produce this year and into the future will have deeper pedigrees than his first and second crops.”
The progeny of Alabama Express have been well sought at the sales, with 25 yearlings by the stallion offered at public auction selling for an aggregate of $2,929,056 at an average of $117,162.
Phoenix Stakes (Gr 1, 6f) winner and Middle Park Stakes (Gr 1, 6f) runner-up Lucky Vega has been in the headlines in his first season with runners in the southern hemisphere, with his trio of winners led by Sweet Embrace Stakes (Gr 2, 1200m) scorer Within The Law and Vega For Luck, who was second in the rich Karaka 2YO Millions (RL, 1200m).
The son of Lope De Vega’s (Shamardal) success with his first crop was reflected in the sales ring this year, with 25 of his yearlings fetching $3,630,716 and recording an average $145,228.
“Lucky Vega has made a very strong impression in his short time in Australia and every foal he produces is very good-looking,” said Zhang. “His progeny are a great fit for the Australian market and his yearlings have proved very popular at the sales, they’re well muscled and very compact and he can produce an early runner.
“Obviously Within The Law has done a great job, she is not only fast but also very tough and durable, which is a pretty good combination. She was quite a cheap purchase [$30,000] and has won over $1 million in prize-money, so she has been a real bargain and I’m sure she’s not the only one.
“He was not well known in the local market when we first brought him out here, so some people took a chance with him and they have been very well rewarded. It hasn’t surprised me how well he has done out here, because we were always confident that he would suit Australia. He’s such a strong stallion with a big hip. He’s very compact, not overly long, and he’s producing some very fast horses.”
Meanwhile, Zhang believes the $22,000 fee that last year’s Breeders’ Cup Mile (Gr 1, 8f) winner More Than Looks will command in 2025 represents “good value”.
“We hadn’t set a service fee for More Than Looks when we first made the announcement, but we’re very confident he will be popular with breeders here in Australia, and we think $22,000 represents good value for a horse of his status,” he said.
By a sire of sires in More Than Ready (Southern Halo), More Than Looks retired to Lane’s End Farm in Kentucky following his Breeders’ Cup win.
Bred by Hinkle Farms, More Than Looks is out of the stakes winning Harlan’s Holiday (Harlan) mare Ladies’ Privilege, a sister to multiple Graded winner Takeover Target being out of winning Empire Maker (Unbridled) mare Vanquished – herself a half-sister to Grade 1 winner Critical Eye (Dynaformer).
A winner at Grade 3 level in the Manila Stakes (Gr 3, 8f) at three, the Cherie DeVaux-trained More Than Looks added the Jefferson Cup Stakes (Listed, 8f) at Churchill Downs to his CV later that same year, as well as a Grade 2 placing in the National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame Stakes (Gr 2, 8f).
His crowning moment came as a four-year-old when he defeated an international field of eight elite–level winners in the Breeders’ Cup Mile, including English 2,000 Guineas (Gr 1, 1m) winner Notable Speech (Dubawi) and Japanese Grade 1 winner Geoglyph (Drefong).
“He’s a very good stallion and he’s obviously a son of More Than Ready, who is a real sire of sires. We haven’t sat down to make a proper plan of which of our mares we will be sending to him, but rest assured he will be very well-supported by Yulong,” Zhang said.
“Mr [Yuesheng] Zhang personally chose him to join our stallion ranks, I haven’t met the horse myself yet but he looks impressive in all the videos I’ve watched, so I’m looking forward to seeing him in the flesh when he arrives in Australia. He’s a good-looking horse with a strong physique and he is very similar in size and looks to his sire.
“We hope he can produce some good sprinters because they carry much greater commercial value here in Australia, but I think his progeny will be better over the 1400-metre to a mile range. We’re also hoping he will prove to be a good broodmare sire in time.”
On the lowest rung of the roster is three-time Japanese Grade 2 winner Diatonic (Lord Kanaloa), who will stand his fourth consecutive season at the Nagambie farm at a fee of $13,750.
One of three sons of Lord Kanaloa (King Kamehameha) standing at Yulong, Diatonic covered a book of 104 mares last season and he was well-supported by Yulong serving some of the operations best mares including elite-level winners Melody Belle and In Her Time.
“The foals produced by Diatonic are Mr Zhang’s favourites on the farm, and I would have to say they are probably my favourites as well. They’re so good-looking and also very strong. He served Melody Belle and In Her Time, so we are really excited about those foals.
“He also has three weanlings heading to the upcoming Inglis Australian Weanling Sale, and we think the buyers will be very impressed with them. We really believe he could be the next big thing out here.”
Lord Kanaloa’s two other sons on the Yulong roster, Tagaloa and Panthalassa, will stand for unchanged fees of $22,000 and $16,500 respectively.
Blue Diamond Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m) winner Tagaloa has been represented by one winner in the shape of Fernhill Handicap (Listed, 1600m) winner Spicy Lu, who despite surrendering her three-start unbeaten streak in the Champagne Stakes (Gr 1, 1600m), was far from disgraced in the Group 1, finishing seventh, 3.1 lengths behind the winner, Nepotism (Brutal).
Zhang believes Tagaloa’s progeny will improve with age.
“Tagaloa is going well, with Spicy Lu a great example of the types he can throw. You won’t see the best of his progeny until they are three years or older, so we think the best is definitely still to come with him and I believe he will have more of an impact in the coming season.”
Panthalassa won seven races for trainer Yoshito Yahagi and his owner, Australian Eric Lucas, highlighted by wins in the US$20 million Saudi Cup (Gr 1, 1800m) in 2023 and the previous year’s Dubai Turf (Gr 1, 1800m) at Meydan. He also finished runner-up in the 2022 Tenno Sho (Autumn) (Gr 1, 2000m) won by Japanese superstar Equinox (Kitasan Black).
A resident at Arrow Stud in his native Japan, Panthalassa covered 112 mares in his first season in Australia and Yulong is looking forward to his second season in the southern hemisphere.
“Panthalassa produces classic race foals, this is his second season and his first crop are coming along nicely. He covered around 112 mares in his first season and we hope that number will increase this year. He will arrive from Japan in mid-July, so we’re excited to welcome him back to the farm then,” Zhang said.
After having his fee increased to $66,000 last year, Pierata (Pierro) has had his price slightly pulled back for the upcoming breeding season and will command a figure of $55,000. Meanwhile, Grunt (O’Reilly) has also been subject to a fee slash and will stand for $19,800, down from the $22,000 he stood for last term.
“Grunt obviously had Veight doing great things two years ago, last season was a little bit quieter for him which is why we decided to reduce his fee slightly. But his horses are going well in Hong Kong and his yearlings have been popular with Hong Kong buyers, which is also true of Pierata. He produces some very good-looking foals and he’s also popular with local buyers, so even though we have reduced his fee also, we certainly haven’t lost faith with either of them,” said Zhang.
Rising 24-year-old champion sire Written Tycoon (Iglesia), who has spent the past three seasons based at Nagambie, remains at a private fee and he will cover a restricted book of Yulong-owned mares in his 19th year at stud.
“Written Tycoon has been on fire again this season, particularly with his three-year-olds. He was well supported when he stood at Arrowfield and we’ve obviously sent many of our best mares to him after we acquired him, so it’s not surprising that his progeny are still performing so well,” said Zhang.
“He will serve a private book of around 50 mares this season, and we may even look to scale that number back a little bit depending on how he is going. It will be mainly our mares, but occasionally we will accept a mare from another farm if the mating works and if the mare has had a pedigree update.
“We don’t know how long he has left in the stallion barn, but with so many of his sons going well at stud now, his legacy will live on for a long time. We are looking for the next stallion by Written Tycoon to take over from him at Yulong when he retires. We will of course look after him very well for the rest of his life, because he has been a very big part of our success.”