Savabeel will claim his ninth New Zealand champion sire title at the end of the racing season as he prepares for a remarkable 20th season at Waikato Stud, and Mark Chittick sees no reason to pull the champion 2004 Cox Plate (G1) winner from service.
Despite his advancing age, the 23-year-old stallion is the sire of three group 1 winners this season: star filly Orchestral and mares Atishu and Skew Wiff. Savabeel shows little sign of slowing down and he will once again lead the seven-horse stallion roster.
Savabeel's service fee will remain unchanged at NZ$100,000 (US$60,000, NZ$1=US$0.60) while Super Seth, a son of Dundeel who has made a blistering start to his stud career, has earned a fee increase on the back of his first crop 2-year-olds. The 2019 Caulfield Guineas (G1) winner, the horse most likely to assume the throne once it's vacated by Savabeel on the Waikato Stud roster, will stand for NZ$45,000, up from NZ$35,000.
The emerging Ardrossan, by Redoute's Choice, has had his fee doubled to NZ$20,000.
Chittick May 8 marveled at the continued success and virility of Savabeel who, in addition to his eight consecutive Grosvenor Awards for leading New Zealand stallion, has also claimed seven Centaine Awards for his worldwide progeny earnings and six Dewar Awards, which recognizes the premier New Zealand stallion for combined Australian and New Zealand prize money won by their progeny in a season.
Savabeel, the sire of 145 stakes winners, has the Roger James and Robert Wellwood-trained Orchestral, a rising 4-year-old who in the spring is likely to target the Cox Plate, the same race her sire won two decades ago.
"He has had runners for the last 15 years and they just go from strength to strength," Chittick said. "Who knows when his incredible run will end, but at this stage he continues to have a high fertility rate, he is in great health and doesn't look a lot different to when he was 12.
"It's hard to believe that was 10 years ago."
Savabeel had his champion sire run halted by Rich Hill Stud's Proisir last season, but he has bounced back in the 2023-24 stanza.
Chittick said: "Last year's New Zealand premiership was won at $4.1 million and Savabeel currently sits at $4.6 million, which has eclipsed the record domestic earnings figure, with three months still left in the season."
Super Seth warranted a fee increase due to the lightly raced listed winner Super Photon, the twice group-placed winner Poetic Champion and the John O'Shea-trained Linebacker winning the Baillieu (G3) and finishing runner-up to Broadsiding in the Champagne Stakes (G1) at Randwick.
"Super Seth is the type of horse that really suits the tough, high-level Australasian racing. We've sourced him from what we believe is the toughest racing in the world and we knew he was a high profile colt the day he beat Alligator Blood in the Caulfield Guineas," Chittick said. "He was an expensive stallion purchase but he was exactly the type of horse we wanted and at this early stage his progeny are proving that they are following in his footsteps."
Ardrossan's stud career started from a much lower base than what Super Seth's has, but equally, he continues his upward trajectory on the racetrack and in the sales ring.
He is the sire of stakes winners Saltcoats, Codigo, Loch Katrine, and Beau Dazzler while his third-crop yearlings sold up to NZ$390,000 at the New Zealand Bloodstock Karaka National Sale.
"From humble beginnings, Ardrossan has already achieved so much. The quality he has produced from relatively low-profile broodmares is just incredible—he leaves a fantastic type that is always recognized in the sales ring," Chittick said.
"The benchmark for a fantastic sire is 10% stakes winners from foals, and he's achieved that already with four stakes winners from his first crop of just 40 foals. He covers a book of 150 mares and his popularity last year was overwhelming. An increase in his fee for this season reflects the high demand."
