Darley America Keeps Most Stud Fees Unchanged

Eleven stallions will stand at Darley's Jonabell Farm in 2023, including two new additions: Godolphin homebred grade 1 winners Speaker's Corner  and Mystic Guide .

A fee and retirement plans for Forego Stakes (G1) winner and future Darley stallion Cody's Wish  will be made after the Breeders' Cup World Championships Nov. 4-5 at Keeneland.

Of the 2023 roster, Darley sales manager Darren Fox said: "We've been very fortunate in the last two years to have produced five high-level performers and it's even more gratifying that they are all homebreds. Following last year's retirement of Essential Quality  and Maxfield , to again be able to add more top-caliber horses is very, very exciting."

Speaker's Corner retires as the fastest son of Street Sense  with a top Beyer Speed Figure of 114. Bred along the same cross as fellow Darley stallion Maxfield, he is out of the Bernardini mare Tyburn Brook, a daughter of Breeders' Cup Distaff (G1) winner Round Pond. As a juvenile, he won an especially hot maiden race at Belmont Park that featured five future stakes winners, including graded winners Greatest Honour  and Bourbonic, plus Arkansas Derby (G1) runner-up Caddo River.

At 3, he posted three of his seven career triple-digit Beyers, including a 109 at Belmont which equaled the top Beyer earned last year by the three 2021 Eclipse champion 3-year-old male finalists: Life is Good , Essential Quality, and Medina Spirit. At 4, he won his first three starts, all graded stakes, including the Carter Handicap (G1) where he registered a 114 Beyer. Only Flightline  has recorded a higher number in the past three years. Speaker's Corner also notched victories in the WinStar Gulfstream Park Mile Stakes (G2) and the Fred W. Hooper Stakes Presented by Hill 'n' Dale Farms at Xalapa (G3). He will enter his first season at stud at a fee of $20,000.

Mystic Guide, winner of the 2021 Dubai World Cup Sponsored by Emirates Airline (G1), enters stud at a fee of $15,000 in 2023. Mystic Guide's four career victories also included the Jim Dandy Stakes (G2) as a 3-year-old, a race also won by current Darley stallions Medaglia d'Oro , Street Sense and Essential Quality.

Trained by Mike Stidham, Mystic Guide was never off the board in nine career starts. The son of Ghostzapper served notice that he was prepared to take on the world's best in Meydan's signature $12 million race after annexing the Razorback Handicap (G3) at Oaklawn Park by six lengths while posting a 108 Beyer. Following his victory in Dubai, Mystic Guide was rated number one on both the Longines World's Best Racehorse Rankings and the NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll.

"Optimism abounds currently in the Thoroughbred industry. The sales are strong, purses are strong, and close to home, we experienced unprecedented demand during the 2022 booking season," Fox said of current market conditions. "With all these positives, only one of our stallions will see a fee increase for 2023 and that's Midshipman, who continues to go from strength to strength in his stud career."

Medaglia d'Oro's stud fee will be $100,000 for the second year in a row. He continues to throw runners at the highest level and is the sire of 22 graded stakes horses in 2022. Only Into Mischief  has sired more this year. Medaglia d'Oro's top performers this year include Hong Kong Horse of the Year Golden Sixty, now a winner of 21 of 24 career starts that include six group 1 victories. The four-time Hong Kong champion has earned more than $14.3 million. Medaglia d'Oro remains poised to continue this success next year as his 2023 crop of juveniles is his best-bred crop ever. In the sales ring, his progeny once again attracted the attention of buyers exemplified by seven-figure offerings at the yearling and 2-year-old sales in 2022.

The ultra-consistent Midshipman will see his fee rise to $20,000 for 2022. A perennial source of stakes horses, his tally in this category is no fewer than 19 for 2022 and his 16% career black-type horses to runners is among the best in the business. No stallion standing for under $60,000 can top it.

Eclipse champion Essential Quality and Maxfield will remain at $75,000 and $40,000, respectively for their second years at stud following full first-year books in 2022. Linchpin stallion Street Sense will also remain at $75,000 following yet another successful year both on the track and at the sales.