Proisir’s massive season has seen his fee make a quantum leap to $70,000.Weeks of speculation have ended with confirmation of 2023 service fees for the high-flying Rich Hill Stud stallions Proisir and Satono Aladdin.
Proisir, whose five Group One winners include the transTasman-winning fillies Legarto and Prowess, will stand at a fee of $70,000 plus GST, while Japanese shuttle Satono Aladdin, sire of dual Oaks winner Pennyweka, will stand at $45,000 plus GST.
In both case that’s a massive increment on last season, when Proisir stood at $17,500 and Satono Aladdin $12,500, but Rich Hill principal is comfortable with both decisions that followed intense discussions and considerations between the two stallions’ respective connections.
“The phone had been going mad well before we confirmed our fees with people wanting to pencil in their bookings subject to the final figure,” Thompson told RaceForm on Wednesday. “We haven’t had the chance to get back to everyone, but in the short time since the fees became official, I get the impression everyone is very accepting of where we’ve landed.
“When I was in Sydney for the yearling sales I realised just how much of an impression Proisir had made on breeders and everyone over there, especially with what Legarto and Prowess had done. Then when Pennyweka went and added the Australian Oaks, that put the spotlight on Satono Aladdin as well.
“I think there’s a realisation back here that if either of those horses was standing in Australia, their fees would be at another level again. You can’t price yourself out of the New Zealand market but by the same token you need to take on board all sorts of factors.
“In the case of Proisir, you only have to look at the reception he got at Karaka in January, when buyers had woken up to him. He had 19 yearlings in Book 1 and every one of them sold at an average of $189,000.
“As a vendor you want to be in that Book 1 market – that’s obviously where a stallion like Proisir belongs – and I’d like to think that’s reflected in his fee.”
While Proisir is owned by a Rich Hill-led syndicate, Satono Aladdin represents a quite different model as a shuttle stallion owned by Japan’s pre-eminent breeding entity, Shadai Farm.
“Obviously with what Satono Aladdin has achieved this season, first with Tokyo Tycoon and then with other horses and most of all Pennyweka, put him in the spotlight as well,” Thompson said. “Pennyweka’s performance in the Australian Oaks, in front of that audience, shifted the goalposts in that she arguably became the best staying filly in Australasia.
“Rich Hill have had a long and fruitful relationship with Shadai, all the way back to our foundation sire Pentire, and we’re very grateful that they continue to place their trust in us with a quality horse like Satono Aladdin.”
Rich Hill Stud isn’t solely about Proisir and Satono Aladdin, with associate stallions Shocking and Vadamos both having had successful seasons, albeit on not quite the same headlining scale.
Shocking’s list includes the high-class Victorian galloper I’m Thunderstruck, who was tragically lost recently due to a post-surgery trauma, while Vadamos mare La Crique claimed the Group One victory she deserved in the Arrowfield Plate.
“We’re very lucky to have well-proven stallions like Shocking and Vadamos,” Thompson said. “They’re both continuing to leave decent winners and even though they might need a bit of time, the end result is still what counts.
“We’ve kept Shocking at $12,500 and brought Vadamos back a little to match that, so I believe breeders in that bracket will still find them to be very good value.
“We’re keeping Ace High at $10,000, with very good feedback on his first crop two-year-olds, including a number of trial performers. He’s a Derby winner and he only needs one or two to pop and he’ll be away at what is a very affordable fee.”
