Breeding giant Coolmore Stud has again pulled of a massive coup by securing the breeding rights to Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes winner American Pharaoh.
While there is undoubted talent already shown from the two-year-old, who could complete his US Triple Crown when he competes in the Belmont Stakes on June 6, his owner, Ahmed Zayat, appears unlikely to race him beyond this year.
“I will make all of the racing decisions,” Zayat told The Associated Press.
“If he runs in the Belmont, and God willing wins, and we’re still fortunate, he will continue to race. This is not an issue whatsoever.
“But once the year ends, Coolmore will be making the decisions, and it’s unlikely he will race again.
“The values are too insane. It’s just not economically feasible to continue.”
Already the winner of $US3.7 million ($AU4.6 million), that quote shows the impact breeding is having on the racing industry, especially in the last few years where breeding appears to have taken priority for owners and connections.
While it’s disappointing to see champions retire before they reach their peak, it’s not hard to see why they are.
Owners and connections love their horses, but some also see their horses as an investment, and if a horse shows success early in its career and wins big races, it’s now likely that horse will retire.
One recent example includes Pierro, who retired after winning five Group 1s and finished third in the Cox Plate. Connections made the decision to have him moved to stud rather than continue racing.
He now stands at Coolmore for $77,000 as his service fee. It’s easy money for connections and doesn’t put the horse at risk of breaking down.
You only have to look at Admire Rakti’s unfortunate demise last year to see why connections would be spooked out of having their horse continue to race following a big win.
An ABC article last year said that the Hunter Valley breeding activity would top $1 billion for the season. It’s big business, with some leading stallions standing anywhere from $50,000 to $100,000 for service fees.
Redoute’s Choice is the current benchmark for sires in Australia, with his progeny having earned over $113 million worldwide.
His racing record was quite good, with five wins from 10 starts including the Group 1 Blue Diamond, Group 1 Manikato, Group 1 Caulfield Guineas and Group 1 CF Orr.
He currently stands for Arrowfield Stud at $110,000, and despite his good record he earned just $1.6 million racing. You can do the maths on why he is worth so much more at stud.
A winner of the Melbourne Cup receives $3.6 million in prize money, to earn that much Redoute’s Choice would only have to service 36 mares, and we all know how much easier that would be than winning a Melbourne Cup.
So the next time you see a horse retiring early, just look up its stud fee – it will be easy to see the reason why.
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