Daily Racing Form National Digital Edition
War Front, Medaglia d’Oro, Tapit command top stud fees
On Monday, Claiborne Farm opens the doors to its historic breeding shed, where six Triple Crown winners, among dozens of other classic winners, have been conceived. War Front will walk into that breeding shed as the most expensive stallion in North America for this breeding season.
War Front enters 2019 with an unchanged stud fee of $250,000, which leaves him atop the market as two commercial rivals had their fees dropped for the season. Tapit, who stood for $300,000 at Gainesway from 2015-18, will stand for $225,000. Darley resident Medaglia d’Oro’s fee dropped from $250,000 in 2018 to $200,000. Those three will lead the 10 stallions standing for six figures in North America in 2019, up from eight at that threshold five seasons ago, none for more than $150,000.
Claiborne historically has been relatively selective with its stallions’ books, keeping them to modest sizes by today’s standards and not shuttling for the Southern Hemisphere season. War Front covered 82 mares in 2018, according to The Jockey Club’s Report of Mares Bred. The average book size for a Claiborne stallion was 81, and only five of the farm’s 12 stallions covered triple-digit books.
Meanwhile, in order to rank among the 25 busiest stallions in North America, a stallion’s book size would have had to be 154 or higher.
But War Front has found success internationally, with 15 percent of his starters becoming stakes winners, led by Grade 1/Group 1 winners Air Force Blue, American Patriot, Avenge, Brave Anna, Data Link, Declaration of War, Fog of War, Hit It a Bomb, Homesman, Jack Milton, Lancaster Bomber, Lines of Battle, Peace and War, Roly Poly, Summer Soiree, The Factor, U S Navy Flag, War Command, War Flag, and Warning Flag.
In response, the supply-and-demand dynamics created by his relatively modest books have fueled both his average sale prices and his stud fee. Last year, he was the leading sire and covering sire, respectively, at the Keeneland September yearling sale and Keeneland November breeding stock sale, both of which are bellwethers for the industry because they test the market through all levels over lengthy runs.
War Front posted an average of $782,500 from 18 yearlings sold at Keeneland September, leading Tapit, at $611,200 from 25 sold, and Medaglia d’Oro, at $590,411 from 34 sold. He went on to average a staggering $2,170,833 from six mares in foal sold at Keeneland November.
War Front’s overall yearling average has steadily risen over the last several years, from $595,611 in 2015 for yearlings conceived on an $80,000 stud fee; to $606,177 and $678,981 in 2016 and 2017 for foals conceived on a $150,000 fee; and to $743,293 last year for yearlings conceived at $200,000. His yearlings of 2019 are the first conceived on his $250,000 fee.
Tapit’s average book size was 132 mares for his four seasons at the $300,000 fee. He was the first North American stallion to stand for $300,000 since 2008, when Storm Cat, A.P. Indy, and Distorted Humor each commanded that fee. Tapit led the earnings list from 2014-16, breaking the single-season earnings record each year. With the advent of the rich Pegasus World Cup, he finished fifth on the earnings list in both 2017 and 2018. Remarkably, even with massive purses up for grabs, his single-season record of $19,245,198 still stands.
Tapit’s overall yearling average hit $780,433 in 2017 and was $502,521 last year.
Medaglia d’Oro led all stallions in North America with seven Grade 1 winners in 2017, including a pair of Breeders’ Cup winners, with five of those becoming Eclipse Awards finalists. He joined Danzig, Mr. Prospector, and Storm Cat as the only American stallions to sire seven Grade 1 winners in a calendar year. Off that season, his yearling average last year climbed to $445,678 on a $150,000 conception fee. He did not have a domestic Grade 1 winner in 2018.
Behind War Front, Tapit, and Medaglia d’Oro, the top stud fees in North America for 2019 belong to Curlin (Hill ‘n’ Dale Farm) at $175,000; Into Mischief (Spendthrift Farm), Justify (Coolmore’s Ashford Stud), and Quality Road (Lane’s End Farm) at $150,000; Uncle Mo (Ashford) at $125,000; and Pioneerof the Nile (WinStar Farm) at $110,000. American Pharoah (Ashford) was announced at $110,000 last September but is now listed at a private fee.
American Pharoah and Justify, the sport’s long-awaited Triple Crown winners, are among the rare recent newcomers to debut for a six-figure fee.
American Pharoah entered stud for an advertised fee of $200,000 in 2016. It was later revealed that some breeders were sending approved mares to the stallion on a two-for-one deal as Coolmore sought to assemble a quality book for the stallion. American Pharoah’s fee was private for both 2017 and 2018.
Unlike American Pharoah, who competes against his own sire, Pioneerof the Nile, and grandsire, Gainesway’s Empire Maker, Justify has supply-and-demand economics in his favor as he enters the market this year. His sire, Scat Daddy, died of a suspected cardiac event in December 2015 at age 11.