Tavistock’s rise to the upper echelons of New Zealand stallion ranks has been extraordinary and that’s been reflected in his service fee at Cambridge Stud.
Sir Patrick Hogan has announced a more than fourfold increase for his boom sire to $65,000 in 2016. The 11-year-old son of Montjeu covered 211 mares last spring at a fee of $15,000.
“It’s been a very difficult exercise in arriving at a fee that reflects the tremendous success of his first two crops as well as being fair to broodmare owners,” Sir Patrick said. “Mind you, that’s only second only to the other side of the equation, sorting through the hundreds of service applications and deciding who’s in and who’s not.”
Tavistock was priced at $7,000 just two years ago and is now second only to Savabeel in New Zealand. “We had more than 280 applications before another bunch came in this week,” Hogan said. “The problem is that by the time you add up share-holders and pre-emptive rights there’s only 60 to 70 outside nominations.
“It really is a dilemma and I find myself in an impossible position trying to satisfy everyone. Those whose applications are successful will no doubt be pleased, but there will be a whole lot of other broodmare owners who will miss out.”
Tavistock’s first crop daughter Avisto opened his black-type account in the LR Great Northern Foal Stakes in May 2014 and she returned to Ellerslie the following September to win the LR Soliloquy Stakes on the same day Volkstok’n’barrell won the G3 Bonecrusher Stakes.
Throw in a Gloaming Stakes placing by Diamond Valores at Rosehill later in the afternoon and Tavistock was suddenly the bargain of the season.
The feature wins mounted with Volkstok’n’barrell claiming the G2 Great Northern Guineas and LR Karaka Mile before crossing the Tasman to beat Mongolian Khan in the G1 Rosehill Guineas.
Werther emerged late in the season to win the G2 Championship Stakes at Ellerslie before a successful Australian campaign. And leggy Hasselhoof raced through the grades with a sequence of runaways at three and then won the G2 Rich Hill Mile in his open company debut as a four year-old.
Tavistock’s second crop entered the fray and they dominated the classics led by Victoria Derby winner Tarzino and Australian Derby winner Tavago.
By now Australian breeders were convinced that Tavistock was the real deal and if further evidence was needed for an even wider audience, it came when Werther – sold last year to clients of Hong Kong trainer John Moore – won the G1 Hong Kong Derby and then became just the fourth horse to back up successfully in the G1 Queen Elizabeth Cup.
His pile of applications included some 45 mares by Zabeel who features in the pedigrees of more than half of Tavistock’s major winners.
Having stood champion stallions Sir Tristram and Zabeel at Cambridge Stud, Hogan is familiar with the brinkmanship required in both selecting a stallion’s final book and setting a service fee. On the latter point, however, the current scenario around Tavistock is unique.
“To have left such a list of big winners in such a short time sets Tavistock apart,” says Hogan. “It didn’t happen quite like that with Sir Tristram and Zabeel, it was more gradual, but for a stallion’s fee to make such a dramatic rise in the space of two years is something I’ve never seen before.”
In setting Tavistock’s 2016 fee at $65,000, Hogan believes he is being both realistic and fair. “I’m absolutely comfortable in my belief that he belongs at that level,” he said. “The way his progeny are developing and performing there’s clearly another leap to take in the future, but as things stand now I believe we’ve got it right.”
TAVISTOCK