Heytesbury Stud has made minimal adjustments to the service fees of its resident sires Saxon and Husson Lightning in 2011.

Both stallions will stand for $5,500 (inc gst) fee this year.  Saxon (Danehill) has risen $1,000 and Husson Lightning (Hussonet) has been reduced $1,000.

Saxon is the leading first crop sire in Western Australia by number of individual juvenile winners this season.  Saxon Coast took his winner count to four when he scored at Bunbury on March 13 and he doubled up at Ascot a fortnight later.  

Saxabelle opened his account at Ascot in November.  “She a very tough filly and has an amazing constitution,” trainer Trevor Andrews said..  “If she is any indication of what the Saxons will be like, then he should have a nice future at stud.”

Saxon’s other juveniles to salute have been the stakes performed winners Valley Girl and Red Hot Sax.

Saxon won the G2 Queensland Guineas and G3 Doomben Classic in 2005 and trainer Gerald Ryan believed he would have won a Group 1 but for picking up a virus in Melbourne after his Brisbane campaign.

“We have taken a long term view by keeping him affordable,” Heytesbury studmaster Nigel Reid said.  “The future benefits of creating solid, quality books in a stallion’s early years is paramount, not only for ourselves but for those breeders that have already supported Saxon.”

Husson Lightning offers breeders one of the most successful outcross sirelines in Australia today and will be one of Western Australia’s rising stars in the stallion ranks this time next year.

He was the first Australian bred Group winner by Hussonet when taking the G3 Maribyrnong Plate at Flemington.  That race has an honour-roll highlighted by leading sires Bel Esprit, Testa Rosa, Canny Lad, Vain and Biscay.  

Husson Lightning covered books in excess of 95 in each of his first three seasons at stud and his initial yearlings sold up to $95,000 at the 2011 Perth Magic Millions.