Reacting to the current climate the breeding industry finds itself in, Overbury Stud in Gloucestershire is the latest stallion farm to announce reductions to some of its stallions for the 2021 breeding season.
Ardad, whose first crop of two-year-olds will hit the track next year, has had his fee reduced from £5,000 to £4,000. Also set to command £4,000 is Cityscape, the sire of Urban Icon and Dan’s Dream.
Irish Derby winner Jack Hobbs will stand for £3,000 while Schiaparelli and Frontiersman will be priced at £2,000 and £1,000 respectively.
Sweeting said: “Our stallions have enjoyed many successes in 2020 and we certainly wouldn’t be reducing their fees if it weren’t for the pandemic. But just about every business is having to be cautious about the future, and we hope breeders will find our fees as good value as ever.
“Take Cityscape, for instance: his best horse so far is rated 124 by Timeform – there are plenty of stallions at far higher fees who can’t boast that. And we can hardly wait to see the first Ardads get to the racecourse next spring.
“His yearlings went down very well with proper judges and it’s exciting to see so many trainers who are famed for their Royal Ascot two-year-olds stocking up on them.
“Jack Hobbs is, we hope, [Kayf Tara’s] ready-made replacement. He’s been patronised by top breeders and his stock certainly look the part.
“As for Schiaparelli, his offspring are doing so well. They share the same head-down attitude to racing that he had – and it’s particularly fortunate they seem to excel at Cheltenham.
“His Stayers’ Hurdle runner-up, Ronald Pump, and Indefatigable – who won the Martin Pipe off top weight – are two of his flagbearers and are horses any jumps breeder would be thrilled to have produced.
“[Frontiersman] might be lying under the radar, but he covered 60-odd mares in 2019 and then more than 100 in 2020 – purely on the back of how much the breeders liked his foals.”
