Cover image courtesy of Bronwen Healy
The activity of Australians at sales between Europe and North America in recent months has proven that their thirst for the world’s best bloodstock is as strong as ever now that the impact of COVID on international travel has waned. Given the relatively sparse activity of Australian players in the Japanese market, despite their increasing influence in international racing, this region has been omitted for the purposes of this article.
Once again, it’s Darley’s mighty Dubawi (Ire) who can be crowned the world’s most expensive stallion. He will stand for £350,000 - the equivalent of AU$633,500 - in 2023, after his first fee increase in six years saw him jump up significantly from £250,000 (AU$451,400).
Dubawi (Ire) | Standing at Darley's Dalham Hall Stud
The fee hike comes off the back of another exceptional year for Dubawi in which he was responsible for a mammoth 44 stakes winners, eclipsing his previous career-high tally of 38 achieved in 2021.
His seven elite-level winners in 2022 provided international highlights such as the G1 Breeders’ Cup Mile (Turf) victory of Modern Games (Ire), plus domestic success in the G1 2000 Guineas with the ill-fated Coroebus (Ire). Further securing his legacy, 2023 will see his Royal Ascot-winning son Naval Crown (GB) join him on Darley’s European roster at Kildangan Stud in Ireland.
Just 2.5 miles away from Dubawi’s Dalham Hall home in Newmarket lives the next most expensive stallion in the world, the equally impressive Frankel (GB). Six years Dubawi’s junior, Frankel stands at Juddmonte's Banstead Manor and saw his fee jump for the second successive year, sitting at £275,000 (AU$497,800) for 2023.
Frankel (GB) | Standing at Juddmonte Farms
Siring nine individual Group 1 winners in the 2022 calendar year, it was Frankel’s daughter Alpinista (GB) who was undeniably his headline act of the year, completing a memorable run of six straight Group 1s in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe.
Australian fans will be well-acquainted with him too via the exploits of his G1 Randwick Guineas-winning son Converge, not to mention (from last year) the elite mare Hungry Heart.
In third spot is the Kentucky-based Spendthrift Farm's Into Mischief (USA), whose 2023 fee has been set at US$250,000 (AU$370,000). A three-time Champion Sire, Into Mischief will claim that title again this year, aided by three Group 1 wins from his son Life Is Good (USA), who will begin covering himself at WinStar in January.
Into Mischief (USA) | Standing at Spendthrift Farm
The next spot, also in Kentucky, goes to Hill ‘n’ Dale’s Curlin (USA), whose 2023 fee is US$225,000 (AU$333,000), up from US$175,000 (AU$258,300) in 2022. A leading sire on both the racetrack and in the sales ring, Curlin’s best performer of the year was Breeders’ Cup Distaff winner Malathaat (USA), one of six Group 1 winners he sired in 2022.
Rounding off the top 5 most expensive stallions in the world for 2023 is the American sensation Flightline (USA). Standing his first season at Lane's End for a fee higher than his own sire, Gainseway Farm's exceptional Tapit (USA), Flightline’s 4-year-old season encompassed three top-level starts (for three emphatic victories), after which a 2.5 per cent share in him changed hands for US$4.6 million (AU$7.2 million).
*Gun Runner (USA) at Three Chimneys Farm is listed as private but is believed to be in the region of US$300,000 (AU$442,800).
The sole Australian stallion to feature amongst the world’s top 10 most expensive is Newgate Farm’s Extreme Choice. A statistical marvel, with his oldest crop now summer 4-year-olds and from limited numbers, he has already produced three sire sons and strikes at 14.8 stakes winners to runners.
Extreme Choice | Standing at Newgate Farm
With GST excluded from all Australian stallion fees for the purposes of comparison, Extreme Choice sneaks into the top 10 with his 2022/23 fee of AU$250,000.
| Dubawi | Darley's Dalham Hall Stud | Great Britain | $633,500 |
| Frankel | Juddmonte Farms' Banstead Manor Stud | Great Britain | $497,750 |
| Into Mischief | Spendthrift Farm | United States | $370,000 |
| Curlin | Hill 'N' Dale Farm | United States | $333,000 |
| Flightline | Lane's End | United States | $296,000 |
| Quality Road | Lane's End | United States | $296,000 |
| Sea The Stars | Gilltown Stud | Ireland | $279,000 |
| Tapit | Gainesway | United States | $273,800 |
| No Nay Never | Coolmore | Ireland | $271,250 |
| Extreme Choice | Newgate Farm | Australia | $250,000 |
Table: Highest global service fees in Australian dollars
At this point last year, Australia didn't feature as host nation of a top 10 most expensive stallion. There has been plenty of movement over the last 12 months as price hikes were seen for a number of the global elite.
Although the top three remain in the same order as last year, a fee drop for Kingman (GB) - down to £125,000 (AU$225,700) for 2023 from £150,000 (AU$270,900) earlier this year - has seen him fall off the list, having previously occupied fourth place.
Despite remaining at the same price, Wootton Bassett (GB) - standing for €150,000 (AU$233,100) at Coolmore Ireland in 2023 - has also been surpassed. The same is true for Siyouni (Fr) despite a slight fee increase to also stand for €150,000 - leaving France without a representative this time round.
Fees by region
To give a broader sense of stallion fees by region, we’ve taken a look at the average and median service fees of the top 10 stallions on price in Europe, the US and Australia.
Europe again comes out as the priciest, with the converted average of their top 10 most expensive stallions coming out at AU$286,630, with a median of AU$232,500.
The US sits second, with their average being AU$222,569 and median AU$199,800, and Australia significantly cheapest at an average of AU$155,500 and a median of AU$150,000.
