Today's mail included a hefty box of November Keeneland catalogues that would no doubt have caused the postman some grief and a Darley catalogue ... hang on - a DARLEY CATALOGUE??????? Isn't the breeding season almost finished??? Errr, yes. It would appear that Darley have decided to release their 2005 book nice and early - just in case I wanted to do some early planning.

Good grief.

The arrival of the book did however coincide with the first indicators of the US/UK sire fees for 2005 from a variety of other media sources (Darley went to print so early they didnt/couldn't include service fees ... stay tuned for those)

Elusive Quality (sire of 2004 Gr1 Kentucky Derby & Gr1 Preakness Stakes winner Smarty Jones) will stand for US$100,000 in 2005 at Gainsborough Farm in Kentucky.

Kentucky’s Three Chimneys Farm has reduced the 2005 stud fee for 2001 Horse-Of-The-Year Point Given by 33%, from US$75,00 down to US$50,000. He's on a bit of a slide - his initial season fee of US$125,000 went to US$75,000 for 2 years running and now it's down again.

Fees for 6 other Three Chimneys-based stallions remain unchanged: Rahy US$80,000; Dynaformer US$75,000; War Chant US$60,000; Sky Mesa US$30,000; Albert The Great US$10,000; Atticus US$5,000 and Silver Charm’s fee is still to be advised. The new kids on the block are Smarty Jones (US$100,000) & Yes It’s True (US$25,000).

In the UK Cheveley Park's Pivotal (Polar Falcon-Fearless Revival, by Cozzene) has sired 12 stakes-winners in 2004 & will stand at £65,000 (62.5% up on last season's £40,000). The Royal Stud's 11-year-old Royal Applause (Waajib-Flying Melody, by Auction Ring) will stand at £20,000 (up 33% from last season’s £15,000). And Dr Fong (Kris S-Spring Flight, by Miswaki) will stand at £16,000.

At times such as this it is often interesting to flick back through the files from last year and see what service fees were 12 months ago as it gives a fair indication of what dreams are in full fruition, what others are on the cusp of materialising ... and which others are being shot down in flames. With that in mind ...

First season sires booked to stand in the US in 2004 at fees of $US5000 and more were as follows:

ALDEBARAN (Mr. Prospector) Darby Dan Farm $50,000
BOOKLET (Notebook) Glencrest Farm $6,500
CACTUS RIDGE (Hennessy) Walmac International $6500
CENTURY CITY (Danzig) Wintergreen Stallion Station $12,500
CHANGEINTHEWEATHER (Gone West) Pin Oak Stud $7500
CRAFTY C.T. (Crafty Prospector) Contemporary Stallions $5000
D'WILDCAT (Forest Wildcat) Windfields Farm $C10,000
DAVID COPPERFIELD (Halo) Hopewell Farm $5000
DECARCHY (Distant View) Magali Farms $5000
DREAM RUN (Cherokee Run) Lakland North LLC $5000
EASYFROMTHEGITGO (Dehere) Millennium Farms Private
EMPIRE MAKER (Unbridled) Juddmonte Farms $100,000
ESSENCE OF DUBAI (Pulpit) Hartley/De Renzo Thoroughbreds $7500
FLATTER (A.P. Indy) Claiborne Farm $5000
FUSAICHI ZENON (Sunday Silence) Magali Farms Private
HARLAN'S HOLIDAY (Harlan) Airdrie Stud $17,500
HOLD THAT TIGER (Storm Cat) Ashford Stud $15,000
KAFWAIN (Cherokee Run) Darley at Jonabell $10,000
LIDO PALACE (Rich Man's Gold) Lambholm South $8500
MACHO UNO (Holy Bull) Adena Springs South $15,000
MILWAUKEE BREW (Wild Again) Adena Springs Kentucky $15,000
MINESHAFT (A.P. Indy) Lane's End $100,000
MORLUC (Housebuster) Buck Pond Farm $5000
NAJRAN (Runaway Groom) Hopewell Farm $7500
POSSE (Silver Deputy) Vinery Kentucky $10,000 PROUD CITIZEN (Gone West) Airdrie Stud $12,500
REPENT (Louis Quatorze) Cloverleaf Farms $5000
ROCK SLIDE (A.P. Indy) Maryland Stallion Station $7500
SAY FLORIDA SANDY (Personal Flag) Buckridge Farm $5000
SEEKING DAYLIGHT (Seeking the Gold) Maryland Stallion Station $6500
SKY MESA (Pulpit) Three Chimneys $30,000
SLIGO BAY (Sadler's Wells) Adena Springs Kentucky $10,000
SUNDAY BREAK (Forty Niner) Gainesway $8500
TRUST N LUCK (Montbrook) Vinery Kentucky $8500
VAN NISTELROOY (Storm Cat) Ashford Stud $7500
VINDICATION (Seattle Slew) Hill 'n' Dale Farm $50,000
VOLPONI (Cryptoclearance) Hopewell Farm $10,000
WHYWHYWHY (Mr. Greeley) Spendthrift Farm $7500
WISEMAN'S FERRY (Hennessy) Empire Stud LLC $5000
YANKEE GENTLEMAN (Storm Cat) Airdrie Stud $10,000
ZAVATA (Phone Trick) Walmac International $7500

A few standouts:

Aldebaran (who won 3 Gr1 events between 7 furlongs & 1 mile among 5 victories in 8 starts during 2003) retired to Darby Dan Farm (1 of 5 Eclipse Award winners who retired to stud in 2004) and stood for US$50,000 with his book limited to 125 mares.

Empire Maker, a son of Champion Unbridled out of the great broodmare Toussaud, retired from racing to stand the 2004 season for a fee of $100,000 live foal at Khalid Abdullah's Juddmonte Farms near Lexington, Kentucky.

Storm Cat, the most expensive thoroughbred stallion in the world, stood for a US$500,000 fee for the 3rd year in a row in 2004.

Mineshaft’s sire A.P.Indy (whose 2003 fee of US$300,000 was below only that of Storm Cat's US$500,000) stood for the same amount in 2004 at Lane's End.

Lane's End Farm also announced a 2004 service fee of US$225,000 for Kingmambo (up US$25,000 from 2003).

Fees for other Lane's End stallions were: US$50,000 for Dixieland Band, Gulch & Lemon Drop Kid; US$40,000 for Came Home; US$30,000 for Dixie Union; US$25,000 for Belong To Me & Smart Strike; US$15,000 for Pleasant Tap; US$12,500 for Stephen Got Even; US$10,000 for Lil's Lad, Pine Bluff & Silver Ghost; US$7,500 for King Cugat; US$5,000 for Fit To Fight & Parade Ground.

Gone West who stood at Mill Ridge Farm (whose yearling colt out of Touch Of Greatness brought the top price of US$3.8 million at the 2003 Keeneland September sale ... looks cheap compared to this year's prices!!) stood for US$125,000 in 2004.

In the UK last year:

Machiavellian and Green Desert commanded the highest service fees among stallions at stud in the UK in 2004. Whilst his fee was listed as “private” it was potentially as high as 100,000 given that Green Desert was the highest priced of those stallions with an advertised fee at 85,000 pounds.

The highest fee of a sire new to the UK ranks was 35,000 pounds set for the proven shuttle stallion Red Ransom who re-located from America to Sheik Mohammed’s Dalham Hall Stud at Newmarket for the northern hemisphere season.

The notable first season sires who began service in the UK in 2004 included Kingmambo’s G1 winner Dubai Destination (Dalham Hall Stud) and Oasis Dream Green Desert’s brilliant conqueror of Choisir in the G1 July Cup at Newmarket who retired to Khalid Abdullah's Banstead Manor Stud.

Other major new UK sires in 2004 included Nayef (Gulch), Storming Home (Machiavellian), Domedriver (Indian Ridge), Bollin Eric (Shaamit), Olden Times (Darshaan), Where Or When (Danehill Dancer), Carnival Dancer (Sadler's Wells) Reel Buddy (Mr Greeley) and Zindabad (Shirley Heights).

Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe winner Helissio (Fairy King) also returned to the UK from Japan.

2004 UK Stallions
(Service Fee - 12,000 pounds+)

Machiavellian Dalham Hall Private
Green Desert Nunnery 85,000
Singspiel Dalham Hall 50,000
Pivotal Cheveley Park 40,000
Rainbow Quest Banstead Manor 35,000
Red Ransom Dalham Hall 35,000
Fantastic Light Dalham Hall 30,000
Selkirk Lanwades 30,000
Dubai Destination Dalham Hall 25,000
Oasis Dream Banstead Manor 25,000
Cadeaux Genereux Whitsbury Manor 20,000
Sakhee Nunnery 20,000
Nayef Nunnery 15,000
Royal Applause Royal Studs 15,000
Dansili Banstead Manor 12,500
Domedriver Lanwades 12,000
Lomitas Dalham Hall 12,000
Observatory Banstead Manor 12,000