At this time of year Troy, Mary and myself on the Newgate nominations team spends 90% of the day assisting breeders with matings, and commercial advice that we hope will bear fruit for our clients in the long term.
We spend so much of each day thinking about our stallions. As you could imagine we get to know them inside out as we are around them every day, we have seen their stock, tracked them through the different growth stages, and listened to the numerous communication feedback channels we have from breeders, trainers, jockeys, agents, sales companies, breakers, pre-trainers, etc. We pass this information on via personal emails and phone calls but what we probably have not done enough in the past is put pen to paper in an article for breeders, or other thoroughbred stakeholders, to consume in their own time, in a more passive manner.
So here it goes!
Dissident has been an absolute hit since retiring to stud here at Newgate as a five-time Group 1 winner in 2015. He has covered full books each and every season (an average of 200 mares over his first four years at stud), so we have good deal of scale to work with when considering what we feel we have learned about our young son of Sebring to date.
I have tried to break down this insight concisely into 5 HELPFUL HINTS for breeders supporting Dissident in 2019:
Given the cost (in time and money) of the physical breeding exercise it is comforting to know that DISSIDENT is extremely fertile. Maiden mare, old mare, late foaling mare and every other mare in between, DO NOT BE AFRAID to sink your teeth into the effort of sending you mare to Dissident because he rarely misses. He is also a gentleman in the barn, a pleasure to handle, which assists in the process of a good cover.
*Australian Studbook Data: Dissident averaged 85.8% fertility in his first three years at stud
There are no guarantees in the genetic lottery of course but overall as a general statement Dissident adds leg, athleticism and a touch of quality to the mares he covers. This ties into the fact that we believe, from trainer and jockey feedback predominantly, that Dissident’s progeny will improve as 3YOs with more time to mature, and over distances beyond 1200m. Physically he particularly suits Australia’s square, strongly built, speed mares. He is also a no-brainer for maiden mares where you feel there is a risk of a first foal that lacks leg.
The dams of Dissident’s eight first crop winners to date descend from a number of different sire lines including Danzig/Danehill (Snitzel, Exceed and Excel, Belong To Me & Fastnet Rock), Mr Prospector (Elusive Quality, Lemon Drop Kid, King Cugat), Last Tycoon (Written Tycoon) and Rory’s Jester. It is no surprise to see his 2YO winners have hailed from broodmares sires who were potent 2YO sires in their own right. Overall though, like his own sire Sebring, he is working with most of the Australian gene pool.
For those breeders supporting Dissident in 2019, it is pertinent to understand that the longer they can wait to ‘cash in their chips’ the better. Our stallion has huge numbers coming through and as a group they will continue to improve their racetrack performances as they mature. The resulting foals of mares bred in 2019 will be sold as yearlings in early 2022. At that key moment of trade Dissident will have roughly 600 foals of racing age competing and adding value to your product. Trade at weanling stage for the same foal will be reliant on 450 runners, and the sale of mares in foal to Dissident in the middle of next year will be working with 300 ‘price enhancers’. As you can see, being prepared to play the long game commercially with Dissident this year increases your chances of a significant commercial result by 100-200%. With his huge weight of numbers and quality on the way through, we expect Dissident’s profile to build and build in the coming years.
You only have to speak to our sales team to know that Dissident has never been traded as low as we are trading him in 2019. So if you do have a mare locked in at this price point, make it count with a quality mare that suits him! Rising service fees of emerging young stallions like Dissident is where breeders can really profit. Think sires like I Am Invincible, Zoustar and Dundeel in recent times. We think Dissident is well positioned to be the next!
For any further queries on Dissident or this article please contact me on [email protected] or 0400505238. Alternatively, you can contact Troy Stephens or Mary O’Neill in our nominations office on 02 6543 8395.
A big thank you to all the supporters of Newgate stallions previously. You win, we win.
by Bruce Slade