Kitasan Black (Jpn), Japan's busiest stallion in 2023 and the sire of the world's top-rated racehorse Equinox (Jpn), has had his covering fee doubled for next season to ¥20 million (approximately £108,000/€124,000).
Kitasan Black is a son of Black Tide (Jpn), a full-brother to the late Deep Impact (Jpn), and he was kept busy at the Shadai Stallion Station last spring when covering 242 mares. It remains to be seen whether his most famous son, who is favourite to extend his Group 1 winning streak to six in Sunday's Japan Cup, will join him on the roster in Hokkaido next year.
This season's leading first-season sire, the 2019 Japan Cup winner Suave Richard (Jpn), has also had his fee increased for next year to ¥15 million (£80,000/€93,000). This will also be the fee commanded in 2024 by his stud-mates Epiphaneia (Jpn) and the Triple Crown winner Contrail (Jpn), whose first foals proved immensely popular at the JRHA Select Sale in July.
Lord Kanaloa (Jpn) looks set to become Japan's champion sire for the first time at the end of the year, thus ending the long reign of Deep Impact. About to turn 16, he has had his fee maintained at ¥12 million (£65,000/€74,000), which is also the price set for Kizuna (Jpn), who currently sits third in the Japanese sires' table.
A full list of fees for Shadai's 31 stallions can be found here.
Not a subscriber? Click here to sign up for the daily PDF or alerts.
