Few stallions have had the ups and downs of this one, or seen as much of the countryside, but he was the Champion Australian Sire in 2021 and will be the first choice to cover an extraordinary book of mares this spring so we thought a closer look at him was warranted.
Written Tycoon has just turned 21 and Yulong have announced him as fee on application this spring after covering his last two years at his biggest ever fee of $165,000, a far cry from his early days when he spent nine seasons in Victoria and Queensland never standing for more than $20,000.
The first Group I winner for Written Tycoon came from his third crop in 2010 and that was Tycoon Tara with 11 more Group I winners to follow including his Golden Slipper winning Champion 2YO Colt Capitalist from the 2013 crop.
His 2017 crop was his biggest ever and came from the first year when his fee rose to a decent figure of $49,500 and it featured seven stakes-winners headed by his Group I winning 3YO’s Ole Kirk and Odeum, winners of the Caulfield Guineas and Thousand Guineas.
As good as they’ve been, they are really very similar to the 2014 crop which delivered eight stakes-winners highlighted by Group I winners Booker and Despatch.
The 2018 crop conceived off the $88,000 fee would reasonably have been expected to surpass all that had gone before, but that hasn’t happened as this cohort of horses now five year-olds features just four stakes-winners with Group III winners Enthaar, Finance Tycoon and Literary Magnate the best of them.
The 2019 crop is also light on stakes-winners with only four headed by dual Group I winner Coolangatta and the 2020 crop that have just turned three is yet to produce a stakes-winner, which is a little surprising given these two crops sold through the roof as yearlings.
A lot will be riding on his new season two year-olds and while they were conceived at a lesser fee of $77,000, they came from his one off year in the Hunter Valley at Arrowfield when he was not only supported by them, but also a host of other astute NSW breeders.
Given the vast numbers of elite mares now owned by Yulong, Written Tycoon will not lack for company in his twilight years, so it will be interesting to see how he fares covering the cream of the crop.
Sometimes stallions lose their potency as they get older with much loved shuttler More Than Ready (USA) a case in point as his last three crops born in Australia have yet to produce a stakes-winner and you would have to go back to his 2013 foal crop to find his last Australian bred Group I winner.
On paper at least, Written Tycoon should be on target for one of his best ever racing seasons in 2023/2024 and beyond.
