The sun might be setting on the stud career of Written Tycoon, but he’s not going into the twilight years quietly and is set to be crowned Champion Australian 3YO Sire this season, which is probably something predicted by many when he got the opportunity of a lifetime to cover at Arrowfield Stud for one season in 2020.
Turning 23 this week, Written Tycoon is a stallion who started off a low base with an initial fee of $8,250 and spent the first nine years of his stud career priced at less than $20,000.
He is now in the privileged position of covering the elite Yulong mares, but his early success was achieved off the backs of lesser mares and his uncanny ability to upgrade and improve upon their shortcomings.
Few champion stallions anywhere in the world have had the commercial ups and downs of Written Tycoon, who has been ‘fee on application’ for his past two seasons at Yulong in Victoria with his once impeccable fertility now in decline resulting in much smaller mare books in 2023 and 2024.
The table below charts his career in terms of the mares covered / service fees and the resulting SW’s produced in each crop with the 2021 foal crop (3YO’s) clearly the best to date with a SW to runner strike rate of 10.6% in comparison to his lifetime strike rate of 5.9%.
Written Tycoon (Foaled 2002)
|
Crop Year (SH) |
Mares Covered / Service Fee |
Stakes-Winners/ Best Performers |
|
2008 |
118/ $8,250 |
4 SW’s / G2 Howmuchdoyouloveme, G3 Trump |
|
2009 |
87/ $8,250 |
1 SW / Danger Close |
|
2010 |
118/ $6,600 |
3 SW’s / G1 Tycoon Tara |
|
2011 |
198/ $6,600 |
5 SW’s / G1 Music Magnate, G2 Rich Enuff |
|
2012 |
152/ $11,000 |
3SW’s / G2 Super Cash |
|
2013 |
107/ $15,400 |
6 SW’s / G1 Capitalist, La Luna Rossa, G2 Winning Rupert |
|
2014 |
138/ $13,750 |
8 SW’s / G1 Booker, Despatch |
|
2015 |
177/ $13,750 |
2 SW’s / G1 Written By, Pippie |
|
2016 |
183/ $19,800 |
5 SW’s / G2 Dirty Work, G3 Hightail, Rich Hips |
|
2017 |
226/ $49,500 |
9 SW / G1 Ole Kirk, Odeum |
|
2018 |
168/ $88,000 |
4 SWs/ G3 Enthaar, Finance Tycoon |
|
2019 |
162/ $110,000 |
5 SWs/ G1 Coolangatta |
|
2020 |
136/ $110,000 |
5 SWs / G1 Southport Tycoon |
|
2021 |
199/ $77,000 |
13 SWs / G1 Private Life, Lady of Camelot, Captured by Love, Velocious |
|
2022 |
199 / $165,000 |
2YO’s/ 4SW G3 Skyhook, Military Tycoon, Tycoon Star, SW Scenic Point |
|
2023 |
172 / $165,000 |
Yearlings |
|
2024 |
96 FOA |
Weanlings |
|
2025 |
63 FOA |
Being born this spring |
The current 2YO’s also hold great promise for the season ahead with exciting colt Skyhook set to trial in Sydney this morning and unbeaten filly Scenic Point has shown untapped potential for the Lindsay Park team.
She is bred on the same Written Tycoon x Snitzel cross that produced this season’s G1 3YO Guineas winners Private Life and Captured by Love.
Written Tycoon has three high profile sons headed to stud for the first time this spring in Southport Tycoon (Widden $38,500) Private Life (Coolmore $19,250) and First Settler (Yulong $11,000).
Breeders will be hoping they can emulate the success of his champion son Ole Kirk, who won both the Group I ATC Golden Rose (1400m) and MRC Caulfield Guineas (1600m) and is set to be crowned Champion First Season Sire for 2024/2025.
