News - SOUTHPORT TYCOON (AUS)
At the Widden Victoria stallion parade last Friday, Southport Tycoon was the star of the show and the dual Group I winning son of champion sire Written Tycoon has his first foal arriving this spring and breeders are happy with what they are seeing.
The Breednet tour of the Victorian stallion parades ended on Friday at Widden Stud and while this day is often held in arctic conditions, the weather gods were kind this year!
It was a chilly morning at Widden Victoria last Friday but the stallion talent was hot with Southport Tycoon making his debut in the very same parade ring in which his sire Written Tycoon started his stud career back in 2007.
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.
With 11 new stallions standing in Victoria this coming breeding season, including the winners of three Group 1 races on their ‘home’ soil, the short and long-term future looks increasingly bright for the state’s vibrant industry.
Widden Stud are delighted to announce service fees on a diverse roster of 20 stallions split between NSW and Victoria with our flagship sire Zoustar remaining at the fee of $275,000 inc GST.
Exactly a year ago, Southport Tycoon captured the first of his two Group I victories in the $1 million VRC Australian Guineas (1600m), and Widden Stud is thrilled to announce his addition to our stallion roster in Victoria for 2025.
Two Group I races won on Friday night and Saturday by a four year-old stallion and a three year-old colt are likely to have a big bearing on the breeding industry as we move forward and we’ll also take a look at a colt that only won a Listed race, but it’s a Listed race that in recent times has been won by colts with bigger fish to fry.
A brilliant rails-hugging ride by Mark Zahra resulted in the 4-year-old Written Tycoon entire Southport Tycoon running down his 3-year-old stablemate Growing Empire in a thrilling $2,000,000 Group 1 Ladbrokes Manikato Stakes (1200m) at Moonee Valley.
There were four Group I races run in Australasia on Saturday and two of those winners are new G1 winners and both have added further gloss to a couple of exceptional nicks that run at 10.7% SW to runner and 14% SW to runner.
Edged out in the Group II Autumn Stakes, Group II Australia Stakes, and Group III Caulfield Guineas Prelude, the stars aligned for Southport Tycoon in Saturday's $1,000,000 Group 1 Howden Australian Guineas (1600m) at Flemington.
The most anticipated race anywhere on Wednesday was the match-up between three hugely impressive debut winners, Snow Patrol (Contributer), Akicita (Grunt), and Southport Tycoon (Written Tycoon) in the Ladbrokes Hub (Bm64) (1300m) at Sandown-Hillside, and it lived up to the billing.