Zoustar has been placed on a pedestal that will see him alongside reigning champion Australian stallion I Am Invincible after Widden Stud unveiled its service fees May 1 for its 2024 stallion roster.
The champion first- and second-season stallion of late last decade, Zoustar is currently second behind I Am Invincible on the Australian general sires' table this season but he leads the premiership by winners (173) and is equal with his Yarraman Park-based rival by stakes winners (14).
Now, Widden principal Antony Thompson has raised the bar with Zoustar in line with what he believes to be a worthy representation of his feats on the racecourse and in the sales ring with his fee increased to AU$275,000 (US$179,431, AU$1=US$0.6531), the same mark set earlier this week for I Am Invincible.
Zoustar has continued his charge at the sires' ranks that have been largely dominated by I Am Invincible and Snitzel over the past seven years.
But his 21 stakes winners globally since August 1—Zougotcha, Joliestar, Ozzmosis and April 27 Robert Sangster Stakes (G1) winner Climbing Star have all won at the elite level in Australia this season—have made him one of the country's most commercial stallions. His yearlings have grossed more than AU$40 million this year, with a filly selling for AU$2.2 million and a colt fetching AU$1.9 million at the recent Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale.
Zoustar, who did not reverse shuttle to Tweenhills in the United Kingdom this year after five seasons, stood for AU$220,000 in 2023 and there had been speculation that the stallion's fee could have been as high as AU$330,000 this year.
"We're probably in a position where price isn't that important with a horse of his caliber with the value of the mares that are going to him and the people who want to breed to him, so he's probably not as price sensitive as a lot of the other stallions in the market at the moment," Thompson told ANZ Bloodstock News.
"The demand will be very strong for him, but we just thought it wasn't a year to be too aggressive. Across the board, we're trying to be quite conservative and we thought that was a conservative sort of step this year (for Zoustar).
"Year-on-year he keeps eclipsing his previous season's mark and when you look at it now ... he's the leading sire of group 1 winners, stakes winners, winners and he is closing in on AU$20 million in prize money earnings and AU$40 million in sales for the year."
