The phrase “age shall not weary them” could be applied to Victoria’s leading sire Written Tycoon, who continued to defy his advancing years with yet another stellar season in 2023-24.
The evergreen sire of sires has cemented his status as one of the finest stallions of recent times, leaving an indelible mark on Australia’s racing landscape through the feats of his progeny both on the track and in the breeding barn.
The rising 21-year-old, who will again serve a small book of mares in the next breeding season, sits comfortably inside the top five of the Australian Sires Premiership with his progeny having amassed more than $13 million to date in the current campaign.
Perhaps more impressively, his wins (209) to runners (281) ratio of almost 75 per cent puts him at the very top of the tree, which is why his yearlings are in such high demand at the sales.
The highest price fetched for one of his offspring came on the opening day of the Inglis Easter Yearling Sale, when China Horse Club paired up with Newgate and Trilogy to purchase his colt out of The Broken Shares for $1.35 million.
But whilst that headline-grabbing fee is testament to the extremely high regard in which Written Tycoon is held, the racetrack exploits of his more moderately-priced progeny this season has proved that buyers don’t necessarily need deep pockets to ensure success.
Group 1 Australian Guineas (1600m) winner Southport Tycoon was purchased at the 2022 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale for $300,000, with the valuable colt having now earned almost three times that figure for the Bennett Racing syndicate.
Similarly, homebred filly Lady Of Camelot became a priceless future broodmare commodity when she brought up a 15th Group 1 win for Written Tycoon in the Golden Slipper. It was Written Tycoon’s second Slipper success following the 2016 triumph of Capitalist, who like Lady Of Camelot was also ridden by Blake Shinn.
Stakes wins for the likes of Velocious (Group 1 Sistema Stakes) and Raikoke (Group 3 Zeditave Stakes) have further embellished Written Tycoon’s sustained success this season, with that duo bought for a combined $465,000 at the sales.
“Written Tycoon is one of Australia’s best stallions, so it’s a privilege to have him on our roster at Yulong Stud,” said Yulong’s Chief Operating Officer Sam Fairgray.
“As was the case this year, next season he is going to be private again so we’ll only be taking a handful of outside mares to him. As stallions get older, it’s about doing the right thing by them and given what a flagbearer he has been for us and for the wider Victorian breeding industry, we’re certainly going to look after him as he enters the twilight of an extraordinary career.
“He has still been churning out the winners, which is something he consistently does, and he’s obviously had a particularly strong two-year-old crop this season.
“He has served a lot of the high-class mares that we have bought in recent years, so there’s every chance his progeny will enjoy great success for many years to come.”
Significantly, some of Written Tycoon’s magic has clearly rubbed off on his near neighbours as Yulong’s foundation stallion Grunt enjoyed a breakout season thanks chiefly to Veight’s feats, whilst his fellow resident Alabama Express features very prominently in the first season sires table.
That duo will ensure that Yulong continues to shape the Victorian breeding landscape moving forward, but with the likes of multiple Group 1 winner Duais - amongst other high-class mares - set to be served by Written Tycoon next season, the book is not yet closed on one of the greatest success stories of the Victorian breeding industry.