Storm Boy’s book of 224 leads the way for first-season sires
Storm Boy has been given a huge opportunity to prove himself at stud with the largest book of any freshman stallion since 2018.
Coolmore’s Storm Boy has had the largest book of any Australian-based first-season stallion in seven years, with early data showing he served 224 mares across the 2025 breeding season.
Preliminary data started appearing on the Australian Studbook when the New Year ticked over and it indicates that the son of Justify was by far the busiest first-season stallion, with a book of 224.
Those numbers may not be final, but the 224 would be his minimum-size book.
According to the studbook, Storm Boy, who stood at $16,500 in his first season, served 62 mares in September, 81 in October, 69 in November and 12 in December.
It is the largest book for an Australian-based first-season stallion since Merchant Navy served 247 mares in his first season at Coolmore in 2018.
Newgate’s Capitalist served 229 mares in his first season in 2017.
Storm Boy, trained by Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott, rocketed to prominence off his win in the Magic Millions 2YO Classic in 2024.
Secured by Coolmore as part of a deal which would have valued him at $50 million had he won certain races, he became one of the most highly rated two-year-olds after winning the Skyline Stakes.
He started $2.60 favourite in the Golden Slipper but finished third behind Lady Of Camelot and Coleman.
He returned to win the San Domenico Stakes as a three-year-old but would finish fourth in the Golden Rose and eighth in The Everest.
Storm Boy was then transferred to the stables of Aidan O’Brien in Ireland, where he had two starts without success before being retired to stud back in Australia.
Coolmore Stud Stakes winner Switzerland is listed as having served 194 mares in his first season at Coolmore, while shuttle stallion City Of Troy, like Storm Boy, a son of Justify, had 157.
Again, these numbers are preliminary and may increase.
Darley’s Broadsiding is listed as having 154 mares, while Yulong’s Growing Empire had 165 and Arrowfield’s Vandeek had 149.
The studbook statistics also reveal that Wootton Bassett, who at $385,000 was the highest priced stallion ever to stand in Australia, served 39 mares before his untimely death on September 23.
So You Think, who died in October, had a final book of 75 mares.
Studbook data is usually finalised at the start of March.
Author
Related Articles
The C word – Why the clearance rate on the Gold Coast will provide a window into the 2026 yearling market
Clearance rates don’t make sales companies rich, but they do tell a story. And in a market expected to remain selective in 2026, this statistic will be watched closely when Magic Millions launches the yearling sales season.
Run The Numbers – Who is Australia’s greatest two-year-old sire?
The number of two-year-olds racing in Australia might be on the decline but the importance of elite juvenile racing remains as strong as ever. Run The Numbers looks at who the most influential stallions are in this aspect of Australian racing.
Rowe/O’Brien on Monday – Feeling fresh? Getting a read on first-season sires
In this week’s Rowe On Monday, Bren O’Brien takes the reins and looks at how a run of festive season racetrack success sets up the latest crop of first-season sires well for key two-year-old features in January.