The days of Australia’s stallion barns opening on September 1 and closing on Christmas Eve are well in the past, with a study of “out-of-season” covers in the Australian Stud Book showing as many as 15 of Australia’s commercial sires active after New Year’s Day in 2025.
For the majority of those stallions, including the top two on the Australian sires table, Widden’s Zoustar and Coolmore’s Pride Of Dubai, this meant time in the covering shed in January, with both of those having a pair of matings apiece in that month.
Others active in January include Darley’s Anamoe, Widden’s Jacquinot and Dirty Work, Lyndhurst’s Better Than Ready, Coolmore’s King’s Legacy and Aquis’ Kobayashi and Officiating.
But for two of Yulong’s most important stallions, the job was not done until well into the autumn.
Alabama Express, whose first crop has produced the outstanding filly Treasurethe Moment, served 24 mares between February and May. That gave him 241 covers across both spring and autumn, which are technically part of the same breeding season, making him the busiest sire of the Australian season.
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