Lucky Vega to stand for an increased fee after exciting southern hemisphere season

Yulong have rewarded Lucky Vega with a fee increase for 2025, with the Group 1-winning son of Lope De Vega set to stand for A$38,500 (£18,498/ €21,653) (all fees inc GST) - a 133 per cent increase on his previous price of A$16,500 in 2024.

A winner of the Phoenix Stakes and runner-up in the Middle Park Stakes, Lucky Vega has been in the headlines in his first season with runners in the southern hemisphere, with his trio of winners led by Group 2 scorer and Group 1 placegetter Within The Law and Vega Luck, who was second in the lucrative Karaka 2YO Millions.

The son of Lope De Vega’s success with his first crop was reflected in the sales ring this year, with 25 of his yearlings fetching A$3,630,716 (£1,748,972/€2,039,499) and recording an average A$145,228 (£69,958/€81,579). 

“Lucky Vega has made a very strong impression in his short time in Australia and every foal he produces is very good-looking,” Yulong Investment's general manager Jun Zhang told ANZ Bloodstock News.

“His progeny are a great fit for the Australian market and his yearlings have proved very popular at the sales, they’re well muscled and very compact and he can produce an early runner.

“Obviously Within The Law has done a great job, she is not only fast but also very tough and durable, which is a pretty good combination. She was quite a cheap purchase and has won over A$1 million (£481,715/€561,734) in prize-money, so she has been a real bargain and I’m sure she’s not the only one.  

“He was not well known in the local market when we first brought him out here, so some people took a chance with him and they have been very well rewarded.

"It hasn’t surprised me how well he has done out here, because we were always confident that he would suit Australia. He’s such a strong stallion with a big hip. He’s very compact, not overly long, and he’s producing some very fast horses.”

Meanwhile, Yulong have also rewarded Alabama Express with a fee increase for 2025, while US shuttler More Than Looks has been introduced to the Australian market at a fee of A$22,000 (£10,597/€12,358). 

Alabama Express will stand his sixth season in the covering barn at a fee of A$66,000 (£31,793 / €37,074), up from the A$55,000 he stood for in 2024.

A son of the breed-shaping stallion Redoute’s Choice, Alabama Express has had his talent as a stallion advertised by Yulong’s homebred Treasurethe Moment, who became the first filly in 19 years to seal the VRC Oaks/ATC Oaks double.

Breeders’ Cup Mile winner More Than Looks retired to Lane’s End Farm in Kentucky following his Breeders’ Cup win. His crowning moment came as a four-year-old when he defeated an international field of eight top-level winners in the Breeders’ Cup Mile, including 2,000 Guineas winner Notable Speech and Japanese Grade 1 winner Geoglyph.

Diatonic (A$13,750) (£6,623/€7,723), Tagaloa (A$22,000) (£10,597 / €12,358) and Panthalassa (A$16,500) (£7,948 / €9,268), all sons of Lord Kanaloa, the consistent Pierata (A$55,000) (£26,494/€30,895) and Grunt (A$19,800) (£9,537, €11,122) complete the line-up. 

Rising 24-year-old champion sire Written Tycoon, who has spent the past three seasons at the operation's Nagambie base, remains at a private fee and he will cover a restricted book of Yulong-owned mares in his 19th year at stud.

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