The Champion stayer and the Champion Hurdler, plus a haul of five Group winners on the flat that matches the achievement of Zarak and puts him ahead of New Bay. An extraordinary – yes, golden! – year for Golden Horn, and one with a new notable fact: his stud fee – never more than £10,000 Oct 1st, SLF since he moved to Overbury Stud for the 2024 season – will, despite all the plaudits and accolades, remain unchanged in 2026.
The Horse of the Year’s owner, Jayne McGivern, said, ‘Golden Horn has had an impressive year under both codes. To sire winners of the Champion Hurdle, Triumph Hurdle and the Gold Cup at Royal Ascot within a few months is simply exceptional, and his 15% Stakes horses to runners ratio on the flat is outstanding. Golden Horn has every right to command a higher fee next year, especially as he is consistently over-subscribed. But I am mindful of the choices breeders have, and I would rather support breeders by continuing to offer him as the best value available. I am so pleased to be able to thank all of his supporters by holding his fee for a further year at £10,000. It is especially gratifying to note that he already has many mares already booked for 2026, and that flat breeders are returning in significant numbers.’
Elsewhere on the Overbury roster, Ardad is having his fee reduced to £7,500 Oct 1, SLF, in spite of the sire of Champion sprinter Perfect Power enjoying his own annus mirabilis in 2025: 36 individual winning juveniles make him Britain’s leading sire of two-year-olds and third in Europe behind only Wootton Bassett and Mehmas. Five two-year-old Stakes winners puts him fourth in Europe for quality and second only to Kingman in Britain. Overbury Stud’s manager, Simon Sweeting, said, ‘Ardad is getting exactly what so many breeders, trainers and owners want: horses that get going early and provide lots of terrific sport. His best price for a yearling in 2025 was 180,000gns and he’s a very reliable sire of £35k-£40k yearlings. It’s a competitive market, and we think he’s several lengths ahead of his field, especially at his new fee.’
Mehmas’s son Caturra, who won the G2 Flying Childers in a faster time than Ardad – and faster, too, than Mehmas’s second winner of that race, Aesterius – will cover his fourth book at an unchanged £5,000 Oct 1st, SLF. ‘A very fast horse who gets fast-looking stock,’ said Sweeting. ‘We’ll soon find out, of course, as they run next year, and I’m exceptionally buoyed by how his yearlings looked and sold. They averaged almost a third as much again as the first Ardads and we all know how well they did.’
Overbury’s two up-and-coming National Hunt stallions Jack Hobbs (£4,000 Oct 1st, SLF) and Frontiersman (£2,000 Oct 1st, SLF), as well as the veteran Schiaparelli (£2,000 Oct 1st, SLF), all have their fees unchanged for 2026.
For further comment, please contact Simon Sweeting on 07796 174926.
