Royal Aspirations has become the latest trotting sire to join the $1 million club.
And for a New Zealand stallion, that is a pretty rare feat.
When KD Royalty (Royal Aspirations — Kazzle Dazzle) and Paris Prince (Royal Aspirations — Paris Belle) won at Addington and Rangiora respectively last week, it pushed his progeny’s career earnings to $1,008,563.
Standing at Grant Beckett’s Phoebe Standardbreds near Christchurch, Royal Aspiration has produced 20 individual
winners, comprising 73 wins from 677 starts.
KD Royalty, Paris Prince and Sunny Louis have had seven wins, while Royal Del leads the way with 11.
In 2022, his stock had a great run, producing five winners in 10 days. There has also been some Australian success for Frosty Girl (five wins) and Gracias (four wins).
"I’m a one-man band and $1m is an achievement and we’ll certainly take the milestones as they come along," Beckett said.
"I personally think there is no harder place in the world for a stallion to establish himself, particularly a local one against all the shuttle stallions and frozen semen we have — it’s not an easy gig."
Royal Aspirations went to stud after a racing career in which he won 18 races.
He still holds the New Zealand record for 2-year-old trotters (1min 56.5sec) set over a mile (1609m) at Cambridge Raceway in 2012.
It is widely believed that the last New Zealand trotting sire to top $1m in earnings was Great Evander, a seven-race winner in the 1950s.
Records show his trotting progeny accrued $1,995,205.
Among his best performers were Easton Light (36 wins), About Now (25) and Basil Dean (24).
Beckett is hopeful the best of Royal Aspiration’s stock is yet to be seen.
"Right now he is the mid-20s [serves] per season and he did have that one crop of over 100 a couple or three years ago."
Ironically, Beckett said he had never bred a winner from Royal Aspirations himself.
"I’ve bred about 25 — the oldest is four — and there is still time. We’ll get there."
Maybe the first could be a Royal Aspirations 2-year-old being prepared by Ross Houghton.
"He’s called Circus Maximus and he’s out of Phoebe Revival, one of our foundation mares.
"It sounds like they think a bit of him."
