Swettenham Stud has revealed that Diego Velazquez, who is currently based at The National Stud in England, will stand at a fee of A$27,500 (inc GST) on his debut season in Australia.
Marcus Heritage commented, “We have had a lot of shuttlers over the years, but he's been the one that's had the most traction before the fees announced and leading into the season. He's been really well received.”
He added, “I think it really is the Frankel factor. The Australian markets have wanted the right son of Frankel for a long time, and we've been looking for the right son of Frankel for a long time as well. He's been well received and we expect him to be pretty popular.
“I think the price especially is very fair and no one's been deterred by that so far. They've all thought that's pretty good value. He was a Group 1 winner, and a very good two, three, and 4-year-old as well.
“He had real longevity, which is obviously important when we race for so much prize money down here. If you can breed horses that can race over multiple seasons, that's really going to keep the buyers interested as well as the breeders.”
Meanwhile, after illness threatened to halt Toronado's season in its tracks, he bounced back to full health ahead of schedule, and in time to serve 84 mares in the spring of 2025. Heritage confirmed that the stallion was back to full health and that they anticipated a full book in 2026. His fee remains at A$88,000.
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