Giant's Causeway's fee now private

Ashford Stud's popular sire Giant's Causeway, who stood in 2006 for $300,000, will have a private fee in 2007, and Fusaichi Pegasus's fee will drop from $125,000 to $75,000.

Giant's Causeway covered 191 mares in North America in 2006, according to Jockey Club statistics updated through Oct. 12. A son of Storm Cat, he is the sire of champion Shamardal, 2006 Grade 1 winner Aragorn, and 2005 Grade 1 winner First Samurai, and 2006 Grade 2 winners My Typhoon and Naissance Royale. He is North America's leading third-crop sire and the third-ranked sire on the general sire list, with 2006 progeny earnings of more than $6.6 million.

Two Ashford sires will have higher fees in 2007: Johannesburg rises from $25,000 to $65,000, and Thunder Gulch from $25,000 to $30,000.

Fusaichi Pegasus, winner of the 2000 Kentucky Derby, will be one of seven sires at the Versailles, Ky., stud farm to stand for lower fees in 2007. The others are Grand Slam, who drops from $50,000 to $35,000; Tale of the Cat, who goes from $50,000 to $37,500; Lion Heart, who decreases from $30,000 to $25,000; Powerscourt and Hold That Tiger, down from $12,500 to $10,000; and Monashee Mountain, who goes from $10,000 to $7,500.

All other stallions at Ashford will remain at the 2006 fee levels.

Ashford also announced Tuesday an addition to its stallion roster: Mull of Kintyre. A son of Danzig who stood at Coolmore Stud in Ireland during 2006, he will stand for a fee of $10,000 at Ashford.