Gone West's fee raised

The stallion fee for Gone West will rise by $25,000 for the 2005 breeding season to $150,000 live foal, the first fee increase for the popular stallion in six years.

Gone West, a 20-year-old son of Mr. Prospector, has progeny who include the current leading sire, Elusive Quality, and the top third-crop sire, Grand Slam, as well as 143 stakes performers. Gone West is syndicated and stands at Alice Chandler's Mill Ridge Farm in Lexington, Ky.

The farm's announcement of the fee increase noted that, in the last two auction seasons, the stallion's yearlings have averaged $495,635.

Gone West has 14 crops to race thus far and is the sire of 76 stakes winners, including such Grade 1 winners as Came Home, Da Hoss, Johar, Lassigny, West by West, and others. He has progeny earnings of more than $57.6 million.

A Grade 1 winner himself, Gone West is out of the stakes-winning Secretariat mare Secrettame, whose foals also include Grade 2 winner Lion Cavern, a full brother to Gone West.