Strong start expected to day one session at Riverside Stables!
The 2018 Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale, which starts today, will see some of the best-bred horses by some of the world’s leading stallions offered at Riverside Stables to a global buying bench who have assembled in Sydney in a bid to secure top-class colts and fillies. Last year’s leading vendor by aggregate, Arrowfield Stud, has some regally bred yearlings among the 51 lots the operation has catalogued with John Messara believing the farm’s draft provides a range of options for buyers. “We have got numbers and quality and we have some diversity within the draft with some Japanese-bred horses, some Snitzels, some Redoute’s Choices and a very nicelooking Frankel as well," he said. "We have got something for everybody.” Early in the first session this afternoon, Arrowfield Stud will offer two fillies by its reigning champion stallion Snitzel (Redoute’s Choice), who is assured of claiming a second general sires title this season with progeny earnings totalling almost $25,000,000. Snitzel sired last month’s Golden Slipper Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m) winner Estijaab, who was a $1,700,000 Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale purchase last year from the Arrowfield Stud draft, and Messara believes the farm offers two high-quality fillies in today’s session. First up is Lot 25, a Snitzel half-sister to the juvenile-winning Tokyo NHK Mile Cup (Gr 1, 1600m) winner Aerolithe (Kurofune)
The filly is the third foal out of the Japanese-bred mare Asterix (Neo Universe), who is a half-sister to the dam of Japanese Grade One winner Mikki Isle (Deep Impact), who shuttles to Arrowfield Stud. Shortly after Arrowfield Stud will offer another Snitzel filly, Lot 32. The filly is the third foal out of the unraced Galileo (Sadler’s Wells) mare Azmiyna, who is a three-quarter sister to the stakes-placed Galileo’s Star and a half-sister to the late Group One-winning sire Azamour (Night Shift). Messara marvelled at the remarkable rise of Snitzel and predicted this year’s crop of yearlings were the best to be offered to the market. “You think you reach the summit and you go further. He is an amazing stallion. I don’t think we’ve seen the best of him yet because we know what is in the belly and on the ground. There is a lot to come,” he said.
Snitzel has 64 yearlings catalogued at this year’s sale, with him and the Yarraman Park Stud-based sire I Am Invincible (Invincible Spirit), who has 41 yearlings catalogued, making up 20 per cent of the catalogue. Snitzel’s champion sire Redoute’s Choice (Danehill), who has been the backbone of Arrowfield Stud for more than a decade, is also well represented in the farm’s draft. Selling tomorrow is a brother to South African Group One winners Rafeef and 2016-17 champion two-year-old colt in South Africa Mustaaqeem. Catalogued as Lot 259, the colt is the sixth foal out of joint South African Horse of the Year National Colour (National Assembly). Rafeef sold at the 2014 sale for $800,000 to Shadwell Australasia who also purchased Mustaaqeem two years later for $1,750,000. “That mare has thrown two Group One winners in South Africa and this colt is good looking. Can it happen three times? Well, we are gambling it will. It is for the buyers to judge,” Messara said.
Messara also lauded Redoute’s Choice’s impact as a broodmare sire, with mares by the champion stallion producing Levendi (Pierro) and Ace High (High Chaparral), who finished first and second in the ATC Australian Derby (Gr 1, 2400m) at Randwick on Saturday. Tangled, who is by Snitzel, ran third in the same race, while Redoute’s Choice stallions also sired the trifecta in the T J Smith Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m). “It is an amazing thing and Redoute’s Choice has some lovely colts and fillies by him in the sale,” he said. “He is getting of an age, so you can’t take him for granted.” Redoute’s Choice has 23 yearlings catalogued, while Coolmore Studbased Fastnet Rock (Danehill) has 39 lots. Also among the Arrowfield Stud draft is a Fastnet Rock brother to the Anthony Freedman-trained dual Group One winner Shoals.
The colt, who is bred in partnership with Jonathan Munz, will be offered as Lot 400. He is the third foal out of the winning mare The Broken Shore (Hussonet), a half-sister to Redoute’s Choice (Danehill) and fellow Group One winners Platinum Scissors (Danehill) and Manhattan Rain (Encosta De Lago), being out of Shantha’s Choice (Canny Lad).
The Broken Shore was purchased by Dean Hawthorne Bloodstock for $1,900,000 at the 2014 Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale from the Teeley Dispersal. “He is certainly a stallion prospect and a much-admired colt. He does look very much his sister and she is a twice Group One winner, which doesn’t show in the catalogue because it was printed before she won her second one,” Messara said of the Fastnet Rock colt. “He is by Fastnet Rock and has everything going for him.” Messara, who part-owns the Anthony Freedman-trained Shoals, yesterday revealed the three-year-old filly was continuing to battle an issue which has ruled her out of the remainder of the Sydney autumn carnival. “Shoals has had a veterinary complication. She was starting to get through it, but I heard this morning she has gone down again. We are trying to get her ready for the Robert Sangster in Adelaide in early May and then on to Ascot,” he said. “She is running out of time, unless we get a free go at training her up. Anthony has kept her fit, but not race fit, and he needs to do some work with her on the track. It is 60:40 against at this stage.” Messara said if Shoals failed to overcome the issue she would be retired to stud and likely be sent to Japan to be covered by champion stallion Deep Impact (Sunday Silence). “Because she is empty, she could be one we send to Deep Impact. We send mares who are not in foal to him.” Arrowfield Stud’s decision to support Japan’s leading stallion Deep Impact in 2016 will be on show with two yearlings by the Shadai Stallion Station-based sire due to sell this week.
“Deep Impact is a great stallion. He has had eight Group One winners outside Japan now. He is not purely Japanese, he is an international stallion, and we have been breeding to him for a few years now and this is the first lot of product from our matings in Japan. “They will be coming every year from now on because have sent him some very nice mares and we are happy with what we have got.” Catalogued as Lot 11 is the Deep Impact filly out of the former Paul Messara-trained mare Alverta (Flying Spur), whose biggest win came in the Coolmore Classic (registered as TAD Kennedy Stakes) (Gr 1, 1500m). The filly is her dams fourth foal and the mare has produced three winners to date. “She was a good racemare. She was champion older female sprinter in Britain, ran third in the July Cup and won the Coolmore Classic here in Australia and she is from a very good family.
“She is by Flying Spur, who is a good broodmare sire, and she is a very nice, feminine and athletic filly and we’ve got another one who is closely related to the great sprinter Lankan Rupee.” The other Deep Impact filly, also consigned by Arrowfield Stud, is Lot 70. The filly is the fourth foal out of the unraced mare Charming Estelle (Redoute’s Choice), a sister to Australian Horse of the Year Lankan Rupee. Arrowfield Stud will also offer yearlings by fellow Japanese-based stallions Lord Kanaloa (King Kamehameha) and Epiphaneia (Symboli Kris S) and a yearling by European-based champion Frankel (Galileo). Messara was optimistic of a strong Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale with a number of potential buyers seen inspecting horses at Riverside Stables in the past week. “Everyone seems to be here of our known buyers, both local and international, so I wouldn’t see any reason why they wouldn’t be buying,” he said. “The economic conditions are good and the fundamentals of the industry have never been better, particularly in New South Wales, so it should be a good market. “I would be happy with about the same as last year. I don’t think it needs to go further personally. There is plenty of good stock here apart from ours, so I think it will be okay.”
Strong draft for Newgate Henry Field’s Newgate Farm has a draft of 22 yearlings at this week’s sale and one of the first lots they will offer is a colt by I Am Invincible out of Belle Couture (Redoute’s Choice), a winning half-sister to unbeaten champion mare Black Caviar (Bel Esprit) and Group One winner and sire All Too Hard (Casino Prince). Catalogued as Lot 40, the colt is the second foal out of Belle Couture, whose first foal, a colt by Pierro (Lonhro), made $400,000 at last year’s sale. Newgate Farm general manager Bruce Slade told ANZ Bloodstock News that the I Am Invincible colt was a standout.
“He is the star of the show in terms of our draft. He is from a huge family who doesn’t just get good horses, it gets champions, and has done that over and over again,” Slade said. “He is by I Am Invincible out of a Redoute’s Choice mare. There are 14 horses bred on that cross for five stakes horses, so that is clicking very well, and then the physical matches the pedigree. “He is a beast. He fills the eye, is very masculine and he looks like a stallion prospect through and through. “Our whole model at Newgate is to stand the fastest sons of the best stallions and I Am Invincible is one of the best stallions in Australia, and we already stand Super One, Hellbent will go to Yarraman and anything that pops up on the radar will be highly sought after.” The Newgate Farm-consigned Lot 194, a colt by Yarraman Parkbased stallion Hinchinbrook (Fastnet Rock), has received significant pedigree updates in recent weeks. The colt, who is a brother to the Peter and Paul Snowden-trained recent Flemington Group Three winner Flippant, is out of the General Nediym (Nediym) mare Lady Beckworth. As well as being a brother to Flippant, he is also a half-brother to the dual Listed winner I Am Excited (Snitzel). “Since the catalogue went to print I Am Excited has gone three from three including two stakes races and will start one of the favourites for the Arrowfield Sprint on Saturday and Flippant has won a stakes race in Melbourne,” Slade said.
“There are four new stakes wins in the first dam and he is a masculine colt and he has been really popular. He will be one of our top sellers, for sure.” Another highlight of the Newgate Farm draft is Lot 318, an Exceed And Excel (Danehill) half-brother to dual stakes-winning two-year-old Nomothaj (Snitzel). The colt is the third foal out of Maribyrnong Plate (Gr 3, 1000m) winner Real Stolle (Elusive Quality). He is speed on speed, precocity on precocity and is by one of the best sires in Australia and Europe, for that matter, in Exceed And Excel,” Slade said. “He is out of a Maribyrnong Plate winner who has produced a Maribyrnong Trial winner in Nomothaj. She has done an enormous job and since the catalogue went to print.” The Lindsay Park-trained filly Nomothaj, a winner of the Maribyrnong Trial Stakes (Listed 1000m) on debut in October, added to her tally with a second stakes victory at Flemington last month.
A sought after filly is expected to be the Snitzel half-sister to multiple Group One winner English (Encosta De Lago), who is being offered by Newhaven Park as Lot 77. The filly is the fourth living foal out of the dual Group Twowinning mare Court (Anabaa), who has three foals to race for three winners.
Newhaven Park sold the Redoute’s Choice half-sister, since named Al Naifa, last year for $1,800,000 at the Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale. Al Naifa, who is trained by Tony McEvoy, won her maiden in January. Newhaven Park’s John Kelly said he wanted to put the well-bred filly on the market despite her enormous residual value. “This filly is a rich chestnut and is a lovely mover and is a very nice filly. She hasn’t given us any trouble during the prep and the market will decide (what she is worth),” Kelly said. “We feel if we don’t offer them to the market, then how can they have any confidence in us, so we have a couple a really nice fillies from that family in the catalogue and we are offering them to be sold.” Inglis managing director Mark Webster said expectations were high for a strong Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale, the company’s premier thoroughbred auction and second to be held at the new $140,000,000 Riverside Stables. The first was the record-breaking Inglis Classic Yearling Sale in February. “We are delighted with the turnout of buyers. There is a good mix locally, but also internationally from places like the US and Hong Kong, the UK and there are some South Africans here as well. “I have just come back from around the grounds and the good judges tell me that they are delighted with the quality of yearlings. We select them but it is not our job to judge them in the end. They have a lot to choose from and there should be a good spread right across the sale.” Among potential buyers at this year’s sale are the Hong Kong Jockey Club and Shadwell’s Angus Gold, both of whom are yet to buy yearlings in Australia this year, along with Yu Long Investments and prominent buyers from the US. The first of three days of selling at the Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale starts at 2pm today.
Article By Tim Rowe and Lydia Symonds | Australia New Zealand Bloodstock News | 9 April 2018
