Stallions

Group 2 quinella for Arrowfield Easter graduates

Arrowfield Stud added a new name to its roll of stakes-winning Easter Sale graduates when David Paradice‘s 3YO filly Colorado Claire staunchly held off the boys in today’s $175,000 ATC Phar Lap S. 1500m G2 at Rosehill.

Pictured: Colorado Claire & James McDonald power home in today’s ATC Phar Lap S. G2, defeating the fast-finishing Rekindled Alliance by a short neck. (PHOTO: Sportpix)

Colorado Claire was purchased for $220,000 by Bill Mitchell from the Arrowfield draft at the 2010 Easter Sale. She is the second Hussonet filly bred & sold by the Arrowfield/John Leaver partnership to achieve stakes-winning status in the past 8 days, after Rose of Peace won the Wenona Girl Quality LR at Randwick last Saturday.

Colorado Claire, now the winner of five of her seven starts and $226,050, is also the 81st stakeswinner by her champion sire, purchased in 2003 by Arrowfield where he stood until his transfer last year to South Australia’s Cornerstone Stud.

Hussonet is enjoying a terrific 2011/12 season with five stakeswinners in Australia, and has seven quality yearlings in the 2012 Easter catalogue. Five of them are in the Arrowfield draft , including a brother to Group 1 winner Reaan, a close relative of champion Weekend Hussler and the first son of champion filly Miss Finland.

Colorado Claire is the 27th stakeswinner out of a Flying Spur mare, in this case Lunaspur, herself a dual black type winner, from the family of champion French sire Linamix. Lunaspur has a weanling colt by Manhattan Rain .

That wasn’t the end of Arrowfield’s involvement in the Phar Lap result. Runner-up Rekindled Alliance (by Redoute’s Choice ) is also an Easter Sale graduate, from the draft of associate farm Bellerive Stud, and carries the Arrowfield silks, while third-placed Wild and Proud, already a Group 2 winner, is from the Arrowfield-bred mare Blab. And yes, she’s by Flying Spur.

Arrowfield’s Easter Sale graduates since 2005 include Group 1 winners Alverta, Forensics, Inspiration, Mentality, Miss Finland & Reaan, and other Group winners Beneteau, El Daana, Master of Design, Mirrasalo, Sabrage & Shaaheq.

The 32-lot Arrowfield Easter 2012 draft can be viewed here – photographs and videos now online.