10 Highlights of Arrowfield’s 2022/23 Season
Four-time Champion Sire and four-time Champion 2YO Sire Snitzel posted 18 stakeswinners last season - 15 of them from his 2019 & 2020 crops. (PHOTO: Joan Faras)
It’s been a spectacular season for Arrowfield and, in no particular order, here are our top 10 highlights:
Snitzel’s golden year
It’s all too easy to take for granted the continuing success of a Champion Sire – the new always holds a compelling appeal and marketing imperatives sharpen that bias. But eventually, a stallion that consistently posts outstanding statistics, compiles major progeny performances and achieves exceptional sale-ring results earns a fresh level of respect.
That’s certainly happening now for 4-time Champion Sire Snitzel, after a season of 18 stakeswinners headed by his second Golden Slipper winner Shinzo, his fourth 2YO Sires’ title (with a new record earnings total of just over $5 million), a $518,000 yearling sale average and 10 $1 million+ yearlings. On top of all that, Snitzel now has 10 stakes-siring sons including Invader & Champion 2nd Season Sire Russian Revolution, who both left Group 1 winners in 2022/23, while his daughters propelled him into a top 10 spot on the Australian Broodmare Sires’ list.
For most stallions any one of these achievements would be a major career highlight. For Snitzel they are business as usual, and that makes him very, very special indeed.
Dundeel, the sire of super 2YOs – who knew?!
To be fair, Dundeel gave an early alert of his ability to transmit a more precocious version of his own superior class with his second-crop colts Castelvecchio (Champagne S. G1 & Inglis Millennium RL) and Yourdeel (dual Group 1 winner and Champion New Zealand 2YO).
We did highlight in 2021 and again last year that, “the big lift in both the numbers and quality of Dundeel’s 2020 and 2021 crops would turbo-charge the next stage of his career.”
But even Team Arrowfield was surprised by his 16 2YO winners last season, headed by out-of-the-box colt Militarize, winner of the Inglis Sires’ G1 and Champagne S. G1, and 2YO Group 1 performers Miracle Of Love, Tannhauser & Townsend. That earned Dundeel 5th spot on the 2YO Sires’ Premiership, and helped him into 6th on the General Sires’ list.
Add South Australian Derby G1 winner Dunkel, Group-winning mares Hope In Your Heart & Aquacade, Group 3 winner & Caulfield Guineas G1 runner-up Elliptical and three other stakeswinners from 1200m to 2400m, and it’s clear that Dundeel has what it takes to become a Champion sire.
The Autumn Sun begins to shine
The stallions that eventually emerge as the best in their class don’t always leave first-crop stakeswinners, but many of them do. Among Australia’s top 10 sires in 2022/23 that includes I Am Invincible, Savabeel, Snitzel, Zoustar, Dundeel, Pride of Dubai and Deep Field.
So tick that box for Arrowfield’s Showtime (sire of Listed winner Show Royale and three other winners last season), and for The Autumn Sun, sire of debut Group winner Autumn Ballet and Listed winner Coco Sun, among his four Australian winners. Add another six city-placed 2YOs and the confidence of buyers who paid up to $1.8 million for his third-crop yearlings and The Autumn Sun heads into 2023/24 with bright prospects.
Leading Inglis Easter vendor for the 8th time since 2015
It was a more challenging season in the yearling sale-ring because, despite Australia’s record prizemoney, the demand for horses correlates strongly with wider economic conditions. However, a concerted all-team effort, supported by the great work of agent vendors Collingrove Stud, Kulani Park, Musk Creek, Noorilim Park & Stonehouse Thoroughbreds, sale companies and buyers allowed us to achieve an average of $235,000 for 192 yearlings sold on behalf of Arrowfield and a wonderful group of breeding partners & clients. They included six $1 million+ yearlings, all but one sold at Inglis Easter where Arrowfield topped the Vendors table for the 8th time in the past nine years with total sales of $22,810,000.
Scissor Kick extends Everest domination
He stood only four seasons at Arrowfield, but Scissor Kick has left a permanent mark upon Australia’s turf history in the shape of his sensational sprinting son Giga Kick. Bred and raced by Jonathan Munz, Giga Kick was foaled and raised at Arrowfield for 10 months before his move to Bhima Thoroughbreds in the Spring of 2020. Two years later he became the third Arrowfield-sired winner of The Everest, after Redzel (by Snitzel) in 2017 & 2018, and Classique Legend (by Not A Single Doubt) in 2020. A pair of Group 1 victories cemented Giga Kick’s 126 rating as Timeform’s champion 3YO and secured his place among the very best Arrowfield brand-bearers.
Home-bred Hitotsu joins the roster
Standing Arrowfield-bred colts on our stallion roster has been a highly successful strategy – think Flying Spur, Not A Single Doubt, Danzero, Beneteau and more recently Castelvecchio, The Autumn Sun & Showtime.
History-making triple Classic winner Hitotsu is the latest Arrowfield graduate colt to join Arrowfield’s stallion line-up and we’re thrilled to have him.
Standing alongside his sire Maurice, he also fits the fathers-&-sons theme on our 2023 roster, which includes Snitzel & his son Showtime, and Dundeel & his son Castelvecchio.
14 Arrowfield graduate winners of 19 stakes races
A total of 62 stakes performances across every month of the 2022/23 season included seven at Group 1 level by Giga Kick, Jennilala, Miracle of Love, Noah ‘N’ A Deel, Suizuro & Williamsburg.
In all, 14 Arrowfield graduates won 19 Group & Listed stakes races from 1100m to 2100m on 12 courses in 6 Australian states. The Stud’s tally over the past 5 seasons now stands at 54 winners of 97 stakes races, among them 14 winners of 22 Group 1 races.
Arrowfield heads the Black Type Racing Vendors Premiership for the last 3 seasons with 658 points and was second in 2022/23 with 213 points. These tables include only horses offered for sale in Australia at public auction under the same vendor’s banner – so exclude the likes of Arrowfield-breds Bank Maur, Waltz On By & Miracle Of Love.
Notably, all but one of last season’s 14 stakeswinners were 2YOs and 3YOs and they all remain in training. That includes the filly Dashing Legend, originally a $380,000 Inglis Easter buy for Bon Ho and re-sold for $1.6 million at the 2023 Inglis Chairman’s Sale. Also among the season’s 7-figure sales was Piping Hot, a $320,000 graduate of Arrowfield’s Class of 2015 and now the dam of Group 1-winning sprinter Coolangatta. She made $3 million at the Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale.
Redoute’s Choice wins his 9th major sires’ title
He made us wait until the very last day of the season but, much as he did in his famous 1999 Caulfield Guineas victory, Redoute’s Choice found enough under pressure to hold off old rival Encosta de Lago and win his fourth Australian Broodmare Sires’ premiership with record earnings of $32.3 million. That included 5 wins and $201,000 prizemoney in the last 3 days of 2022/23.
Godolphin’s champion colt Anamoe (six Group 1 wins inc. the Cox Plate) and Artorius (Canterbury S. G1) head last season’s 295 winners and 12 stakeswinners out of Redoute’s Choice mares.
Redoute’s Choice now joins 7 other stallions that have each won four or more Broodmare Sires’ titles since 1951: Magpie, Better Boy, Sovereign Edition, Sir Tristram, Marscay, Encosta de Lago & Danehill.
The Arrowfield legend already belongs to a super-elite group of 7 Champion Sires that have won all 3 major Australian sires’ titles in the past half-century – and his son and two grandsons won the 2022/23 2YO, 3YO & Second Season Sires’ Premierships.
Supporting the sport & the industry we love
Arrowfield supports several industry initiatives with a particular focus on educating the next generation and selected race sponsorships including:
Thoroughbred Industry Careers – as a Foundation Partner of this wonderful organisation led by Lindy Maurice, Arrowfield is proud also to support the 2023/24 National Pony Race Series, comprising 12 qualifying races across five states and culminating in two Finals during the Sydney Autumn Carnival next April.
Arrowfield 3YO Sprint G2 – in April we celebrated the 7th running of this race at The Championships with Team Godolphin whose brilliant colt Aft Cabin defeated Arrowfield filly Wee Nessy. Past winners of the race include subsequent Group 1 winners Mazu & Wild Ruler, and Everest winner Classique Legend.
And congratulations to Arrowfielders Jess Hood, winner of the 2023 HTBA Employee of the Year (Leadership) Award, Harrison Everett, who won a place on the prestigious Godolphin Flying Start management program, and Lachlan Bruce, the 2023 winner of the HTBA Irish National Stud Scholarship.
Celebrating others’ success with Arrowfield horses
It always warms our hearts to see so many people enjoy racing success with Arrowfield graduates and our stallions’ progeny, and achieve big sale-ring prices with yearlings by Arrowfield sires. Whether it’s owner-breeders Deidre & Alex Iles & trainer Kerry Parker winning a Group race at Randwick with Dundeel’s daughter Hope In Your Heart, online buyer Fred Noffke winning races with Arrowfield-breds in northern Queensland, or Greg & Jo Griffin’s Lime Country Thoroughbreds selling million-dollar Snitzel colts at Inglis Easter, one thing is certain: Team Arrowfield is cheering too!
