A Celestial season for Arrowfield graduates
Arrowfield-bred-&-sold Autumn Angel (Australian Oaks G1) & Celestial Legend (Randwick Guineas G1 & Doncaster H. G1) lit up Sydney's 2024 Autumn Racing Carnival. (PHOTOS: Bronwen Healy & Lisa Grimm)
Twenty-eight Group & Listed victories by 20 individual horses, headed by a pair of outstanding 3YO Group 1 winners who happen to bear the heavenly names of Celestial Legend & Autumn Angel. These are the highlights of a superb 2023/24 season for Arrowfield farm & sale graduates.
Arrowfield’s 20 graduate stakeswinners come from five crops, including 2YOs Bittercreek, Switzerland, Althoff & Lazzura and 3YOs Autumn Ballet (Silver Shadow S. G2) & brilliant sprinter Estriella alongside Celestial Legend (Doncaster Mile, Randwick Guineas) & Autumn Angel (Australian Oaks). Earlier cohorts are represented by 4YOs Muramasa, Recommendation, Wee Nessy, Katsu, Sans Doute & Willinga Beast, 5YOs Remarque & Whizz Kid and 6YO Sky Lab, winner of the Scone Cup LR.
Arrowfield Graduate Stakeswinners 2023/24 – Colts & Geldings
Their yearling sale prices range from Tom Magnier’s $1.5 million bid for Todman S. G2 winner Switzerland to $48,000 paid by Paul Perry for $1.4 million earner Sky Lab. There wasn’t a month of 2023/24 without Arrowfield graduate stakes success and the 28 wins were achieved in every distance category from 1000 metres to 2600 metres.
In a year of so much on-track excitement, two extra-special moments stand out: Celestial Legend’s Randwick Guineas G1 victory for Bon Ho’s Legend Racing, with Militarize (by Dundeel) 2nd and Cafe Millenium (by Not A Single Doubt) 3rd; and Dalziel Racing’s Autumn Angel over-powering the VRC Oaks & New Zealand Derby winners in the Australian Oaks G1.
The icing on the cake is Arrowfield’s return to the #1 spot on the Australian Vendors Premiership with 373 points earned on 59 stakes performances, including 11 at Group 1 level.
Arrowfield Graduate Stakeswinners 2023/24 – Fillies & Mares
The season’s leading trainers of Arrowfield graduate stakes performers are Chris Waller (7 – Switzerland, Althoff, Lazzura, Group 1-placed Cap Ferrat & Tutta La Vita, Group 2-placed Duvana & stakes-placed Lady Shenandoah), Ciaron Maher & David Eustace (4 – Recommendation, Estriella, Jennilala & Namesake), Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott (3 – Autumn Ballet, Ganbare & Very Sewreel) and Hawkes Racing (3 – Remarque, Makarena & Wild Planet). A total of 6 Group victories were also achieved by Peter Moody & Katherine Coleman with Autumn Angel, and Hall of Famer Les Bridge with Celestial Legend.
Arrowfield also heads the All-Seasons Premiership (since 2020/21), becoming the first vendor to crack 1000 points. And that’s excluding graduates withdrawn from sale (such as Group winners Recommendation & Remarque), retained for racing (Group-winning filly Genzano) or successful outside Australia (Hong Kong Group winner Whizz Kid).
Even better, both Celestial Legend & Autumn Angel, like most of Arrowfield’s latest star graduates, stay in training for 2024/25.
