Arrowfield fillies are assets for life

The allure of the glamour colt that becomes a major winner and a sought-after stallion prospect is a powerful driver of business at Australian yearling sales.

The rewards can indeed be substantial as the owners of Magic Millions colts like Anders, Farnan, Invader, King’s Legacy, Pierro, Showtime, Snitzel, Stay Inside, Tagaloa & Zoustar can confirm.

But fillies can be very rewarding too and frequently offer great value for buyers at Magic Millions where in 2021 they supplied only one of a dozen $1 million+ sales.  

Eight of Arrowfield’s 19 most recent Magic Millions Gold Coast graduate stakeswinners are fillies. While they averaged a healthy $308,750, that was less than half the average price required to secure the 10 stakes-winning colts that sold.

Those 8 fillies ranged widely in price from $30,000 to $720,000. The $30,000 bargain buy was Triple Crown Syndications’ Group 3 winner Missile Mantra who retired with earnings of $608,000 and will be offered at next year’s Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale.

Darby Racing’s juvenile Group 2 winner Scarlet Rain was a $100,000 Arrowfield Magic Millions purchase, earned $341,000 on the track and was sold as a broodmare for $950,000.

Rick Worthington & John Hutchinson’s Scone Bloodstock bid $720,000 for Honesty Prevails in 2015. She was a Group 3 winner at two and bought back privately by Arrowfield, which has now bred two 7-figure yearling colts from her including Group 1 winner Profondo.

Arrowfield’s latest pair of female stakeswinners sold at Magic Millions are 3YO Flying Evelyn (VRC Red Roses S. G3) and 2YO Soaring Ambition, the impressive debut winner of last week’s Magic Millions Wyong 2YO Classic RL. Their combined prizemoney, earning potential and likely future broodmare value already exceeds their respective purchase prices of $500,000 and $270,000.

Earlier female stars among Arrowfield’s Magic Millions graduates include Group 1 winners Secret Agenda & Sweet Idea, Group winners Perignon, Wild Rain, Oakleigh Girl and Listed winners Hijack Hussy, Members Joy & Traveston Girl.

Buyers outlaid a total of just over $1.4 million for them and were rewarded with 37 wins and prizemoney of $6.9 million. Four of these fillies were publicly re-sold as broodmares for a total of $2.8 million, and so far six of them have produced 12 Australian yearlings sold for more than $6.5 million.

Most are yet to race, but Members Joy has left dual Group 2 winner Pure Elation while other Arrowfield-bred-&-sold fillies appear as the dams of Group 1 winners King’s Legacy, Kahma Lass, Lucky Bubbles & Private Eye and Group winners Coolangatta, Daisies, Hard Landing & Mirra Vision.

Fillies and mares racing in Australia can also give their owners plenty of excitement and generate excellent returns without necessarily winning stakes races.

For example, recently retired mare Itz Lily won 7 races and returned $400,000 on her $80,000 purchase by Australian Bloodstock from Arrowfield’s 2017 Magic Millions draft. She was then sold to Bangaloe Stud for $100,000 and promptly earned another $130,000 in her last five starts, including a thrilling victory in the $150,000 Coffs Harbour Cup.

Bloodstock Manager Jon Freyer sums up the case for investing in one of Arrowfield’s 35 fillies at Magic Millions 2022.

“Arrowfield’s stallion power, the strength of our broodmare band and the activity in these fillies’ immediate families really underpin their future residual value.”
 
“We obviously aim to maximise the sale price of every horse, but there are smart buys to be made from every draft. With fillies, our longer-term satisfaction is seeing them succeed for their owners on the track and then add to their family’s record at stud.”  

“In this draft I love the The Autumn Sun-Champagne Run filly, she reminds me very much of Bint Marscay. I also fancy the Not A Single Doubt-Laguna Azzurra filly, she’s in the mould of so many good fillies by her sire, notably Mallory and Soaring Ambition.”

“And my under-the-radar picks are the Shalaa filly from La Pelegrina and the Pariah filly from Ocean Challenger.”