Arrowfield heads Inglis Easter Sale vendor list

Arrowfield has topped the vendor list at the Inglis Easter Yearling Sale for the first time since 2006.

Always among the leading three Easter Sale vendors by aggregate during the past decade, Arrowfield returned to the head of the list with 28 lots sold for a total of $10,695,000.

All but two of those horses were sold in Session 1 where Arrowfield achieved an average price of $402,500 and a top price of $1.8 million paid by David Raphael & Gerald Ryan for the magnificent Snitzel colt from champion filly Alinghi.

The Stud’s top-priced filly was Weekend Beauty’s daughter by Redoute’s Choice, knocked down to Takaya Shimakawa’s Japan Health Summit for $1.1 million. A half-sister to Australian Horse of the Year Weekend Hussler, she is the last of only three fillies left by Weekend Beauty who died last November after foaling a colt by Animal Kingdom. An earlier daughter, Talaq Dancer, is the dam of this season’s Group 1 winner Lucky Hussler.

The Weekend Beauty filly is the 65th yearling by Redoute’s Choice to sell for $1 million or more. It’s an accomplished collection of horses, so far including Group 1 winners Samantha Miss and Master of Design, and 11 other Group & Listed winners, among them this season’s leading first season sire Beneteau.

Mr Shimakawa also bought the More Than Ready filly from Group 1 winner Alverta for $500,000.

Celebrated Japanese breeder and owner Katsumi Yoshida signed for the $500,000 More Than Ready colt from champion filly Miss Finland, and the $200,000 Snitzel-Flidais filly, a full sister to Group 1 winner Sweet Idea.  

The Hong Kong Jockey Club set a new record price of $700,000 for a Manhattan Rain yearling by purchasing Arrowfield’s colt from the marvellous broodmare La Bamba, dam of Group 1 winners Inspiration and Wandjina.

Angus Gold, buying for Shadwell Australia, returned to the Arrowfield barn where he has previously bought Group 1 winners Reaan and Majmu, and secured the Redoute’s Choice filly from South African champion National Colour.

Like Majmu and the Snitzel-Simply Carina colt, bought by Jehan Malherbe’s Form Bloodstock for $200,000, she is destined for the South African stable of champion trainer Mike de Kock.

Leading Australian agent John Foote, who bought current Hong Kong talent Contentment from Arrowfield three years ago, left Sydney with two Session 1 Arrowfield yearlings, the Redoute’s Choice-New Light colt ($575,000) & the Manhattan Rain-Keratiya filly ($180,000). He then joined Victorian trainer Darren Weir to buy the colt by Manhattan Rain from Astral Promise for $80,000.

UK agent John Warren was involved in two purchases from the Arrowfield consignment: the $520,000 Redoute’s Choice-Flame of Sydney filly, bought with the China Horse Club and Dean Hawthorne, and the $320,000 More Than Ready-Ribe filly, bought with his son Jake.

Vinery Stud bought six yearlings at the Easter Sale, among them Arrowfield’s Snitzel-Hollow Bullet colt for $450,000, and the $400,000 Redoute’s Choice-Cat by the Tale filly.

Gai Waterhouse & Julian Blaxland have both had great success with Arrowfield graduates – think Sweet Idea & Beneteau – and they joined forces this year to buy 14 Easter yearlings, including the $360,000 filly by Manhattan Rain from dual stakeswinner Gibraltar Campion.

Ssyndicators Star Thoroughbreds and Te Akau Racing each snapped up Arrowfield yearlings by first season sire Smart Missile from well-credentialled young US-bred mares. Denise Martin paid $145,000 for the colt from Certain Promise (by El Prado), while David Ellis paid $150,000 for the filly from Panorama Ridge (by Empire Maker).

A third syndicator, Spicer Thoroughbreds joined Darren Weir to secure the Commands-So Divine filly for $120,000. Brad Spicer struck gold with the Commands filly he purchased in 2011, Group 1 winner Commanding Jewel.

Bloodstock agent James Harron, who already has Group 1-winning Arrowfield graduates Wandjina and Sweet Idea on his record, joined trainer Rod Northam to buy the Manhattan Rain-Love Wings colt for $250,000. Northam has enjoyed stakes success this season with Arrowfield & Jungle Pocket-bred 2YO Odyssey Moon, purchased by Harron for his clients Edmund & Belinda Bateman.

Hawkes Racing, buyer of Arrowfield’s top-priced Magic Millions yearling, the $700,000 Smart Missile-Negotiate colt, purchased seven Easter Sale lots, including the $150,000 Foxwedge-Aussie Christmas filly consigned by Arrowfield.

Those who have purchased Arrowfield yearlings at the 2015 Magic Millions, Inglis Classic, Inglis Melbourne Premier & Inglis Easter Sales can look forward with confidence to experiencing “That Winning Feeling”, as illustrated by many happy owners in the Stud’s 2015 sale marketing campaign.

That campaign’s style is matched by the heavyweight substance of the three Group 1 winners, eight Group 2 winners, eight Group 3 winners and 22 Listed stakeswinners among Arrowfield graduates of Australian yearling sales from 2010 to 2014.