Amarina Farm assembles high-quality draft for National Weanling Sale
While not among the largest players in terms of scale, it will come as little surprise that Amarina Farm has a formidable presence at this year’s Magic Millions National Weanling Sale, with a quality draft set to be offered at the Gold Coast on Sunday.
A respected and commercially savvy operation, the Hunter Valley nursery has built a reputation over the past two decades for producing high-quality stock at the sales, quietly becoming a go-to consignor for many breeders.
A top six vendor at this sale across two days last year with a top price of $200,000 among 16 sold, Amarina’s 2025 draft looks even more promising.
Their 24-strong line-up represents an eye-catching variety of stallions highlighted by the likes of Snitzel (Redoute’s Choice), Justify (Scat Daddy), Anamoe (Street Boss), Ole Kirk (Written Tycoon), Home Affairs (I Am Invincible) and Hitotsu (Maurice).
“It’s a quality bunch of horses overall, they’re well grown and just generally a strong bunch.” Amarina co-owner and founder Craig Anderson told ANZ Bloodstock News.
“You either do it or you don’t, you sell them or you don’t. Overall we’ve a slightly bigger draft and based on last year’s results I think we’ll go similar and we’ve probably got a slightly better quality of horse.”
For the first time, the sale will take place over one-day, rather than two, a change Anderson deemed a good move for maintaining buyer focus.
“I think it will be strong,” he said. “On the back of the Inglis [Australian Weanling] Sale – they obviously had a bigger catalogue of horses where the better ones would’ve sold better.
“With these horses here with the one-day sale, people have the one day to concentrate on, and I think condensing it has probably been a good thing to keep a captive audience.”
Amarina’s group of youngsters has indeed garnered a captive audience over the first days of inspections, with Anderson expecting it to hold until Sunday.
“Yesterday [Wednesday] was the first day of parading and we were very consistent from the start,” he said.
“We started at half past eight and were very consistent throughout the day and obviously there’s more people coming in, there’s the New Zealand contingent to come in yet, so we’re expecting to get busy [up until sale day].”
Featuring both exciting young sires and established stalwarts, Anderson believes the Amarina draft is one with immense scope for buyers.
“We’ve got a couple of Hitosu’s there a little late in the sale,” he said. “His horses that I’ve seen are quite good and speaking to other stud masters they’re happy with what they’ve got.
“Then obviously we’ve got the tried and true, we’ve got the So You Think filly, we’ve got the Snitzel colt. Basically, we are just covering all aspects of the buying bench.”
The aforementioned Snitzel colt will go through the ring as Lot 201 and is one of two half-siblings to Group 1 winners in Amarina’s draft, being out of Seventh Reason (Sadler’s Wells) mare Seventhchic, the dam of The Goodwood (Gr 1, 1200m) winner Royal Merchant (Merchant Navy).
By a stallion at the other end of his career, Lot 96, a grey colt by Jacquinot (Rubick) is the other, being out of the dam of Group 1-winning mare Chain Of Lightning (Fighting Sun).
“The Snitzel, he’s a November 6th foal, a half to Royal Merchant who’s a Group 1 winner,” Anderson said.
“He’ll be a late developer. The Jaquinot horse was an OK foal, but he’s started to furnish out and I think going forward he’ll develop more, he’ll come in through his shoulders and he’ll be quite a nice horse.”
Among the more forward types in the group are Lot 69, the So You Think (High Chaparral) filly out of the unraced Lady Blakeney (Shamardal) and Lot 102, a colt by Camelot (Montjeu) out of Listed-placed winner Marly (Siyouni).
“The So You Think filly out of a Shamardal mare is a beautiful filly,” Anderson said. “She’s an early foal and just been a good foal all along. The Camelot out of a Siyouni mare, he’s not a big horse but I quite like him – a good, balanced horse who gets along really well.”
The draft is littered with more highlights, including Lots 324, a colt by Home Affairs out of a sister to High Achiever (Exceed And Excel), who herself has produced a Group 3 winner by I Am Invincible (Invincible Spirit), and 98 a son of 2022-23 Australian Horse of the Year Anamoe out of Major Wager (Exceed And Excel), the dam of recent VOBIS Gold 2YO Plate (1400m) hero Prestige Ole (Ole Kirk).
Major Wager had a filly by Toronado (High Chaparral) sell for $150,000 at this sale in 2024 which went on to sell for $220,000 at the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale in January.
Raised on Amarina Farm, Prestige Ole was passed in at the National Weanling Sale in 2023, and provided a major boost to his pedigree with his Flemington win in March.
Amarina will also offer a filly by Prestige Ole’s leading first-season sire this weekend as Lot 330.
“We’ve got an Ole Kirk filly out of a Group-placed Cable Bay mare, her first foal,” Anderson said.
“Obviously, the stallion himself has set the racing world alight and she’s quite a nice, balanced, athletic sort of filly.
“The Anamoe, he’s a nice big horse, a strong horse. The half-brother by Ole Kirk – he looks to be a stakes horse in the making. He’s quite a nice horse as well.”
Also on offer is Lot 143, a colt out of Oregon Pinot (Lonhro) from the family of Group 1 winner turned Coolmore sire Pierro (Lonhro) – who was sold at this sale himself back in 2010 – and Group 2 winner Estriella (I Am Invincible).
Meanwhile, Group 1-placed mare Happy Hannah (More Than Ready) produced the highest-priced weanling for the farm last year with her Exceed And Excel (Danehill) filly going for $200,000 and this year she is represented by a Hellbent (I Am Invincible) colt, who will go through the ring as Lot 27.
Anderson has claims to numerous Group 1 winners coming from his farms over the years, including six since his purchase of the Amarina in 2006 – Zoutori (Zoustar), Gallica (Redoute’s Choice), The Heckler (Lucky Owners), Super Cool (Fastnet Rock), Sheidel (Holy Roman Emperor) and The Mitigator (Master Of Design).
Another major result for the operation was their Chris Waller-trained Group winner Kiku (Zoustar) turning her $300,000 yearling price tag into $1.46 million on the Magic Millions Online platform in 2023.
“I’ve been in the game a long time and over the years we’ve had varying success with producing nice horses, whether it be through the weanling or yearling sales,” Anderson said.
“It’s easy work when you’ve got a hobby for a job but this is probably one of the better drafts that I’ve had over the years.”