Maher and Redvers on a roll
David Redvers and the Ciaron Maher team combined on five colts for a cumulative investment of $2.9m.
The most expensive recruit was the $950,000 son of I Am Invincible and Alassio (Foxwedge) from Silverdale Farm. The winning bid consigned Newgate Farm managing director Henry Field to the role of underbidder.
The colt is the second living foal out of the mare. The daughter of Foxwedge (Fastnet Rock) was trained by Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott, with the highlight of her racing career coming with victory in the 2019 running of the Guy Walter Stakes (Gr 2, 1400m).
“He’s a horse that Sheikh Fahad particularly liked, and we all loved him as well,” said Redvers, sitting amongst a crew that included Maher and his head of bloodstock Will Bourne, Hannah Wall and Mick Murphy.
“We all know about the stallion and the mare’s a Group 2 winner, so he fits what we’re looking for. We have another very nice I Am Invincible with Ciaron at the moment called Invicto. As it’s nice and early in the sale I thought he was probably a bit of value compared to what the same horse tends to make halfway through day two.
“He’s incredibly athletic and has a huge amount of presence. I love the fact that he was totally unflappable out there in the parade ring, so he seems to have a very good mind. For me, his action and the athletic build of the horse made him a real standout. They make fools of us all but there were some very talented underbidders, so let’s hope we weren’t all wrong.”
While Sheikh Fahad has scaled back his involvement in Britain, Redvers said the Qatar Racing chairman remains as enthusiastic as ever about his Australian interests.
“He loves it down here,” he said. “He’s been here for nearly a month and he loves the racing out here. He’s had a lot of success with Ciaron and Chris [Waller], and we’ve had a lot of fun recently with the Roaring Lions we bred and sold shares in down here. We have some nice horses to look forward to with Ciaron that are two and three.”
Asked whether he felt the top of the Australian market continued to represent fair value, Redvers said: “It really does, particularly when you consider that a larger percentage of the top horses come to auction here than happens in Europe and America.
“The Aussie dollar is weak, comparatively speaking, and we’re very lucky that we have a phenomenal stallion down here in Zoustar who helps fund it all. It’s great to be here.”