So You Think filly’s late entry pays off as buyers eye Easter sale
Roulston’s Weanling Solutions partnership goes to $250,000 for Great Southern session-topper
A daughter of So You Think (High Chaparral), who is challenging for an Australian maiden stallion premiership, will be reoffered at the Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale next year after a new syndicate waited a day and a half to land the star filly for $250,000 at the Great Southern Sale.
The Musk Creek Farm-sold filly, from the same family as the Grant Williams-trained Perth stakes winner Rokanori (Awesome Rock) and Brisbane Listed winner Tahitian Dancer (Dawn Approach), was day two’s most expensive weanling with agent Rob Roulston’s Weanling Solutions winning the bidding duel.
“She was the star filly, we thought, and she is by a hot sire and a good sire of fillies. She has been bought by a group of guys who want to take her back probably through the Easter sale,” Roulston said.
“She’s got the Easter pedigree and the Easter type, so she should go well there. The horse (Rokanori) is still winning over in Perth, so it’s still current. That was our last bid.”
A supplementary entry, being catalogued as Lot 448, Musk Creek placed a $200,000 reserve on her.
The first foal out of six-time Perth winner Blackline (Blackfriars), she has proven to be a wise investment by Musk Creek Farm and Boomer Bloodstock’s Craig Rounsefell who went to $230,000 for the mare in foal to Coolmore’s So You Think at last year’s Magic Millions Gold Coast National Broodmare Sale from Glenn Burrows’ Willow Park Stud draft.
Weanling Solutions also purchased a first crop weanling colt by Yulong’s Alabama Express (Redoute’s Choice) for $100,000 earlier in the session.
Rising Toronado proves popular
Victorian stallion Toronado (High Chaparral) earned a big fee increase ahead of the coming breeding season and the Great Southern buying bench is banking on the Swettenham Stud stallion continuing his momentum.
The sire of 11 southern hemisphere-bred stakes winners, including Group 1-winning sprinter Masked Crusader and nine winners from 12 runners in Hong Kong, Toronado’s sixth crop weanlings sold for up to $240,000 and he was responsible for three of the ten foals to make $200,000 or more.
Vinery Stud’s Adam White signed for the most expensive weanling sold on day two by Toronado, under agent Justin Bahen’s name, with a group of investors purchasing the Rushton Park-consigned colt with the intention of reselling him in 2023.
“I loved the colt, I thought he was one of the best colts here, definitely, and he’s by a good stallion, so I am rapt to get him,” White said.
“He’s a lovely coloured sort of colt, well marked, I loved the way he walked. He got his head down and really got into his walk and you can see he is going to develop into a lovely yearling.
“I am looking forward to seeing him at the sales (next year).”
He is the third foal out of the Melbourne-placed winning mare Minetti (Star Witness) while his second dam is the New Zealand Group 2-winning juvenile La Italia (Stravinsky). He was catalogued as Lot 342.
“He is the fourth horse we’ve sold for north of $200,000, so we’re very happy. The good horses have been well found, they’ve made their money, there’s no complaints here,” Rushton Park’s David Johnson said.
“He was sold for a good client who has the mares at home, so it’s great to get a good result for them, and the weanling market’s been so strong, it’s nice to put the money in the bank now.”
Toronado will stand for $88,000 (inc GST) in 2022, a jump from the $49,500 he stood for last year and the $27,500 in 2020.
He had 14 foals sell for $1.6 million at an average of $114,286 at the Great Southern sale.
Swettenham Stud’s Adam Sangster described the buyers’ attention on Toronado’s weanlings as “thirsty”.
“Not just with the colts but certainly his fillies as well because his fillies have done a remarkable job on the track and his colts have done particularly well in Hong Kong,” he said.
“They’re good sales horses and he’s been very commercial, so full credit to all the consignors and all the purchasers. We’ve seen a lot of nice weanlings around but the market is thirsty for them.
“It’s showing in the ring that you can get the money for them and he’s gone to another level. I’ve got to say his book (of mares for 2022) is getting very close to full.”
Leading vendor Rushton Park sold 20 weanlings for a total of $1,479,000 at an average of $73,950.
Too Darn Hot, you bet he is, says Mitchell
James Mitchell has little doubt that the wider yearling market will gravitate towards the progeny of shuttler Too Darn Hot (Dubawi) and Darley roster mate Blue Point (Shamardal), himself a four-time Group 1 winner.
The Sydney–based bloodstock agent backed up his opinion by going to $200,000 for a colt by Europe’s champion two-year-old colt early on the final day of the Great Southern Sale.
Offered by Two Bays Farm as Lot 284, the colt is the second foal out of the J J Atkins (Gr 1, 1600m)–placed juvenile Heart Skipt A Beat (Falvelon), who also won at two. Her first foal, a yearling filly by Smart Missile (Fastnet Rock), was retained to race by Two Bays Farm.
“On what’s been a very strong market, we thought he had a bit of upside,” Mitchell told ANZ Bloodstock News.
“He was bought by some very astute judges, who I was acting on behalf of, and I am sure they will have a good result come January (at Magic Millions) or some time next year when he goes back through the yearling sales.”
The beautifully bred son of Dubawi (Dubai Millennium) in Too Darn Hot, a three-time European Group 1 winner in his nine-start career, and so far this southern hemisphere sales season his first crop foals have sold up to $320,000.
“The market suggests that there’s got to be confidence there for the Too Darn Hots as well as the Blue Points, who have also sold very well,” he said.
“They’re just a good quality line of animals and they are the ones who seem to sell well in any market.”
Not long prior to his Too Darn Hot acquisition, Mitchell also went to $150,000 for a filly by The Everest (1200m) winner Yes Yes Yes (Rubick). The Rosemont Stud-consigned filly is the fourth foal out of Goddess Of Love (Galileo), who is already the dam of juvenile winner and the European stakes-placed Model (Mastercraftsman).
Fillies were responsible for six of the top ten lots sold at the Great Southern Sale, with a daughter of I Am Invincible (Invincible Spirit) leading the way at $280,000. She was bought by Trilogy Racing from Rushton Park on Thursday.
Yesterday’s weanling sale, preceding the afternoon broodmare session, achieved trade of 76 per cent with 256 weanlings making a combined $11959,000 at an average of $46,715 and a median of $25,000.
It represented year-on-year increases of six, 15 and 14 per cent, although it’s worth noting that last year’s Great Southern was hampered by restricted travel and the forced delay until July.
“To be fair, it’s been a fantastic way to end what’s been a spectacular sales season. Trade was really strong, the appetite seemed to be insatiable for well-credentialled weanlings,” Inglis Bloodstock chief executive Sebastian Hutch said.
“I think it’s indicative of the confidence that people have going forward because the majority of people who bought them are looking to trade, people have great confidence in the market with prize-money increases, etc, helping drive that.
“There’s a lot to be positive about and those people who brought nice weanlings here got really well paid and those who didn’t but were here to see what happened are probably frustrated they didn’t bring some nice weanlings here.”
Meanwhile, the mares session averaged $48,577 with 44 mares selling for an aggregate of $2,327,500.
Scarlet Moretta (Fastnet Rock) was bought by Mike O’Donnell’s Fairhill Farm for $260,000. Already the dam of stakes winner Cerberus (Dundeel), the 2010-born Scarlet Moretta, who is in foal to Too Darn Hot on a September 17 service date, was consigned by Shadow Hill Thoroughbreds on behalf of leading South Australian breeder Mill Park Stud.
Fellow South Australian farm Cornerstone Stud, in conjunction with JF Rural, paid $200,000 for the stakes-placed winner Salome (Unencumbered).
She is in foal to Newgate Farm’s Flying Artie (Artie Schiller) and she was sold by Rushton Park for NSW South Coast-based breeder Bell View Park Stud.
Hutch was pleased with how Inglis’ live auction sales series finished up.
“We come out of this weanling sale series having turned over a market-leading more than $25 million and it’s the first time in a long time that Inglis has sold weanlings to the value or more than anyone else,” he said.
“During the yearling sales we’ve sold $320 million-plus, which is a more than anybody else, and we spend a huge part of the year asking people to have faith and confidence in our conviction that we can do a good job, so there’s a huge amount of relief and satisfaction to be able to deliver good results for people, from the Ready2Race Sale last October right the way through, Classic, Premier and Easter and into the series of sales in May and June.”
Across the Tasman, the New Zealand Bloodstock National Weanling Sale will take place at Karaka on Friday.
Sale results – select weanling sale
2022 2021
Catalogued 375 424
Offered 331 (-6%) 351
Sold 256 (77%) 275
Aggregate $11,959,000 (+6%) $11,203,250
Average $46,715 (+15%) $40,739
Median $25,000 (+14%) $22,000
Top Lot $280,000 $360,000
Sale results – broodmares
2022 2021
Catalogued 79 151
Offered 61 (-46%) 112
Sold 44 (72%) 75
Aggregate $2,327,500 (-36%) $3,643,250
Average $52,898 (-9%) $48,577
Median $40,000 (+74%) $23,000
Top Lot $260,000 $560,000