Hawthorne’s Alpha move
Kiwi agent Dean Hawthorne said new stallion investors, the Alpha Syndicate, are taking a softly-softly approach, but the group certainly made a strong statement on Monday, when going to $1.5 million for a Dundeel (High Chaparral) colt out of three-time winner Tides (Fastnet Rock), a sister to three-time Group 1 winner Shoals.
The group also bought a So You Think (High Chaparral) colt for $300,000 and a son of The Autumn Sun (Redoute’s Choice) for $350,000 on day one.
The well-bred seven-figure Dundeel colt, who is by the same sire as this autumn’s Randwick Guineas (Gr 1, 1600m) and Doncaster Mile (Gr 1, 1600m) winner Celestial Legend, is the third foal out of three-time winner Tides. He was sold as Lot 349 by Arrowfield Stud.
“We didn’t think we would have to go that high. He’s a quality, quality, quality horse. The best Dundeel on the ground with a pedigree. He just moves so well, just an athlete,” Hawthorne said.
“The Dundeel sireline is going along all right at the moment – he was our target colt.”
While the Alpha Syndicate outlasted Coolmore for the son of Dundeel, it lost out to Tom Magnier on Sunday, having come up just short for the $1.9 million Zoustar-Fundamentalist (Not A Single Doubt) colt.
“I knew we weren’t going to beat Coolmore, but we made them pay,” Hawthorne said.
“We knew they’d be on him, he’s their sort of horse. We had a really good crack at him, but we came up short for that syndicate.”
The Alpha Syndicate wasn’t active at earlier yearling sales, but Hawthorne believes that may be to the investors’ advantage.
He said: “We’re just finding our way along. The market is correcting a little bit, you’ve got to say that – that one didn’t, but generally it is – so the timing might be right.”