Rosemont backs Hanseatic with acquisition of $350,000 Fastnet Rock mare
Strong demand for breeding stock continues at Inglis Australian Broodmare Sale
Breeders with shareholdings in a range of young stallions in the infancy of their stud careers helped to create a fierce marketplace at yesterday’s Inglis Australian Broodmare Sale, following on from incredible demand at Friday night’s Chairman’s Sale.
Rosemont Stud’s Anthony Mithen has been a key figure at Inglis’ Riverside Stables complex over the past week and yesterday he again made his presence felt with a knockout blow to land the highest-priced mare of the sale, the three-time winner Oklahoma Girl (Fastnet Rock), for $350,000.
The stud continued their strong backing of new stallion Hanseatic, with the mare set to be sent to the Group 2-winning juvenile, a sprinting son of Street Boss (Street Cry), who was secured by Victoria’s Rosemont Stud from Godolphin earlier this year.
Oklahoma Girl was one of nine mares to make $200,000 or more, with another 25 sold for between $100,000 and $200,000, underlining the depth of the broodmare market and what can be expected at the upcoming Magic Millions Gold Coast National Broodmare Sale and next month’s Inglis Great Southern Sale.
Rosemont’s new addition, Oklahoma Girl, a half-sister to Group 3 winner Sure Knee (Snitzel), was sold in foal to Widden Stud sire Zoustar (Northern Meteor) by Coolmore on behalf of the Ingham family.
A dual Group-placegetter, Oklahoma Girl is out of stakes-placegetter Shawnee Girl (Encosta De Lago), herself a three-quarter sister to Northern Meteor (Encosta De Lago) and Listed winner Kiss From A Rose (Encosta De Lago).
Her first foal is a yearling filly by Arrowfield Stud shuttler Maurice (Screen Hero), while she has a weanling colt by Nicconi (Bianconi).
“She is a true miler who stretched in her Classic year to run a place in the Queensland Oaks, so she’s got the stamina there as well,” Rosemont Stud’s Antony Mithen said.
“It’s a great family and they’re the sorts of broodmares, by a great broodmare sire and great sire in general in Fastnet Rock, who we should be adding to our collection and giving our new boy Hanseatic a good chance with.”
Rosemont Stud also bought Meiji (Strategic), who is in foal to Star Turn (Star Witness), for $38,000 yesterday after purchasing four mares at the Chairman’s Sale including Group-winning sprinter From Within (Not A Single Doubt) for $800,000 who will be covered by Hanseatic later this year.
Hanseatic will stand for an introductory fee of $17,600 (inc GST) in 2021.
“Our intent is pretty clear: we think he’s top class and we’ve been pushed along a bit and encouraged by the breeders who have jumped on board and taken breeding rights and booked mares into him,” Mithen said.
“Some very good breeders and interstate clients have jumped into him at a hundred miles an hour. We’re certainly encouraged by the reaction to Hanseatic and, so much so, that we’ve upped our sights a bit in terms of the mares we’ll be pooling together to send to him.”
Underbidder Paul Moroney was acting for two clients and Mithen watched on with some amusement before playing his winning hand.
“I thought he was bidding against himself, but he’s told me that he had two separate clients. He had to sit on one table and Catheryne (Bruggeman) sat on the other, so I thought I’d save them the confusion and step in over the top,” he said.
“It also helped that I had my brother-in-law on the phone. It is Mother’s Day and he’s married to an Oklahoma girl, would you believe as Melanie Austin, his wife, is from Oklahoma.
“We had one more bid because of a very clever name. Debbie (Kepitis) and the Ingham family would be well-pleased to know that, I’m sure.”
Coolmore’s Paddy Oman said of Oklahoma Girl: “She’s a beautiful mare, raised on the farm by the Ingham family and it is a family that just keeps producing good horses.
“We’re very grateful to Nigel, Anthony and the team at Rosemont for their support. They are great friends of ours and hopefully she’s lucky for them.”
Sokolski says Yes on $320,000 Aqueda
Continuing the trend, Brae Sokolski’s quest to support his Everest- (1200m) winning stallion Yes Yes Yes (Rubick) at stud stepped up yesterday after the prominent racehorse owner bought the second highest-priced lot sold at Riverside Stables, General Nediym (Nediym) mare Agueda, for $320,000.
A co-owner of Todman Stakes (Gr 2, 1200m) winner and Everest champion Yes Yes Yes, who this year enters his second season at Coolmore, Sokolski went to $320,000 for the stakes-placed Agueda, who is in foal to leading first season sire Capitalist (Written Tycoon) on an October 24 service date.
Matt Scown, who advises Yes Bloodstock’s Sokolksi, signed for the Newgate Consignment-offered Agueda, catalogued as Lot 328.
Agueda, a juvenile winner who was also six times stakes-placed, is already the dam of Enseguida (The Factor), a winner of three races.
“We knew we were going to have to pay for her because we thought she was one of the better physicals, she did it on the track and she throws very good sorts,” Scown said.
“Symon Wilde had The Factor gelding who was a really good running horse and we love the Star Turn (yearling), so we were happy to go to that.
“We wanted to obviously buy her for a bit cheaper than that, but I think the ones you really love, you’ve got to stump up for.”
Sokolski already owns a daughter of Agueda, combining with Astute Bloodstock’s Louis Le Metayer at this year’s Inglis Classic Yearling Sale to buy her Star Turn (Star Witness) filly for $310,000.
She has a Prized Icon (More Than Ready) weanling colt on the ground.
“We bought the filly by Star Turn at the Classic sale for $310,000 and she is in work with Annabel Neasham,” Scown said.
“Annabel loves her, she’s a nice filly, the mare throws good sorts and hopefully she’s the mare for Brae’s stallion.”
Sokolski is likely to retain the Capitalist foal to race while Agueda is likely to be one of five mares he sends to Yes Yes Yes this year.
Yes Yes Yes, who Sokolski sent three mares to last year, stands for an unchanged fee of $38,500 (inc GST) in 2021.
“The fact she was in foal to Capitalist was just a bonus, we would have been pursuing her aggressively no matter who she was in foal to,” Sokolski said.
“I love General Nediym mares and they’re not making any more of them. When we bought the filly at Classic, I absolutely loved her as a physical so I know this mare can produce quality types. It’s nice to be able to call her mine now.
“She’s a natural fit for us. I’m looking to improve and enhance my broodmare band with more quality and proven mares.
“I’ve got a lot of younger mares, but we want some more proven mares who we know can throw a nice type and she fits that bill.”
Agueda was owned by Newgate staff members Jim Carey, Jackson Beirs, Leanna Packard and Rachel Safir.
“It was a great result for them. She’s a very pretty mare, a beautiful mare with the right covering in her,” Newgate Farm managing director Henry Field said.
“I think she’ll be a really good mare for Yes Bloodstock, they’re very smart operators, those guys, and they’ve bought the best mare in the sale.”
Another mare in foal to Capitalist, the sire of ATC Champagne Stakes (Gr 1, 1600m) winner Captivant and Inglis Millennium (RL, 1200m) winner Profiteer, along with nine other individual first crop winners, sold for $165,000 yesterday.
Bridle Lane (Street Cry), who was bought by Le Metayer for $210,000 at the 2018 Magic MIllions Gold Coast National Sale, was purchased by agent Paul Moroney and Pegasus Bloodstock.
Her first foal, a two-year-old filly named Fanciful Flying (Shalaa), is in training in Tasmania while Bridle Lane also has a yearling filly by Zoustar (Northern Meteor) and a weanling filly by Trapeze Artist (Snitzel).
Bridle Lane, catalogued as Lot 353, was sold by Lustre Lodge.
Widden Stud has also been active this week buying mares to send to its new Victoria-based stallion, dual Group 1 winner Russian Camelot (Camelot), whose introductory fee has been set at $22,000. Stud principal Antony Thompson went to $85,000 for The Black Tide (Kuroshio), a half-sister to star sprinter Santa Ana Lane (Lope De Vega). She is in foal to Pride Of Dubai (Street Cry).
The partnership also purchased Listed winner Shakespearean Lass (Written Tycoon), who is in foal to Pierata (Pierro), for $270,000 and Simply Dreaming (Denman), a half-sister to Group 2 winner Lonhspresso (Lonhro) for $120,000. She is in foal to Vinery Stud’s first season sire Exceedance (Exceed And Excel).
New-look Middlebrook makes mark
Middlebrook Valley Lodge, under new owner Ben Lee, was active on both sides of the fence yesterday, selling Fully Chargeable (Charge Forward), a half-sister to Group 3-winning sprinter Ability (Reward For Effort), for $260,000.
Already the dam of two winners, including the stakes-placed Niccovi (Nicconi). Fully Chargeable was bought by Hong Kong’s Victor Lee. She is in foal to Newgate Farm’s Deep Field (Northern Meteor) whose fee has been increased to $88,000 for the 2021 season.
Fully Chargeable, who was catalogued as Lot 405. has a Russian Revolution (Snitzel) weanling filly,
“She was on the market from $150,000 and she’s a cracking mare,” Middlebrook Valley Lodge’s Verna Metcalfe said.
“We’ve bred all her foals at the farm and she leaves an outstanding type. Commercially, we should have kept her, but the owner wanted to sell her. He’s cutting down on his mare numbers and he’s got young mares coming through.”
Earlier, Middlebrook Valley Lodge featured on the buyers’ list, going to $160,000 for the stakes-placed juvenile African Rainbow (Foxwedge), who was sold with an October 2 cover to Newgate Farm’s first season sire Brutal (O’Reilly).
She also has a yearling filly by So You Think (High Chaparral) and a Deep Field weanling colt.
Metcalfe revealed African Rainbow would not be the last mare Middlebrook Valley Lodge buys this year.
“She’s a nice young stakes-placed mare. She has two nice foals to work for her and there’s a bit going on in the family with Miss Tycoon Rose, who is placed at Group 1 level (in New Zealand),” she said.
“She is the first mare the farm’s bought and we plan to have at least ten nice young mares over the next couple of years.
“It’s very exciting that we have an owner who wants to invest in good mares. They are doing a lot of work on the property and we want to raise the farm up to the next level.”
A mating for African Rainbow has not been confirmed, but a return to one of the stallions on the Newgate Farm roster were favoured.
“Brutal was an excellent mating for that mare type wise. He’s a strong horse and he will put a bit more bone into her,” she said.
On the prevailing market at Riverside Stables yesterday, Metcalfe said: “Nice mares carrying good pregnancies are selling well. A lot of people are buying the mares to get the fetuses.”
Meanwhile, Gold Coast-based agent Craig Rounsefell, who was at Riverside Stables for the Chairman’s Sale on Friday night, yesterday bid from the comfort of his home and came away with Illuminaire (All Too Hard) for $240,000.
The twice stakes-placed mare, whose granddam is the four-time stakes winner and Group 1-placed Illuminates (Strategic), was sold with an August-due first foal to Trapeze Artist (Snitzel).
Illuminaire, a $45,000 Magic Millions Adelaide Yearling Sale purchase in 2017 by Malua Racing, was sold by Segenhoe Stud as Lot 421.
Meanwhile, TJS Bloodstock’s Simon Raleigh bought Estonian Princess (Snitzel), a Group 3-winning mare who is in foal to So You Think (High Chaparral), for $200,000 to add to his broodmare band.
Consigned by Evergreen Stud as Lot 392, Estonian Princess has had one foal to race, the Tony Pike-trained Prince Of Tallin (Pride Of Dubai), who won his first start in New Zealand at Hastings in March.
She also has a two-year-old colt and a yearling colt by Flying Artie (Artie Schiller).
Newgate Farm was the leading vendor across the Inglis May sales series, largely boosted by $6.055 million in turnover at the Chairman’s Sale.
“It’s been a great week. We worked really hard to build a blue-chip consignment in the Chairman’s Sale and we were the leading vendor by twice the amount of the next best vendor,” Field said.
“We’ve worked really hard to build our brand and our business around a consignment of the highest level of bloodstock and absolute transparency in everything we do, with buyers and sellers. We’ve been rewarded by the market that has supported us well.”
Yesterday’s sale, which achieved an aggregate of $11,016,100 at an average of $63,311 and a median of $45,000, brought an end to a big week of sales at Riverside.
“In many respects it is more of what has occurred all week. There’s good demand for quality stock, whether it’s yearlings, weanlings, Chairman’s on Friday night, which was fantastic, so we knew there would be very strong demand for the appealing mares in this book today,” Inglis general manager of bloodstock sales and marketing Sebastian Hutch said last night.
“It was heartening to see solid demand across the board, but those really nice mares sold really well.
“As a vendor, you want to come to a sale and have your horses sell above expectations and that happened in a number of instances today and, similarly, buyers come away satisfied with what they bought, but also confident in the knowledge that you could buy quality stock here that will reap dividends in the years to come.
“Take Rosemont, Nigel Austin and Anthony Mithen, for instance, buying the sale topper. They are fantastic investors in our sport.
“They’ve gone and acquired a really desirable young stallion in Hanseatic and he’s going to have a great opportunity. He’s going to be really well supported, not just by Victorian breeders, but by breeders across the country, so to add a mare of that quality to his book is going to be great for him.”
It is clear Inglis sees the Chairman’s Sale, a session dedicated to high-end mares, as a pivotal element to its new May sale format which takes in the trading of all types of bloodstock.
“I won’t disguise the fact that there’s an insatiable appetite among the group here to identify ways in which we can do things better,” Hutch said.
“It’s a really enjoyable situation to work with a group of people who want to keep getting better and finding ways of enhancing the experience for all of our patrons, be they vendors or buyers.
“Chairman’s is a concept that has come a long way in a short space of time and we want to come away from every sale having been able to demonstrate to our vendors and buyers that we’re working really hard for them and I feel like that’s in evidence this week.”
Inglis will hold the Melbourne Gold Yearling Sale on Sunday at Oaklands Junction. Inspections begin on Wednesday.