Seven-figure lot for Home Affairs
Coolmore’s decision to support their dual Group 1-winning stallion Home Affairs (I Am Invincible) with some of their best–credentialed mares on the farm paid off on Wednesday when Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott Racing, along with Kestrel Thoroughbreds snared a filly by the first-season sire for $1,050,000, making the youngster his first seven-figure yearling.
Offered and bred by Coolmore, the filly is out of Champagne Cuddles, a Group 2-winning daughter of Not A Single Doubt (Redoute’s Choice), who Tom Magnier bought for $2 million at the National Sale in 2020.
Tom Moore, marketing and nominations at Coolmore, told ANZ Bloodstock News the filly had always been one of the standouts on the farm and was delighted to see the youngster deliver Home Affairs his first seven-figure result.
“The Champagne Cuddles filly was always a standout among the yearlings by Home Affairs,” he said. “We put a lot of faith in Home Affairs by supporting him with mares like Champagne Cuddles who we paid $2 million for. But she was always a filly we targeted at this sale.
“She is the ideal type of filly that people come to the sale to try and buy and Gai was drawn to her because of that, she’s a real running sort of filly who you imagine will get up and go early. She looks like a filly who will suit Gai and Adrian’s system and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see her featuring in the early two-year-old races next year. She was a filly that was much admired and that was reflected in her price.”
There was a much buzz surrounding the first crop of Home Affairs, who retired to stud at the princely fee of $110,000 (inc GST), and he has enjoyed a host of brilliant results on the first day of the Magic Millions sale, headed by a filly who sold to US-based owner John Stewart for $625,000, while James Harron and Tony Fung paid $550,000 for one of his sons.
Moore is hoping the stallion could be delivered more good results with some well-bred yearlings by him waiting in the wings to be offered later on in the sale, including a filly out of Group 3 winner Jazz Song (Fastnet Rock), a daughter of Vinery Stud Stakes (Gr 1, 2000m) winner Montoya’s Secret (High Chapparal) and the filly out of multiple elite-level winner Sunlight, arguably one of the most anticipated lots of the whole week.
“It was great for Home Affairs to kick off the sales season so well and we expect there to be a few more fireworks later on in the week,” said Moore.
“Ever since he retired to stud he has been supported by some of the best breeders around the country including last season in his third season, so it is no surprise to see someone like James Harron and other powerful syndicates getting behind him with his first crop.
“Home Affairs is clearly I Am Invincible’s best–credentialed stallion at stud and has a top-class pedigree behind him being from the family of Encosta De Lago and Flying Spur and that is part of the reason why we were prepared to send him mares of the quality of Champagne Cuddles, Sunlight, Jazz Song and Montoya’s Secret, all of which have progeny represented here this week.”
It was no surprise to see Bott and Waterhouse fight hard to secure the filly given they train Champagne Cuddles’s second foal, an unraced filly named Bottles Of Shells (Wootton Bassett), who was purchased by her owner John Singleton for $800,000 at last year’s edition of the Gold Coast sale.
“She produced a beautiful filly here. We’ve got the second foal in the stable as well and she’s been quite precocious as well and given us some good indications early and that’s always a good push in itself,” Bott said.
“She’s [the Home Affairs] a very striking filly, a very athletic type and you see a lot of similar characteristics in her mother, who was a top-class racehorse in her own right.
She’s a very striking filly, a very athletic type and you see a lot of similar characteristics in her mother
“We work hard to try and secure these fillies, we’ve been fortunate enough to be able to get some support to be strong on her and no doubt she was the filly we wanted to do that.”
Bott said Coolmore had supported Home Affairs with some of the best mares off the track and have been well-rewarded for that.
“Breed the best to the best and that’s certainly what they’ve been able to do here,” he said.
“There are great results coming off the farm and we love being able to support Coolmore in that regard.
“Over the last few years they’ve made a conscious effort to go out and source some of the best bloodstock in the world and source some the best racehorses off the track in both regards, in their stallions and their mares, and she was top-class.”
The co-trainer said he had been impressed with Home Affairs’ first crop of yearlings, believing they would prove to be competing in all the best juvenile races.
“He’s throwing some beautiful types. They look strong individuals, they look forward, they look to have great constitution and we want to be trying to get these horses back here next year for the race or targeting those Golden Slippers or those important two-year-old races,” Bott said.
“They are the types that we try to identify and a number of his progeny look to have that sort of constitution to be able to handle that type of preparation.”
With Wednesday’s result, Home Affairs joins Newgate’s Stay Inside (Extreme Choice) as the only other first-season sire to register a seven-figure lot.
