The Autumn Sun a rising star for Redoute’s Choice
Somewhat overshadowed at Arrowfield Stud by his son and barn mate Snitzel over the past two seasons, Redoute’s Choice was last Saturday represented by his 33rd Group One winner and 158th stakes winner when The Autumn Sun finished powerfully late to win the J J Atkins Stakes (Gr 1, 1600m) at Doomben, the last Group One for two-year-olds of the Australian season.
The Autumn Sun scored by a half-length from his stablemate Zousain (Zoustar) with another length and a half to third-placed filly Fundamentalist (Not A Single Doubt).
Chris Waller plans to keep these two exciting colts apart next spring with The Autumn Sun likely to be aimed at the Caulfield Guineas (Gr 1, 1600m) in Melbourne while Zousain is to be set for the Golden Rose Stakes (Gr 1, 1400m) in Sydney and shorter events.
Twice a winner in Sydney before going to Brisbane, The Autumn Sun is unbeaten and ranks as his great sire’s 38th juvenile stakes winner and his ninth at Group One level.
The Autumn Sun must now be considered among the most valuable young stallion prospects in Australia given his strong female pedigree, but particularly because his father is renowned as the best sire of sires of recent times through the deeds of Snitzel, Not A Single Doubt, Stratum, Nadeem, Beneteau and others.
Redoute’s Choice fillies have proved just as outstanding on the track as his males – think Miss Finland, Samantha Miss, Melito, Lotteria, Gallica, Fashions Afield, King’s Rose, Bonaria, Royal Descent, Peeping and a host of others.
With so many top-class fillies to his name it is no surprise that Redoute’s Choice is now also one of Australia’s leading broodmare sires, currently sitting second on the list to Encosta De Lago (Fairy King) and surely destined for championship honours in the next few seasons.
Purchased by Hermitage Thoroughbreds and Chris Waller Racing for $700,000 at the 2017 Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale, The Autumn Sun was bred by Arrowfield Group Pty Ltd and is the second foal and first runner for his superbly related imported dam Azmiyna (Galileo).
Chris Waller and his bloodstock agent Guy Mulcaster also bought The Autumn Sun’s yearling three-quarter sister by Snitzel, outlaying $1,300,000 for her at this year’s Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale. Azmiyna has a weanling colt by Not A Single Doubt and was served late by Snitzel last season.
Arrowfield acquired Azmiyna from the Aga Khan Studs as a part of their successful joint-venture agreement and her unraced first foal, Avington (Redoute’s Choice), was actually conceived in France.
From a French family, Azmiyna is a half-sister to the Aga Khan’s champion European older horse Azamour (Night Shift), a four times Group One winner, a placegetter in two Classics and a very useful sire in Europe who shuttled to New Zealand for just one season in 2013 before his death in April 2014 on returning to Ireland.
Two stakes winners resulted from that single New Zealand season, most important of them the 2017 Thousand Guineas (Gr 1, 1600m) winner Aloisia (Azamour).
Azmiyna’s first two dams, Asmara (Lear Fan) and Anaza (Darshaan), are both Listed winners but comment here should highlight the fast-increasing achievements of Azmiyna’s father Galileo (Sadler’s Wells) as a maternal grandsire.
Also broodmare sire of a second stakes winner, Invincibella (I Am Invincible), at Doomben last Saturday, Galileo to date is the broodmare sire of 104 stakes winners in both hemispheres, including 21 at Group One level, with eight of them, including The Autumn Sun, by sons of Danehill (Danzig) so thus replicating in reverse the great success of Galileo when bred to daughters of Danehill.