The Autumn Sun colt shines on the final day at the Inglis Classic sale
The Autumn Sun (Redoute’s Choice) may have missed the last breeding season through injury but it hasn’t stopped him having his second sale-topper, with one of his sons fetching the highest price at an Inglis Classic that exceeded most expectations.
Underscoring Inglis’s efforts to ensure a strong international bench amid fears the sagging Australian economy would impact local buyers, Hong Kong agent Willie Leung paid $520,000 on Tuesday for Lot 707, a colt by The Autumn Sun from the draft of young Hunter Valley farm Valiant Stud.
The strapping dark colt, from the dual-winning Talimena (Lonhro) – a three-quarter sister to Denman (Lonhro) and a half-sister to his fellow Group 1 winner Kiamichi (Sidestep) – became the second-highest lot sold by Valiant in its seven-year history.
Their highest remains this colt’s full-sister, the equal third top lot at Classic in the boom year of 2022, at $550,000. She’s now the exciting Tulsi, a dual winner who’s been Group 1-placed at two and three in New Zealand.
Tuesday’s The Autumn Sun colt left Monday’s $440,000 son of another Arrowfield Stud stallion, Dundeel (High Chaparral), in second place. A Dundeel filly also shared third rank with the two Wootton Bassett (Iffraaj) colts who sold on Sunday and Monday, at $400,000.
The final day was relatively quiet for high-priced yearlings, with the second-highest mark $360,000 paid for two lots, including a son of Snitzel (Redoute’s Choice) from Arrowfield’s draft, bought by Chris Waller and bloodstock agent Guy Mulcaster. The colt is out of Re Edit (Camelot), a stakes-placed mare from the same family as Champion New Zealand Three-Year-Old Monaco Consul (High Chaparral) and dual Group 1 winner Military Plume (Sir Tristram).
Yulong associate YLP also paid $360,000 for a Proisir (Choisir) colt from Bhima Thoroughbreds’ draft from the same family as French Group 1 winner Puchkine (Starspangledbanner).
The leading sire by averages at the sale, with three or more lots sold, was Widden Stud’s Zoustar (Northern Meteor), whose three sellers averaged $283,333.
I Am Invincible (Invincible Spirit) ranked second, with three lots selling at an average of $253,333, ahead of Too Darn Hot (Dubawi), with three at $213,333, and Written Tycoon (Iglesia) with four at $212,500.
Along with the top lot, The Autumn Sun headed the aggregate table, with 19 yearlings realising $2.56 million, at $135,000.
Thanks to Tuesday’s windfall, Valiant Stud finished leading vendor by averages, with three or more sales, with three lots averaging $208,333. Tyreel Stud ranked second, with six lots sold at $171,667, ahead of Yulong, with 16 sellers at $167,500.
By aggregate, Arrowfield topped the charts with 35 sold for $4.24 million, ahead of Widden (29 for $2.81 million) and Yulong (16 for $2.68 million).
Leading buyer remained day one pacesetter – McEvoy Mitchell Racing and Belmont Bloodstock – with nine yearlings purchased for $1,962,500, at an average of $218,056, ahead of Mitch and Desiree Kearney in partnership with Daniel Springfield (ten lots for $1.34 million, at $134,500).
Overall, the sale performed better than the worst fears of many vendors who were expecting a tough three days based on hard times at the lower end of the market at the Magic Millions Gold Coast and Karaka sales.
Soon after Tuesday’s close of bidding, the average was $94,257, up from $93,658 last year, with the median the same at $70,000.
However, this came from 574 lots sold compared with 591, with the clearance rate dropping from 84 to 79 per cent, and with 154 lots passed in compared with 113 last year.
Still, a more than satisfied Inglis’s CEO of bloodstock sales Sebastian Hutch said the sale fared well above expectations.
“If you had said to me on Sunday morning that the sale would transpire the way it has, I’d have been delighted,” Hutch said.
“It feels like it’s been healthy trade and I think the challenges in the market are fairly obvious for all to see.
“It feels like we facilitated good liquidity in the market. We had a broad buying bench, with a strong group of local buyers, and plenty of interstate travelers, supplemented by a big team of internationals.
“Vendors on the whole appeared to be very satisfied with the fact they were given the opportunity to sell their horse to a broad buying bench.”
Asked about the high number of passed in horses – with the clearance rate the lowest at Classic in several years – Hutch said: “The reality is the Australian market’s been spoiled for a long time as to liquidity in the market and clearance.
“The clearance rate here is going to be 80 per cent or a touch higher. In the international context, that’s high.”
Hutch said the sale felt “consistent with 12 months ago”, with its number of $100,000 or higher lots essentially unchanged, and horses above the $200,000, $300,000 and $400,000 marks increased.
“I would say that – to a vendor – their perception of the sale … is far better than any of them would have anticipated on Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday last week,” said Hutch, adding this would help vendors approach next month’s Inglis Premier sale in Melbourne with “a little more confidence”.
With three of the sale’s top six lots going to Asia, Hutch said Inglis’s concerted efforts to attract buyers from Hong Kong, Japan and Malaysia had paid dividends.
“We talked a lot internally after Easter last year about the importance of supplementing our domestic buying bench with international buyers across all of our sales,” Hutch said. “Looking to try and find ways to add additional liquidity to the market is always important.”
Classic’s top lot was a triumph for the boutique Valiant Stud and the colt’s – and Tulsi’s – small-time breeder Lloyd Walker, who has achieved great results from a band of six mares.
“It’s a huge thrill. There’s no words for it really. I’ll have to sit down and think about it,” said Valiant’s owner, expat Irishman Fergal Connolly. “Our whole team at home does a great job.
“The colt’s sister made good money. We thought we’d put this boy on the market between $200,000 and $300,000 and see where he’d end up.
“To get this result, I’m over the moon. You bring your nice horses here to Classic and you get results.
“Lloyd Walker has been with me since the beginning and is a lovely gentleman. He couldn’t be here today because he’s visiting his daughter in Newcastle, but I’m sure he’s celebrating tonight.”
Connolly said Talimena was “one of our favourites” among the 70 mares on his 210 acre farm. She also has another sister to Tuesday’s star colt on the ground, “so we’re looking forward to her”.
Leung said the colt would begin racing in Australia, with either Blake Ryan or the Annabel Neasham and Rob Archibald stable, before a likely transfer to Hong Kong. He has a very clear target in mind, with the horse hopefully becoming the latest Classic winner for The Autumn Sun.
“The dream is the Hong Kong Derby for him,” said Leung, who also paid $380,000 for a colt by Pinatubo (Shamardal) on Monday, and broke his intended ceiling to snare his The Autumn Sun colt after a spirited bidding war.
“I saw about 200 horses in the sale and this was my number one pick. I liked the two Wootton Bassetts on day one and day two, but The Autumn Sun had two winners recently in Hong Kong, and seems to do better (than Wootton Bassett) in Hong Kong, and that’s why I thought this was the one I should go for.
“I was a little bit scared I wouldn’t get him, but I knew this is the number one pick, and I must get him.
“He looks really athletic for a big horse like him, and walks really well. I knew the full sister is a stakes performer. I went slightly over budget but I needed the best one.”
He added: “This is a good Classic sale. There’s plenty of quality. It looks pretty strong this year. Originally I thought maybe it would be a bit weak because of the economy, but good horses always make good money.”
The sale-topper was another feather in the cap of The Autumn Sun – who’s on target to resume stud duty at Arrowfield this year after missing 2024 with a pelvis injury. With three crops racing, he already has three Classics winners in Autumn Angel, Vibrant Sun and Coco Sun.
He also has the exciting Autumn Glow, whose unbeaten first campaign last spring was truncated by injury after three starts, but who barrier trialled in the shadows of Riverside on Tuesday at Warwick Farm ahead of a comeback hopefully aimed at the Surround Stakes (Gr 1, 1600m) in March.
Autumn Glow is her nine-year-old sire’s other sale topper.
She went for somewhat more than Tuesday’s – fetching $1.8 million at Inglis Easter 2023 – but Arrowfield were still delighted to see their recovering stallion emerge with the highest lot from Classic.
“He might have missed the spring but he’s still getting good horses – and we’ve got some nice ones coming at Easter too,” Arrowfield owner John Messara told ANZ Bloodstock News of The Autumn Sun, who has 13 yearlings bounds for Easter.
“That was a great result today. We thought we had the top seller with the Dundeel colt yesterday, but we’re happy enough to be beaten by The Autumn Sun today.
“He’s a lovely colt. I thought he might fetch $300,000, but he sold better. Interestingly, there’s a lot more interest in him from Hong Kong now, since he’s had a few good performers there in the past couple of weeks.”
The market will still have to brace for no stock of The Autumn Sun offered at 2027’s yearling sales, but Messara believes the impact will be softened.
“Because his stock train on to be four and five-year-olds, you won’t feel the gap that much,” Messara said. “You’ll feel it in the two-year-old year, but there’ll be four-year-olds coming through, so hopefully the impact won’t be felt so much.”
Also on Tuesday, mega owner Frank Cook went to $340,000 for Lot 556, a well-related filly by emerging young Yulong sire Lucky Vega (Lope De Vega) bought from that stud’s draft through a new association with Astute Bloodstock’s Louis Le Metayer. Trainers Lee and Cherie Curtis were also on the ownership ticket.
The filly is out of an unraced half-sister to Group 1-winning sprinting mare Silent Sedition (War Chant), while third dam Porto Roca (Barathea) won Rosehill’s Coolmore Classic (Gr 1, 1500m) and threw Dubai World Cup (Gr 1, 2000m) hero Monterosso (Dubawi).
“We’ve known each other a long time and they’ve asked me to help them for this sale,” Le Metayer said of his association with Cook and his wife Christine, adding Irish-bred shuttler Lucky Vega had made a promising start in Australia.
“He’s obviously a son of Lope De Vega who’s worked very well here. He was a very fast horse, and he’s an outcross to Danehill. Those European speed outcross sires are working well. Twenty years ago they were bringing Derby winners here and they did no good but the fast European outcrosses have a lot to contribute.”