Gai Collects Redoute's Colt At Easter

Gai Waterhouse isn't known as the first lady of Australian racing for nothing, and the trainer has played a key role through the first two days of the Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale. She is set to train three of the top four lots thus far at the sale, including Wednesday's session-topping Redoute's Choice (Aus) colt out of Estelle Collection (NZ) (Stravinsky). Waterhouse bought the full-brother to champion sprinter Lankan Rupee (Aus) from Coolmore Stud for A$1.8 million on behalf of a group of her owners.

While the clearance rate has increased slightly over the first two days of the sale–it sits at 81% compared to 79% up to this point last year–other figures have taken slight dips. A total of 291 yearlings have been sold so far for A$81,832,500, compared to 288 sold the first two days last year for A$86,015,000. The cumulative average is down 5.8% to A$281,211, having been up 21% up to this point last year, and the cumulative median is unchanged at A$200,000–it was up 11% after day two last year. There have been seven seven-figure lots over the first two days, compared to nine last year.

Coolmore laid out a total of A$6.2 million on five mares from the Teeley dispersal at the Magic Millions National Sale two years ago, and on Wednesday they sold their second seven-figure yearling of the year resulting from those buys.

The colt in question, a full-brother to Lankan Rupee (Aus) (Redoute's Choice {Aus}) (lot 285) bought by trainer Gai Waterhouse for A$1.8 million, follows a A$1.4 million Pierro (Aus) filly out of Monsoon Wedding (Aus) (Danehill) purchased by James Harron at Magic Millions in January.

Lot 285 was in utero when Coolmore purchased his dam, the now 12-year-old Estelle Collection (NZ) (Stravinsky), for A$1.4 million. That transaction occurred just after Lankan Rupee won his first three Group 1s–the G1 Newmarket H., G1 Oakleigh Plate and G1 TJ Smith S. He would go on to add the G1 Manikato S. and G1 Lightning S. the following season in the Teeley colours for trainer Mick Price. Estelle Collection was barren last year after being covered by Fastnet Rock, but is currently in-foal to that champion sire for 2016.

“She'll be married to Fastnet Rock now,” said Coolmore's Tom Magnier. “She's a lovely mare. It's a great family and there's been a lot of success in the family. That was a lovely colt and we hope that Gai gets the luck now.”

Waterhouse said the strapping bay would be divided among a group of her owners.

“I'm lucky enough to have a group of owners come in on the horse,” she noted. “He's got the physique. He's a very precocious type of horse, and Redoute's is getting older now.”

Teeley Assets represented the Thoroughbred holdings of Muzaffar Yaseen, whose first yearling purchase, Shantha's Choice (Aus) (Canny Lad {Aus}), went on to produce Redoute's Choice as well as Group 1 winners Manhattan Rain (Aus) (Encosta de Lago {Aus}) and Platinum Scissors (Aus) (Danehill). The latter two were both trained by Waterhouse.

Redoute's Choice notched another highlight lot late in the session when Craig Rounsefell of Boomer Bloodstock secured lot 388 A$850,000. The son of Love Wings (Grand Slam) initially left the ring without meeting his reserve, but Rounsefell worked out a deal with consignor Arrowfield Stud soon after. The colt's second dam is Dancing With Wings (Danzig), responsible for producing the Canadian Horse of the Year Soaring Free (Smart Strike).

“He's an absolute stunner and rated as good as I've seen,” said Rounsefell. “He's got the obvious sire potential being by the proven sire-of-sires Redoute's Choice from a super female line. I thought he was going to be another million-dollar colt and out of our reach, although when he was passed in I moved quickly to secure him. I couldn't fault him physically and he vetted clean so hopefully he'll be an early comer. I've put together a great group of guys to race him in Sydney with a trainer to be determined.”

Snitzel Colt Stays In The Family…

Snitzel provided the current Easter sale topper during the sale's opening session Tuesday, and he notched his second millionaire of the sale midway through the afternoon Wednesday when his former owner/trainer team of Damion Flower and Gerald Ryan went to A$1.1 million through agent James Bester to secure lot 290 from Erinvale Thoroughbreds.

The colt is the second seven-figure Snitzel bought by Flower this year; he spent A$1.6 million on the Magic Millions top lot in January, and the owner said the two colts were comparable.

“He was very, very similar [to the one at Magic Millions],” Flower said. “We've bought four Snitzels so far this year; two at Magic Millions and this is the only one I've bought here so far.”

Flower described the colt as “the best Snitzel of the sale.”

“He was the best by the sire here,” Flower added. “He had that composition about him, and we just thought he was the best one here.”

Snitzel has enjoyed a successful season both in the ring and on the racetrack, and Flower admitted he gets great enjoyment watching the success of the horse he named after himself.

“It's quite a privilege; he's named after myself, my nickname,” Flower said. “You never think it's going to happen, and what he's doing in the ring and on the ground is quite amazing to see.”

Lot 290, a late August foal, is the eighth foal from Family Breakup (Aus) (Octagonal {NZ}), who has produced the G3 Thousand Guineas Prelude winner Divorces (Aus) (Domesday {Aus}) and listed winner Disputes (Aus) (Manton {Aus}). Family Breakup was barren in 2015 after being covered by Declaration of War.

The Snitzel colt will be trained by Gerald Ryan, who handled Snitzel's Group 1-winning daughter Snitzerland (Aus).

Flower admitted he has historically searched for stallion prospects at auction, but a few hours after buying the Snitzel colt he made a significant move in building up his broodmare band when again spending A$1.1 million, this time on a Fastnet Rock (Aus) filly (lot 340) from Coolmore Stud.

The filly is the fourth foal out of the G2 Reisling winner Hips Don't Lie (NZ) (Stravinsky). That mare's previous two Fastnet Rock fillies to go through the ring had each made A$1 million here the last two years; the first, Lake Geneva (Aus), is a stakes winner and was placed in last year's G1 Blue Diamond S. and G1 Golden Slipper, and the second, Irish Sea (Aus), is currently in training with Gai Waterhouse. Flower noted he was underbidder on both those fillies, and was visibly elated to finally get into the family.

“She's an exceptional filly; she was perfect in our eyes,” he said. “In our eyes, she was probably better than the other two. She's super athletic, and she's going to make a broodmare later on, especially with the other horses [her sisters] coming up. She was just exceptional. There's only one thing you could say about her: she's faultless.”

“I missed the last two, and I just really wanted to get one,” Flower added. “Coming to the sale, if I wanted to take one horse home, it had to be her.”

Flower said this is the third filly he has bought at this sale.

“Usually I'm trying to get that stallion, but I'm just trying to fill the other side of the page to get those stallions really good mares,” he explained.

Flower, who races under the moniker Jadeskye racing–a combination of the names of his two daughters–said he currently has shares in about 25 horses.

Fastnet Rock was also responsible for a A$950,000 filly hammered down to John Chalmers Bloodstock Services Wednesday. Consigned by Newgate Farm, lot 367 is the fourth foal out of Kosi Bay (NZ) (Spinning World), a half-sister to New Zealand champion sprinter Calveen (NZ) (Canny Lad {Aus}).

Joining those Flower purchases in the Ryan stable will be a Dalakhani (Ire) colt (lot 325) bought by Ryan later in the session for A$620,000. That colt, from Element Hill in Queensland, is the second produce of the Sadler's Wells mare Global Dance (Ire), a half-sister to Group 1 winners Cerulean Sky (Ire) (Darshaan {GB}), Moonstone (GB) (Dalakhani {Ire}) and L'Ancresse (Ire) (Darshaan {GB}).

While Dalakhani is an accomplished sire in the Northern Hemisphere, this colt is a member of his first Southern Hemisphere-sired crop. A resident of the Aga Khan's Haras de Bonneval in France, the 16-year-old shuttles to Cornerstone Stud, where he stands for A$22,000.

Frankels To Japan, South Africa…

Wednesday's second session of the Easter sale saw three of the five first-crop Frankel yearlings catalogued go under the hammer. The first through the ring, lot 217, the Cressfield-consigned son of Buenos Aires (Ire) (Rainbow Quest), failed to meet his A$500,000 reserve when leaving the ring unsold at A$475,000. A short time later, Three Bridges Thoroughbreds's chestnut filly out of Chocolicious (SAf) (Kahal {GB}) (lot 237) changed hands when hammered down to Shadwell agent Angus Gold for A$610,000.

Chocolicious won South Africa's most important race for 2-year-old fillies, the G1 Allan Robertson Championship, and Gold noted the Frankel filly would look to follow in her dam's footsteps, as she heads to South Africa to trainer Mike de Kock.

“She looked a really tough, hardy filly,” the agent said. “She looks more precocious than any Frankel I've seen. She looks like she should be a 2-year-old, so we'll hope the magic of the de Kock team can turn her into a good race filly.”

“I loved this filly,” Gold added. “I went to the box just to see her beforehand and she's a no-nonsense, hardy looking filly who looks like she just wants to get on with it.”

Gold described Frankel as “the greatest horse I've ever had the pleasure of seeing on a racecourse,” but he predicted it could be difficult for the young sire to emulate himself in the breeding shed.

“I think he's up against it because he was such a freak as a racehorse,” Gold said. “The market expectations and peoples' expectations are almost overbearing. He was the supreme athlete. In my experience I've never seen a horse get his hocks under him as much as he did when he galloped. He was like a cheetah the way he moved. I hope he's a very good stallion but he's got big shoes to fill in terms of his own success as an athlete.”

Chocolicious's second foal is a Fastnet Rock (Aus) filly produced last year.

The last Frankel through the ring on the day provided the strongest result when lot 357, a filly from Cressfield Stud, went the way of Japan's Northern Farm for A$750,000. The mid-August foal is the first foal out of Jeu De Cartes (NZ) (Stravinsky), winner of the G2 Counties Cup in New Zealand and a daughter of New Zealand champion Prized Gem (NZ) (Prized) and a half-sister to G1 Australian Derby winner Nom De Jeu (NZ) (Montjeu {Ire}).

Northern Farm's Yusuke Tsukahara said the team had looked at the other Frankels on the ground, and this filly was their pick.

“She was the best,” he said, noting that the sire was of great appeal. “We have some Frankels at home. We like Frankel and we liked this one as well, so we decided to try to buy her,” he said.

The filly will race in Japan and will later join the Northern Farm broodmare band.

An Easter Gold Rush…

Darley shuttler Medaglia d'Oro solidified his status as a sire to watch Down Under when supplying last year's G1 Golden Slipper winner Vancouver (Aus), and the sire enjoyed a pair of strong results yesterday with a pair of colts selling for A$875,000 and A$700,000. The first of those came when the China Horse Club and WinStar Farm spent A$700,000 on lot 315, a bay from Riversdale. The October foal is the second produce of Frontal (Aus) (Charge Forward {Aus}), a half-sister to a pair of group winners.

“He's going to race down here,” said WinStar's David Hanley. “He's a really nice colt, one we really wanted to get. He has a lovely pedigree with plenty of speed and he looked a forward, precocious horse. We're really happy to get him.”

Hanley is visiting the Easter sale for the first time, and he described his experience as “really great.”

“It's a lovely place, a lovely setup,” he said. “The yearlings are very, very well-raised. They're not over-prepped; they look great. They do a good job down here, they raise a good horse.”

The Medaglia d'Oro colt is the most expensive of the seven yearlings–all colts–bought by WinStar and China Horse Club in partnership over the first two days of the sale.

Sheikh Khalifa bin Mohammed Al Maktoum went to A$875,000 late in the session for lot 365, a Medaglia d'Oro half-brother to the G2 Silver Shadow S. and Inglis Nursery-second Kimberly Star (Aus) (Star Witness {Aus}). The colt is out of Kiss The Sun (Aus) (Anabaa), a half-sister to G1 Blue Diamond S. winner Undoubtedly (Aus) (Redoute's Choice {Aus}). The colt, an A$230,000 purchase out of Inglis's Weanling and Broodmare Sale last May took Sheikh Khalifa's total over the first two days of the sale to 11.

No Doubting This Sire…

Not A Single Doubt has enjoyed a breakthrough season as a sire, his 10 stakes winners this season headed by three Group 1 winners: Blue Diamond victor Extreme Choice (Aus), Railway S. winner Good Project (Aus) and Vinery Stud S. winner Single Gaze (Aus). The Arrowfield resident, who last season stood for A$33,000, has just two progeny catalogued at Easter, and lot 240, a colt consigned by Arrowfield, was one of the early highlights Wednesday when selling for A$850,000 to agent James Harron.

The chestnut is the first foal out of G2 Phar Lap S. winner Colorado Claire (Aus) (Hussonet), herself a half-sister to dual group winner Moonovermanhattan (Aus) (Manhattan Rain {Aus}). The page traces back to the European family of G1 Poule d'Essai des Poulains winner and sire Linamix (Fr).

Not A Single Doubt was also responsible for a filly sold for A$140,000 Tuesday.

A Snitzel For Spendthrift…

Spendthrift Farm has made something of a home in Australia, participating in all of the country's major yearling sales over the last year, and B. Wayne Hughes's team has been busy this week scooping up future residents for the operation's Australian satellite in Victoria. Spendthrift has bought three for A$1.62 million over the first two days of the Easter sale, the dearest being lot 306, a Snitzel colt that cost A$750,000. The chestnut from Highgrove Stud was already a half-brother to the G2 Blue Diamond Prelude third Flamboyant Lass (Aus) (Stratum {Aus}) at the time of cataloguing, and he enjoyed a significant update Mar. 26 when his 3-year-old half-brother Attention (Aus) (Stratum {Aus}) won the G3 Schweppervescence H. at Rosehill.

“We've seen a lot of the Snitzels and we like them, and he looks like what he's supposed to look like,” said Spendthrift's Ned Toffey. “He looks very fast and he looks like he'd be early. There's a recent update of a Group 3 under the first dam, so I think he fits very much with what works in Australia and what the Australian breeders would be looking for. Hopefully we'll get him to the point where he goes into the stud barn at Spendthrift Australia.”

Toffey explained the Spendthrift team is looking for racehorses to work in Australia first and foremost, with the potential for dual-hemisphere shuttling an added bonus.

“We want them to work here first and foremost, and then if we feel like they can work in the Northern Hemisphere that would be great, but here is the focus,” he said.

Mulcaster Eyeing Another Winx…

Agent Guy Mulcaster no doubt made one of the wisest decisions of his career when picking out Winx (Aus) (Street Cry {Ire}) for A$230,000 at the 2012 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale, and the New Zealander will be hoping that luck continues with another daughter of Street Cry he bought at Easter Wednesday for A$620,000. That filly is lot 231, a Newgate Farm-consigned bay who is the third foal out of German champion miler Chantilly Tiffany (GB) (Pivotal {GB}). Like Winx, the filly will be trained by Chris Waller.

Mulcaster noted that a “good percentage” of the filly had already been sold among existing clients.

“We've had some good clients come in on the filly and we're really excited to get her,” he said. “She had plenty of athleticism. She's not going to get beaten up early; she'll likely race a bit later and fingers crossed hopefully follow in some other footsteps.”

Chantilly Tiffany, a 320,000gns buy at Tattersalls December in 2009, has had one foal to race, the two-time winner Axiom (Aus) (Lonhro {Aus}).

As on opening day, yearlings from the final crop of Street Cry continued to be popular Wednesday. His other sales on the day included a A$500,000 colt from Sledmere Stud bought by Magus Equine; and a A$300,000 half-brother to Group 1 winner Fawkner (Aus) (Reset {Aus}) bought by Sheikh Khalifa.

The Easter sale concludes Thursday. The first 59 lots through the ring will conclude session one, which will be immediately followed by the 129-horse session two.