But past the halfway mark of the first yearling sale of 2021, it is Almanzor who leads all his freshman contemporaries on average, thanks largely to Lot 470, the colt out of stakes-placed mare Lazumba (Sebring), who was offered by Bhima Thoroughbreds on behalf of his New Zealand breeders, The Sunlight Trust.
Baystone Farm's Dean Harvey secured the striking bay colt, paying $800,000 for him on behalf of Ultra Thoroughbreds early on Thursday. That result makes him the top lot by a freshman sire in the Sale to date.
It’s a huge endorsement for Almanzor's first Southern Hemisphere crop. Not only has he produced an $800,000 yearling, but also a filly (Lot 261) and a colt (Lot 157) that sold for $380,000 and $340,000 respectively to Kelly Schweida Racing and Waller Racing/Mulcaster Bloodstock. As it stands, with one more colt to sell on Friday, he has averaged $506,667, putting him third overall of all sires (more than three lots).
Danny O'Brien will train the colt, and the trainer compared him to Group 1 winner Russian Camelot (Ire) (Camelot {GB}) as a yearling. Harvey said his client was happy to take a punt on the first crop of the triple Group 1-winning son of Wootton Bassett (GB).
“He was faultless on type; Almanzor was a champion racehorse of Europe and the types I have seen by him this week have been fantastic. I think they are going to be versatile horses and he was one of the colts of the Sale. We had to chase hard to buy him but eventually we won out," Harvey said.
Colt shines for Sunlight Trust
It was a result almost beyond comprehension for Murray Hardy, who together with wife Marg and Paddy Preston, breeds under The Sunlight Trust name.
"You are always realistic about your chances with these yearlings. He is the best yearling we have ever bred. He was just a lovely colt from day one really. You look at what the two Almanzors made to date, and it was a great start and a sign that he's going to come up around that money," Hardy told TDN AusNZ.
"We have been breeding for a while and you dream of one day getting that value for one of your horses. It’s a dream come true for us today."
"We have been breeding for a while and you dream of one day getting that value for one of your horses. It’s a dream come true for us today." - Murray Hardy
The decision to send the colt to Australia to sell proved a masterstroke, with the Hardys and Preston taking advice from Paul Moroney on where best to present him. His dam, Lazumba, raced in Australia for Flemington trainer Steve Richards and has crossed the Tasman twice in the past 18 months to go to Written Tycoon.
"I think once he developed, we felt, along with some of the key people that we look to for advice and everything, that he had to go to Australia. The mare was bought for us by Paul Moroney, in foal to Hinchinbrook. That resulting filly, we sold at Sydney Easter last year. The mare, being from Australia, we felt he was good enough to go anywhere. That's where we chose to go," Hardy said.
Hinchinbrook x Lazumba (filly)
Moroney helped select Lazumba for The Sunlight Trust's broodmare band back at the 2018 Magic Millions Broodmare Sale, where she cost $280,000 from the draft of Yarraman Park.
"We have had Paul Moroney help us a lot in recent times and we were looking to upgrade our broodmare band. We talked with Paul and he sourced three mares for us through the Magic Millions Broodmare Sale in 2018. We liked what he presented, and worked with him and secured her," Hardy said.
Having produced a Hinchinbrook filly which sold for $195,000 in 2020, she then visited Almanzor in his first year at Cambridge Stud.
"We really like Almanzor and we’ve got a great relationship with Cambridge Stud. We really looked at the match-up, and it's a wonderful mating. We got the result we wanted with him."
"We really like Almanzor and we’ve got a great relationship with Cambridge Stud." - Murray Hardy
Lazumba is currently located at Patrick Hogan's Monarch Farm has got a Written Tycoon colt at foot and she's in foal again to Written Tycoon.
Thursday's big result was the most significant sales result The Sunlight Trust has had and according to Hardy, as a highlight was on par with the win of Princess Jenni (NZ) (High Chaparral {Ire}), who they bred, winning the G1 Schweppes Oaks in 2019.
"She's been a great horse and it is a wonderful feeling. You really still feel a part of these horses, even when you have sold them as yearlings. It's just a thrill. Everyone knows the lows, and it only makes you appreciate these great days," he said.
Princess Jenni (NZ)
Big result augurs well for Karaka
The result was a huge boost for Almanzor ahead of his first crop hitting the sales at the New Zealand Bloodstock National Yearling Sale at Karaka later this month, with 48 of them catalogued.
“It is very easy to fall into the trap with first-season sires and believe you’ve got the next Northern Dancer or Zabeel or whatever, because ultimately the proof is in the pudding and whether they can run or not," Cambridge Stud CEO, Henry Plumptre, said.
“But it is fantastic exposure for Almanzor in Australia before Karaka starts next week. We can only hope these horses go on and perform to the level these people have paid for them.
“It is very exciting to see the buzz about the stallion and the buyers reacting in such a positive way."
Almanzor (Fr) | Standing at Cambridge Stud
Plumptre wasn't surprised that the colt found plenty of admiration from the Australian buying bench. Marcus Corban, then working at Cambridge Stud, helped orchestrate the mating.
“The colt was a beautiful, athletic type and that’s what everyone wants to see. People have been talking about Almanzor’s foals and yearlings here and doing the same in the Northern Hemisphere. It is very encouraging and we can only hope it continues," he said.
Freshmen in demand
First-season sires have continued to prove very popular on the Gold Coast, with Yarraman Park's Hellbent currently leading on aggregate with 22 sold for a total of $4.03 million and an average of $183,182. His top lot to date, Lot 416, sold for $500,000 on Thursday.
Newgate's Russian Revolution has had 15 lots sell, with $2.495 million in total sales and an average of $166,333, with a top price of $425,000 (Lot 330).
Coolmore's Merchant Navy has had nine horses sell for an aggregate of $2.105 million and an average of $233,889, with a top price of $500,000 for Lot 121, while Arrowfield's Pariah has had 12 sell for a total of $1.58 million and an average of $131,667.
Coolmore's shuttling pair Caravaggio (USA) and Churchill (Ire) have also found their mark, with the former's 10 sales averaging $111,500 and the latter's six sales averaging $137,500.
