Sale toppers: Via Africa filly propels The Autumn Sun to the top of Easter

Cover image courtesy of Inglis

Day 2 concluded the 2023 Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale with Lots 229 to 457. A flurry of million-dollar transactions occurred throughout the day, while late-evening trade presented the eventual sale-topper, a pinhook filly (Lot 440) by The Autumn Sun from the dazzling mare Via Africa (SAf) (Var {USA}).

In total, Day 2 presented 12 seven-figure sales, headed by Lot 440 at $1.8 million. The majority (eight) were colts, with four fillies tipping into $1 million or $1 million-plus.

Snitzel and I Am Invincible went toe-to-toe for much of the day’s bragging rights, with the Arrowfield guru realising four seven-figure sales in the session, and I Am Invincible posted the same number for Yarraman Park.

The day also saw Coolmore’s Tom Magnier come to life, eventually purchasing four yearlings, all in seven figures. Let's get into it.

Lot 440 – The Autumn Sun x Via Africa (SAf) (Var {USA}), filly - $1.8 million

It was late in the day when this filly entered the sale ring at Warwick Farm, but everyone was hanging around for the result. Lot 440 was consigned by Silverdale Farm, and that operation had plenty riding on the result.

The Autumn Sun filly had been picked up by Silverdale for a sale-topping $600,000 at the 2022 Magic Millions National Weanling Sale. At the time, it was a stout price for a weanling but, with the filly selling on Tuesday to Arrowfield Pastoral in a partnership with Hermitage Thoroughbreds – and for a price-tag of $1.8 million to top a sale for the second time in her young life – it returned an excellent pinhook profit for Silverdale Farm.

Lot 440 was the eventual sale-topper of the 2023 Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale. She just pipped Day 1’s Pierro filly from Ennis Hill (Fastnet Rock) by $50,000, meaning fillies topped the first two slots of the sale as a whole. She also had a pedigree to match the money.

Lot 440 is a three-quarter sister to the G1 Golden Rose winner In The Congo, who only last week was announced by Newgate Farm as its newest addition to the stallion roster for an upcoming fee of $33,000 (inc GST).

The mare herself, Via Africa, was a Champion sprinter in South Africa in the 2013/14 season. She was a three-time Group 1 winner and imported to Australia in 2016.

Her first foal was Pleasant Endeavor (Redoute’s Choice), who was a $320,000 yearling in 2019, while In The Congo was picked up at the Inglis Australian Easter Sale in 2020 for $350,000 by China Horse Club and Newgate Farm.

Via Africa’s third foal was Protea (Vancouver), who is a now 3-year-old and was a $260,000 Easter yearling two years ago.

At the time that Silverdale bought this filly as a weanling, the farm’s manager, Rob Petith, told TDN AusNZ that they were nervous about her $600,000 price.

“I was a little nervous I suppose, spending that kind of money, but you can be confident when you’re buying the right product and we feel that was there,” he said. “She was beautifully presented (by Newhaven Park) and we think she’s going to do very well on the hills at Silverdale, and we look forward to presenting her next year. Hopefully we can put the polish on her, bring her back and she is in even higher demand.”

That proved to be the case on Tuesday as Arrowfield had to fend off a number of prolific bidders for this close relation of In The Congo. The underbidder was Sheamus Mills and, in the aftermath of the sale, John Messara was visibly pleased.

“She had magnificent conformation,” he said, commenting on Lot 440’s physical pleasantries. “We’re in a position with our stallions, and our access to other stallions, where, over time, we can breed out of her. So it’s (the price) not quite the risk that it might appear to be to somebody else who just owns racehorses.”

Lot 440 was a twin result for Arrowfield Stud. The operation secured a valuable breeding prospect, but it was also a showcase result for its young stallion The Autumn Sun.

The son of Redoute’s Choice had 30 yearlings catalogued and, by sale end, two million-dollar-plus results.

Lot 157, a filly on Day 1 from the Street Cry (Ire) mare Grisi, realised $1.2 million when sold by Arrowfield to Emirates Park. She was one of three fillies by The Autumn Sun picked up this week by Emirates Park.

Messara didn’t allude to any future stallion choices for Lot 440, which will no doubt be an envious task in future seasons.

“We’re not talking about that right now,” he said. “Right now, we want to make her a champion racehorse.”

Lot 427 – Snitzel x Ultimate Fever, colt - $1.6 million

Tom Magnier left some of his best work until late in the sale, swooping in for Lot 427 at the twilight end of Tuesday’s session. This colt was the third Snitzel colt the Coolmore operation purchased sale-wide in a colts fund strategy, and they went to $1.6 million to get him.

Offered by Lime Country Thoroughbreds, it was yet another brilliant result for that outfit, who had earlier in the sale sold Lot 101, a Fastnet Rock filly, for $1.1 million to Sheamus Mills Bloodstock (FBAA). Magnier had also gone to $1 million to buy Lime Country’s Lot 406, a Snitzel colt from the Zabeel (NZ) mare Tavarnelle that was a half-brother to the G2 Western Australia Derby winner Tuscan Queen (Fastnet Rock).

Lot 427 became the second most highest-selling yearling of the Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale, behind only Monday’s Pierro filly.

The colt is from the Gold Fever (USA) mare Ultimate Fever and, as such, a full brother to the Group 3-winning Sprightly Lass (Snitzel) and Listed-winning Le Cordon Bleu (Snitzel).

He is also a full brother to Stratosphere, who stands at Grenville Stud in Tasmania and was second in the G3 Canonury S.

“It’s a great pedigree,” Magnier said. “Lime Country do a great job and we went down on the two Snitzels from them. They stood out well and I think that the whole team at Lime Country do a great job. Chris (Waller) and I, and the whole Coolmore team, really liked their two Snitzel horses, so we said if we had to have one, we had to have both.”

Lime Country Thoroughbreds offered a total of three Snitzel horses in its draft. Two went the way of Magnier, and the other went to Cambridge Stud in New Zealand for $650,000 (Lot 409).

“Lime Country are great people,” Magnier said. “We get good horses from them all the time, and this one has a great page. It was one we didn’t really want to leave for home without.”

Magnier said the colts team behind the Coolmore spend this week was very supportive of the buying process.

“They’re all very keen,” he said. “They’re very much a part of the process of the whole selection of the horses, and we’re really happy with the horses we’ve bought at the sales this year. We’ll need a bit of luck because I’d say there are other colts funds out there who have bought other horses, but give us 12 months and we’ll know where we’re at.”

Lot 254 – Snitzel x Ms Bad Behavior (Can), colt - $1.5 million

This smart colt was the first horse on Tuesday to realise the magic million-dollars, selling to Coolmore’s Tom Magnier for $1.5 million. Consigned by Arrowfield Stud, Lot 254 is from the Canadian-bred mare Ms Bad Behavior (Can), a daughter of Blame (USA) who was brought into Australia almost three years ago by Arrowfield.

It’s an interesting page. Ms Bad Behavior won the G3 Kentucky Downs Ladies Turf S. and Listed China Doll S. at Santa Anita. She was multiple-times Group- and stakes-placed, and was fourth in the G1 Del Mar Oaks.

The second dam in the family is the Stormy Atlantic (USA) mare Cumulonimble (USA), herself a stakes winner, while Ms Bad Behavior is a half-sister to the American stakes winners Blessed Truly (USA) (Souper Speedy {USA}) and One Bad Boy (USA) (Twirling Candy {USA}).

“Blame is something you love to see in a pedigree,” said Magnier, speaking after signing the ticket on this colt. “This horse was a very nice type, and all the team really liked him. Obviously, he’s by Snitzel, so you’re trying to find the next Shinzo. You need some luck buying colts, but he’s one of the standouts of the week.”

The Coolmore team is still on a high from its Golden Slipper-winning Snitzel colt Shinzo of last month, and Lot 254 was the first purchase of the sale for Magnier and his team.

The colt had the added allure of being the first foal from Ms Bad Behavior and he was a good type of yearling from her.

“He is a lovely type with great quality,” Magnier said. “He was a great mover and we’re just delighted to get this colt. Arrowfield have their horses looking very well. We have a great group of people and fingers crossed he’s a good horse.”

Magnier said the two days of the sale had been very strong, despite his buying presence being more sedate than previous years.

“Inglis has all the right people here,” he said. “People are tuning in from all over the world to watch this sale and see what’s happening in Australia.”

Lot 310 – Snitzel x Response, colt - $1.4 million

Lot 310 was yet another presentation on Day 2 by consignor Arrowfield Stud that attracted a drawn-out current of bids. This tidy colt is the eighth foal from his dam Response, a daughter of Charge Forward and a dual Group 1 winner.

The racetrack exploits of Response included wins in the G1 Sir Rupert Clarke S., G1 Robert Sangster S. and G3 Matron S., while at stud, Response has already proved just as good.

This colt is a full brother to the Champion Australian 2-year-old Estijaab (Snitzel), whose wins included the G1 Golden Slipper and G2 Reisling S. He is also a full brother to Remarque (Snitzel), who is Group-placed so far for Team Hawkes and was a last-time starter in the G1 The Galaxy.

As such, there was topicality to Lot 310 when it came time for him to sell, and his final price reached $1.4 million. He was sold to the Kia Ora/TFI partnership, who had already gone to $1.55 million with Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott on Monday for Lot 116, the first foal from Champion filly English (Encosta De Lago).

“This is the second one we’ve bought together at this sale,” said Shane Wright, Kia Ora’s bloodstock and breeding manager. “It’s a cross that’s very much proven. It has a Champion full sister in Estijaab and it’s on that Snitzel-Charge Forward cross that works so unbelievably well.”

By the sale of Lot 310, Snitzel occupied three of the top four spots in the sale’s most expensive lots.

“It was hard-bidding against some very good people, but we got there in the end and we couldn’t be happier with him,” Wright said.

Sally Williams, TFI’s racing and bloodstock manager, said Lot 310 was an early target for the combined operation.

Gallery: Purchasers of Lot 310, images courtesy of Inglis

“I think from the first moment that we saw him on the farm, he was a colt that we were going to target,” she said. “He’s by a Champion stallion out of a full to a Champion, so he ticks every box and we’re very excited to get him.”

Wright and Williams said they were confident there would be no shortage of trainers for a colt of this calibre, even if they were yet to decide on a trainer.

Lot 277 – I Am Invincible x Octavia, colt - $1.3 million

This colt was the third of the day to push into seven figures, eventually selling to China Horse Club, Newgate Farm, Go Racing and Trilogy Racing. They paid $1.3 million for him and it was no surprise to anyone given Lot 277 is a full brother to King Of Sparta.

King Of Sparta has won over $2.2 million in prizemoney in the colours of Newgate and China Horse Club, and both are from the Holy Roman Emperor (Ire) mare Octavia, who herself was a winner of the G3 Cockram S. and Listed Kevin Hayes S.

“King Of Sparta was a very good horse, and this horse was a better horse,” said Newgate’s Henry Field after signing the ticket for Lot 277. “King Of Sparta has won numerous million dollars, and we thought this horse was the number one horse on the complex. We wanted to get him bought, and if he can run like he looks and on pedigree, he’ll be a horse retiring to Newgate.”

King Of Sparta was a $700,000 purchase in 2020 for China Horse Club, Newgate and Starlight Racing. His full brother on Tuesday was consigned by Yarraman Park and fetched double that of his brother with plenty of interest.

“He’s a very special horse and we’re happy to have bought him,” Field said. “He’ll run in those famous China Horse Club silks that have been so successful for our partnership and our group, and we’re looking forward to seeing him potentially develop into a top-class racehorse.”

China Horse Club also paid $1.3 million earlier in the sale for Lot 201, an I Am Invincible filly from Listen Here (Elusive Quality {USA}). Lot 277 was also the fourth million-dollar lot of the group’s buying throughout the sale to that point of the morning.

Lot 297 – I Am Invincible x Prompt Response, filly - $1.3 million

The million-dollar listings came thick and fast for I Am Invincible at this stage of the sale, but Lot 297 was the first filly to reach that mark on Tuesday. She was offered for sale by Widden Stud and sold to the New Zealand-based Wexford Stables for $1.3 million.

Kiwi trainer Lance O’Sullivan is at the helm of Wexford Stables, alongside fellow trainer Andrew Scott. O'Sullivan arrived at Riverside for this filly in particular, even if he had to stretch his pockets to get her.

“We’re delighted to be able to secure her,” O’Sullivan said. “She wasn’t hard to pick. She was a beautiful filly and she had the temperament. She was a great type and a good-walking filly. We’re excited to get her back home.”

Lot 297 is the second foal from the well-performed, well-known Beneteau mare Prompt Response. She won the G1 Tattersall's Tiara and G2 Emancipation S. among her five stakes victories, while she was second at Group 1 level on two occasions in Sydney and Brisbane.

Prompt Response is a full sister to the G3 Maribyrnong Plate winner Prompt Return (Beneteau), and the third dam on this page is the multiple-times Group-placed Amnesia (NZ) (Desert Sun {GB}).

The first foal from Prompt Response was Big Demeanor, who is a 2-year-old with Annabel Neasham at Warwick Farm right now. He’s a full brother to Lot 297 and raced in the Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Maktoum colours. He’s had just one run to date and cost $500,000 at last year’s Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale.

Wexford Stables continued its Easter standard this week of swooping in for one horse and heading for the nearest exit. Lot 297 was its only purchase, while last year it paid $600,000 in partnership with Hermitage for a Snitzel colt from Flora De Mariposa (Frankel {GB}).

“We’ve been doing it now for about seven years,” O’Sullivan said. “We buy one horse out of the sale every year and we’ve had two win Group 1s and two have won multiple Group 2 races and been Group 1 placed. We’ve a couple then that won a few races each, so it’s been pretty good.”

The two Group 1 winners from this buying strategy have been the Snitzel horse Summer Passage, who won the G1 Auckland Diamond S. in 2017, and the Fastnet Rock horse Rocket Spade, a winner of the G1 New Zealand Derby in 2021.

Lot 284 – I Am Invincible x Overstep, colt - $1.2 million

Lot 284 was only the second purchase of the sale for Tom Magnier and team Coolmore. It immediately followed the $1.1 million paid for Russian Revolution's Lot 283 (see below), and this colt by I Am Invincible fetched $1.2 million, consigned and sold by Yarraman Park.

Lot 284 is from the Exceed And Excel mare Overstep, who was stakes-placed during her career.

This is the family of the stakes winner Secret Liaison (Artie Schiller {USA}), while a full brother to this colt, the 3-year-old Bews (I Am Invincible), is in training with Mick Price and Michael Kent Jnr, and owned in partnership by Rosemont Stud. He was a winner on debut and is Group-performed.

“I Am Invincible is a stallion we know very well with Home Affairs,” said Tom Magnier after securing this colt during the day. “He was a lovely type. Yarraman did a great job with him and Chris (Waller) thought highly of this horse as well. He’ll go into training with Chris in search of the next Home Affairs.”

On the dam side, Magnier said the pedigree stacked up.

“Exceed And Excel is obviously doing very well as a broodmare sire,” he said. “I suppose that’s another box that gets ticked from our end.”

Lot 283 – Russian Revolution x Our Libretto (NZ), colt - $1.1 million

This colt by Russian Revolution was sold during a flurry of million-dollar sales, all coming within the space of about 10 minutes. He preceded Tom Magnier’s $1.2 million Overstep colt, and he was sold to Michael Wallace and Gandharvi for $1.1 million.

By that point, Russian Revolution had had only three through the sale ring, the previous two selling for $350,000 and $280,000 respectively.

Lot 283’s price-tag of $1.1 million was not only a session record for the Newgate sire, therefore; it was also a yearling record for Russian Revolution altogether and far exceeded the stallion’s overall sales average for colts this year of $163,336.

“He was a stunning horse,” said bloodstock agent Mick Wallace, buying alongside Gandharvi. “I saw him about six days ago, and having been part of the group with Henry Field that selected Russian Revolution as a yearling, as soon as this one came out he was a dead ringer for his dad.”

Lot 283 is the second foal from the O’Reilly (NZ) mare Our Libretto (NZ), who was Group 2 placed. She is a full sister to the stakes-placed Thurston (NZ) and a half-sister to the triple Group 3 winner Epingle (NZ) (Pins).

This is the family of the Iffraaj (GB) stakes winner If I Can I Can (NZ), who is among the band at Musk Creek Farm.

With Russian Revolution well-capable as a juvenile sire, he has this season produced plenty of winners to train on. The stallion leads the second-season sire race in Australia with 42 winners, ahead of Hellbent and Almanzor (Fr). He is also ahead by earnings with Communist his most prolific earner.

“This colt will go to Michael Freedman,” Wallace said. “He had a couple of looks at the horse and absolutely loved him as well. Physically we were so happy to get him and I’m a big believer in the stallion. He unfortunately had one of the favourites for the Slipper (Red Resistance) who was scratched a few days before the race, but he’s capable of getting you a high-quality horse, for sure.”

For Wallace and Gandharvi, Lot 283 came after Monday’s Lot 117, the Pierro-Ennis Hill filly who topped Day 1 proceedings at $1.75 million. This pair was one of four that the bloodstock agent put his name to, three of which occurred alongside Gandharvi.

“This colt (Lot 283) is solely for Gandharvi,” Wallace said. “We’ve had a couple of approaches from people to come in with us, and we’ll look to sell down some equity in him to people that want to come in.”

Lot 357 – Written Tycoon x Shoals, colt - $1 million

Lot 357 was one of three yearlings to sell for an even million-dollars during the second session, and he was the second of the sale’s Written Tycoon progeny to leap into seven-figure territory.

The colt was offered by Arrowfield Stud and was the second foal from the Champion race filly Shoals, a daughter of Fastnet Rock who was a triple Group 1 winner during a brilliant career.

The first foal from Shoals was Isthmus (I Am Invincible), who is unraced for a partnership between Arrowfield and Pincecliff Racing. The filly wasn’t offered as a yearling, making Lot 357 the mare’s first progeny through an auction ring.

Bidding was healthy and the colt went to the partnership of Aramco, Yulong and trainer Mick Kent for $1 million even.

Aramco’s Boon Chua, a Singapore-based businessman, was on hand after the sale to discuss his new colt.

“Shoals is a very good dam,” he said. “Mick Price went to see him (Lot 357) and said he was really good. We are happy to get him.”

The colt will head to Mick Price and Michael Kent Jnr in his early career.

“They are the best trainers and I’m happy to have Yulong joining me in this,” Chua said. “This sale isn't one of the best; it’s the best. I’ve bought two at this sale and I’ll be back. I’m hoping I can get one more today (Tuesday).”

Lot 357 has a sire’s pedigree. Via third dam Shantha’s Choice (Canny Lad), this is the family of Redoute’s Choice and the likes of Manhattan Rain and Platinum Scissors, along with Rubick.

The colt joined Lot 236 among Aramco Racing’s purchases this week, the latter a Snitzel colt from the Forestry (USA) mare Miss Charming (USA) who was bought by Chua for $220,000 from the Vinery draft.

Top lots