Cover image courtesy of Inglis
Lot 707 - The Autumn Sun x Talimena (Lonhro), colt - $520,000
The Lloyd Walker-owned Lonhro mare Talimena made an impact at the 2022 Inglis Classic Yearling Sale when Valiant Stud produced her The Autumn Sun filly to sell for $550,000 to Glen Burrows Bloodstock. Lightning has now struck twice for connections of this mare, as three years later she has left Lot 707, an imposing full brother who sold for $520,000 to Magus Equine Ltd of Hong Kong.
The result was no doubt helped by the aforementioned filly that would be named Tulsi (The Autumn Sun); she became a two-time winner, and has been classy enough to place in the G1 Sistema Stakes, the G1 NZ 1000 Guineas, and the G2 Soliloquy Stakes. Talimena is very well related as she is a half-sister to the Group 1 Golden Slipper winner Kiamichi (Sidestep).
When Willie Leung from Magus Equine was asked about his purchase he made it clear that “this was my number one pick. The Autumn Sun has now had two winners in Hong Kong and they seem to go well there.”
“I looked at him and knew that he was the one. We will keep him here for a while, run here first and then go to Hong Kong. Hopefully we get to the standard here so that he can go to Hong Kong and run in all of the big races.”
Willie Leung | Image courtesy of Inglis
Fergal Connolly of Valiant Stud was thrilled to get such a result. “I'm over the moon, you know, you bring your nice horses to Classic and you get the results.”
He went on to elaborate, “Lloyd Walker is a very loyal client and he has been with us since the beginning (2018) and I'm sure he will be celebrating this result tonight.”
When asked to describe the colt, Connolly explained, “he was very nice, he was well found and all the good judges were on. He paraded very well all week.
“We love following them on the racetrack, that's where the proof in the pudding is. You have to get the results on the track.”
“We love following them on the racetrack, that's where the proof in the pudding is. You have to get the results on the track.” - Fergal Connolly
When asked about Talimena, Connolly said, “she's well looked after, she is one of the favourites on the farm. She has got a lovely full sister at foot and she has been served by Shinzo so we are looking forward to that.”
Lot 569 - Snitzel x Re Edit (Camelot {GB}), colt - $360,000
The momentum of Arrowfield Stud’s outstanding Day 2 continued early on Day 3 as Lot 569, a striking colt by Snitzel out of Re Edit (Camelot {GB}), fetched $360,000 to the bid of Chris Waller Racing and Guy Mulcaster Bloodstock.
Lot 569 - Snitzel x Re Edit (colt) | Image courtesy of Inglis
She is the second foal for her well related dam, who was a three-time winning mare from 1400 metres to 1600 metres and also classy enough to be placed in the G2 PJ O’Shea Stakes.
Deeper in the family are the stallions and well performed racehorses in the G1 Victorian Derby winner Monaco Consul (NZ) and dual G1 winner Military Plume.
Served last year by Maurice (Jpn) after foaling a Maurice filly, Re Edit has her first foal Origin Of Love (Snitzel) in training in the Te Akau Stable in New Zealand.
Arrowfield's Jon Freyer is a fan of Re Edit, who he said had more ability than she showed on the track.
Jon Freyer | Image courtesy of Inglis
“She had an amazing turn of foot and I will be very surprised if she does not make a broodmare. Chris Waller trained her and knew how good she was.”
He also has plenty of time for this colt who he described as “a very sharp, smart colt who looks an early type.”
“He is from the same family as General Nediym and actually has a lot of that thorse about him.”
“She (Re Edit) had an amazing turn of foot and I will be very surprised if she does not make a broodmare. Chris Waller trained her and knew how good she was.” - Jon Freyer
Lot 582 - Proisir x Respect (NZ)(Savabeel), colt - $360,000
Bhima Thoroughbred's Mike Fleming declared it “a fantastic result” when the hammer was knocked down on Lot 582 for $360,000, a lovely brown colt by Proisir to the buyers YLP Racing.
Purchased for NZ$110,000 by Kilgravin Holdings and Bevan Smith Bloodstock at last year's New Zealand Bloodstock National Weanling Sale, the son of Proisir was chased and purchased with the Classic sale in mind.
“We went to New Zealand and got him from the weanling sale, we bought him off Haunui and he was a lovely horse,” Fleming explained. “I took Eion (Kemp) from Kilgravin Lodge in with me and he loved the horse, we targeted him as a horse that would suit Classic and it’s great to get one right.”
“Eion actually really liked the horse originally, he said we should have a go at him and with Bevan Smith we managed to get him. Eion has a few mares with me and we have a bit of an association.”
“The result is great for Bhima and Kilgravin, it’s great for both brands. We don’t get it right all the time but when you do it is rewarding.”
Mike Fleming | Image courtesy of Inglis
When asked about what attracted them to the weanling at the time, Fleming commented, “something that really appealed to both of us was he was out of a Savabeel mare, he looked like a really good Savabeel colt.”
By the very good sire in Proisir, who performed on both sides of the Tasman, and out of the unraced Savabeel mare Respect (NZ), he comes from the extended family of Windsor Park Stud’s influential mare Polish Princess (GB) (Polish Precedent {GB}), who ended up being the dam of four individual stakes winners.
Lot 678 - All Too Hard x Spoils (Snitzel), colt - $350,000
The trend of buyers happy to bid strongly on the progeny of proven stallions continued with Lot 678, a son of All Too Hard purchased from the Vinery Stud draft for $350,000 by X Bloodstock.
Lot 678 - All Too Hard x Spoils (colt) | Image courtesy of Inglis
Bred by Encompass International, Werrett Bloodstock, W. Duck (Australia) and Kia Ora Stud, he is the fourth live foal for Spoils (Snitzel), who was raced by that same group.
A $350,000 yearling, she did not manage a win, but was in the placings at four of her six starts, three of those in stakes company.
Her first foal Party Stop (All Too Hard) is a two-time winner, her second foal Runaway Statement (Press Statement) has been successful three times from 10 starts (including her latest assignment at Morphettville late last month), and her third Smother (All Too Hard) has been good to the line at his first two starts for the Ciaron Maher stable.
Spoils is a daughter of the stakes-placed Fortune Of War (General Nediym), whose stakes-placed dam is the outstanding broodmare Pretty Penny (Encosta de Lago), whose eight winners include the stakes winners Sertorius (Galileo {Ire}), Pretty Brazen (Brazen Beau), Dollar For Dollar (High Chaparral {Ire}), Pretty Amazing (American Pharoah {USA}), and Clifton Red (Sebring).
Peter Orton | Image courtesy of The Image is Everything
Vinery's Peter Orton was pleased with the sale, noting that “it was a great result for a lovely colt.”
Orton has always been a big fan of All Too Hard, who he thinks may have won more Group 1 races if he had remained in work.
“He was a proper race horse and he just keeps getting winners all the time, he does a great job.”
Lot 556 - Lucky Vega (Ire) x Queen Iseult (Fastnet Rock), filly - $340,000
It was a great result for Yulong Stud's Lucky Vega (Ire) with Lot 556, a lovely filly who attracted the eye of noted judge Astute Bloodstock's Louis Le Metayer when fetching $340,000 to the combination of Astute Bloodstock, Mystery Downs, and Curtis Racing.
This sharply bred filly is out of Queen Iseult (Fastnet Rock), who was unraced but very well related, being a half-sister to G1 William Reid Stakes winner Silent Sedition (War Chant {USA}), whose record also included four Group 3 wins and a Listed race.
This filly’s grandam was Porto Roca (Barathea {Ire}), who was the heroine in the G1 Coolmore Classic, went on to make a great name for herself at stud, leaving 10 individual winners including the outstanding G1 Dubai World Cup victor Monterosso (GB).
Since producing this lovely filly, Queen Iseult has been bred to Yulong's resident stallions and produced an Alabama Express filly last spring, before subsequently being served by Diatonic (Jpn).
Louis Le Metayer is a fan of the Lucky Vega breed, noting, “I really like Lucky Vega, he is siring fast horses and is precocious.
Louis Le Metayer | Image courtesy of Inglis
“Fillies out of Fastnet Rock mares by the Lope De Vega line go very well, Santa Ana Lane and Gytrash have both been Group 1 sprint winners. The cross makes sense.
“The filly was physically outstanding but also has a deep pedigree. She goes to Frank and Christine Cook, lovely people who are great supporters of the industry.”
Lot 655 - Ole Kirk x Snit Ball (Snitzel), colt - $320,000
Linda Monds from Tyreel Stud was absolutely delighted when Lot 655, an Ole Kirk colt, was knocked down for $320,000 to Hong Kong buyers, Magus Equine.
The precocious looking colt is by the very exciting first season sire Ole Kirk and is out of a juvenile-placed daughter of Snitzel, who - in addition to this abundance of 2-year-old influences - is a half-sister to Summer Passage (Snitzel), who was a very good juvenile in New Zealand.
He was successful in the G1 Diamond Stakes and the Listed Matamata Slipper, and he also ran well in Australia, placing in the G1 Sires Produce Stakes and the G3 Caulfield Guineas Prelude.
This colt traces back to the very good broodmare Subterfuge (GB) (Macchiavellian {USA}).
When Linda Monds was asked about the colt, she commented, “it was an outstanding result, he has gone to Magnus Equine. He was so popular all week and he had an unbelievable amount of x-rays which was very encouraging.
Linda Monds | Image courtesy of Inglis
“We did know he had been found, but on Day 3, you just can't be too confident.
“It was a frenzy, a bit of a bidding war in there, so there were many good judges on him. That result, honestly was just wow!”
When quizzed about the team's expectations, she explained, “we just knew we had a nice product that would sell well. I'm so glad it happened that way.”
