Cover image courtesy of Riverstone Lodge
Lot 487 - I Am Invincible x Special Lover (NZ) (Pins) (filly) - $500,000
Riverstone Lodge, Anthony and Sam Freedman, and Julian Blaxland Bloodstock (FBAA) swooped late on the second day to secure a half-sister to G3 Blue Diamond Preview (F) winner Miss Roseiano (Exceed And Excel), presented by Noorilim Park Thoroughbreds. As a daughter of Listed-placed Special Lover (NZ) (Pins), the filly also counts five-time winner Easy Single (Not A Single Doubt) as another half-sister and descends directly from blue hen Diamond Lover (Sticks And Stones), dam of sire Don Eduardo (NZ) and G1 Australian Oaks winner Tristalove (Sir Tristram {Ire}), as well as the dam of Viscount.
Another descendant of Diamond Lover made a splash recently, snagging his first Group 1 win at the weekend for Dominic Sutton; previously second in the G1 Caulfield Guineas, newly minted top-flight winner Feroce (NZ) (Super Seth) counts Tristalove as his third dam. He was also third in the G3 CS Hayes at the beginning of this preparation.
“(It’s a) blue-chip family and her sire is a three-time Champion Sire who does a great job with his fillies,” said Blaxland. “She has two sisters working for her, hopefully, she can do it on the track and then go on to be part of Riverstone’s elite broodmare band.
“When you look at the market this year, she was good buying. She might not be a pre-Christmas type, she looks more of a 3-year-old type. She is big and strong with a lovely loose action, (and has) that beautiful quality head that Vinnie (I Am Invincible) puts into his fillies.”
Lot 487 - I Am Invincible x Special Lover (NZ) (filly) | Image courtesy of Inglis
Blaxland was pleased with the price, “we thought the price was about right. They are very hard to buy when they are already (surrounded by) stakes winners.”
Special Lover missed to Toronado (Ire) last season and visited G1 Golden Slipper Stakes winner Shinzo in the spring. Miss Roseiano continues to enhance the page, having delivered her first foal in the spring, a filly by Justify (USA), before visiting Wootton Bassett (GB).
New Zealand auction house Gavelhouse offered a Charm Spirit (Ire) half-sister to Feroce on their latest auction on Monday night, with foal at foot by Preferment (NZ); Calliope (NZ) sold for NZ$130,000 to the bid of Francisw.
Lot 322 -Toronado (Ire) x Miss Conduct (Dissident) (colt) - $475,000
Mulberry Racing was active again on Monday morning, securing Lot 317, a Toronado (Ire) colt out of Miss Conduct (Dissident) from Gilgai Farm, further strengthening their bloodstock portfolio after purchasing a $440,000 Home Affairs colt the previous day.
Miss Conduct, a winner over 1415 metres, is a half-sister to Masked Crusader (Toronado {Ire}), making this colt a three-quarter brother to the Group 1 sprinter.
Gilgai Farm’s Rick Jamieson was thrilled with another strong result after selling a Toronado colt for $1 million the day before, describing this fellow as “a beautiful colt, along with the other colt (who was) a stand-out of our draft.”
Lot 322 - Toronado (Ire) x Miss Conduct (colt) | Image courtesy of Inglis
With a pedigree rich in speed and juvenile form, this colt’s grandam, She’s Got Gears (Invincible Spirit {Ire}), won the Listed Ottawa Stakes as a juvenile, while the R. Listed Magic Millions 2YO Classic winner Skirt The Law (Better Than Ready) adds further stakes-winning class to the page.
Lot 432 - Earthlight (Ire) x Sanadaat (Not A Single Doubt) (colt) - $475,000
Godolphin’s former shuttler, Earthlight (Ire), has yet to make an impact on the track in Australia, with his oldest Australian progeny only 2-year-olds. However, he made a $475,000 statement, when Yulong Investments purchased Lot 432, Earthlight's flashy chestnut son from the draft of Alma Vale.
The colt is the fifth foal out of Sanadaat (Not A Single Doubt), a two-time winner who also placed in the Listed Talindert Stakes as a juvenile. She has already produced a talented filly in Matisse (Microphone), who won as a 2-year-old and has placed in the G3 Vanity Stakes, G2 Blue Diamond Prelude (F), and the G3 Blue Diamond Preview (F). She has also trained on well at three, finishing fourth in the G1 1000 Guineas.
“The mother’s thrown a handy performer already, the pedigree’s working okay, and he is a nice, big, forward horse that we hope can be a good racehorse,” Vin Cox said.
“He’s an early enough type; he’s that sort of build in front and mature enough.”
Lot 432 - Earthlight (Ire) x Sanadaat (colt) | Image courtesy of Inglis
When asked if he had any exposure to the stallion, Cox replied, “I did when I was back at my Godolphin days, but not since then. But he's a nice horse, and we were happy to get him.”
Since producing this outstanding colt, Sanadaat foaled a Better Than Ready filly in the spring but was subsequently left empty.
Lot 339 - Camelot (GB) x Mrs Bannock (Ire) (Shamardal {USA}) (colt) - $420,000
Lot 339, an imposing colt by Camelot (GB) offered by Blue Gum Farm, was snapped up for $420,000 by Eddie Hirsch of Woodside Park Stud after a spirited bidding duel.
Camelot has been a standout sire, producing 63 stakes winners worldwide, including 12 in Australia, at an impressive 9.9 per cent stakes winners-to-runners ratio.
The fifth foal out of Mrs Bannock (Ire) (Shamardal {USA}), a juvenile winner in Great Britain and producer of two winners in Italy, this colt was highly sought after.
Mark Dodemaide of Woodside Park Stud shared their excitement, “We just really loved him - our favourite horse of the sale. We may have gone a bit further than expected, but Eddie was brave, and we’re really happy.”
He will be trained by Vin Malady at Hirsch Park, with big-race aspirations:
“You dream of Derbys with horses like him, but he may be a bit sharper—maybe we see him on Caulfield Guineas day with a bit of luck.”
Lot 339 - Camelot (GB) x Mrs Bannock (Ire) (colt) | Image courtesy of Inglis
Dodemaide also praised the colt’s pedigree and preparation, “He looked like a Camelot with class. Blue Gum have been a staple here since this complex was built and the breeder Darren Dance, always produces quality horses, so we knew he’d been well looked after.”
Lot 428 - Mehmas (Ire) x Salmah (Fr) (Shalaa {Ire}) (colt )- $420,000
Dominic Sutton made another splash on the second day of selling when signing the docket with McKeever Bloodstock and Byron Rogers for $420,000 for a Mehmas (Ire) colt offered by Penfold Thoroughbreds. The dam Salmah (Fr) (Shalaa {Ire}) is a half-sister to dual Listed winner Tuned (Toronado {Ire}), who ran several credible Group placings in the United States.
Their dam Zagora (Fr) (Green Tune {USA}) is the big attraction on the page; the USA Champion Grass Female was a dual Group 1 winner - including winning a G1 Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf - amongst eight stakes wins on either side of the Atlantic. She is also a half-sister to G2 UAE Derby runner-up and sire Asmar (Ire).
Swettenham Stud’s Sam Matthews was elated with the sale, “(he’s) a beautiful horse, neat with a massive walk, and a lovely horse to do anything with, though we did not expect that price - the reserve was only $50,000!”
The colt was bred by Al Shaqab Racing, who part-owns Mehmas as well as having ownership of Shalaa (Ire), and Matthews was pleased to see the fruits of their support for Swettenham pay off.
“Mehmas is a super stallion up north,” he said. “Al Shaqab Racing wanted to support Toronado with well-bred international mares, so they sent two down for him, both in foal to Mehmas. They wanted to try something a bit different and will now try this sort of thing again in the future.”
Lot 428 - Mehmas (Ire) x Salmah (Fr) (colt) | Image courtesy of Inglis
He was also pleased to see the result for Penfold Thoroughbreds as vendors.
“This is Hannah Penfold’s first draft (at Inglis Premier), she worked at Swettenham Stud - she actually foaled this colt down - and we wanted to support her as we have before with Crossley Thoroughbreds and Collingrove Stud.”
Salmah has a colt on the ground by Toronado and visited Castelvecchio in the spring.
