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Trio of purchases on Thursday headed by a Emirates Park-consigned colt out of One More Honey
Aquis Farm and Phoenix's love affair with Not A Single Doubt (Redoute's Choice) continued at the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale on Thursday as the familiar duo purchased three more colts by the now pensioned Arrowfield Stud sire, headed by a colt for which they parted with $1,800,000 to secure.
During this year's Gold Coast sale, Aquis and Phoenix have teamed up to purchase six colts by the son of Redoute's Choice (Danehill) outlying a whopping $5,190,000 for his progeny and altogether the powerhouses have spent $9,385,000 on 13 yearlings.
Aquis Farm CEO Shane McGrath told Racing & Sports Bloodstock the stallion's stock are a rare commodity and they keep on improving with every crop.
"The way we look at Not A Single Doubt, is that there are not a lot of them left and each year he has improved and his stats have improved year on year and we would hate to miss out on the next big one," said McGrath.
The top-priced Not A Single Doubt they bought during the third session on Thursday was consigned by Emirates Park and catalogued as Lot 612 and the colt is out of 2017 Sweet Embrace Stakes (Gr 2, 1200m) winner One More Honey (Onemorenomore).
One More Honey herself is out of One Funny Honey (Distorted Humor), making her a half-sister to last year's Magic Millions Gold Coast Cup (RL, 1400m) winner Vega One (Lope De Vega).
Emirates Park general manager Bryan Carlson said he was confident the colt was a nice yearling, but he could have never dreamed he would realise that price-tag.
"As you know they are not making them anymore," Carlson told racing.com. "Even back at the farm he was very popular. He has been out of his box the whole time and it is a fantastic result.
"He's always been a very relaxed, well-moving colt and I know it's lame, but he does tick every box.
"I thought he was a nice horse but you never have expectations coming to the sales, I think you hurt yourself doing that, so we came to the sale thinking he was going to be a nice horse and hopefully bring a bit of money, but that much? No. You can never expect that.
"We have a very nice draft, a very small but nice draft and the sale has gone very well for us."
McGrath echoed the sentiments of Carlson and said he was everything the partnership looked for in a colt.
"It was interesting with the colt out of One More Honey, our partner in the desert was up and early and in the thick of the action online and he did the bidding online for us," said McGrath.
"He was everything we looked like in a colt. He was strong, looked fast with a big hip. He looked like a ready made two-year-old. Every single time one of these really good colts come in and the usual protagonists are there and everyone is ready to play and we were lucky to come out on top, but I can tell you one thing we were right at the peak of our budget.
"He is a September foal and out of a fast mare and he has come out of a great nursery as well."
Earlier in the day, Aquis and Phoenix paid another seven-figure price for a son of Not A Single Doubt, when going to $1,000,000 for a colt consigned by Gerry Harvey's Baramul Stud draft.
Catalogued as Lot 529, the colt is the second foal out of winning Medaglia d'Oro (El Prado) mare Medaglia Valore, who is herself a daughter of 2010 Reisling Stakes (Gr 2, 1200m) winner Military Rose (General Nediym).
Further afield the colt is from the same family as Group 3 scorer Zestful (Redoute's Choice).
Aquis have done well over the past few years when putting their faith in stock by the son of Redoute's Choice and McGrath is hoping this colt can live up to his pedigree and price-tag.
"We thought we would have to go that far," said McGrath. "He was a very sharp looking colt. We have had great success over the years with Magic Millions and we are a big fan of the sireline.
"He fits the profile of the type of colt we are trying to buy for our stallion partnership. We have got great partners in Phoenix and they are happy to back our judgement.
"We are obviously a massive fan of the sire and there are obviously not many colts by the sire left. With the likes of Farnan and Dubious he has done us well so far and he is not only a fabulous sire of two-year-olds, but across the board.
"Being out of a Medaglia d'Oro mare we like that as well - it is a lovely mix and if he can live up to his pedigree he will be a lovely stallion prospect."
A few lots earlier, Aquis and Phoenix etched the name on the buyers sheet for another son of Not A Single Doubt, this time a colt consigned by Tyreel Stud, whom they parted with $600,000 to secure.
McGrath was happy to put his faith in the Tyreel Stud product, rating them a farm who produce top-class performers on the track.
"Their percentage of stakes winners they produce has been phenomenal and their horses do them credit," said McGrath.
"I loved the fact he was out of a Lonhro mare as well. We had around that price-tag. He has a really good action, which is very typical of what the sire throws."
The colt was catalogued as Lot 508 and he is out of the unraced Lonhro (Octagonal) mare Magic Nera, who is herself a daughter of Listed winner Feelers (Quest For Fame).
Feelers is the dam of five winners, headed by stakes-winning duo Tromso (Lonhro) and Kamacite (Northern Meteor), while further back this is the same family as Listed scorer Hooness (Exceed And Excel) and multiple Group 1 winner Tidal Light (Diagramatic).
This is the second yearling Aquis and Phoenix have bought from Tyreel Stud on the Gold Coast this year, having purchased a colt by Written Tycoon (Iglesia) for $650,000 on the first day and Tyreel's Linda Monds told Racing & Sports Bloodstock she was confident this colt will be a star for the team.
"He is quite the character and has a big personality," said Monds. "He has a beautiful action, lovely smooth walk. He is an easy horse and has been from day one. He was born as a naturally muscular type and he has grown into a lovely yearling.
"He is a typical Not A Single Doubt, very strong and moving forward I think he will be very exciting for the team."
Monds said it was very satisfying to have Aquis and Phoenix put their faith in the Tyreel product.
"To have Aquis and Phoenix put their faith in our product is just really satisfying," said Monds. They clearly have a model they want to stick to and they are targeting the stallion types of horses.
"I feel very honoured they have bought two from my draft this year, out of the 11 yearlings. I'm really happy, because they choose the right trainers and they will give him every opportunity to perform on the track and I don't think they will be disappointed with what they have bought. I would really like to thank Aquis for their continued support of our brand."
Monds said she had been confident heading into the sale that her draft would be received well.
"There has been plenty of competitive bidding in the ring and the sale average is quite impressive. Obviously with the current situation globally you just didn't know heading into the sale," said Monds.
"Magic Millions obviously gave us a lot of confidence that they were aiming to get as many buyers here as possible and they felt they were in a good position, but you never know until you get to the sale how things are going to turn out.
"We have had a phenomenal draft, they were all really good types and we were confident we would be received well, but not overconfident. For me I'm a renowned seller, I have to sell because that is our business.
"I would dearly love to sell just to race, but that doesn't pay bills. I guess with Tyreel they know that if they look at my horses and get them vetted, all they have to do is be there in the ring, because they are on the market from early on."
Tyreel is based in greater Sydney, which was subject to a lockdown due to some localised cases of coronavirus, which meant Monds had to move her draft and team to a farm where they quarantined for 14 days before heading to the Gold Coast and she was quick to praise her staff for the way they handled the torrid situation.
"I have to give full credit to my staff," said Monds. "They have been absolutely incredible in some difficult circumstances.
"We are from the greater Sydney area, so before Christmas we were strongly advised to move our draft and staff out of Sydney and do 14 days quarantine, which was not ideal. We were able to farm, who took us in and gave the horses a great environment and they could continue their prep there.
"The horses transitioned incredibly well and took the whole process in their stride. You can only imagine that strain that put on my staff, but they were absolutely incredible and they worked beside me with smiles on their faces and got the sale done. They have not complained once and are just incredible."
