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Arrowfield Goes From Leading Vendor To Leading Buyer

3 minute read

Almost five months after topping the vendor list at the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale for the third consecutive year, Arrowfield has returned as a leading buyer at the National Broodmare Sale.

Arrowfield bloodstock manager Jon Freyer joined agent Dean Hawthorne, who manages the racing and breeding interests of Jonathan Munz, to purchase G1 winner Abbey Marie (Redoute’s Choice) for $1.4 million and G2 winner Omei Sword (High Chaparral) for $1.7 million on the opening day.

Both mares will be sent to Japan to visit super sire Deep Impact.

“We have to re-invest in the best quality bloodstock we can find, so we can keep on breeding and selling top-class racehorses – it’s as simple as that,” Freyer said.

2018 GC National Broodmare Sale - Lot 606 Abbey Marie

Abbey Marie’s purchase closes a circle of sorts, as she was offered by Arrowfield on behalf of breeder Teeley Assets at the 2014 Easter Sale where she was bought for $300,000 by Dermot Farrington.

Trained by Mick Kent, she emulated her Australian Oaks-winning full sister Absolutely with a dominant performance in the G1 SAJC Australasian Oaks in 2016.

“Abbey Marie is a beautiful, quality filly, very typical of Redoute’s Choice and a glorious mover,” Freyer said.

“Her race record could easily have been even better, she had no luck this season in the Orr, the Caulfield Cup and the Queen of the Turf but still managed a top six finish in all of them.”

Omei Sword, a daughter of G1 1000 Guineas winner Irish Lights, was bought by Guy Mulcaster for $675,000 from the Coolmore draft at the 2015 Easter Sale.

A Group-placed winner at two, she progressed to win the G2 ATC Silver Shadow and place in the G1 Golden Rose G1 at three.

“Omei Sword is just a queen, a big, strong, imposing filly from the great taproot family of Fall Aspen. We consider her a Group 1 quality mare, she was a good two-year-old and unlucky to be beaten in a very strong Golden Rose, beating Group 1 colts Impending and Divine Prophet,” Freyer said.

Picture: Racing and Sports

The Arrowfield-Munz partnership has already struck gold at Magic Millions, buying The Broken Shore in foal to Fastnet Rock for $1.9 million from the 2014 Teeley Dispersal.

The resulting foal is brilliant 3YO filly Shoals, winner of three G1 races this season for the partnership and one of the most valuable race mares in Australia.

Sent back to Fastnet Rock, The Broken Shore, a Hussonet half-sister to Redoute’s Choice, left this year’s $2.3 million colt sold at Easter.

Arrowfield was also busy bidding on behalf of eminent Japanese owner-breeder Katsumi Yoshida to buy G1-winning sprinter Silent Sedition (War Chant-Fiorentina) for $1.5 million.

Arrowfield is familiar with her pedigree on a couple of counts.

“We know War Chant as the damsire of our young sire Shalaa, and we’ve also had good success with another mare from her family, Road to Damascus,” Freyer said.

“Katsumi loved Silent Sedition’s page and she competed very consistently in top company, beating Hellbent and Star Turn in the William Reid and winning four other Group races.”

Silent Sedition will join Northern Farm’s highly successful breeding venture with Arrowfield, responsible for, among others, Horse of the Year Weekend Hussler, G1 winners Sweet Idea, Hot Snitzel and Reaan and Group-winning colts Dracarys and Showtime.

Yoshida is also the breeder of this year’s Golden Slipper winner Estijaab.

Silent Sedition will visit champion sire Snitzel this spring.

Among the many owners have every reason to smile broadly after the opening day of the 2018 Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale were the vendors of Arrowfield-sired mares and several buyers of Arrowfield yearling fillies.

Having enjoyed the pleasures of racing success they can now add their fillies’ realised value to their financial returns.

One of the opening day’s top-priced mares Abbey Marie (Redoute’s Choice x Catshaan) was a $300,000 yearling purchase by Dermot Farrington for regular racing partners Peter Anastasiou and Ken Biddick from Arrowfield’s 2014 Easter draft.

Anastasiou and Biddick have had great success racing another Arrowfield graduate, the G2 winner Moonovermanhattan and despite some setbacks Abbey Marie didn’t let them down winning the G1 SAJC Australasian Oaks and earning more than $540,000.

The $1.4 million Arrowfield and Jonathan Munz paid to buy her as a broodmare is the icing on the cake!

Another example is Ocean Embers (Beneteau x Burningwood), bred by Arrowfield and Northern Farm and sold under the Cornerstone Stud banner at the 2014 Magic Millions Adelaide Sale for just $23,000.

Young trainer Shea Eden was the buyer and Ocean Embers proved to be a breakthrough horse for his stable, winning three Group & Listed races and more than $400,000 in her 17-start, six-win career.

Her sale for $525,000 on Tuesday means she has returned her owners around 40 times her yearling purchase price.

Beneteau died in 2013 but Burningwood has a Panzer Division colt and is in foal to Mikki Isle. Arrowfield is also breeding from her Danzero daughter Pyrography.

It’s a similar story with another daughter of Beneteau, 2YO stakeswinner Lady Jivago, a daughter of Hussterics.

Offered by Arrowfield at the 2013 Magic Millions National Weanling Sale, she was bought for $20,000, and re-sold for slightly less money as a yearling to owner Dr Ule Crossan.

Lady Jivago won four races, including the rich ATC Inglis 2YO Classic and almost $300,000, and has been bought by Widden Stud for $420,000.

Hussterics remains at Arrowfield where she has most recently produced a yearling filly by Olympic Glory bought by Triple Crown Syndications, and a weanling filly by Scissor Kick.

Other Arrowfield-sired mares sold during Tuesday’s session included:

# French Emotion (Snitzel x Love and Emotion) – raced by her breeder; won 8 races including 2x Group 2 and $800,000; bought for $850,000 by Widden Stud.

# Hell Or Highwater (Not A Single Doubt x Get Ready Bertie) – $210,000 yearling; won 8 races and $400,000; bought for $600,000 by Woodside Park & Belmont Bloodstock.

# Selenia (Not A Single Doubt x Lunar Lady) – $30,000 yearling ; won G3 & Listed races in Melbourne, $260,000; bought for $575,000 by Astute Bloodstock & Haras d’Etreham.

# Modern Wonder (Snitzel x Elusive Wonder) – $175,000 yearling; 2YO Listed winner, $192,000 prizemoney; bought for $400,000 by Kia-Ora Stud.
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