Best Of Bordeaux could deliver Hong Kong-based owner Tony Fung his second Golden Slipper (G1) in three years March 19, but the prolific owner's bloodstock team already have an eye to the future with another colt by champion sire Snitzel.
The Arrowfield Stud-bred Snitzel colt, who was sold for AU$300,000 (US$215,789) March 15, was the highlight on Day 1 of the Magic Millions Adelaide Yearling Sale in an opening session which built momentum after a steady start, to see AU$10 million ($7,192,970) traded in seven hours of selling.
A strong middle market prevailed Tuesday, with the session realizing 35 six-figure lots and pushing the average up 8% to AU$60,532 ($43,540) year-on-year, while the median increased by 15% to AU$46,000 ($33,087).
This year's sale follows the breakout 2021 Adelaide auction, which itself was up 41% on the corresponding session 12 months earlier, and it was Tony Fung Investments which again was a powerful force at the top-end of the market, as it was at the New Zealand Bloodstock Karaka Yearling Sale last week, where the prominent owner came away with the NZ$1 million sale topper.
Bidding over the phone via Magic Millions consultant Ben Culham, TFI's racing and bloodstock manager Sally Williams was successful in buying the session-topping Snitzel colt, the sixth the operation has bought by the Arrowfield Stud stallion so far this year.
The colt is the first foal out of the Japanese winner Cross Amulet, a sister to Caulfield Cup (G1) winner Admire Rakti and a half sister to Admire Justa and Satono Jupiter, both stakes winners in Japan.
"Obviously, we are having a love affair with the stallion at the moment and enjoying a good bit of success with them (Best Of Bordeaux), so we're investing in the hope that the success continues into the future," Williams said. "He is a lovely, athletic individual with loads of quality. He's got a super action and plenty of scope about him."
Williams pointed to a previous Australian group 1-winning colt with a Japanese pedigree who excelled as a juvenile when assessing the son of Snitzel's credentials.
"Here's a strong Japanese influence in his pedigree and he's out of a Heart's Cry mare, just like Tagaloa, a group 1-winning 2-year-old," she said.
The colt will head to Hinterland Thoroughbreds in Queensland to be broken in. A trainer will then be chosen for him.
He was consigned by Collingrove Stud on behalf of Arrowfield Stud as Lot 84.
"He was a quality colt and he was extremely well-placed here. We're very grateful to the team at Arrowfield Stud to entrust us with the process of preparing this horse for this sale," Collingrove's Daniel Brash said. "He's been an easy-going colt the whole way through, he's got a great constitution and he's going to get a great home.
"We had a reserve of $200,000 and we would have been happy with that but we're ecstatic to get $300,000 for him."
TFI, which focuses on racing colts, also bought a son of the late stallion Rebel Raider for AU$130,000 ($93,508) from Summerset Park
Stud.
By the Victoria Derby (G1) winner, he is the first foal out of the unraced Bella's Breeze (by Desert King), a daughter of the group 3-winning Bellotto mare Brindabella.
Fung, who raced 2020 Golden Slipper winner Farnan (by Not A Single Doubt), shares in the ownership of the Kacy Fogden-trained Best Of Bordeaux, the unbeaten winner of the Canonbury Stakes (G3) and the Silver Slipper Stakes (G2). He is an AU$9 chance for the AU$5 million race on Saturday, and is set to jump from barrier 10.
The Golden Slipper also had an impact on the demand for the second-crop yearlings by Newgate Farm's Russian Revolution (by Snitzel), Australia's leading first-season stallion and the sire of three 2-year-olds in Saturday's race, with seven yearlings by the stallion selling for up to AU$180,000 ($67,260) Tuesday.
And it was trainer Mark Kavanagh, continuing his 2022 spending spree by purchasing nine yearlings on Day 1, who bought two yearlings by Russian Revolution, including the most expensive late in the session. The Russian Revolution colt, offered by The Chase as Lot 209, is the second foal out of New Zealand group 3 winner Let Her Rip (by Rip Van Winkle).
Kavanagh has now bought 30 yearlings so far this year.
"The stable went down in numbers but now that we're a partnership (Mark and son Levi Kavanagh), we're building it right up again. We've got a lot of nice, really well bred young horses," Kavanagh Sr. said. "This is the best value sale in Australia. A lot of these horses are
probably better suited to being sold in June, but they're being sold in March, so what you see is what you get. If you could pick up a Russian Revolution out of a group 3 winner for AU$180,000, you couldn't do that on the Gold Coast, you couldn't do that in Sydney.
"People don't realize what good shopping it is here in Adelaide," Kavanagh added, who also bought a Russian Revolution filly out of Dancingfordiamonds (Captain Rio) for AU$160,000 ($115,088) from The Chase, and admits he is an unabashed fan of the stallion.
"I bought one in Sydney for AU$220,000 that was related to Atlantic Jewel and Russian Revolution is the gun 2-year-old sire," he said.
"Everybody wants them and that's why they sold well today."
Darby Racing was another to buy a colt by Russian Revolution, buoyed by not only the stallion's success but the first start of 2-year-old
Insurrection who is owned by the syndicator.
"We had one run third on debut on Saturday at Gosford with Michael Freedman who goes really well, so we came here trying to end a nice Russian Revolution and he was the one," Scott Darby said. "I like the cross with the stoutness in the family and the shape of him.
He looks fast and is typical of the sire who has three horses in the Slipper."
Offered as Lot 163 as part of China Horse Club's The Chase's inaugural draft, the yearling colt is the second foal out of European-bred mare Hidden Gem (Shamardal).
Russian Revolution's 2021 stud fee of AU$44,000 (inc GST) has already been forecast by studmaster Henry Field to be going up this year on the back of his five individual winners, with three of them, Rise Of The Masses, Revolutionary Miss, and Russian Conquest, clashing in the Slipper.
The presence of Darby Racing in Adelaide was a first, the syndicator having been drawn to the South Australian sale by the graduate success and the strong yearling market so far this year.
"We've bought a couple online in the past from Adelaide, but we thought we'd come down as it's been a good sale that has produced a lot
of winners," Darby said. "This year's sales have been really tough and we've had to stump up (to buy the yearlings). We're heading up to
the QTIS sale next week, just trying to find a little bit of value."
China Horse Club's Michael Smith was delighted with the way The Chase's first draft had been received by the market, selling five lots for
a combined AU$780,000 ($561,052) at an average of AU$156,000 ($112,210) to be the sale's leading vendor so far.
"We wanted to bring nice horses to this sale, the Magic Millions in Adelaide, and they've been bought by some great judges," Smith told ANZ Bloodstock News. "Speaking from my personal perspective, we're very happy with how our horses have been received. I think we brought the right product here and they've been received accordingly."
Magic Millions managing director Barry Bowditch said Tuesday's trade lived up to expectations and followed the trend set at the Gold Coast in January.
"We were confident in the group of horses that were put together, that the vendors have supported this sale with and I think the buyers on the good horses in particular have stepped in and supported what the vendors have given us in a very good, strong manner," Bowditch said. "It's a very genuine market."
Local trainers Richard and Chantelle Jolly bought four yearlings, as did Tal Nolen's Moorillah Pastoral and Blueblood Thoroughbreds in conjunction with Sheamus Mills.
"Obviously for Kav (Mark Kavanagh), this was the sale that he made himself out of. He likes to support it here and he's had huge success from here, so rightly so that he's here," Bowditch said.
"However, the stars of the day are the South Australian (buyers), given what they race for here. They're stepping in and they're right at the top of the market with what they're buying, they're doing an outstanding job considering the circumstances in front of them."
Day 2 starts at 10:00 a.m. local time.
