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The Australian Easter Sales has just ended. The
sale was a success this year, despite a slight dip in the prices from
last year’s sale. The top lot was a Danehill filly out of the Assert
mare Sommes Sound. The filly comes from the same family as Japanese star
Meisho Doto. Purchased by Coolmore’s Demi O’Byrne, she went for $1.5
million.
The highest priced colt is also by the prolific son
of Danzig and is out of Bletchingly mare, Verocative. The colt went for
$1.4 million and was bought by Gooree Stud. The colt comes from the
family of successful sire Zeditave.
Two other lots went for over $1 million and both
were sons of outstanding Japanese sire, Sunday Silence. Lot 148 was
bought by Darley for $1.2 million, another sign of the faith Sheikh
Mohammed has in the son of Halo having sent some of his best mares to
the 1989 American Horse Of The Year, this year. The colt is out a Dayjur
half sister to group winners Always Fair and Faithful Son, from the
family of Lailani and Godolphin’s exciting Marju colt, Naheef.
Lot 499 was bought by Ron McAnulty for $1.1 million
and is out of Manila mare Tinaca from the family of Banks Hill, Dansili
and the Iron Horse, Giant’s Causeway. Both Sunday Silence colts were
consigned by Arrowfield Stud.
An interesting South African connection is former
SA Oaks winner, Stormy Hill, whose colt by End Sweep went for $425,000.
Sunday Silence outdistanced his rivals as the
leading sire by average with his $820,000 more than $500,000 ahead of
Danehill who was second leading sire followed by Zabeel, the deceased
pair of Nureyev and Snippets and with promising sire Octagonal in 6th
place. The leading first season sire was Peintre Celebre ahead of proven
sires such as Grand Lodge, Red Ransom and End Sweep. This confirms the
highly promising sales debut the 1997 Arc winner made in Europe.
Coolmore Australia was the leading vendor on
aggregate with 49 lots fetching almost $10 million. Arrowfield was
second with 33 lots going for just over $8 million.
Highgrove Stud was the leading vendor on average
with three lots averaging just over $2 million. Strathden Stud was next
on the list with seven lots averaging $2 million.
Graeme Rogerson was leading buyer purchasing 23 lots
for slightly over $3 million. The familiar names of Darley and Coolmore
were the next busiest. |