Cover image courtesy of Inglis

The contrast between the build-up to this year's Sale and what occurred 12 months ago, when the Easter Sale was forced into an online format due to COVID-19 shutdowns, could not be any stark. Even in those tough times, the Easter Sale performed remarkably well and given the confidence that has returned to the market, 2021 is expected to be a bumper Easter harvest.

Inglis' General Manager Bloodstock Sales and Marketing, Sebastian Hutch, said while there are plenty willing to make predictions of just exactly how hot the market may be on Tuesday and Wednesday, Inglis' own metrics for success are more circumspect.

"We want to generate strong turnover. We want to say we put money in the market and that money was shared amongst the vendors. We want to be able to generate good clearance through the ring and we want vendors to walk away from here happy that they have sold well," he said.

"We also want buyers to walk away feeling like they have bought nice horses, horses that can win top-class races in the future. We keep saying it, but this is the Sale where you are more likely to buy a stakes-winning 2-year-old, more likely to buy a Group 1-winning colt, or a Group 1-winning filly.

"It's arguably, on metrics, the best yearling sale in the world, and as a consequence, it represents an opportunity for those people involved in the Sale to buy top-class horses."

Highlighting the success of its graduates has been a particular focus for Inglis in the past few years and enables it the opportunity to emphasise the opportunities available at all ends of the market.

Much will be made in the coming days of the amount of million-dollar lots (it was 20 in 2019) and the Sale average (it was $353,511 in 2019), but Hutch believes those longer-term metrics of racetrack success are the things that keep buyers coming back to the Sale.

"Those watershed figures of $1 million-plus have courted the headlines at a Sale like Easter, but we have been at pains to suggest there has been tremendous buying at value in this Sale. You talk about horses like Funstar, Exceedance, Aristia, Nettoyer and Quick Thinker, there are a long list of top-class horses that could have been bought at this Sale for $100,000 or less," he said.

"We stress to those operating at the value end of the market that this is a sale where they can come to and be active at."

Anticipation at fever pitch

Whether it is because of the circumstances of 12 months ago, or just the expectation that has driven record results at almost every yearling sale in Australia in 2021, the anticipation for the Easter Sale has been almost palpable at the Riverside Stables.

Hutch acknowledges that the Sale almost takes on a life of itself in the build-up and that has been further heightened by what has generally been assessed as one of the strongest-ever catalogues.

"Easter is a sale where everybody wants to be involved. It's a sale where people want to buy horses from because history has shown that it's the place you are likely to buy the best horses. In terms of encouraging people to participate, be they vendors or buyers, it speaks for itself," he said.

"We have work that we do, but people want to be a part of it. Naturally, as an auction house, we have procedure we want to work through to make sure we give vendors the best chance of getting a good result and we are working as hard as we can to help buyers buy the right horses."

Gallery: Inspections around the Riverside Stables complex

'A true market'

Managing vendors' expectations is such an effusive environment, something that Inglis has been very aware of in the build-up.

"Naturally the amount of effort and investment that goes into preparing a horse at any sale, let alone one at this level, brings with it a level of expectation and pressure on the part of the vendors," Hutch said.

"To get here is an achievement in itself. It’s a vendor's prerogative to get as much money as they possibly can for their horses. That's what keeps people in business and keeps people motivated. I think vendors are very optimistic as to what could be achieved at a sale like this, but similarly conscious that you have to very pragmatic about it.

"The market has been very positive throughout the year, but it has been a very true market. It’s not as if every horse going through the ring is making a premium. The market is really identifying the horses they like and is happy to pay a premium for those horses and there are other instances where horses have been sold for what people feel is great value.

"It’s been a true and fair market and it’s a reasonable expectation for vendors that will be the case this week."

While all signs are positive heading in to the week, Inglis is very aware that its job is far from done, according to Hutch.

"The response this week has been very positive. There are a lot of people around, people seem extremely positive about the Sale and we are never complacent. It’s our mandate to get the best results we possibly can, but certainly at this stage, we are pleased with how things are progressing," he said.

IRON, International Racehorse Owners Network, has engaged 33 prominent investors from Australia and Hong Kong to back a syndicate which intends to buy up to eight horses at the Riverside Stables this week.

It will feature a world-first model of ownership, with the horses then forming part of an asset pool which can be tokenised for listing on a digital exchange. Subsequent investors in the tokens would not be trading bloodstock, but effectively holding shares in the future prosperity of a selection of horses.

Boehm, a successful businessman in Hong Kong, explained to TDN AusNZ from his current base in Thailand that he had been working closely with Hong Kong-based QBN Capital on the increasingly popular concept of tokenising assets, something that has become possible through the use of blockchain, and the emergence of powerhouse cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin.

"The tokenisation of assets would apply to anything that might not be easily traded through regular means, like real estate for example," he said.

"We were sitting around in Hong Kong thinking about what asset category would be good to tokenise first. We thought about racehorses, because Hong Kong people are generally very interested in horse racing and there is a lot of excitement and money around it.

"Given that we had the infrastructure and the experience to deal with racehorses, we thought we would give it a go. We put together a proposal whereby the idea is that we will have 33 general partners and these general partners are the people who put in the money initially and we can hopefully buy yearlings at the Easter Sale."

From there, the plan is for those 33 investors to remain in the ownership of the horses, thus satisfying any regulatory concerns from racing authorities, but they will effectively sell the future prosperity or otherwise of the horses in their ownership.

"So we won't actually tokenise the racehorses themselves, we will tokenise the financial benefits of those racehorses," Boehm said.

"The 33 initial investors will retain 10 per cent of the financial benefit and we will tokenise the other 90 per cent. It's just like owning a horse except the ownership document doesn't change.

"There are a few avenues for financial upside. There is prizemoney earned, or if we sell a horse or if we are lucky enough to find a colt that might be worthy of syndication as a stallion, they will get the benefits of that as well."

Moore to the fore in the IRON's plans

Investors in the tokens will be buying a share in the future of all horses within the ownership of that particular syndicate, with horses to be trained either by Moore from his new Gold Coast base, or by champion Sydney-based trainer Chris Waller.

Moore's involvement with IRON will be to select the yearlings on which the syndicate will bid on this week in Sydney.

"My position in the whole thing is to buy the horses and they will then go on to Muskoka Farm, which David owns," Moore told TDN AusNZ. "The syndicate then decides who trains them, there might be a few in Sydney, and I’ll train a couple up on the Gold Coast."

Moore, who will train under his own name in Queensland, is excited by the concept, and intends to buy around eight horses for IRON, with a mix of fillies and colts.

"The plan is for all these horses to race in Australia. George (son) and I have done all the selection process and I will have some input on who will train the horses in Sydney. This is something very new to the industry," he said.

A world first

Boehm said the prizemoney levels and returns to owners in Australia made it the ideal place to start up the IRON model, even though the tokens themselves will likely be listed on a digital exchange in London due to a lack of such a platform in Australia.

"We will focus on Australia because we have infrastructure there, but in the future we could look to do it in any jurisdiction," he said.

"As far as we know we are the first group that will be doing this in a formal way. Others may be trying bits and pieces, but I think we are the first to have the intention to buy racehorses and put them into stables.

"Once the horses have been purchased, we set up a corporate structure whereby 100 per cent of the financial benefits go into the structure and then we issue tokens. It’s quite similar to doing an IPO for a company on the stock exchange.

"We draw up what is called a STO, the digital equivalent of an IPO. The tokens will be listed on a digital exchange, probably in London, because the infrastructure there is quite advanced, some time later in the year."

Transparency and traceability

Such a radical model is likely to draw scepticism within the thoroughbred industry, as well as the attention of regulators. But having enlisted some significant investors, Boehm has already sought assurances that the ownership model would not be an issue.

"There is of course a requirement of regulatory authorities in horseracing to be able to see the ownership. We're going to set up a syndicate or a fund, that will buy these horses and they will all be owned by the 33 partners, who will be fully disclosed. If the regulatory authorities want to know who is behind it, we will just provide them with the shareholders' information," he said.

"We've been in touch with Racing NSW and the biggest issue with the racing authorities is transparency. As long as they know who is in the ownership of the horses, then they are comfortable with it.

"And because the financial authorities in the UK and Hong Kong are making sure that everything is done in a transparent, open and audited way, the reputation risk is eliminated. The great thing about blockchain is everything can be traced."

While the finer details may take some getting your head around, Boehm believes the concept has the power to win potential investors in the digital tokens over, not just for the financial returns, but for the engagement as well.

"The reason why I love the concept is that in most racing jurisdictions around the world, we want to compete with all other entertainment options. Younger people are doing everything online and digital is very important to them and so we feel that by tokenising the financial benefits of these racehorses, we are going to get a lot of young people interested in sport again," he said.

Moore kept busy

The additional work Moore has done through inspection periods in identifying prospects for the IRON syndicate as well as for his own developing stables has made for a very busy few weeks for the 71-year-old, but he is relishing the challenge.

"This is the first time I have done three or four days in the Hunter Valley with George and the first time I've looked at 400 horses ahead of the one sale. It’s been very intense, but it’s been very worthwhile," he said.

He intends to buy between two and six horses for his own clients at the Riverside Stables.

"There are some very nice horses and I look forward to building on what we already have bought this year," he said.

"The market is very hot. It will be interesting to see what the average is going to be like."

While he has a lifetime experience in preparing horses, Moore said is enjoying learning all he can about his new home.

"It's been good to get to meet everybody again and to touch base with all the stud manager's and owners, all the way across the board. That's important," he said.

"I'm trying to get a good feel for the racing culture of Australia and in particular, Queensland, so I'm not looking to establish a huge stable. I want to get my feet on the ground and establish a stable that is winning races."

Cover image courtesy of Bronwen Healy

Yarraman Park's Mitchell brothers, Arthur and Harry, have had a long-term friendship with Angus Gold, who manages Shadwell's global thoroughbred interests for the late Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid, and the Hunter Valley farm has been the base for a significant amount of Shadwell's Australian breeding operations since the 1990s.

However, Gold confirmed earlier this year that Shadwell would wind up its Australian arm and disperse its breeding stock, with its yearlings to be offered through Yarraman Park's draft of 21. The recent passing of Sheikh Hamdan has been felt at a global level, with Shadwell a huge investor and success story around the world.

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While the presence of such a high-quality band of yearlings has boosted Yarraman's Easter offering in terms of quality and quantity, there is a sense of mourning for an end of an era by the Mitchells.

"I was always great friends of Hubie de Burgh and Angus Gold from back in England," Arthur Mitchell told TDN AusNZ.

"How Yarraman got involved was when Jeune went to stud at Lindsay Park. After a while they realised, as their broodmare band got a bit bigger, that the more commercial stallions were in the Hunter. They asked if we would take a couple of their mares, which we did, and it grew from there.

"We have always worked very closely with Angus, he's been a wonderful man to work with and obviously, Sheikh Hamdan has been a wonderful man for racing in general all over the world."

While Shadwell primarily bred to race its own horses in Australia, the Mitchells played a key role in helping it build a strong foundation of success, working closely with Gold.

"We have had that strong relationship with Angus and Shadwell. We helped with the matings where we could on types and working through what the foals were like. The pedigrees were generally researched at Shadwell in England and we'd work in closely with Angus and his pedigree team," Arthur said.

"A lot of their yearlings would end up at Lindsay Park and quite a few went to South Africa to join the stables of Mike de Kock. We had a lot of success with that. A lot of stakes winners have been bred from Yarraman and raced in South Africa. It's been a very happy relationship.

"It's very sad to see it come to an end. It’s very sad we lost Sheikh Hamdan and so we have to have this dispersal sale."

Goodwill and trust power partnership

Mitchell sees the relationship between Shadwell and Yarraman, so often conducted from opposite sides of the world, as a tribute to the spirit of goodwill and trust between two highly professional operations.

"Both Harry and I have always had a close relationship with Angus for many years, so we are close friends. We pick up the phone, we talk. We've had a lot of Zoom meetings in the last year and that sort of thing. With the technology now, we send him a lot videos of his mares and foals. We are very involved in that way. It’s always been a very close relationship, I don’t think we have ever had a cross word," he said.

"They have really been wonderful people to deal with. They have bred to race, and it’s been a sad time to see that come to an end. Not only for us at Yarraman, but for Australian racing in general and for the world as well."

The Australian yearling market has never had access to such quality from Shadwell as the dozen that will go on sale this week, with Mitchell paying tribute to Gold's approach to selecting fillies and developing them as broodmare prospects.

"Angus always bought in a very particular way. Whenever the fillies came off the track at Yarraman, they were always good looking and good sorts. He bought a lot of Redoute's Choice mares and the like that were outstanding individuals," Arthur said.

"They ended up with a very nice broodmare band. We were really starting to make progress in the past few years and with the broodmare band they have. It’s sad to see them dispersed.

"This is probably the best crop of yearlings they have ever had. We have got an outstanding crop of foals going to the Magic Millions National Sale as well. They will all be sold. They are for unreserved sale and so everyone gets a chance to buy into their nice families."

A draft of depth

Harry Mitchell has seen at close quarter the development of the 21 yearlings in Yarraman Stud's Easter draft. He concurs with his brother that the presence of Shadwell's dispersal has supercharged the offering to their best in a long time at Easter.

"It's probably the deepest draft we’ve had because we don’t usually have 20 at Easter," he said. "This is the best bunch of yearlings that have ever been bred at Yarraman, and they are now getting sold."

Asked to select some standouts from the Shadwell offering, Harry points to two colts, Lots 227 and 173, and two fillies, Lots 122 and 116.

Lot 227 is a colt by Snitzel out of the Listed-winning mare Bulbula (Shamardal {USA}), making him a half-brother to multiple stakes winner Aryaaf (Epaulette).

"He's the star colt. An average-sized horse out of a very good Shamardal mare, and he's a magnificent mover," Harry said.

Yarraman Stud's I Am Invincible features heavily among the Shadwell dozen, as the sire of five of them, including Lot 173, out of Zamzam (Redoute's Choice), who was a stakes-winning 2-year-old from an extended family which has produced G1 Australasian Oaks winner Tully Thunder (Thunder Gulch {USA}) and her G1 Australian Derby winning son, Levendi (Pierro).

Lot 406, a Vinnie colt out of another star juvenile in Madeenaty (Exceed And Excel) is also highly rated as is Lot 116, a filly by I Am Invincible out of Tameer (NZ) (General Nediym), the stakes-winning dam of the abovementioned Bulbula.

Minhaaj (Exceed And Excel) has been an excellent recent flagbearer in the Shadwell colours, winning at Group 3 level as well as at Caulfield last Saturday. Her full sister is Lot 122, with both out of Telaawa (Lonhro).

Stars abound across Yarraman draft

Outside of the Shadwell horses, Yarraman Park also have a host of outstanding prospects, including Lot 91, the sister to Group 1 winner Viddora (I Am Invincible), Lot 222, the Capitalist half-brother to Exceedance, and Lot 454, the brother to G1 Oakleigh Plate winner Booker (Written Tycoon).

"We’ve got some outstanding I Am Invincibles. We’ve got some very nice Snitzels and we have got a smattering of others as well," Harry said.

"We've got some nice horses of our own and a few clients, but the added interest in the Shadwell horses, a lot of these are from families that have never been on the market before. People want to come and look.

"We've been as busy as we’ve ever been at an Easter Sale. On Sunday, we had to turn people away it was so busy."

If the pressure of selling such a high-profile batch of yearlings is being felt by the Mitchells, Harry is certainly not showing it.

"I find yearling sales are pretty simple. We present them the best we can and people work out whether they want to buy them.

"You put sensible reserves on them and you put them on the market. I think people over-complicate things sometimes," he said.

New Kelvinside resident Pinatubo will stand for $44,000 (inc GST) while, the new Northwood Park duo Ghaiyyath and Earthlight will be available to Australasian breeders at $27,500 (inc GST) and $22,000 (inc GST) respectively.

“It’s incredible that we’ve been able to add seven champions to our roster in just the last two seasons – that’s not something that’s easy to do,” Godolphin Australia’s Managing Director, Vin Cox, told TDN AusNZ.

“Not only are they all champions in their own right, but they’re all also the sons of champion stallions.

“They’re the real deal, they’re multiple Group 1 performers and we’re very excited to be offering this opportunity to Australian breeders.”

Darley has become renowned for its outstanding success with shuttle stallions, making a huge impact on the industry with the likes of Street Cry (Ire), Teofilo (Ire), Medaglia D’Oro (USA), Dubawi (Ire) and more recently Street Boss (USA) and Frosted (USA).

“We’ve been shuttling stallions for a number of years now, and we believe we’ve got the formula right,” Cox said.

Pinatubo was a dual Group 1 winner, as was Earthlight while Ghaiyyath retired with four top-flight titles to his credit.

Elite-level stallions

Pinatubo and Earthlight are sons of Shamardal (USA) and Ghaiyyath is by Dubawi (Ire) and the influence and success of those two international heavyweights was reflected during their stallion careers when their service fees were listed as ‘private'.

Very few gain such a mark of distinction, Dubawi was afforded that honour by Darley while his deceased contemporary and team-mate Shamardal also commanded that respect during his final five seasons at Kildangan Stud in Ireland prior to his death in April last year at the age of 18.

The best way to tap into the genes of these super-sires is to use their sons and they will be on offer in 2021 with the Darley roster to be significantly bolstered by the arrival of Pinatubo, Earthlight and Ghaiyyath.

Dubawi and Shamardal are well-established as worldwide rather than merely European phenomena. Both sired several Group 1 winners during the handful of shuttling stints which they undertook in their youth. In fact, Shamardal started out in Australia.

Retired shortly after his European Group 1 hat-trick in the spring and early summer of 2005 which culminated in his 3l victory in the G1 St James’s Palace S. under Kerrin McEvoy, he kicked off his second career at Kelvinside Stud in NSW before taking up his position at Kildangan.

Appleby magic apparent

Pinatubo enjoyed a perfect 2-year-old campaign and his unbeaten sequence of six included victories at Group 1 level in the National S. and Dewhurst S.

He ended his 2019 preparation as the highest-rated European juvenile in 25 years and testament to trainer Charlie Appleby’s conditioning skills, which came in to play soon after with the arrival to his yard of Ghaiyyath, who would become the world’s top-rated horse.

“I can see how Pinatubo will fit into the Australian industry. He had an abundance of natural speed, as well as the strength to be a precocious 2-year-old,” Appleby said. “We saw that a mile was his maximum trip, but six or seven furlongs (1200 or 1400 metres) were really his optimum trips.”

Watch: Pinatubo’s two Group 1 victories

While Pinatubo made an instant impact, Ghaiyyath’s career came to the boil more gradually, and by his fourth season in training he was sizzling and ended with four Group 1 titles to his credit.

His trainer reflects, “Obviously Ghaiyyath wasn’t a precocious 2-year-old in the same way as Pinatubo, but he showed his potential at two when coming out and winning the (G3) Autumn S. at Newmarket,” Appleby said.

“He was a bit more headstrong and wanted to get on with it, but as people will see in his stature when they see him at stud, he needed that time to fill his frame.

“He was always wanting to do a little bit more than his body would allow in the early days, but from two to three we saw that progression."

Watch: Four-time Group 1 winner Ghaiyyath in full flight

Cover image courtesy of Ashlea Brennan

As the curtain drew down on the Rosehill Carnival for 2021, we were served up a substandard surface where it was basically impossible to come wide and win, which has been the flavour of Sydney racing of late. With the rail out six metres for the meeting, it was follow the leader in most cases.

From the nine winners run on the day:

- Five drew gate one.

- Three led the whole way.

- The only winner to come from off speed to win was Hungry Heart (Frankel {GB}).

Two-year-old Pride Of Dubai gelding Saif kicked off the program in fine style by taking out the G3 Schweppervesence over 1400 metres. He positioned himself up far closer than when he did when running second in the G2 VRC Sires' (1400 metres) and put the race away early in the straight after trailing the leader throughout, and in turn running only 2l outside the 1400 metre class record (1:23.85).

A decision on whether he backs up in the G1 Sires' Produce S. or waits three weeks until the G1 Champagne S. will be made early in the week. His win was also very timely considering his full brother is going through the ring at the Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale. He is Lot 393 and is sure to have plenty of admirers.

The final lead up to the ATC Derby in the G2 Tulloch S. (2000 metres) was taken out by the Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott-trained Yaletown (Vancouver). He was able to dictate his own terms in front and never gave his opposition a look in.

Tim Clark pinched some slug-like sectionals, including a 13s furlong from the 1200 metres to 1000 metres, and his first 1000 metre run was 9l slower than the Vinery (1:03.54).

The glaring worry about his win was that after having such an easy lead, he could only manage to run home in 35.32s for his last 600 metres - the seventh slowest for the race, which probably does not say much for the opposition going into a Derby.

Hungry Heart's exciting win

The Group 1 for the girls was quite a different story with Hungry Heart producing the most exciting win visually on the program defying the huge on-pace bias.

The favourite for the race Harmony Rose (Glass Harmonium {Ire}) ran them along far too quickly early, in fact she went so fast that she ran the second quickest furlong on the day outside of the G3 Star Kingdom S. (1200 metres), running a scorching 10.90s from the 1800 metre to 1600 metre mark.

The early work made her very vulnerable late in the piece for the eventual winner but she is far from disgraced going forward into the ATC Oaks in a fortnight.

Although Hungry Heart gave them a start and a beating, they did come home in the slowest of the last 600 metres of the day (37.50s), but that's not surprising considering where she came from to win and the early toll that it took on Harmony Rose.

Taking a line through the boys and the girls heading to next week’s ATC Derby, it looks like a race to lose for Montefilia (Kermadec {NZ}) after having most of the fillies covered in her career to date at 1600 metres and beyond. The fillies certainly look to have the measure on the boys now that Mo’unga (NZ) (Savabeel) is Doncaster-bound and will bypass the Derby.

Dragon's return to form

The G1 Tancred S. (2400 metres) saw the return to form for last year’s G1 Cox Plate winner Sir Dragonet (Ire) (Camelot {GB}). He was another one on the day able to secure a soft run from the coveted rails draw, when he sucked up the fence and Glen Boss pulled him across the heels of the leaders and the horse did the rest.

He is now very much back in G1 Queen Elizabeth S. (2000 metres) calculations where he will meet the wonder mare Verry Elleegant (NZ) (Zed {NZ}) and warhorse Addeybb (Ire) (Pivotal {GB}), throw in The All-Star Mile winner Mugatoo (Ire) (Henrythenavigator {USA}) and possibly up-and-coming 3-year-old Mo’unga into the mix - it really is shaping to be the race of the autumn.

Brian Nutt’s Attunga Stud will offer four colts and three fillies at the Easter Sale and the effort of She’s Ideel to finish runner-up in the Tancred provided the Scone farm with a hugely satisfying lead in to the auction.

Attunga bred the Bjorn Baker-trained mare and has retained an ownership interest in the 5-year-old and continues to breed from several other members of the family.

She’s Ideel went into the Tancred off placings in the G2 Millie Fox S. and at Group 3 level in the Aspiration S. and Epona S., and produced a gallant performance to boost her future broodmare value, although the focus remains firmly on her racing career for now.

“It was fantastic and we were just hoping she could run third or fourth to get that Group 1 placing in the catalogue when we do start breeding from her,” Nutt said. “To run second and to finish off the way she did was so exciting, and at weight-for-age especially.

“Her true weight would probably have been about 49kg and she carried 57kg against some of the best stayers in the country.”

It was a bold call to test She’s Ideel in such esteemed company and her run for second behind the G1 Cox Plate winner Sir Dragonet (Ire) (Camelot {GB}) justified the decision in spades.

“It qualifies her for some big races going forward and the G1 Sydney Cup has always been Bjorn’s main aim and I’d like to think we’re pretty much on target now,” Nutt said.

She’s Ideel is a daughter of the winning Anabaa (USA) mare Ana’s Mail, who was bought by Harry McAlpine Bloodstock for $130,000 when offered at the Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale in 2018.

“We sold her to dissolve a partnership and a deceased estate and I was the under-bidder on her. I tried my best but at the time didn’t have quite enough money,” Nutt said.

“We do have her half-sister To Be Sure and kept a couple of other fillies, so we’re still in the family and we’ll be mating She’s Ideel in the future.

“It would be very difficult not to press on with her. I don’t think she will be going to stud this year, she’ll probably race on for another 12 months.”

A half-sister to the G3 Wellington S. winner and Group 1 placegetter Shanzero (Danzero), To Be Sure (Not A Single Doubt) won three races.

Her first foal is an unraced 2-year-old Winning Rupert filly named Suretin and she has since had an Epaulette filly to be retained by Attunga. The mare produced a colt by Dundeel (NZ) last year and is in foal to Exceedance.

She’s Ideel was the result of the breeding right of Dundeel’s former trainer Murray Baker - “the Bakers and the Nutts go back a long way,” said Nutt.

Lucky story

The original intention was to sell She’s Ideel at New Zealand Bloodstock’s National Yearling Sale through Lyndhurst Farm’s draft, but fortunately for Attunga that didn’t eventuate when she didn’t make her NZ$100,000 reserve.

“It’s more a story of luck than good management. She was from the first crop of Dundeel and I didn’t think she was an Inglis Easter filly or a Magic Millions filly so I entered her in the New Zealand Bloodstock National Yearling Sale,” Nutt said.

“She was severely injured on the truck leaving the airport and it was touch and go for a while. She recovered and had an interrupted preparation for the Sale and wasn’t at her best so I passed her in and retained her.”

That wasn’t the end of Attunga’s good fortune with She’s Ideel, now the winner of five races.

“She didn’t do much as a 3-year-old and Bjorn said this filly’s not showing me anything so I entered her in the National Sale,” Nutt said. “A month later the catalogue was out and Bjorn said it’s as if a switch has been flicked and she’s turned the corner so I took her out and here we are now.”

Quality Easter draft

Attunga will present a draft of seven at Riverside Stables, described by Nutt as an even consignment.

“We haven’t got any superstars in our lineup, but I think we have got quite a few racehorses and they’ll be buyable for most,” he said.

“We’ve got a nice spread of proven stallions – So You Think, Zoustar Spirit Of Boom and also a very nice American Pharoah filly. It’s an even spread and we’re happy with them.”

Lot 16 is the So You Think (NZ) colt out of the Group performer Placement (NZ) (Savabeel), a three-quarter sister to the G3 Gloaming S. winner and G1 Australian Guineas runner-up Strike The Stars (NZ) (Savabeel).

The first of the Zoustars is Lot 163 who is out of a winning Flying Spur mare Without Exception and is a sister to G2 Todman S. winner and sire Krupt, and a half-sister to Listed Talindert S. winner Anevay (Exceed And Excel).

In-form family

The second by Zoustar is a colt, Lot 355, from Irish Sea (Fastnet Rock) and a half-brother to recent winner Holyhead (Pierro). It is the family of this season’s R. Listed Inglis Nursery winner Acrobat (Fastnet Rock) and his sister Lake Geneva was a stakes winner and placed at Group 1 level in the Golden Slipper S. and Blue Diamond S.

Lot 290 is the Spirit Of Boom colt from G3 Kindergarten S. second Elimbari (Fastnet Rock), also the dam of the multiple winner and G3 Reisling S. placegetter Vincere Volare (I Am Invincible). Lot 398 is American Pharoah’s (USA) daughter and the family of the G1 Toorak H. winner and sire Shot Of Thunder and the dual Group 2 winner French Emotion (Snitzel).

Attunga’s lineup is completed by a Caravaggio (USA) filly (Lot 47) from the G2 Wakeful S. winner Rocha (Encosta De Lago) and a half-sister to the progressive Rocha Clock (Pierro) and a Dundeel colt (Lot 295).

He is out of a half-sister to the G2 Angus Armanasco S. winner Meliora (Ad Valorem {USA}), dam of the G3 Blue Diamond Prelude (Colts and Geldings) and the Listed Blue Diamond Prelude (Colts and Geldings) winner and sire I Am Immortal.