Vintage start to spring for Arrowfield Stud

It’s just a handful of weeks into the new Australian racing season, and already Arrowfield Stud has had plenty to cheer about. Last weekend, the pensioned Not A Single Doubt sired the first two horses home in the Listed Cap D’Antibes S. at Flemington, while Snitzel did similar in the G2 Bobbie Lewis Quality and sired a stakes double.

In Ireland, the Jessica Harrington-trained filly No Speak Alexander (Ire) became the first Group 1 winner for her sire, Arrowfield shuttler Shalaa (Ire). It was a stout performance too, the filly winning the G1 Matron S. at Leopardstown.

Shalaa’s good fortune continued this week in Australia too, getting on the board impressively at Bendigo with the very well-bred colt Mornington Glory, a half-brother to both Hallowed Crown and Needs Further.

The success isn’t lost on Arrowfield Stud, despite its decades of handling stallions, breeding winners and selling yearlings. Prolific wins like these are any stud’s best friend, but especially at this time of year only a fortnight into the new breeding season.

Arrowfield has 10 stallions on its roster this spring, with around 360 breeding mares and, at this early point in the season, the operation is off to a flying start.

The Shalaa bandwagon

Jon Freyer is the bloodstock manager for Arrowfield Stud, and on Saturday last he welcomed Shalaa’s Group 1 result as much as anyone.

“We were thrilled with that,” Freyer said. “She’s a really high-class filly, No Speak Alexander. She’d gone to France against similar opposition and got completely shut out in the last little bit, so it was a complete forgive. It wasn’t completely unexpected that she would bounce back then last weekend because she’s clearly up to that class.”

No Speak Alexander was third in the G1 Irish 1000 Guineas in May and, so albeit at 25-1 in the betting, she was no flash in the pan.

“She deserved her Group 1 and it’s great for the stallion,” Freyer said. “And Shalaa’s got some lovely horses here in Australia too.”

No Speak Alexander and the dual Group winner Shaquero are the two best horses by Shalaa to date. The latter was an excellent early juvenile last season, winning the G3 Pago Pago S. and G3 Breeders’ Plate.

“Both these horses are out of Danehill-line mares, which is a positive,” Freyer said. “Shalaa had some super yearlings last year, and we had a Profondo half-brother (from Honesty Prevails) make over $1 million at Magic Millions. He’s got some lovely stock coming through, and he’s tracking well this year.”

Shalaa will cover his fifth book at Arrowfield this spring, his fee creeping up slightly from $33,000 (inc GST) to $44,000 (inc GST). His first four books have been consistent, with the stallion covering 155 mares in his freshman year and 170 last year.

“He was one of our most popular stallions early on,” Freyer said. “Everyone was on the Shalaa bandwagon. He’s a very reliable horse to get a good-looking yearling, and he’s a great-looking horse himself. Almost without exception, his yearlings are great types which is probably that Invincible Spirit-line. But there’s a lot of charisma and charm about the Shalaas, for sure.”

Freyer confirmed that the stallion would cover a similar book to previous years.

“He’s always been around the 150 mark, and he’ll be something similar this year,” he said. “That’s what we’ve been contracted with for him.”

The Dundeel quality

On a different spectrum to Shalaa, Dundeel (NZ) headed into his eighth book at Arrowfield Stud this spring. He stands for $66,000 (inc GST).

The accomplished son of High Chaparral (Ire) has consistently kicked goals for Arrowfield throughout his stud career, and accordingly his 2021 book is very strong.

Among the Arrowfield mares booked to Dundeel is Group 1 winner Abbey Marie (Redoute’s Choice), who won the 2016 SAJC Australasian Oaks. From the Catrail (USA) mare Catshaan, Abbey Marie is a full sister to the G1 Australian Oaks winner Absolutely (Redoute’s Choice) and a half-sister to the Listed and Group 3 winner Runaway (Manhattan Rain).

Additionally, Dundeel will serve Don’t Doubt Mamma (Not A Single Doubt), who was an exceptional race mare in 2015/16. Don’t Doubt Mamma won five stakes races, among them the G2 Let’s Elope S., and she is currently due to foal to Written Tycoon.

Gallery: Some of Arrowfield's mares booked to Dundeel (NZ) in 2021

In May, Arrowfield purchased the half-sister to Winx (Street Cry {Ire}) in Courchevel (Snitzel), who is also booked to Dundeel. She was purchased for $900,000 at the Inglis Chairman’s Sale in foal to Capitalist for her maiden cover.

Among the other notables booked to Dundeel is Salutations (Redoute’s Choice), who is the dam of G1 Caulfield Guineas winner and now Waikato Stud sire Super Seth, as well as the G1 Matriarch S. winner at Del Mar, Stormy Lucy (USA) (Stormy Atlantic {USA}).

Flidais (Timber Country {USA}), the dam of Group winner and now Arrowfield sire Showtime as well as the five-time Group winner Sweet Idea (Snitzel), is also booked to Dundeel, as are Group winners I Am Serious (Choisir) and C’Est Beau La Vie (Bernardini {USA}).

“Dundeel has been really solid this year,” Freyer said. “He’s had a couple of fabulous years in terms of numbers and quality, and he’s a horse that we look at, particularly with some of those mares that need a bit of quality, that can infuse a bit of refinement into that physical, and he’s very reliable for doing that.”

Freyer identified where, in particular, this had come in handy.

“Some of those bigger, slightly plainer Redoute’s-type mares that have tremendous frames, Dundeel is a really good match for them,” he said. “He can put that quality into them.”

When it comes to mare selection for Dundeel, Freyer said all the usual criteria comes into play – type, pedigree and commerciality.

“We study the bloodlines, and we look at what has worked with these types of stallions,” he said. “We also look at what has worked with those mares in the past, and we aggregate all that information and try to come up with the right answer.”

Second bite for Castelvecchio

Standing alongside his sire Dundeel at Arrowfield Stud, Castelvecchio has headed into his second spring in the stallion barn.

The two-time Group 1 winner, admittedly one of the sharpest horses on the turf in recent times, covered 142 mares for his maiden book last year, and he’ll get over 50 Arrowfield mares for this one. Some of these are booked on the back of his first foals.

“We’re actually really excited about his foals coming through,” Freyer said. “They’re very consistent and he stamped them remarkably well, and they’ve got a lot of strength and depth to them. They look a lot like him.”

Freyer said the Castelvecchio foals, of all those of new sires that have come through Arrowfield in the last handful of years, were the ones that excited him the most, which is a big call.

This spring, the broodmare Kebede (Redoute’s Choice) is booked to Castelvecchio. She is a G2 Doomben Roses winner and a full sister to the G3 Ming Dynasty winner Panzer Division. Also booked is Nocturnelle (Elusive Quality {USA}), a winner of two stakes races and the dam of G3 Up And Coming S. winner (and now Oakwood Farm sire) Dracarys.

Valley Of Light (Ire) (Dubawi {GB}), meanwhile, was purchased by Arrowfield at this year’s Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale. She cost $260,000 from the draft of Bell View Park Stud, and she was in foal to Castelvecchio. The resultant foal was a colt, born on July 30, that was excellent enough to warrant Valley Of Light heading back to Castelvecchio.

Additionally, the stallion will cover Miss Helsinki (Hussonet {USA}), a daughter of Miss Finland (Redoute’s Choice), as well as Dame Pattie (Snitzel), a daughter of Alinghi (Encosta De Lago).

Noticeably, Castelvecchio will also cover Tasteful (Redoute’s Choice), who is a full sister to million-dollar producer Honesty Prevails (Redoute’s Choice) and is fresh to the broodmare band.

Gallery: Some of Arrowfield's broodmares booked to Castelvecchio in 2021

Sun still shining

When The Autumn Sun retired in 2019, and his sire Redoute’s Choice passed away, it was obvious that the former was something of an heir apparent at Arrowfield Stud.

“We see him that way,” Freyer said of The Autumn Sun. “We see him as the heir apparent to Redoute’s and Snitzel, and Not A Single Doubt too, I guess. He’s a horse that’s got everything, with a tremendous pedigree, he’s a faultless individual and he was a great racehorse.”

The track deeds of The Autumn Sun are well documented.

He was defeated only once in nine starts and, of his eight victories, five were Group 1 wins. They included the 2018 Golden Rose, Caulfield Guineas, Rosehill Guineas and Randwick Guineas.

“He had a tremendous temperament, and he showed great courage during his races,” Freyer said. “All those attributes are important in the make-up of a successful sire.”

Arrowfield is giving The Autumn Sun every possible opportunity as a stallion. This spring, the horse will get over 50 of the farm’s mares, and they include the stakes winners Angel Of Mercy (Hussonet {USA}), Bring Me The Maid (Sebring), Super Cash (Written Tycoon) and Desert Fight (Chi) (Hussonet {USA}). The latter is the dam of Kebede and Panzer Division.

Equally, The Autumn Sun will meet the lovely broodmare Miss Dodwell (Falbrav {Ire}), who has produced the dual Group 1 winner Kenedna (Not A Single Doubt) and the late, three-time Group-winning sire Spill The Beans.

Royal Tithe (Show A Heart), the dam of recent Listed winner Royalzel (Snitzel), will also visit the stallion.

At the Magic Millions National Sale in May, Arrowfield purchased the mares Missybeel (NZ) (Savabeel) and Scarlet Dream (Sebring) specifically for The Autumn Sun.

Gallery: Some of Arrowfield's mares booked to The Autumn Sun in 2021

Missybeel was a winner of the G3 Epona S. and G3 Aspiration Qlty. H., and Freyer paid $800,000 for her from the draft of Attunga Stud. Scarlet Dream was a $750,000 purchase from the Newgate Consignment.

Next year, The Autumn Sun will have his first yearlings go through the Magic Millions and Inglis salerings.

“We’ll have a really good draft of yearlings by him heading to both major sales,” Freyer said. “There’s a number of them that I’d be confident of not only selling well, but they look like real racehorses.”

Japanese invasion

Among the 10 stallions on the Arrowfield roster this year, only Admire Mars (Jpn) is a new addition.

Admire Mars is a triple Group 1 winner for Northern Farm in Japan, and his shuttle announcement came with sustained interest from Australian circles.

The horse will stand his maiden season at Arrowfield for $22,000 (inc GST), which puts him in the same price point as Coolmore shuttler Churchill (Ire), his stablemates Vancouver and Pride Of Dubai, and also debut Newgate stallion North Pacific.

Arrowfield has committed 39 of its mares to Admire Mars, and among them is the G1 VRC Oaks winner Brazilian Pulse (NZ) (Captain Rio {GB}), plus the superb Western Australia race mare Whispering Brook (Hinchinbrook). Aliyana Tilde (Snitzel) is also on the list, a Group 3 winner in her day.

“I think one of the things you’d have to say about Admire Mars is that he was precocious, even more than a horse like Maurice,” Freyer said. “He was a Champion 2-Year-Old and undefeated, and he was quite an early 3-year-old too. He is probably the most precocious of any Japanese horses that have come to us.”

Freyer said Admire Mars has strong credentials for a horse priced as he is.

“Once the market gets a taste of these Japanese horses, and when it sees what they can do, as it has with Maurice, it will accept them strongly,” he said. “We priced this horse accordingly, and competitively we thought, to ensure that he got a really solid book of mares, which he’ll get.”

With two Japanese stallions on the roster, the obvious question is how Arrowfield balances the respective books. Has Maurice (Jpn), who returns to the Hunter after an absence last year, influenced the mare choice for Admire Mars, and vice versa?

“There are certain things that work well with these horses, and particularly with Maurice,” Freyer said. “Clearly, Maurice is a horse that has nicked well with Danehill blood, which we thought he would, given the outcross that his pedigree presents.

“What we’ve done with a lot of our new stallions is, rather than put all our eggs in one basket in terms of physical type and pedigree, we like to get a spread of bloodlines. We’ve done that with all the horses, in particular The Autumn Sun, because you never quite know what things will work.”

Freyer said this has been a particularly strong element of success in making stallions at Arrowfield Stud.

“We give ourselves the opportunity to send a spread of mares to a stallion, both on physical type and bloodline,” he said. “That’s been one of our strengths for many years here. We can use those early years to see what works with the stallions, and develop that in future years.”

With Maurice, in particular, Freyer said they’ve noticed that he’s a stallion of the type that can take a big, strapping mare, even though he is a similarly built horse, and get a great result. It isn’t always the assumption among breeders that this can occur.

“That isn’t our experience, and we’re seeing great results in the offspring that we’re producing by trying these matings,” Freyer said. “We learn all the time here, and out of it, we learn and use that information to hopefully produce a good result.”

Table: Some of Arrowfield's mating plans for 2021