Cover image courtesy of Inglis

Freedman banking on a proven formula

Michael Freedman, who has experienced G1 Golden Slipper S. success with the progeny of Extreme Choice via Stay Inside’s victory in last year’s edition, has added another prospect by Newgate Farms’s sire of the moment to his arsenal. He went to a Sale-topping and Sale record-breaking $300,000 to secure Lot 57, a filly from the draft of Bell River Thoroughbreds.

Freedman said the filly was his number one priority going into the Sale and that she profiles like a late autumn 2-year-old that will furnish into a lovely 3-year-old.

He believes the filly was well bought, saying she could’ve potentially sold for more money if entered in a more ‘high-profile’ sale.

“She was a good, athletic type, a good-moving filly and I think being an October foal she’s probably unlikely to necessarily be an early pre-Christmas type,” Freedman told TDN AusNZ.

“But once she physically fills into that frame of her she will be a nice individual and in the context of how the Extreme Choices have gone this year, I don’t think it was crazy type of money.”

Freedman, who is now based at Randwick after recently dissolving a successful partnership with his brother Richard, also secured a colt by Merchant Navy for $45,000.

He said Lot 48 was purchased for the right price and that he is a ‘good, strong colt’ who will come into his own as a 3-year-old.

“I’m still a believer in the stallion, I certainly think given the profile of the horse as a racehorse and his pedigree that I’m still happy to shop around for the right types by him,” Freedman said.

Extremely rewarding result

Bell River Thoroughbreds' Andrew Ferguson, who sold the Sale-topping Extreme Choice filly, was delighted by the outcome, after seeing the offspring of Dashie Diva (Dash For Cash) successfully overcome the removal of a chip from her hind fetlock that ruled her out of February’s Inglis Classic Sale.

“I always thought this filly was probably her (Dashie Diva’s) best foal, very similar to dad, and Luke Wilkinson, who bought Extreme Choice, and I were comparing their yearling photos this morning and saying how she’s just the same shape and make to him,” Ferguson told TDN AusNZ.

“Sebastian Hutch assured me that he’ll get the buyers here, and said bring her to this Sale and you’ll get your money, so I trusted Sebastian and today we got the result, so it worked out well as she had some good judges on her and made her money.”

Ferguson, who bred Extreme Choice and purchased the dual-winning Dashie Diva for $13,000 as a weanling in 2005, said Sunday’s result was rather emotional, with Dashie Diva passing this year.

Dashie Diva, whose seven foals to race have all won, is responsible for the Listed Nitschke S.-winning East Indiaman (Hinchinbrook).

Ferguson said the decision to send Dashie Diva to Extreme Choice was based on the quality of the mare’s first foal Dee Dee Flyer, a city-winning son of Not A Single Doubt that never got to realise his true potential due to injury.

“It’s a little bit emotional today as Dashie Diva was one of the first mares that we had when we started and having bred Extreme (Choice) that no one really wanted to go to when he first started at stud,” Ferguson said.

“We lost the mare this year, so that’s her last foal and Michael (Freedman) has allowed us to keep a little share in her, so we’re going to enjoy racing the last one out of her.”

Ferguson reflected on Extreme Choice’s record breaking start to his stud career with immense pride.

“Us as a family, my wife Georgie and the boys (James and Jock), are bursting with pride that we bred something like that, and we are lucky enough to have a breeding right in him and four weanlings at home by him in the paddock,” Ferguson said.

“It’s been a hell of a journey with him, I’m immensely proud, and proud of the job Newgate are doing with him under very difficult circumstances, and at this stage I have Prophet’s Thumb pencilled in to go to him this season.”

Hutch stoked by extremely successful Sale

Sebastian Hutch, Inglis Bloodstock CEO, was delighted by the strength of the Sale, which is beginning to grow in stature, saying they were pleased by the overall quality of the catalogue, bolstered by the $300,000 Extreme Choice filly who was initially set to make an impression at the Inglis Classic Yearling Sale in February.

He said the current clearance rate of 82 per cent is a clear indication that buyers at a variety of different levels were impressed by the stock on offer.

“We were optimistic that we would run a good Sale, I don’t think you can ever expect as good a Sale as it turned out today but there was strong interest in the Sale and we were pleased with nature of representation,” Hutch told TDN AusNZ.

“To grow the vendor base to farms like Coolmore, Segenhoe and Widden added a level of strength that mightn’t have been there in the past to attract a really strong buying bench.

“It is a Sale that we have a lot of belief in and fortunately we’ve been able to generate some good results.”

Hutch said he is reluctant to speculate on whether the Sale can continue to trend upwards due to the ‘unpredictably of the business’.

“For as long as people want to sell at this Sale we will be doing everything we can to generate good results for them,” Hutch said.

“And on the back of the Sale that we’ve had this year, people can look at this Sale in 2023 as a Sale they can approach with a level of confidence that we will be managing it in the same professional manner that we do with any other Sale.”

Epaulette colt takes second position

The second top price of the day, $120,000, was paid by trainer David Pfeiffer and Oliver Koolman of Waratah Thoroughbreds for Lot 221, a colt by Epaulette.

Offered by Goodwood Farm, the colt is the third living foal out of the winning Sebring mare Rosa’s Magic, making him a brother to the city-winning filly Military Magic.

Neil and Denise Osborne’s Mane Lodge, which recently set an Inglis Classic Sale record when a colt by Extreme Choice brought $825,000, struck gold again, with two of their colts each selling for $100,000.

Lot 92, a colt by Darley shuttle stallion Harry Angel (Ire) was knocked down to David Payne while Paul Perry secured the Capitalist colt for the same sum.

A colt by Divine Prophet from the draft of Bowness Stud also realised $100,000 when secured by Matt Chidgey, who has had success with the progeny of Divine Prophet, having bred G2 Skyline S. hero Promitto.

Lot 247, a colt by Yarraman Park’s first-season stallion Hellbent from the draft of Segenhoe Thoroughbreds, also realised three figures when knocked down to Kurrinda Bloodstock and Singleton Racing for $100,000.

Gallery: Mane Lodge struck gold with two yearlings selling for $100,000 at the HTBA May Yearling Sale, images courtesy of Inglis

Big week just beginning

Attention now turns to the Inglis Australian Weanling Sale which begins on Wednesday; Friday evening will then host the Inglis Chairman’s Sale and features an abundance of high-class race fillies and mares such as Shout The Bar (Not A Single Doubt) and Daysee Doom (Domesday).

The Inglis Australian Broodmare Sale will conclude a big week of selling at Riverside next Sunday.

“We are very pleased with the number and variety of weanlings in the weanling catalogue, there’s 418 catalogued by 94 individual stallions and it gives buyers at all levels looking for a variety of different options a great range of choice,” Hutch said.

“The Chairman’s Sale looks very strong, there’s some high-quality mares and we’ve had some great supplementaries and there’s something there for people at all price levels.”

Hutch believes the scheduling of four sales within a seven day block works well.

“We’re conscious of trying to run a sequence of sales that is time and cost efficient for our vendors, as we appreciate that bringing horses to any sale is an expensive exercise,” Hutch said.

“The feedback we have had from vendors is that the schedule works well.”

Top lots

Top buyers

Vendors by aggregate

Vendors by average (3 or more sold)

Sires by aggregate

Sires by average (2 or more sold)

The first and to date the only entire, as well as the only 3-year-old to win The Everest, Yes Yes Yes has proven so popular with breeders that he has been Australia's busiest first and second-season sire of his crop.

His sole black-type win was a strong one, however, when it comes to guiding the chances of success for future stallion prospects.

The G2 Todman S. roll of honour includes Champion Sires such as Pierro, Exceed And Excel and Written Tycoon, while subsequent winners include exciting young sire Farnan and Darley’s 2023 stud prospect Anamoe (Street Boss {USA}), winner of three Group 1 races to date.

Yes Yes Yes, from Rubick's first crop, was a $200,000 purchase from the 2018 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale by John Foote/Darren Weir Racing.

He is a half-brother to stakes-placed Dee Nine Elle (Duporth), out of Sin Sin Sin (Fantastic Light {USA}), the half-sister to a trio of stakes winners in Hot As Hell (County), Flaming (County) and Craig's Dragon (Catbird) and to Hell It's Hot (Zeditave), the dam of Group 1 winner In Her Time (Time Thief).

He began his career in the Weir stable as an early 2-year-old, winning two of his three starts in his first campaign before being scratched on the eve of the R. Listed Magic Millions 2YO Classic.

He then moved to Waller's stable and kicked off his autumn 2-year-old campaign by winning the Todman, before Coolmore then bought into him with a view to him being a future stallion prospect.

He competed in the G1 Golden Slipper S. and returned as a 3-year-old with second placings in the G2 Run To The Rose and G1 Golden Rose before his brilliant win against many of the world's best sprinters in The Everest in what was to prove his racetrack farewell.

The eight-start career of Yes Yes Yes featured four wins and three seconds and he earned $7.17 million. He was crowned Champion 3-Year-Old Male of his generation, controversially getting the nod over dual Group 1 winner Bivouac, such is the influence the world’s top-rated sprint is in the perception of Horse of the Year voters.

Type proves popular again

According to Coolmore's Colm Santry, Yes Yes Yes is right on track to again be heavily supported this spring.

"The consensus around the industry regarding his foals is that they are of a high standard and what this is telling us is that we are getting large numbers of return visitors," he told TDN AusNZ.

"We are getting a lot of bookings for mares who already have progeny by him which is a real confidence booster for us, it tells us that there are a lot of nice foals out there."

Which does not surprise Santry who has always had great faith in Yes Yes Yes, a horse he describes as "an outstanding type with size, strength and scope."

Nine Yes Yes Yes weanlings will be offered at Inglis this week with four of those being members of the Coolmore Stud draft and Santry could not be happier with what is on offer.

"He is stamping his foals, they are great types and I am confident that they will be very well received by the market."

Inglis first looks

First through the ring for Coolmore is Lot 40, this colt being the first foal for the imported Rosehill winner Birth Of Venus (Ire) (High Chaparral {Ire}) who was again part of Yes Yes Yes' harem last spring. She is a half-sister to the US stakes winner Yesterdayoncemore (Ire) (No Nay Never {USA}) and this fellow is line-bred to the terrific mare Fairy Bridge (USA) (Bold Reason {USA}).

Lot 44 is a colt out of Blue Sky Baby (Choisir), a full sister to the Group 3 winner Diamond Earth. His dam's first foal Blue Star Baby (Zoustar) is yet to race, although caught the eye winning a Randwick trial, and she visited Yes Yes Yes last spring.

Constellations (Fastnet Rock), dam of Lot 82 bred by Anthony Cummings, was bred back to Yes Yes Yes. Cummings also bred Lot 129 whose winning dam Feirin (Fastnet Rock) is a daughter of the six-time Group winner Randaroo (USA) (Gold Case {USA}), Her first two foals are with Lindsey Smith and Ciaron Maher and David Eustace, respectively.

Gallery: Some of the Yes Yes Yes' weanlings to be offered at the Inglis Australian Weanling Sale, images courtesy of Inglis

Fairhill Farm have three in the Sale with the first of those, Lot 42, being a daughter of the successful broodmare Blowin In The Wind (Ire) (Danehill {USA}) - dam of six winners including the dual Listed winner Theanswermyfriend (High Chaparral {Ire}). Her most recent foal through the ring was the Grahame Begg-trained 3-year-old British Columbia (Vancouver), a NZ$135,000 purchase who won at Pakenham last week.

Blue Blazers (I Am Invincible) has visited Yes Yes Yes on two occasions. Lot 43 is the first foal for the full sister to Singapore's Champion 2-Year-Old Super One. Also by I Am Invincible is the two-time winner Shudabeen, dam of Lot 338 - a chestnut colt boasting a cross of Rubick's influential ancestress Best In Show (USA) (Traffic Judge {USA}).

One of the more interesting first-crop matings for Yes Yes Yes was the filly (Lot 344) bred by Rifa Mustang Pty Ltd and being sold by Sledmere Stud.

Her unraced dam Soleil Brulant (I Am Invincible) enjoyed immediate success in the sales ring with her first foal Diaco (Not A Single Doubt) fetching $1.5 million at last year's Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale. She hails from the same family as Yes Yes Yes giving this filly a 3 X 3 cross of the classy broodmare Steam Heat (Salieri {USA}).

A further nine weanlings by Yes Yes Yes will be offered at the Magic Millions National Weanling Sale later this month. Highight pedigrees will include a filly from six-time winner Berrimilla (Fastnet Rock) and a filly from a half-sister to Rothfire (Rothesay).

Angus Gold, who joined the late Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum-owned operation in 1987 after working in corporate insurance at Her Majesty The Queen's Sandringham Stud, described the initial stages of his time at Shadwell as a steep learning curve.

“I didn’t have a clue what I was getting myself into, I was just in the right place at the right time,” Gold said.

“I remember at the end of the interview Hubie de Burgh saying, ‘Do you have any questions?’, and I said, 'I’m not convinced that I have enough experience for a job of this size', and his advice was, ‘You don’t have to be the best, you just have to be honest and work hard'.”

The golden years

Gold reflects on the ‘golden years’ of Shadwell and some of its greatest Northern Hemisphere gallopers from Nashwan (USA) and Dayjur (USA), who made their mark in the 90s, to Battaash (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}) and Baaeed (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}), who have taken all before them in recent years.

He goes on to discuss Shadwell’s Australasian expansion throughout the late 1980s and early 90s, which saw them build a fruitful relationship with Lindsay Park and race G1 Melbourne Cup winners At Talaq (USA) and Jeune (GB), along with G1 Caulfield Cup heroes Fraar (USA) and Tawqeet (USA).

Gallery: Some of the Group 1 winners Shadwell had success with in Australia, images courtesy of Sportpix

“It (the Australasian expansion) started before I was here, when they sent down At Talaq the year before I started and (trainer) Tom Jones said they should send this horse to Australia to win the Melbourne Cup,” Gold said.

“At the time Sheikh Hamdan didn’t know anything about Australian racing, he asked what the Melbourne Cup was and would you believe it, he won the Cup.

“He (Sheikh Hamdan) was involved every step of the way, he was very much hands-on and I personally loved the fact that he was so hands on because he was so passionate about it and was lucky to have him so involved.”

The end of an era

Gold was emotional upon reflecting on the passing of Sheikh Hamdan, for whom he had an long-standing and endearing relationship.

“It (Sheikh Hamdan’s death) was a huge sadness in my personal life, as I thoroughly enjoyed my involvement in Australia,” Gold said.

“It was very sad that the last two years have been some of the most successful, if not the most successful of all, since I’ve been around and he wasn’t able to enjoy them.

“However, the greatest satisfaction was having a good year on the track, just to showcase that his legacy was set to continue and everything that he set up was paying off.”

The road forward

Gold is hopeful that Shadwell, which is now led by Sheikh Hamdan’s daughter Sheikha Hissa, can continue its success in the years to come despite scaling back significantly, saying he sees similarities between the pair.

He said Sheikha Hissa is 'massively' keen on breeding and that the Shadwell Stud operation is the most important thing to her.

“I certainly do (see some similarities), she’s completely passionate, and while she doesn’t have the experience that he had or as she herself would say doesn’t have his knowledge, she absolutely loves it,” Gold said.

“She really wants to carry on his legacy. Obviously, they couldn’t afford to do it at the level it was done at quite understandably, so we’ve brought it down to something we hope is a more manageable level.

“We want to do the best we can for her and the family, quite what the future is long-term, only her and the family can say that but if her enthusiasm and enjoyment is anything to go by, we will be here for quite a few years yet.”

Teofilo, the unbeaten galloper whose victories in the G1 National S. and the G1 Dewhurst S. earned him the title of Europe's Champion 2-Year-Old of 2006, Teofilo was in the news over the weekend with the impressive victory recorded by his son Character in the G2 Queensland Guineas.

Racing clear to his fourth win from 16 starts, the Godolphin homebred did a great job bouncing back from a 17l defeat in trying conditions when on the back up in the G1 ATC Derby, after winning the G2 Tulloch S. in dominant fashion just five days previously.

Character hails from Teofilo's most recent - and his final - Australian crop, one which is represented by just 39 foals.

He is one of three very promising Teofilo 3-year-old stakes winners this autumn, the others being the runaway G3 Adrian Knox S. winner Honeycreeper who was far from disgraced after drifting back from a wide gate in the G1 ATC Oaks, and the last start Listed VRC St Leger winner Alegron who has shown his staying mettle with excellent efforts in the G1 ATC Derby (third after striking interference) and the G1 VRC Derby (a particularly brave second having found trouble whilst working out wide).

Vianello and Linas Legend also show promise, both are stakes placed with the latter in winning form a couple of weeks ago, while Canbya was impressive charging home from the rear at Sandown last week.

Unfortunately, this is the final Classic crop of Australian-bred Teofilo runners, with the 18-year-old - whose fertility has never been outstanding - having his share of health issues.

"He has to be carefully managed," Darley's Alastair Pulford explained. "He first missed an Australian season due to a hind leg injury and he has been prone to mild bouts of colic. Commercially he would still be a great shuttling prospect but we have to look after him."

Pulford described Teofilo as a horse who, "has a lot of Danehill about him, he is a big, tough horse with good bone and a lovely walk. And a great temperament, very laid back and easy to do anything with."

Darley Victoria is fortunately still home to one of his sons in Kermadec (NZ), the G1 Doncaster H. and G1 George Main S. winner who, on the back of Group 1 success for Montefilia and Willowy this season, is proving popular.

"He is a beautiful horse with excellent fertility," Pulford said, "and he had demonstrated that he can get a really good one."

All about Character

Returning to Character, a horse with an interesting pedigree, bred on a 3 X 4 cross of Teofilo's famed grandsire Sadler's Wells (USA) by Northern Dancer (Can) with his dam Monogram being a great granddaughter via Medaglia D'Oro (USA) and El Prado (USA). He is one of his sire's eight stakes winners line-bred to that legendary stallion, the others including the Group 1 winners Subjectivist (GB), Tawkeel (GB) and Parish Hall (Ire).

The Teofilo/Sadler's Wells combination has a stakes winner strike rate of 4.2 per cent compared to Sadler's Wells overall record as a line-breeding subject of 2.6 per cent.

Character is also line-bred to the outstanding mare Flower Bowl (USA) (Alibhai {GB}) whose son His Majesty (USA) (Ribot {GB}) is the damsire of Teofilo's damsire Danehill (USA).

Godolphin trainer James Cummings shared his delight after the Group 2 victory.

“Obviously, it didn’t pan out too well last start in a Derby,” Cummings said.

“Today I told Jimmy (Orman) to ride him very similar to what Tommy Berry did a couple of starts back at Newcastle.

“He was very dominant back then and was quite dominant again today.”

Despite being bred to win a Derby, Cummings didn’t think he handled the rise to 2400 metres during The Championships, placing question marks on the path to a G1 Queensland Derby.

“Probably the step up in distance last start probably got to the top of him. We didn’t think he would have handled it but back to a mile today he was very good.”

Record of consistency

Teofilo spent six of his Southern Hemisphere springs in Australia, not consecutively - first shuttling to Darley from 2009 to 2011. He again made his way Down Under in 2013, not reappearing until 2016 through to 2018.

From those trips Teofilo sired 334 live foals and despite having only 58 runners in his debut crop he was off and running with five stakes winners. His flagbearer being triple Group 1 winner Happy Clapper, followed by the G1 Queensland Derby winner Sonntag, the two times Listed ATC Cup winner Malice, the Listed Creswick S. winner Pyrrolic and the Listed Matchmaker Classic winner Resonates.

Kermadec was his second crop (65 foals) star, one which also produced the Listed Taj Rossi Series Final winner Triple Gold and the South African Group 2 winner Tamaanee. And he enjoyed third crop success as well, this time with two multiple Group 1 winners - the G1 Australian Cup, G1 Makybe Diva S., G1 Memsie S. winner Humidor (NZ) who was placed in two of Winx's (Street Cry {Ire}) G1 W.S Cox Plates and the G1 Australian Guineas and G1 Makybe Diva S. winner Palentino.

Teofilo's next Australian crop of 68 foals produced two local Listed winners in Weather With You in the Geelong Classic and Ataraxia in the Dulcify Quality, as well as the South African Group 3 winner Yakeen. The following season (his current 4-year-olds) was a quiet one with only 41 foals, the best of those to date being last year's G3 Auraria S winner Tyche Goddess.

Teofilo has also enjoyed Australian success with his Northern Hemisphere-bred runners, headlined of course by his G1 Melbourne Cup-winning son Cross Counter (GB) who also won at Group level in England and Dubai.

Amralah (Ire) - also a Group 3 winner in the UK - easily won the G3 Herbert Power S. in 2015 whilst Aktau (GB) won the Listed Mornington Cup in 2020. Meanwhile, both St Jean (Ire) and Chance To Dance (Ire) won at Group 3 level in New Zealand.

A son of the Listed Leopardstown 1000 Guineas Trial winner Speirbhean (Ire) (Danehill {USA}), Teofilo is a half-brother to the dual Group 2 winner Poetic Charm (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) and the Group 3 filly Bean Feasa (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}). He is a descendant of the acclaimed matriarch Chelandry (GB) (Goldfinch {GB}) and he combines very well with her other descendants.

Such as Zeditave (The Judge) (Sonntag and Tyche Goddess), Anabaa (USA) (Danzig {USA}) (Honeycreeper, Tantheem and Roz), Zoffany (USA) (Our Native {USA}) (Tamaanee), Clarion (Fr) (Djebel {Fr}) (Trading Leather, Humidor, Loritania, Moi Meme and Malice), Tudor Melody (GB) (Tudor Minstrel {Ire}) (Trading Leather, Voleuse de Coeurs, Tyche Goddess, St Jean and Dynamic).

Another member of the Chelandry clan is High Chaparral (Ire), second dam sire of Teofilo's G1 Prix Saint Alary winner Tawkeel (GB) and grandsire of Senor Toba (Toronado {Ire}) who won at Group 3 level in Hong Kong on Sunday.

He is one of the 22 stakes winners produced by Teofilo's daughters with another being this weekend's G1 2000 Guineas winner Coroebus (Ire) (Dubwai {Ire}).