Cover image courtesy of Sportpix
Saturday’s pulsating finish to the G1 Surround S. at Royal Randwick delivered a huge result for Blaxland, whose Blue Sky Premium Consignment sold the ultra-progressive Sunshine In Paris as an unraced 2-year-old at last year’s Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale.
The charismatic bloodstock agent has had more to do with her career than just consigning her at auction, however, with the Aquis Farm-bred filly a regular visitor during her formative years to Blaxland’s Newington Farm.
Julian Blaxland and Kacy Fogden | Image courtesy of The image Is Everything
“We actually knew her well, she was back and forth to Newington (Farm) during her education as a yearling,” Blaxland revealed, referring to the farm he runs in partnership with his trainer wife Kacy Fogden.
“We’re not far from Aquis and they needed some space for some of their homebreds, so we had a bunch of them for about eight months back and forth whilst they were getting educated.
“I also knew the mare, Zenaida, who I bought privately from Rhys Smith of Kulani Stud for Aquis some five years ago. She produced Macroura and Zenaida has been a really good mare.
“We were impressed by Sunshine In Paris as a yearling; she was certainly a standout physical.”
“We were impressed by Sunshine In Paris as a yearling; she was certainly a standout physical.” - Julian Blaxland
After being race educated at Hinterland Thoroughbreds, Aquis sent Sunshine In Paris into training with multiple Group 1-winning handler Annabel Neasham, but it wasn’t long before she was back under Blaxland’s watchful eye.
Following two barrier trials in May of her 2-year-old season, the decision was made by Aquis to send her to auction unraced, with Blue Sky’s Premium Consignment eventually selling her on Aquis’ behalf to Champagne Bloodstock for $90,000, a figure which can only be described as a bargain in the wake of Saturday’s result.
“Aquis has a bit of a policy - if their race fillies haven’t achieved stakes success by two, then they’re sold, so Sunshine In Paris was entered alongside a number of others through our Blue Sky Premium Consignment last year,” Blaxland said.
Sunshine In Paris | Image courtesy of Magic Millions
“This mare was a half to a stakes winner by a new sire and she hadn’t won yet, but she was a lovely physical. She was sold for $90,000 and the rest is history, the new owners now own a Group 1 winner.
“It’s a fabulous result and Annabel Neasham has done a great job with her.”
Although Blaxland had always had a nice opinion of Sunshine In Paris, even he could not have envisaged the daughter of Aquis stallion Invader achieving success at the highest level only nine months after she went under the hammer, especially given that she had only completed two barrier trials at the time of her sale.
“We always hoped she could make the grade, but we didn’t expect her to win a Group 1 based on what she had done up to that point,” he added.
“We always hoped she (Sunshine In Paris) could make the grade, but we didn’t expect her to win a Group 1 based on what she had done up to that point.” - Julian Blaxland
“But as we know, horses develop. They go on and they grow - they don’t all have to do it at two to become a top line Group 1 winner.
“She had some residual value obviously being a half to a stakes winner, but she’s worth a lot of money now and who knows where she’ll end up once she’s done.
“It’s a testament to the buyers for doing their homework and taking faith. She’s one of the best 3-year-old fillies in Australia now.”
All budgets and sizes
Sunshine In Paris’ $90,000 price-tag may not have made headlines, but Blaxland’s Blue Sky Premium Consignment has enjoyed its fair share of big-money sales results since its inception in 2018.
The operation sold G1 Australian Oaks heroine Unforgotten (Fastnet Rock) for $2.75 million at the Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale in 2020, before selling multiple Group 1-winning champion Melody Belle (NZ) (Commands) for $2.6 million at the same auction 12 months later.
Gallery: Seven-figure Group 1-winning mares sold by Blue Sky Premium Consignment
Achieving sales ring success at both ends of the spectrum is what makes Saturday’s result even sweeter according to Blaxland, with Sunshine In Paris’ humble price-tag a perfect example of the value that can be found at auction.
“It’s an absolute dream to have a Group 1 winner emerge from our consignment and I think it’s especially exciting because she wasn’t so expensive,” he said.
“We’ve got a broad range of race fillies and mares. I think our top-selling mare last year was a Galileo mare who made over a million dollars, and the beauty of an auction is that there is opportunity at all budgets.
“That’s sort of why we started the race fillies and mares' consignment. You don’t necessarily have to go to the sale with $500,000 or a million dollars to buy a good racing and breeding prospect. That’s what keeps it interesting.”
“It’s an absolute dream to have a Group 1 winner emerge from our consignment and I think it’s especially exciting because she (Sunshine In Paris) wasn’t so expensive.” - Julian Blaxland
As well as serving yet another reminder that a horse’s price-tag does not always dictate racetrack performance, Sunshine In Paris’ breakthrough Group 1 win also provided further evidence that elite racehorses can come in all shapes and sizes, with her trainer quipping ‘she’s so small you can’t see her’ in the wake of her Surround S. success.
Like many of the industry’s best judges, Blaxland does not place too much emphasis on size, particularly when it comes to sourcing future broodmare prospects.
“I’m from the Harry Mitchell/John Kelly school - small mares, small problems,” he said.
“If you go to Yarraman or Newhaven Park, you’ll see a lot of small to medium sized mares and there must be something in it because they’re two of the best breeders in Australia.
“I think people get carried away with big mares at broodmare sales. Peter O’Brien would agree as well, some of the best broodmares in Australia aren’t big.
“I think people get carried away with big mares at broodmare sales. Peter O’Brien would agree as well, some of the best broodmares in Australia aren’t big.” - Julian Blaxland
“It wouldn’t worry me with this filly in her racing career or later as a broodmare.”
‘A big future’
Another to benefit from Sunshine In Paris’ Group 1 breakthrough was Segenhoe Stud, who are set to sell her half-brother late in the opening session of this year’s Inglis Premier Yearling Sale, which gets underway at Oaklands Junction on Sunday.
The colt, who was pinhooked by leading bloodstock agent James Bester for $145,000 at last year’s Inglis Great Southern Weanling Sale, is by Dubious, who stands alongside Sunshine In Paris’ sire Invader at Aquis’ Canungra property in Queensland.
Invader’s oldest crop are now 3-year-olds, and with a stakes winner and a Group 1 winner already to his name, Blaxland believes that the Group 1-winning son of Snitzel has made a better start to life at stud than what the bare statistics suggest.
Invader | Standing at Aquis
“We spell horses up here for Lee Freedman, Matthew Dale, my wife Kacy (Fogden) and other trainers, and we’ve got a few Invaders on the farm,” he said.
“We’ve probably had seven or eight through the farm and I think they’re nice horses.
“It’s hard for a stallion kicking off in Queensland as opposed to the opportunities they get down in The Hunter, but I think for the mares he’s got he’s done a great job so far.
“This might be the start of a big future for him.”
