Cover image courtesy of Ashlea Brennan
In truth, Arrowfield Stud would have been happy with whichever order farm graduates Autumn Ballet and Estriella (I Am Invincible) finished in Saturday’s G2 Silver Shadow S., but as it happened, having a daughter of its exciting young stallion The Autumn Sun come out on top was the icing on the cake.
The filly in question, Autumn Ballet, was a $340,000 purchase by her trainers Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott in conjunction with Bruce Slade’s Kestrel Thoroughbreds at last year’s Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale.
An immediate return on that investment was recouped earlier this year, when the then 2-year-old made history in becoming the first horse ever to win the G3 Black Opal S. on debut. One further run as a juvenile followed when fifth in the G2 Percy Sykes S. on day two of The Championships in Sydney, before the talented filly, who is raced by a syndicate which includes prominent owner-breeder Nick Vass, headed to the paddock for a well-earned spell.
That decision looks to have paid dividends judged on her triumphant return to action in Saturday’s G2 Silver Shadow S. at Randwick, and with further improvement anticipated as she gets out over more ground, Freyer is confident that Autumn Ballet will almost certainly play a major role in the remaining two legs of the Darley Princess Series.
“She’s a top-class filly and she’s got a great pedigree behind her,” Freyer told The Thoroughbred Report AusNZ.
“She was a lovely yearling and she trialled brilliantly leading into the Black Opal, so it wasn’t a surprise when she won that on debut. Full credit to Gai and Adrian for getting her up and going and now having her back as an early 3-year-old.
Jon Freyer | Image courtesy of The Image Is Everything
“The style of her and her pedigree suggests that she might get up to a Flight Stakes, but she doesn’t necessarily present as an Oaks filly, whereas a few of the other (The) Autumn Suns possibly do. She’s a beautifully muscled, very attractive filly.”
Bred in the purple
Out of the well-related Street Cry (Ire) mare Grisi, who is a half-sister to G1 Golden Rose S. placegetter Albrecht - a sire son of Redoute’s Choice - as well as Group winners Zakouski (GB) (Shamardal {USA}) and King’s Command (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) in the Northern Hemisphere, Autumn Ballet is a direct descendant of the blue-hen mare Shadea (NZ) (Straight Strike {USA}), a mare most famously known for being the dam of Champion Racehorse and Sire Lonhro.
A pedigree like that, combined with Autumn Ballet’s history-making debut success, helped her sister become The Autumn Sun’s first seven-figure yearling when selling for $1.2 million at this year’s Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale, only for that figure to be blown out of the water the following day by the sire’s half-sister to Newgate Farm’s G1 Golden Rose-winning stallion In The Congo, who was purchased by none other Arrowfield and Hermitage Thoroughbreds for a sale-topping $1.8 million from Silverdale Farm.
Autumn Ballet's sister who sold for $1.2 million at the 2023 Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale | Image courtesy of Inglis
While pedigree doesn’t always guarantee success on the racetrack, Autumn Ballet’s nearest pursuer in Saturday’s $300,000 Silver Shadow S., Estriella, is a similarly blue-blooded individual, being out of a once-raced sister to Lonhro’s best son - Champion Racehorse and Sire Pierro.
A fellow Arrowfield graduate from the Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale, Estriella was purchased by Ciaron Maher Bloodstock for $750,000 on behalf of prominent owner Kevin Payne, who also part-owned the newest recruit to Arrowfield’s stallion ranks in the shape of three-time Classic hero Hitotsu.
Although she may not have won on Saturday, Estriella is in for an equally exciting campaign according to Freyer, who is confident that the form of her last two placings will hold up as the spring develops.
Estriella as a yearling | Image courtesy of Inglis
“She’s a glorious filly and I thought she ran a brilliant race again,” he said. “She’s bumped into a couple of good ones the last two starts.
“She’s probably a filly that is going to come on a little bit as the spring progresses. She might still be a little wintry in the coat and she’s got plenty of upside to her.
“She was a particularly good yearling - a great mover with great depth - and she has a good pedigree as well. Her mother is a sister to Pierro and it’s a very good family.
“I imagine she will probably stay at shorter distances and I think they (Ciaron Maher and David Eustace) are heading towards something like the Coolmore (Stud Stakes) with her. She’s a top-class filly as well.”
“I imagine she (Estriella) will probably stay at shorter distances and I think they (Ciaron Maher and David Eustace) are heading towards something like the Coolmore (Stud Stakes) with her.” - Jon Freyer
A stud of Arrowfield’s size and stature is certainly no stranger to producing the quinella in such a prestigious race, but the magnitude of the achievement is not lost on Freyer, who was quick to praise all the team back at the farm in Scone.
“It’s not easy to even get runners in these sorts of races, let alone get the first two home,” he said.
“For us, breeding good horses is what it’s all about. It’s great when they sell well at the yearling sales, but ultimately our focus is on breeding good racehorses and the rest looks after itself.
“It’s fantastic for the whole team and everybody at the farm is very excited about it.”
Autumn in spring
In the wake of Saturday’s result there is also plenty of excitement back in Scone surrounding the future of Autumn Ballet’s sire The Autumn Sun, whose eldest crop has just turned three after delivering some promising early results as juveniles.
The Autumn Sun was one of only four first-season sires to produce more than one stakes winner last year, and with the likes of unbeaten filly Coco Sun and G1 Sistema S. runner-up Tulsi flying the flag for the five-time Group 1 winner alongside Autumn Ballet, there is plenty of optimism coming from the Arrowfield camp.
“I think Autumn Ballet winning like that is the first of some very good results that we are anticipating through the spring,” Freyer said.
“I think Autumn Ballet winning like that is the first of some very good results that we are anticipating through the spring (for The Autumn Sun).” - Jon Freyer
“There have been any number of his progeny so far that have shown real potential and it’s great to see that potential realised in this case.
“I thought the other filly of Greg Hickman’s ran very well too, Private Legacy. I know he has her on an Oaks path and I thought she ran a very nice race stepping up in class.”
Private Legacy is just one of many 3-year-olds by The Autumn Sun who are expected to hit their straps as they step out over further, which is hardly surprising given that their sire won Group 1 races between 1400 metres and 2000 metres.
The Autumn Sun | Standing at Arrowfield Stud
Freyer is understandably excited about the prospect of seeing The Autumn Sun’s progeny tackle the Classics through the spring and beyond, a prospect made even more appealing in light of the increasingly rewarding prizemoney on offer for horses capable of stretching out over a bit of ground.
“He’s bred from an Aga Khan family out of a Galileo mare, and whilst he won most of his Group 1s at a mile, he was a horse who stretched out over a little bit further,” Freyer said of The Autumn Sun.
“It looks like his progeny will excel when they get over a bit of ground too, so we’re looking forward to those Oaks, Derbys and Spring Champion sort of races with them.
“It looks like his (The Autumn Sun) progeny will excel when they get over a bit of ground too, so we’re looking forward to those Oaks, Derbys and Spring Champion sort of races with them.” - Jon Freyer
“They’re the sorts of horses that people want to breed and nowadays, with the way prizemoney is, they’re the sorts of horses that are the most lucrative.
“If you can get over a bit more ground than just simply 1200 metres, there are so many options in terms of these big prizemoney races that you’ve really got to avail yourself of.”
By all accounts, The Autumn Sun won’t be short of representatives in those types of races either.
Tutta La Vita (The Autumn Sun), who like Estriella is raced by Kevin Payne, was an impressive last-start winner at Rosehill over 1400 metres and is reportedly not far off resuming, while Ashfall, another of The Autumn Sun’s 2-year-old winners, has already been given a nomination for this year’s G1 Cox Plate.
Tutta La Vita | Image courtesy of Ashlea Brennan
Freyer also reported that Ashfall’s Chris Waller-trained stablemate Matusalem (The Autumn Sun), whom Arrowfield retained a share in having sold him for $500,000 as a yearling, worked “brilliantly” on Saturday morning and is being set on a path toward the G1 Spring Champion S. at Royal Randwick on October 28.
“They’re around,” Freyer warned of The Autumn Sun’s progeny. “There’s quite a few of them who are either very lightly raced or have won their maiden that are ready to emerge.
“But it’s good to see his progeny win these big races, because these are the races that everyone wants to win.
“He’s got some great work in progress from his previous years and he’s got a good book for this season. I think the few remaining vacancies in his book will be filled very quickly after Saturday.”
