'It could be a new dawn': Messara excited by The Autumn Sun's run of success

Cover image courtesy of Arrowfield

The autumn carnival witnessed the rise of The Autumn Sun, the stallion retired amidst much fanfare in 2019 after a stellar career, fittingly to his birthplace of Arrowfield Stud. For John Messara and the Arrowfield team, it marked an emotional homecoming.

The Autumn Sun is a son of the Champion Sire and Arrowfield's King Redoute’s Choice, who had passed away on March 25 of that year and had contributed so much to the Scone-based nursery.

Messara and the team held immense faith in the five-time Group 1 winner's ability to carry on the legacy left by his remarkable sire. It wouldn’t be an easy task; Redoute’s Choice was acclaimed as a breed-shaper for the Australian breeding industry. Additionally, he was a son of Danehill (USA), another highly influential stallion recognised as a breed-shaper.

The Autumn Sun has made significant strides in fulfilling that legacy. Over the past two months, he has rapidly increased his Group 1 tally from zero to three, siring three Classic winners. The most recent occurred in Saturday’s G1 South Australian Derby with his daughter Coco Sun, who had already tasted stakes success as a juvenile.

Messara, speaking to The Thoroughbred Report, stressed that while it's early days, the signs are undeniably encouraging. “It’s unusual to sire three Group 1 winners in a first crop and especially in three weeks!" he remarked. “We’re going through the history books to see other occasions where this has happened. There will be other occasions, but it certainly doesn’t happen every day.

“Arrowfield is very gratified by what’s happened and very excited because The Autumn Sun is bred on the reverse cross of Frankel and you shouldn’t expect to see too many very early ones (pre-Christmas and the sort), so people get a little bit nervous when the action doesn’t start till they’re three.

“Although The Autumn Sun has had a couple of Group-winning juveniles in his first-crop, we had the feeling that as soon as they matured a bit and got some distance, such as the mile and further, he would show us what he could do. Of course, he’s done that in spades now. Excitingly, there are also a few cooking away around the traps that we’re aware of that will augment those results over the next few months."

Redoute’s makes a blazing start

Redoute’s Choice boasted a successful racing career, claiming victory in the G1 Blue Diamond in 1999. He continued to excel on the track, securing elite-level wins in prestigious races such as the G1 Caulfield Guineas, the G1 Manikato S., and the G1 CF Orr S.

Upon retiring to Arrowfield Stud in 2000, Redoute’s Choice covered 134 mares at a fee of $30,000 (inc GST), resulting in 109 live foals. His debut crop yielded 86 runners, with an impressive 67 emerging victorious in 232 races. Among them were eight stakes winners and 17 stakes-performing horses.

Lotteria, triumphing in the G1 Myer Classic and the G1 Flight S., stood out as Redoute’s Choice's first Group 1 winner and sole elite-level achiever in his inaugural crop. Bishops Rock secured a Group 2 victory and was Group 1-placed in South Africa, while Tahni Girl claimed a Group 3 win and two Listed races.

Notably, Not A Single Doubt emerged from Redoute’s Choice's initial crop. With dual Listed victories, his significance became more pronounced over the years, particularly upon joining Redoute’s Choice on the Arrowfield roster. The late Not A Single Doubt went on to sire 83 stakes winners.

Another horse whose significance wasn’t immediately apparent was Zouzou, securing a single win but later becoming the dam of the dual Group 1 winner Zoustar. Zoustar has made a significant impact, siring 53 stakes winners and now commands a fee of $275,000 (inc GST).

Sun follows in hoofprints

Arrowfield Stud undoubtedly rejoices in the remarkable start made by The Autumn Sun. Having covered a debut book of 167 mares at a fee of $77,000 (inc GST), he has sired 103 live foals, with 77 of them racing and 38 emerging as individual winners in 58 races.

The Autumn Sun's progeny includes four stakes winners, among them three have triumphed in Group 1 Classics: Autumn Angel in the G1 Australian Oaks, Vibrant Sun in the G1 Australasian Oaks (where The Autumn Sun sired the trifecta), and Coco Sun in the G1 South Australian Derby. Additionally, he has produced nine stakes performers, including the Group 1-placed trio Tutta La Vita, Tulsi, and Private Legacy.

However, The Autumn Sun still has a long journey ahead to match the overall achievements of his father. Redoute’s Choice has sired an impressive 182 individual stakes winners across 372 stakes races, with 321 stakes performers, 1,212 individual winners, and cumulative prizemoney totalling $192,490,218.

The Autumn Sun arguably couldn’t have made a better start and has the rare distinction of three Group 1 winners emerging from a first crop.

Messara has never hidden his gratitude and love for his ‘friend’ Redoute’s Choice, who was tragically lost in 2019. Snitzel and Not A Single Doubt fittingly served Arrowfield and have continued to leave an impact, with Snitzel claiming four Champion Sire titles. However, Messara feels The Autumn Sun is probably his best son to retire. “I often say to people we’ve built Arrowfield on the back of Redoute’s Choice.

“What you see at Arrowfield today is in great part due to the deeds of Redoute’s Choice, and it was a great shock when he left us. We felt The Autumn Sun was a horse that might be able to fill the gap. I think he was the best son Redoute’s had, a five-time Group 1 winner, a Classic winner. He had everything, was very lightly raced, with eight wins from nine starts and unlucky in the other.

“Additionally, he’s a magnificent physical specimen and we bred him ourselves, so we knew what he was like, and he’s continued to improve physically right through with a wonderful pedigree. As I said earlier, he’s bred on the reverse cross of Frankel, who’s the best stallion in the world at the moment.

“So, there are so many things in his favour, but until he does it, you can’t say anything - you’ve got to wait. But I was always personally very hopeful, and I did egg everybody on to stay with him and keep breeding to him.

“Luckily for us, he’s served some lovely books and has got some beautiful foals coming through."

Other sons of Redoute's

When comparing The Autumn Sun’s debut crop to other successful sons of Redoute’s Choice, such as Snitzel, Not A Single Doubt, and Beneteau, all of whom represented the Arrowfield Stud brand.

Not A Single Doubt was the first among them to retire in 2005, covering 128 mares at a fee of $13,750 (inc GST). His debut crop comprised 78 runners, resulting in 57 winners of 192 races and two stakes winners: Doubtful Jack, winner of the G3 Bobbie Lewis H. and the Listed Winter Championship Final H., and Always Certain, a dual Listed winner in Singapore. Additionally, Not A Single Doubt's first crop included nine stakes performers.

Following Not A Single Doubt was the future four-time Champion Sire, Snitzel, who debuted at a fee of $33,000 (inc GST) in 2006, serving 131 mares. From his debut crop of 61 runners, Snitzel produced 50 individual winners of 174 races, three stakes winners, and eight stakes performers.

Notable among his stakes winners was Chance Bye, victorious in the G2 Silver Slipper S., followed by the Listed winners Zelsnitz and Bouzy Rouge.

Completing the trio of sons of Redoute’s Choice is the late Beneteau, the G3 Blue Diamond Prelude (Colts and Geldings) winner who tragically passed away after two crops.

Introduced at a fee of $11,000 (inc GST), Beneteau covered 108 mares. His debut crop boasted 67 runners, resulting in 45 individual winners of 132 races and six individual stakes winners across eight stakes races. Additionally, Beneteau was represented by 12 stakes horses. Despite his sensational start, Beneteau did not produce any Group 1 winners in his first crop. Notable runners from his debut crop included Ocean Embers, a multiple Group 3 winner, as well as Prompt Return, Almighty Girl, and Puritan, all Group 3 winners.

Zabeel factor

Messara admits the early success of The Autumn Sun reminds him of another Champion Sire, Zabeel (NZ), but emphasises that it is extremely early days. “I went back and had a look at where he sits, and I think the horse The Autumn Sun most reminds me of at this very early stage, and I must emphasise it’s very early stage, but in terms of his progeny performance, it is Zabeel.

“When we look back at his statistics at the same time of his career, I must say that The Autumn Sun compares favourably; It’s in the same ballpark. But it’s so early that you should not take those statistics as gospel because it’s early days, but a terrific start."

“It’s terribly exciting and could be a new dawn.”

Zabeel, who stood at Cambridge Stud during the era of Sir Patrick Hogan, commenced his stud duties in 1991, covering 86 mares and resulting in 63 foals. His debut crop included 48 runners, producing 34 individual winners of 180 races.

Among his achievements, Zabeel sired seven stakes winners from 31 stakes races and had 11 stakes performers. Notably, Zabeel, like The Autumn Sun, also sired three Group 1 winners in his debut crop. The Champion Octagonal (NZ) was among them, winning prestigious races such as the G1 Australian Derby, the G1 Canterbury Guineas, and the G1 Rosehill Guineas.

Jezabeel (NZ) was another standout, triumphing in the G1 Melbourne Cup and the G1 Auckland Cup, while Cronus (NZ) secured victory in the G1 Adelaide Cup.