Cover image courtesy of China Horse Club
Home to China Horse Club’s Australian broodmare band, The Chase will offer a draft of seven at the Inglis Melbourne Premier Yearling Sale this year, once again allowing buyers the opportunity to buy into the select families that have been cultivated by the Club in recent years.
For over a decade, the China Horse Club has been synonymous with some of the best performing colts in Australian racing, including Russian Revolution, In The Congo, Artorius, Stay Inside, and Wild Ruler. They have also enjoyed international success with American Triple Crown hero, Justify (USA), Epsom Derby winner, Australia (GB), and Kentucky Oaks winner, Abel Tasman (USA), and continue to be a force on the buying bench at the nation’s sales. The same care and dedication to the industry that is demonstrated through their investments is reflected in the horses that they offer for sale.
Shadhavar was sold by The Chase | Image courtesy of Prime Thoroughbred
In a relatively short space of time as a breeder, China Horse Club produced G1 Coolmore Stud Stakes winner Ozzmosis & G1 Randwick Guineas winner Communist in addition to an array of other stakes horses and their 2025 Melbourne Premier draft offers an opportunity to tap into some of the same breeding program that produced these two stars. This select draft includes the only remaining opportunities to purchase a New Bay (GB) yearling this year, a half-sister to a Guineas winner, as well as a progeny out of a number of stakes producing mares and by Australia's best established and up and coming stallions.
Lot 48 - New Bay (GB) x Assayer (Ire) (colt)
New Bay has carved himself out a good niche in Northern Hemisphere racing after retiring to stud in 2017. Ballylinch Stud’s resident Champion 3YO in France is batting well with 205 winners from 343 to race, amongst them 19 stakes winners to produce a 5.5 per cent stakes winners to runners average. Dual Group 1 winner and China Horse Club bred, Saffron Beach (Ire), leads his trio of stakes winners, and his name will already be familiar to Australians through the deeds of his son, G3 Eclipse Stakes-winning New Energy (Ire).
Dam Assayer (Ire) is by Galileo (Ire) who has been a potent broodmare sire, with his daughters responsible for 364 stakes winners - most notably including Via Sistina (Ire) (Fastnet Rock) and The Autumn Sun - to date. Young shuttler Ghaiyyath (Ire), who presently has 2-year-olds on the track in the Southern Hemisphere, is bred on the same cross as this colt, as is Night Of Thunder (Ire) and newly announced Rosemont Stud shuttler Henry Longfellow (Ire).
Assayer is also a daughter of New Zealand Bloodstock Filly Of The Year Fix (NZ) (Iffraaj {GB}), whose daughter - a full sister to Assayer - Know Thyself (Ire) was one of several mares to visit Too Darn Hot (GB) on Southern Hemisphere time in 2024. Another full sister Aurum Sky (Ire) took her record to four wins since the catalogue went to print with two wins in Germany earlier this year.
Lot 92 - Wild Ruler x Cappadocia (filly)
This filly excites as a three-quarter-sister to G1 Randwick Guineas winner Communist (Russian Revolution), who was also a winner at his second start as a juvenile before dipping his toe into stakes company in the spring of his 3-year-old year. Having earned over $1 million to date, he now 5-year-old has clashed with some of the best along his career, including going down by 1.04l to Anamoe in the G1 George Ryder Stakes, where he finished sixth.
Listed-placed herself, Cappadocia (Northern Meteor) is a half-sister to two stakes winners, including G1 Goodwood Handicap-winning Zip Zip Aray (Bellotto {USA}). This is also the family of Victorian stalwart Nicconi and G3 John Hawkes Stakes winner Extremely Lucky (Extreme Choice), who continues to perform at stakes level in his fourth season racing, finishing second last month in the Listed Durbridge Stakes to Prairie Flower (Star Turn).
Winner of the G1 Moir Stakes amongst his six group wins, Wild Ruler’s first yearlings have been highly anticipated this year, with his top price coming at the New Zealand Bloodstock National Yearling Sale where Ellerslie Lodge and B Heys paid NZ$380,000 for one of his sons. Offspring of Cappadocia have sold up to $300,000 in the past, and she has had good success with sires in their first seasons; Communist is from Russian Revolution’s first crop.
Lot 117 - New Bay (GB) x Crisolles (Fr)(filly)
The second of just two opportunities to buy offspring of Group 1-producing stallion New Bay (GB) at this sale, this filly already presents plenty of value as a half-sister to Group-performing Son of Man (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}) and nine-time winner Kingstown (Fr) (Speightstown {USA}). Crisolles (Fr) (Le Havre {Fr}) was a handy filly herself, picking up placings in the G2 Prix de la Nonette and the G3 Prix Vanteaux in between her four wins.
Of Crisolles’ three foals to hit the track, all three have come home winners, with the aforementioned geldings joined by Gold As Glass (Ire) (Australia {GB}), a winner over 1400 metres in Great Britain. She has a 3-year-old still to run, in addition to this filly.
The pedigree is littered with top performing fillies and, of equal importance, their stakes-winning offspring, ensuring this filly has plenty of residual value once she finishes racing. Her third dam Sandbox (Ire) (Grand Lodge {USA}) not only was a tough performer winning at Deauville, but she is also a half-sister to the dam of late New Zealand-based sire Contributer.
Lot 182 - Zoustar x Galina (colt)
Another offering from a special family, this colt will appeal to those looking for a stallion prospect, as his dam Galina (Smart Missile) is a half-sister to Newgate Farm’s rising star Russian Revolution and to Miss Interiors (Flying Spur), dam of hot first season sire Home Affairs and new West Australian addition Aysar, whose first foals arrived last year.
This is the third foal from young mare Galina, who was placed several times at two and three on her way to breaking her maiden. She was precocious enough to debut in the G3 Gimcrack Stakes where she put in a tremendous finish to cross the line fifth behind Satin Slipper (Pierro). Both of her first foals - who are both fillies - have been retained to race by China Horse Club, and have been entrusted to Malua Racing and Annabel Neasham and Rob Archibald.
Zoustar’s soaring service is well justified given the performance of his offspring on the track; since the beginning of December, he has had six individual stakes winners across three countries, with his brief shuttle career to Great Britain proving fruitful, producing G2 Mathis Mile Stakes winner King of Gosford (GB). Within the fortnight, his daughter Inhibitions was a surprise winner of the G3 Triscay Stakes for Godolphin. He has quite an affinity with this particular strain of Danehill (USA); three of his nine Group 1 winners are out of Fastnet Rock mares.
Lot 200 - Russian Revolution x Heart Of The Ocean (NZ)(filly)
Descending from a rich New Zealand family, this is the first foal from Listed Oaks Prelude-placed Heart Of The Ocean (NZ) (Tavistock {NZ}), only missing out on the win on that occasion by 0.2l. She is one of four stakes-performers for her dam, Special Diamond (NZ) (Zabeel {NZ}), who is a full sister to Don Eduardo (NZ) and thus a three-quarter-sister to Octagonal (NZ). This filly can count the great Eight Carat (GB) (Pieces Of Eight {Ire}) as her fourth dam, just pushed off of her rich pedigree page.
Closer at hand is the talented Miss Roseiano (Exceed And Excel), winner of the G3 Blue Diamond Preview (fillies) on debut and second in the G2 Blue Diamond Prelude (fillies), before finishing 3.25l behind Daumier in the grand final.
With his oldest crop being 5-year-olds, Russian Revolution has continued at a cracking pace with his winners, including the aforementioned Communist and new sire son Red Resistance. He has amassed 11 stakes winners and a further 11 stakes-performed offspring across those crops, with the best still to come after he was crowned Champion First and Second Season Sire for the exploits of his early progeny. This filly was bred off of the back of that first achievement, and indicative of the increase in his book quality over time.
Lot 206 - Wild Ruler x Holyhead (colt)
A colt from a fine family, this lot descends from Procure (NZ) (Centaine), whose best work came in the breeding barn where she produced modern blue hen Hips Don’t Lie (NZ) (Stravinsky {USA}), Acquired (NZ) (O’Reilly {NZ}), dam of Darling View Thoroughbreds’ Splintex, and Ocean Of Tears (NZ) (Darci Brahma {NZ}), second dam of freshman Newgate Farm stallion Ozzmosis. Those are not the only stallions up close in this colt’s pedigree, as Hips Don’t Lie is the dam of Acrobat, whose first yearlings hit the sales rings this year.
It is a quality page full of precocious juvenile performers, as best represented by G3 Chairman’s Stakes winner Ennis Hill (Fastnet Rock) and her Champion 2YO Filly daughter Learning To Fly (Justify {USA}), who won her first three starts before going amiss in the G1 Golden Slipper Stakes. She only finished outside of the placings twice in seven starts, including a nailbiting fourth in the G1 Surround Stakes where Tutta La Vita (The Autumn Sun) only beat her to third by 0.03l.
This colt’s second dam Irish Sea (Fastnet Rock) is a full sister to Acrobat, Ennis Hill. and Lake Geneva- who placed in both the Slipper and the G1 Blue Diamond Stakes - and was a juvenile winner herself amongst her five starts. She narrowly missed out on the placings in three meritorious runs at Listed level during the latter half of her 2-year-old season. Her fifth placing in the Listed Wintergarden Stakes was particularly close, finishing just 0.8l behind the winner Cellarman (Mossman).
Her daughter Holyhead (Pierro) was a winner herself across a handful of starts. This is her second foal and replicates an emerging nick of sons of Snitzel over Pierro mares; one of the most successful crosses so far in Pierro’s burgeoning broodmare sire career is with Trapeze Artist, with whom he has produced four winners from seven runners. The best of those four to date is the talented juvenile Facile (Trapeze Artist), who broke through at stakes level last April with victory in the G3 PJ Bell Stakes. Of three stakes winners as a broodmare sire, Pierro has two by Danehill line stallions - the other being his sole runner by Myboycharlie (Ire).
Lot 371 - Stay Inside x Palace Rock (NZ), (filly)
Palace Rock (NZ) (Fastnet Rock) comes from a strong black type family to start off with, she is a full sister to G1 Easter Handicap winner Albany Reunion (Fastnet Rock), and amongst her close relations is Group 3-winning sire Sun City. Also in the family is Listed Cap d’Antibes Stakes winner Shesallshenanigans (Toronado {Ire}), who tipped her prize money over the $1 million mark with a win at Flemington in January.
Closer to home, Palace Rock herself has already been successful with first season sires. This filly is a half-sister to Listed Dulcify Stakes winner Giannis, from the first crop of Flying Artie, who split Converge (Frankel {GB}) and Tiger Of Malay in the G1 JJ Atkins Plate. G1 Golden Slipper Stakes winner Stay Inside’s first progeny have been well received at the yearling sales so far this season, selling for up to $1 million, and had a top price of $220,000 at the Inglis Classic Yearling Sale earlier this month, averaging $98,667 over 15 lots to sell.
Fastnet Rock needs no introduction as a broodmare sire; his daughters have produced 136 stakes winners, 15 of which have won Group 1s, at a strike rate of 5.7 per cent stakes winners to runners. The close duplication of Danehill makes this a rare cross, but not an unprofitable one; Not A Single Doubt over Fastnet Rock is responsible for three winners from four runners, led by G3 Proud Miss Stakes winner Snapped (Not A Single Doubt). Runners by Snitzel from Fastnet Rock mares have also won at a 75 per cent strike rate from small numbers.
