Butter Blonde tops Inglis Digital Mare Sale

Cover image courtesy of Inglis

Twin Hills invest in Butter Blonde

Choisir mare Butter Blonde, in foal of Home Affairs, topped the day’s sale at $350,000 purchased by Twin Hills Stud. The three-time winner ran third in the G3 Ottawa Stakes as a juvenile, and two of her three victories came as a 2-year-old.

“We’re delighted to get her. We had a group of us that owned a mare called Madame Cactus and she’s finished her time and we thought we’d reinvest and this mare came up on our radar, with a nice covering to Home Affairs who looks very exciting and she comes from a fantastic family,” said Twin Hills Stud’s Olly Tait.

“We were prepared to pay the $350,000 only because mares like her with a nice covering, they have a value and that value is often quite a lot of money but we were prepared to pay it because she’s a lovely package and one we really wanted.”

Her first foal, 2-year-old filly Nashville Queen (Blue Point {Ire}) won a trial in December and is currently spelling. She is trained by Jason Warren. Butter Blonde’s yearling colt by Justify (USA) sold at the Inglis Easter Yearling Sale for $200,000 to KPA Thoroughbreds, and she has an I Am Invincible colt on the ground.

There is a ton of precocity in the immediate family. Butter Blonde is a half-sister to G1 Sistema Stakes winner Ulanova (NZ) (Santos) and Listed Merson Cooper Stakes winner Steal My Kisses (I Am Invincible). This year’s G3 WA Gimcrack Stakes winner Aurum Belle (Snitzel) is also in the family.

“She was a timely mating with Home Affairs being red hot at the moment and presented us with a good trade opportunity with Inglis Digital but if we didn’t get what we wanted for her, we were more than happy to keep her with us but as I expected, there was significant interest in her and she sold accordingly,” vendor Merricks Station’s Ben Cooper said.

“Working with Inglis Digital makes it so easy, particularly with mares like her that you’re happy to retain if you don’t make your price, you don’t have to shop them around anywhere, they can just stay in their paddock which makes life a whole lot easier.

“(Inglis Bloodstock Sales Manager) Will (Stott) was great through the whole process, the service was excellent and thus the experience a very positive one.”

Godolphin draft well received

Godolphin’s draft of race fillies and broodmares was well received with the boys in blue achieving three of the top six prices on the day. Godolphin’s 45 lots achieved a gross of $1,268,000.

“We were pleased with the overall result, the draft turned over almost $1.3m and there was good competition on a number of mares throughout the sale,” Godolphin Australia’s Racing and Bloodstock Manager Jason Walsh said.

“We thought the draft was well matched on the Inglis Digital platform and the market responded accordingly. There was healthy competition on a number of mares and the results were reflective of that.”

Kinshachi (Commands), in foal to Anamoe, sold for $185,000 to Boomer Bloodstock. The dam of dual Listed winner Kin (Impending) won the Listed Nudgee Stakes herself and her most recent live foal is the yearling colt Kareshi (Brazen Beau). Kinshachi is a half-sister to Group 3 winner Aichi (Strategic).

Carrying covers to Street Boss (USA), the unplaced pair of Influenza (Exceed And Excel) and Twilight Zone (Exceed And Excel) sold for $125,000 and $120,000, respectively. They were the only two mares in the sale in foal to Street Boss.

Catheryne Bruggeman and Paul Moroney Bloodstock bought 4-year-old mare Influenza who is a daughter of Listed winner Epidemic (Lonhro). This is the family of Group 1 winner Mnemosyne (Encosta De Lago) whose three stakes winners are led by dual Group 1 winner Impending.

Swettenham Stud / Diego Velazquez Syndicate purchased Twilight Zone, who has a similar profile to Influenza, being an unplaced daughter of Exceed And Excel carrying her first covering. She is a daughter of G3 Ottawa Stakes winner Antelucan (Domesday) who is a half-sister to G2 Dane Ripper Stakes winner Hazard (Flying Spur) and two other stakes winners.

Bubba’s Bay tops the race fillies

The best of the race fillies was dual Listed winner Bubba’s Bay (Cable Bay {Ire}) who has clocked up 11 wins in her 31 starts and has earnings over $840,000. C B Racing purchased her for $185,000. She bled at the trials in April this year and is serving a three-month ban.

“I’m happy with that and I’m sure she’ll make a really good mum,” vendor Adrian Pazman said.

“(Inglis Bloodstock Sales Manager) Harry (Bailey) is excellent, we’ve bought a lot of horses through Harry and if it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t be buying anything like the amount I do buy.”

From the family of G1 Golden Slipper winner Catbird, the 6-year-old mare is out of unraced Commands mare Lift All Boats. She will be retired by new owners CB Racing, who purchased her in consultation with Portia Baronian, and sent to Coolmore Stud’s new acquisition Super Seth.

City Of Troy coverings popular

The two mares in foal to City Of Troy (USA) both sold for six figure sums.

Jamieson Park spent $120,000 on Zelify (Snitzel). The winner of four races has a yearling filly by Pierro, who was sold by Lime Country Thoroughbreds at Inglis Classic Yearling Sale for $40,000, and a colt foal by Ole Kirk. Zelify is a full sister to Group 3 winner Elle Lou, and from the family of Group 1 winner Srikandi (Dubawi {Ire}).

William Burl paid $100,000 for unraced mare Your Time (Your Song) who has an unnamed 2-year-old colt by Portland Sky and a colt foal by Ozzmosis. Your Time is a half-sister to three stakes winners led by young stallion Cosmic Force, as well as Group 3 winner Onemorezeta (Onemorenomore) and Cosmic Force’s dual Listed winning full sister Razeta (Deep Field).