A tale of two mares – Autumn Glow, Silver linings and Sweet success  

Silverdale Farm may be riding high on its association with unbeaten star Autumn Glow, but it is another mare who keeps on delivering million-dollar results year after year for the Southern Highlands farm.

Sweet Sherry, a daughter of Bel Esprit purchased privately by Silverdale principal Steve Grant in 2020, had her fourth seven-figure yearling on the opening day of the Inglis Easter Yearling Sale when her I Am Invincible filly sold for $1.7 million.

Underpinned by Sweet Sherry’s stunning results, Silverdale has now had six million-dollar plus yearlings since it started selling under its own banner in 2021, with two of them coming on a magic Sunday at the Riverside Stables this week.

The other seven figure result on day one was a Zoustar filly out of Paredo – making her a half-sister to recent Group 2 winner Paradoxium – who was purchased for $1.1 million.

The I Am Invincible filly’s price fell just short of the vendor’s record of $1.8 million, set by Autumn Glow, who it sold at the 2023 Easter Sale, having previously purchased her as a weanling for $600,000.

But with a first day average of $813,333, it was a marquee moment for a farm which in the space of the past seven years has become one of Australia’s most respected nurseries.

“It would have been great to get to the Autumn Glow record of $1.8, but $1.7 is something special,” Silverdale’s Rob Petith said. “It has been an amazing day.”

Silverdale’s association with the two star mares, one unbeaten in 11 starts on the track and the other, a commercial powerhouse from the breeding barn, is a symbol of how it has executed a dual strategy to build its now formidable reputation.

It has heavily leaned on pinhooking weanlings to bolster the quality of its yearling drafts, with Autumn Glow a shining example of the opportunity of that approach, having generated a $1.2 million return on investment (less expenses) in less than 12 months.

The Sweet Sherry story is a longer build, albeit the Group 2 winner was earmarked for success as a broodmare from very early on. She joined the farm around the same time as Petith did.

She was purchased in foal to Snitzel, and the subsequent foal Madeira sold for $1.35 million on the Gold Coast in 2022. Eneeza, a future Group 2 winner by Exceed And Excel, was a $1.1 million graduate of the same sale 12 months later.

I Am Invincible colt Ximenez was a $775,000 Easter graduate in 2024 before Moscatel, by Snitzel, sold for $1.6 million at Magic Millions last year.

Adding in Sunday’s result, Sweet Sherry’s progeny has averaged $1.305 million in each of the past five yearling sales seasons.

The home-grown theme is similar with Paredo, the dam of Paradoxium and the $1.1 million Zoustar filly. She was a $475,000 Chairman’s Sale buy for Silverdale in 2023, and her two yearlings bred by her new owners have averaged $750,000 each.

That filly is headed to Yulong, while the I Am Invincible Sweet Sherry filly goes to Michael Freedman and Go Bloodstock.

Petith’s partnership with Grant has been key to Silverdale’s success and reflecting on how far the farm has come, the manager paid tribute to his boss’ vision.

“Steve is not your average breeder or person,” Petith said,

“He’s great to work with because he just thinks differently about how we do things. He’s equipped me with a property that clearly raises outstanding horses. But then he has set about accumulating these very nice mares.

“They’re not the top of the shelf. But we’re very specific in the types that we look for and then we mate them as well as we can.”

“I think that we’re starting to see the rewards of that. It’s incredible to think that in six years you could go from, ‘who’s Silverdale?’ to a brand that I think people associate with quality.”

Petith said the 260-hectare farm at Avoca, about 90 minutes south of Sydney, now had about 45 of its own mares, a level he expects to stay consistent unless Silverdale can grow its footprint.

But while the homegrown horses courted the spotlight on Sunday, he expects pinhooking weanlings will still be a key part of the plan going forward.

“I think that the pinhook is something we will continue to do. It adds a bit of diversity,” he said.

“It’s something different. They’re still going through all our systems. They’re still being reared on the hills and still getting all that extra work that we put into our horses.”

Petith describes the relationship between Grant and Petith as “unique”, and one which has allowed Silverdale to progress very quickly.

“We get on very, very well,” he said. “And he (Grant) brings out the best in me and I offer a little bit along the way as well. So it’s a good team effort.”