Colts stay in Extreme focus as Easter buyers search for stallion jackpot 

The emergence of the $30 million sale of Golden Slipper-winning colt Guest House on the eve of the Inglis Easter Yearling Sale didn’t do any harm in incentivising the numerous partnerships playing the long game in search of stallion prospects to keep reinvesting.

The sale of Guest House to Coolmore for the huge figure and the likelihood of other significant deals being reached in the next few weeks provided a timely reminder to the lucrative nature of landing the right yearling colt.

For Coolmore’s Tom Magnier, whose Australian operation has spent a combined $100 million in recent months in buying proven stallion Super Seth as well as Guest House, that sentiment was front of mind after signing for the probable Easter sale-topping $3 million Extreme Choice colt at Riverside Stables.

The Extreme Choice-Pretty Brazen colt, who was bred by Graham and Linda Huddy and sold via the draft of Greg and Jo Griffin’s Lime Country Thoroughbreds, continues Coolmore’s seemingly insatiable appetite for stallion prospects.

Extreme Choice is the sire of Stay Inside, the Yulong-owned three-year-old Devil Night and this season’s Todman Stakes winner Paradoxium, himself an immensely valuable colt.

Magnier, who described the Extreme Choice colt as being “a very good mover with loads of quality and a lovely light step on him”, believes Coolmore’s huge statement in recent weeks was good for the Australasian bloodstock economy.

“We’ve obviously bought Super Seth and Guest House and the good thing about it is that you see plenty of people here, Mick Price’s owners, people from New Zealand, they’re all coming back to reinvest that money,” Magnier said. 

“So, I suppose it’s swings and roundabouts. The Australian game is the healthiest in the world and we’re just very fortunate to be a part of it.”

Newgate Farm’s Henry Field, whose colts syndicate has had 15 stallions retire in the past decade, was back at Easter confident that his long-term approach can continue to pay dividends.

“It is (a high variance game), but over the period, we’ve had so many good colts in the partnership that have made stallions,” Field said. 

“Obviously, any time you’re buying racehorses, it’s a risky business, but the fact that we’ve had so many Group 1 winners and so many stallions retire over a decade, I think it really is something which is meaningful to us to be consistent.

“As long as we’re buying the right product, and we’re fortunate to have great trainers working with us, you give yourself a great chance.”

The Newgate colts’ fund stallions include Wild Ruler, Cosmic Force, In The Congo, Russian Revolution and King’s Gambit.

They also have this season’s Skyline Stakes winner Campione D’Italia, who ran fourth in the Golden Slipper, who could enhance his stud prospects in Saturday’s Sires’ Produce.

On day one of the Easter sale, the Newgate-China Horse Club-led syndicate paid $1.35 million for a strong, mature colt by I Am Invincible out of Group 1-winning sprinter Pippie.

China Horse Club and Newgate has been a constant of an evolving syndicate, with various investors coming and going or scaling up or down their involvement over the past decade.

And that just doesn’t apply to Field’s syndicate but it can be said for almost all the colts funds who have shot to prominence over the past 10 to 15 years such is the variance

This year, Western Australia’s Yarradale Stud, overseen by owner Lyn Sayers and stud manager Davy Hanratty, have joined the CHC-Newgate colts syndicate for the first time.

It’s a multifaceted strategy from Yarradale to join the east coast partnership.

“My way of thinking is that, firstly, you’ve got 5 percent shares in 20 racehorses, so you can enjoy 20 racehorses at the races. Secondly, hopefully one of them is good enough to be these good stallions when they retire,” Hanratty told The Straight.

“With all these good fillies we’re buying at the moment, in time they’ll have to go somewhere, and I would like to send them to a very good stallion over here (the Hunter Valley), so if you have shares in them, it’ll be even better. 

“And also, you have a leg in the door, and if one of them is a Group 2 winner, and you want to maybe send it to Perth, well, I’ll put my hand up and say, ‘please give it to me if he’s good enough’. 

“There’s a few different ways of thinking about the stallion scheme, but we’re very happy.” 

Yarradale Stud also bought three fillies on Sunday, an I Am Invincible daughter of Peace Time for $800,000, a Justify out of Pantonario for $600,000 and a $300,000 Maurice-Smirnova filly.

Yulong founder Zhang Yuesheng, whose financial capacity allows him to take on all the risk himself, was also active during the opening session of the Easter sale, paying $1.35 million for a Zoustar half-brother to recent Darby Munro winner Beskar.

Zhang, who bought the Zoustar half-sister to Paradoxium for $1.1 million early on the session, also paid $900,000 for an Anamoe colt bred by Fairway Thoroughbreds’ John Camilleri.

Tony Fung Investments, whose past colt successes include Golden Slipper winner Farnan, Prague and Anders under the Aquis Farm banner, is in the second year of its alliance with the James Harron colts syndicate.

At Riverside Stables on Sunday, Harron signed for an $850,000 colt by Stay Inside, the sire of the group’s Breeders’ Plate winner Incognito.

Agent Jim Clarke, who has climbed the industry totem pole via clients such as trainer Bjorn Baker and Ridgmont Farm’s Cunningham family, linked with new client Ted Huglin.

Their $1.3 million buy, a colt by Guest House’s sire Home Affairs out of Wakeful Stakes winner Victoria Quay, signalled the long-time owner’s determination to unearth a top-class horse. 

“He’s a beautiful colt, he stood out straight away when I first saw him. I actually remember seeing his mother in Adelaide as a yearling, she’s a gorgeous filly and obviously went on to be a fantastic race filly as well,” Clarke said.

“I thought he was the best colt I’ve seen in the sale. Just his physique, he’s a big strong horse. I think even though his mother was probably the best at three and got out over a little bit of ground, to me he still looked like he had a lot of precocity and speed.”

Through the Mick Price and Mick Kent Jnr-trained Guest House, Home Affairs joined Extreme Choice and Danehill, among others, as a stallion to sire a Golden Slipper winner in their first crop.

“It’s a big try for a young stallion, but he’s a young stallion who  I think could be the next big thing,” Clarke said.

Clarke and Huglin, whose grandson Michael Huglin is a trainer based at Pakenham, also bought an I Am Invincible colt out of Group 3 winner Threeood for $650,000.