Hugely desirable filly Autumn Ballet, Stakes winners including A Very Fine Red and De Sonic Boom as well as the dam of Saturday’s G1 Sistema Stakes winner Velocious are among a surge of recent high quality entries for The Chairman’s Sale.
Autumn Ballet (The Autumn Sun) last year did what no other horse in history had done before her, winning the G3 Black Opal Stakes on debut.
In doing so she became just one of five fillies to have won the prestigious race this century and recorded the fastest time for a filly in the race in that period.
Lightly raced at two – her only other juvenile outing saw her beaten less than a length behind the likes of Tiz Invincible and Kimochi – Autumn Ballet returned as a spring 3YO to claim the G2 Silver Shadow Stakes.
Those two results alone will see Autumn Ballet become the only filly in the past five years to be offered off the track as a 3YO having won a Group race at two and three.
Other examples of fillies to win Group races at two and three in recent years include Sunlight, Away Game, Jameka etc.
Autumn Ballet is an Easter Yearling Sale graduate for Bruce Slade and trainers Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott and will be offered in the Newgate Consignment at The Chairman’s Sale.
“Autumn Ballet has been a magnificent race filly,’’ co-trainer Bott said.
“To become the first horse in history to win the Black Opal on debut was instant proof she was a top level filly and to then progress into her 3YO campaign and defeat some high quality fillies like Kimochi, Estriella, Lazzago, Mumbai Muse etc in the Silver Shadow at G2 level was further evidence of that talent she possessed on the track.
“She’s a Group winner at two and three - which is rare in itself - she’s got a mouth-watering pedigree and I have no doubt she’ll make a great broodmare.
“The Chairman’s Sale is such an amazing night, it was only two years ago one of our stable favourites Shout The Bar topped the sale and it was just such a memorable evening at Riverside so we’re very much looking forward to this year’s renewal.”
Shout The Bar was offered by Brett Howard’s Glenesk Thoroughbreds, who will again have an outstanding draft at the 2024 sale, which will be held on the evening of Thursday, May 9.
Among the Glenesk offerings will be Stakes winner and five-times Stakes placed mare A Very Fine Red (Deep Field), G2 winner and G1 placed mare Steinem (Frankel), Stakes-winning 2YO De Sonic Boom (Spirit of Boom), Sky Rumba – the dam of G1 Oakleigh Plate winner Portland Sky – and dual Stakes-winning Toronado mare Solaia in foal to highly anticipated young stallion Anamoe.
“The Chairman’s Sale has been incredible for Glenesk. The past two years are what every consignor – be it a broodmare sale or yearling sale – dreams of, to set two record prices two years in a row with Shout The Bar ($2.7m) and Nimalee ($3.6m),’’ Glenesk’s Brett Howard said.
“It’s just extremely satisfying and a really good experience for everyone involved.
“Inglis has done a great job getting the sale to where it is today and its standing in the global marketplace and getting all the people there and creating a great atmosphere.
“We’re thrilled about how our draft for this year’s sale is shaping. Steinem, to have a mare by the best stallion in the world in Frankel who is a G2 winner and G1 placed, I mean what’s not to like?
“And a horse like A Very Fine Red, I was only looking the other day and in the past 2.5 seasons there’s only one stallion in Australia whose progeny have earned more money than Deep Field and that’s I Am Invincible, so having a daughter of Deep Field in the draft is fantastic.’’
Another Chairman’s entry that will raise significant interest to a broad domestic and international buying bench is the proven producer Parmalove.
The 11YO daughter of Snitzel is the dam of Velocious, the boom New Zealand 2YO who won Saturday’s G1 Sistema Stakes, her fourth win from five starts.
Parmalove – who has had three foals to the races, all of which are 2YO winners and two of the three are Stakes performed - will be offered by Inglewood Stud in foal to G1-producing stallion Satono Aladdin.
“Velocious is a hugely exciting filly and Parmalove is a champion young producer and for an operation like ours, she’s a valuable mare and we’re just looking to spread the risk a little bit,’’ Inglewood’s Gus Wigley said.
“Selling her will allow us to buy some more mares and try to find our next Parmalove. It’s as simple as that.
“I bought Parmalove on type, she’s a magnificent big mare with plenty of substance and bone and she throws that to her foals.
“The timing of the Chairman’s is perfect for us, we can sell Parmalove early and then have time and money to buy more mares in the weeks afterwards. It’s a sale with all the biggest buyers from around the world and we can’t wait to have our first offering there.’’
Autumn Ballet, Parmalove, A Very Fine Red, De Sonic Boom, Sky Rumba and Solaia join the likes of dual G1-winning superstar She’s Extreme, this season’s top-class 3YO filly Kimochi, G1 Tatt’s Tiara winner Startantes, dual G1 Oaks winner Pennyweka, G1 placed mares Steinem and C’est Magique, G1 Melbourne Cup placegetter High Emocean and three-time Group winner Hope In Your Heart etc as confirmed early entries for The Chairman’s Sale.
Also amongst the entries are mares in foal to the likes of Frankel, Snitzel, I Am Invincible, Extreme Choice, Kingman, Justify, Proisir, Wootton Bassett and many others.
Places in the 2024 Chairman’s Sale are again strictly limited so please contact a member of the Inglis bloodstock team should you wish to discuss your options.
To view our promotional brochure of the upcoming Inglis Breeding Stock Sales Series – which also includes the Australian Weanling Sale, Australian Broodmare Sale, Great Southern Weanling Sale and Great Southern Broodmare Sale – CLICK HERE.
Entries must for each of The Chairman’s Sale, Australian Broodmare Sale and Australian Weanling Sale must close this Friday. Supplementary entries for each of these sales will be accepted up until April 26th.
To enter a weanling, filly or mare into any of the above sales CLICK HERE.