A day of milestones for the progeny of Rich Hill Stud based stallions Proisir and Satono Aladdin was one of the major highlights on the first day of the New Zealand Bloodstock National Yearling Sale at Karaka.
Lot 21, the full sister to dual Group One winner Prowess, a daughter of Proisir, fetched the highest price ever paid for the fairer sex at Karaka when knocked down to the $1.6million bid of Victorian trainer Peter Moody from breeder Hallmark Stud’s Book 1 draft.
Later it was the turn of the son of Deep Impact in Satono Aladdin to achieve his highest ever sale price at auction in Australasia when Bloodstock Agent Guy Mulcaster and leading Australian trainer Chris Waller combined to secure Lot 144, a filly from O’Reilly mare Inthespotlight, from the Rich Hill Stud draft for $900,000.
Stud principal John Thompson sported a beaming smile as he accepted congratulations immediately after the sale.
“That is the highest price for Satono and the most we have ever sold a filly for at Karaka,” Thompson said.
“We had our suspicions she would sell well as up until this morning she had had 144 parades and she never turned a hair the whole time.
“People were coming back repeatedly as they loved her, she has a lovely temperament, beautiful walk and just looks like a racehorse.
“This filly is not from his (Satono Aladdin’s) biggest crop but he has had full books of 170 mares in the last two seasons so there is many more to come.”
The filly is a half-sister to Gr.1 Australian Guineas (1600m) placegetter Japanese Emperor while Group One winners Metal Bender and Amarelinha also feature in the extended pedigree which Thompson believes was another of the many factors that attracted buyers.
“A Group One performer like Japanese Emperor in her pedigree really helped her along and she is also a quality animal,” he said.
“She belongs to my accountant Hayden Dillon and another good client in Trevor Luke. Trevor raced Alamosa and his health isn’t the best at the moment and this will be a big boost for him.
“She is also going to a fantastic trainer in Chris (Waller) and as a studmaster that is where you want to see your horses going as you know they will get every possible chance.
“On the evidence so far, this has been a very good sale and is just what the vendors needed. Sales like this one and the Proisir filly earlier are just life changing.
“This mare has a Satono colt at foot and is back in foal to him so we are hopeful the family is going to go from strength to strength.”
Mulcaster had also been involved as an underbidder on the $1.6million Proisir filly and was pleased to secure the Satono Aladdin after missing out to Peter Moody earlier.
“We had a real good go at the sister to Prowess and making $1.6million just stretched us too far, so we’re delighted to secure this filly,” he said.
“Her full brother (Japanese Emperor) is obviously a decent horse, his run in the Guineas was good and this filly looks a very good type and we are happy to have got her.
“It was a solid sort of day today although we take it step by step as we are type buyers rather than pedigree as we just want to buy the best horses with Karaka being very good to us.”