Arrowfield

This article is one of 34 vendors exclusively in our MMGC 2023 souvenir edition ! This edition is not for retail sale and you can only get one by subscribing to BLUEBLOODS

Hitotsu gave all his owners, their friends and families three once-in-a-lifetime experiences in six months.

Ask Kevin Payne about feeling the magic of racing triple Classic winner Hitotsu, and it’s hard to pull him up.

“Hitotsu gave all his owners, their friends and families three once-in-a-lifetime experiences in six months.

I personally had 16 family and friends at Flemington on Australian Guineas day and for all of us, it was one of the greatest days of our lives. And I know most of the other owners had similar groups around them across his three Group 1 wins.

“Once you can no longer be an active sportsman yourself,a good horse lets you compete at a high level and you’re riding with him every inch of the way! Hitotsu has taken me to a level I could never have reached myself. The love and joy Hitotsu has given Vikki and me and our fellow owners, friends and families is incredible, it’s priceless. The ripples go so much further than you think – strangers come up to me and say how much pleasure he’s given them. Everyone’s keen to hear about Hitotsu, then we get talking about other horses. It creates a very strong common bond with people, talking about something beyond work, weather and family! I call it the Payne Train, everyone jumps on board our horses and it becomes more about family and friends than yourself. Vikki and I get such a buzz out of that!”

And that’s without counting Hitotsu’s $3.1 million prizemoney or his potential stallion value, making it an exceptional investment, as well as great fun for the big group of people who now own him and simply love the magical ride he’s giving them. Kevin Kelly secured Hitotsu on behalf of Kevin & Vikki Payne from Arrowfield’s 2020 Magic Millions draft for $100,000 – little more than half the median price in Book 1 at that sale. Kelly later said, “Arrowfield are great people to buy off; they’re very fair and I hold them in high regard as vendors.”

Statistics from the 2016-21 Magic Millions Gold Coast sales back that assessment. Arrowfield out-performs the Sale with 43 Stakes Performers, 19 Stakeswinners and Group 1-winning colts Hitotsu, Invader, Profondo and Tagaloa from 345 offered lots. Then there are horses like Missile Mantra, a canny $30,000 buy for Triple Crown Syndications, who became a Group winner & Group 1 performer, earned $600,000 and sold as a broodmare in 2022 for $950,000. Count De Rupee, a $145,000 purchase by Robert and Luke Price whose 7-win, $2.6 million career included the 2022 Victory S. G2 and the $1 million The Gong. $270,000 filly Soaring Ambition, a Listed stakeswinner of more than $100,000 at her very first start, as a December 2YO. And Wee Nessy, bought for $400,000, who gave her owners the special thrill of a Spring Carnival stakeswinner when she won this season’s Crockett S. LR at The Valley.

Arrowfield’s 63-lot 2023 Magic Millions consignment presents compelling options for buyers wanting to achieve similar results. Four-time Champion Sire Snitzel is keeping up a ferocious pace this season, with 10 stakeswinners already on the board including his 49th 2YO stakeswinner Ethereal Star. Arrowfield has bred or sold 8 of his 18 Group 1 winners, among them Magic Millions graduates Invader and Sweet Idea. Arrowfield’s Sales Manager Sally Gordon begins her early-prep selections with a pair of Snitzels. Lot 309, the Snitzel-Rose of Cimmaron colt is “a gorgeous colt with a lot of quality and a great attitude”, whose siblings include Group-winning colts Siege Of Quebec and Bull Point.

Lot 589, the Snitzel-Alexandra Rose filly, half-sister to US Grade 1 winner Oleksandra, is “a strong, athletic type that’s thriving during her prep.”

New to the market are the first yearlings by Castelvecchio, a Group 1 winner of rare talent at both 2 and 3, and second in Lys Gracieux’s Cox Plate G1. Arrowfield will offer nine of the 19 Castelvecchio yearlings at Magic Millions. Lot 423, the Castelvecchio-Statuette colt, “a precocious, well-muscled colt, a racy individual”, has four winning siblings including the Group-placed New Zealand mare Providenceprovides.

The 13 Written Tycoon yearlings in the draft are the result of Arrowfield’s inspired move to stand the son of Iglesia in the season he won the Australian General Sires’ Premiership. He’s added 18 new stakeswinners to his record since then, including this season’s Group 1 winner Coolangatta. Sally’s pick is Lot 641, the Written Tycoon-Bandol colt: “Well-balanced and powerful, he looks an early type.”

Dundeel’s upward trajectory continues this season, thanks to 52 winners headed by dual Group-winning mare Hope In Your Heart, and 3YO Elliptical, runner-up in both the Spring Champion S. G1 and Caulfield Guineas G1. Dundeel’s current 2YOs and yearlings, bred on the back of his first 5 Group 1 winners, will drive his challenge for stallion championship honours. Lot 951, the Dundeel-I Am Queen filly “has always been a quality filly. She is beautifully balanced and very athletic.”

Looking for a smart sprinting type by one of the best stallions in Australia’s highly competitive group of third season sires?
Ten per cent of Shalaa’s runners have earned black type – 10 of them at two – and he’s building a good record in Hong Kong too. Lot 808, the Shalaa-Dual Star colt, full brother of Melbourne stakes-placed city winner Shalstar, is “a ready-made racehorse, with a powerful hind-quarter and strong forearm.”

If the early feedback from trainers is any indication, five-time Group 1 winner The Autumn Sun may soon be Australia’s next hot stallion, and that makes buying from his second crop a smart decision. Arrowfield is offering 11 of 17 The Autumn Sun yearlings catalogued for Magic Millions. Lot 139, the colt by The Autumn Sun from Miss Super Quick is “a nice mover with a lovely strong profile and looks sharp.”

Pariah, already the sire of 2YO Group winner Swiss Exile among his 12 winners this year, and Showtime, himself a star Magic Millions graduate whose first 2YOs race this season, have a total of 11 yearlings on offer at the Gold Coast.

Sally and the Arrowfield team will be hard at work parading the draft at the Gold Coast, but the Stud’s famous hospitality will also be in full swing. “We all look forward to catching up with clients, friends and buyers and there’s always a special excitement about the first sale of the year.”