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Astute Bloodstock’s (FBAA) Louis Le Metayer and Amelia Park’s Peter Walsh will be hoping lightning can strike twice as they purchased Listed-winning mare Dima (Fr) (Falco {USA}) for 110,000gns (AU$203,000) at the Tattersalls July Sale in Newmarket on Wednesday.
The UK-based sale has been a happy hunting ground for Le Metayer and Walsh in the past, with the pair having purchased Canford Cliffs (Ire) mare Bumbasina (Ire) for 75,000gns (AU$131,600) at the 2018 edition of the sale and she'd subsequently go on to produce one of this season’s most exciting prospects in unbeaten Western Australia-based 2-year-old Amelia’s Jewel (Siyouni {Fr}).
Their other purchase that year was Bound Copy (USA) (Street Cry {Ire}) who they bought for 45,000gns (AU$79,000) at Park Paddocks in the same year.
The daughter of Street Cry (Ire) has also proved a sound investment for the team, with her first yearling - a colt by Kingman (GB) - purchased by Aramco Racing for $600,000 at the 2021 Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale, while her second foal - a colt by Coolmore’s So You Think (NZ) was snapped up by Hawkes Racing for $380,000 at this year’s edition of the Sydney sale.
“Peter Walsh of Amelia Park was my very first client when I started my business 10 years ago and we came here four years ago and bought two mares. One was called Bound Copy who cost 45,000gns (AU$79,000) and her first two Australian yearlings grossed $960,000 and the other was Bumbasina, who produced Amelia’s Jewel. We have been lucky here and hopefully it can continue with this mare,” Le Metayer told TDN AusNZ on Wednesday.
Beautiful mare
A winner of a German Listed event, Dima has also placed a further four times at stakes level, including on her latest appearance when she finished third in the G3 Premio del Giubileo in Italy.
“She’s a beautiful mare who is a stakes winner and multiple stakes performer. She is very good-looking and she has a Timeform rating of 101 and she will go straight to stud,” Le Metayer explained.
Before she ships back to Australia, Dima will be covered to Southern Hemisphere time with Le Metayer and Walsh considering some high-class European stallions for her first mating, including Juddmonte Farms’ superstar Frankel (GB).
“The stallions we have been considering are Frankel, Night Of Thunder or Lope De Vega, we will assess and see what is the best match and she will be covered on Southern Hemisphere time,” he explained. “She will then go to Segenhoe and stay there as a broodmare. At the moment she will be staying in Australia, but if she throws a racehorse in the same class as Amelia’s Jewel she might get a shot to come back here.”
“... she (Dima) will be covered on Southern Hemisphere time and then go to Segenhoe and stay there as a broodmare. At the moment she will be staying in Australia, but if she throws a racehorse in the same class as Amelia’s Jewel she might get a shot to come back here." - Louis Le Metayer
Great success
Le Metayer himself has tasted great success when buying at Tattersalls’ sales, having teamed up with Sackville Donald to buy subsequent Group 1 winner Harlem (GB) (Champs Elysees {GB}) for 520,000gns (AU$912,000) at the Autumn Horses In Training Sale in 2016.
He also forked out 230,000gns (AU$403,500) for Listed Ballarat Cup and Listed Pakenham Cup winner Pilote d'Essai (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}) at the same sale the previous year and he also purchased Irish Group 3 winner Coral Beach (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}) for 85,000gns (AU$149,000) at the December breeding stock sales in 2016.
“I personally have been extremely lucky at Tattersalls,” he said. “I bought Harlem here, Pilote d'Essai and Group 3 winner Coral Beach here. I have only shopped here 10 times and I think I have bought five Group horses here, so it has been a really lucky place for me.”
“I bought Harlem here, Pilote d'Essai and Group 3 winner Coral Beach here. I have only shopped here 10 times and I think I have bought five Group horses here, so it has been a really lucky place for me.” - Louis Le Metayer
Bumbasina will visit Siyouni (Fr), who stands at the Aga Khan’s Haras de Bonneval in France, in September.
“Bumbasina is actually in France at the moment and she is one of the only ones who is going to get covered by the stallion to Southern Hemisphere time this year - they were kind enough to allow us to get covered by him again in September.”
Siyouni’s statistics in Australia make for impressive reading, with the stallion represented by eight winners in the country from 19 starters and they are headed by three stakes winners, including Amelia’s Jewel, while he has also had two runners that have placed at stakes level.
“Siyouni is a stallion that really appeals to Australia because he is a sprinter and he throws great physicals and they stand up to the Australian way of racing. He adds a lot of substance to his horses, which is what you need for sprinters,” Le Metayer explained.
An unknown quantity
A winner of all three of her starts, Amelia’s Jewel - who is trained by Simon Miller and raced by Walsh - burst onto the scene when she won the Listed Supremacy S. on March 5 and would go on to win her next two starts in the G3 Gimcrack S. and G2 Karrakatta Plate.
Given she has never left Western Australia, Amelia’s Jewel is very much the unknown quantity and Le Metayer is hoping she can go on to prove herself as a top-class performer anywhere in Australia.
“I honestly don’t know how good she is. I was a little bit sceptical of the form around her, but then every form expert I speak to tells me she’s a superstar and she would have done well in the Slipper,” he said.
“She was rated the second best 2-year-old in the country, but we don’t know how good she is.
“It is nice for me, because Peter has been so close to my business now for many years, and who basically helped me start the business and it’s unbelievable I was able to help him get a big result like that.
"It is nice for me, because Peter (Walsh) has been so close to my business now for many years, and who basically helped me start the business and it’s unbelievable I was able to help him get a big result like that." - Louis Le Metayer
“Peter is so passionate about racing, loves the game, but also when they come here and buy good horses adds an element of excitement to it all. We have been very lucky. It’s always a pleasure to come here to Tattersalls and have access to the different bloodlines.”
As for the plans for the 2-year-old filly, Le Metayer said: “She will stay in Western Australia for the spring and then go to Melbourne in the autumn. I think that’s a really smart idea because it gives her time to grow and mature and not have too many taxing runs. At the moment she hasn’t had a taxing run and they want to wait with her until she has furnished a bit more.”
Le Metayer puts his faith in Siyouni once again
News
With plenty of Australian activity at the Tattersalls December Mare Sale, buyers from the southern hemisphere made their presence felt during the first session of the Arqana Breeding Stock Sale yesterday with prominent agents Louis Le Metayer, Damon Gabbedy and William Johnson all securing mares on the first day of the Deauville sale.
The pursuit of top horses continues in Europe this spring.
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