Young Darley stallion Astern has made a strong sales-ring debut at the Australian National Broodmare Sale in Queensland where mares in foal to the son of Medaglia d’Oro sold for as much as A$465,000.
In a buoyant market the top price for a mare covered by Astern was A$465,000 for Chocalatier, a seven-year-old Lawman (Fr) mare from the family of Pierro (Lonhro) an Ambience (Street Cry) with an October cover.
Offered by Bell View Park Stud in NSW, Chocalatier was purchased by the Macau-based Frontier Bloodstock.
Bidding was also strong for Godolphin’s Key Bar Nights, dam of the Listed winner Barbed and of Tiki Bar, and also carrying a foal by Astern, who went to a bid of A$360,000 from Australian Bloodstock.
In all, the 22 mares sold in foal to Astern averaged $149,659, just ahead of the overall sale average.
Darley’s US star Frosted also had a bright introduction to the Australian sales ring with the mare Fast Fleet, the mother of recent G1 winner Santa Anna Lane sold for A$200,000 in foal to the son of Tapit.
Another young Darley stallion, Exosphere, followed on the good results for his first crop of weanlings who sold last week, thanks largely to the Commands mare Iridescente.
Offered by Godolphin with a September cover by Exosphere, the mother of recent city winner Peacock from a family that includes the G1 Hong Kong sprinter Absolute Champion and the South African G1 winner Wylie Hall, sold for A$320,000 to Harry McAlpine Bloodstock.
The top price for a mare covered by a Darley stallion was achieved by the four-year-old Frankel mare Dream In Colour, in foal to Exceed And Excel, who sold for A$750,000 to the bid of bloodstock agent Peter Ford.
Book One of the sale grossed A$100.688 million for 683 lots, achieving a clearance rate of 83 per cent.
