by Brian de Lore
Published 28th March 2019
Arrowfield Stud principal John Messara AM has been in the racing and breeding business long enough to remain philosophical about the highs and lows, the good fortune versus the ill-fortune, and agrees that no matter how well-planned and cleaver you are, in the horse business you still need that ‘bird on the shoulder.’
When you own enough horses, all the emotional excitements and disappointments can occur within only short interludes of separation. It happened over the past week when Messara’s super-colt The Autumn Sun scored a narrow victory in the Gr. 1 Rosehill Guineas in entirely unsuitable underfoot conditions, and less than three days later Arrowfield’s super-sire Redoute’s Choice was dead.
The irony is that The Autumn Sun, by Redoute’s Choice, was purchased by Messara to succeed his legendary dad at Arrowfield in a yet to be specified season – most industry pundits now saying it’s a given he will be retired without racing again and prepared for his first book of mares in 2019.
Messara isn’t saying that won’t happen but what he is saying is that the decision is pending and that he will let the dust settle on Rosehill’s sticky surface from Saturday before consulting fellow part-owner Hermitage and trainer Chris Waller.
Losing Redoute’s Choice on Tuesday morning wasn’t Arrowfield’s only strike of misfortune. Saturday two weeks ago on the morning of the day The Autumn Sun brilliantly won the Gr.1 Randwick Guineas, an early morning electrical storm created havoc amongst a paddock of Arrowfield mares that resulted in the loss of the Flying Spur mare Alverta.
“We are all feeling very down today, Messara told The Informant on Tuesday, “but all good things eventually come to an end. Losing this bloke today and two weeks ago losing Alverta – they were probably the most significant male and female on the property, and Alverta was in-foal to Dundeel.”
Alverta was special to Arrowfield as the stud bred her and she was Paul Messara’s first stakes winner as a trainer, winning the Gr.1 Coolmore at Rosehill in one of her eight victories before being campaigned in England by the younger Messara where she ran third to Starspangledbanner in the Gr.1 Darley July Cup at Newmarket.
“What can you do?” Messara lamented. “We didn’t want Redoute’s to suffer; that was the main thing. We found him in the paddock covered in mud; he was a very proud horse which indicated he had got down and then struggled to get up.
“He was in great stress and was very lame in his off hind which ironically had always been one of his good legs. He had seemingly strained something trying to get up off the ground. He didn’t have a lot of flexibility in those arthritic front legs.
“We gave him analgesics which relieved the pain, and then he had a good night and drank all his water and ate all his feed overnight, and the next day which was Monday, he couldn’t do anything more than walk slowly in fairy steps. His front knees had blown up about twice normal size because he had to put pressure on them while he got off his hind legs, and from that point, the situation was becoming impossible.
“He’d get off one leg to get onto the other, and then he’d get off that one to get back onto the first, and in the end, there was nowhere for him to go in terms of mobility – it was hopeless.
“We took the decision Monday night; the vet recommended euthanasia. We were worried that he would fall and break a leg, he would be in a lot of pain, and that would be too traumatic for the horse and everybody. We couldn’t allow that to happen; we had no options.”
Although the loss of such a great horse will always be traumatic under any circumstances, Arrowfield can console themselves in the knowledge that the three times Australia’s Champion Sire got to the age of 22 despite the arthritic knee condition he had suffered from for some years.
The son of Danehill took out his first of three sires’ titles in 2005/06 which in that season included Champion Filly Miss Finland and was at the height of his commercial prowess the following season, commanding a service fee of A$330,000 when covering 224 mares.
Testimony to Redoute Choice’s popularity at yearling sale time is the stat which shows no fewer than 79 of his progeny have been $1 million plus yearlings, highlighted by the Australian record yearling price of A$5 million paid for a colt out the Desert Sun mare Helsinge at the 2013 Sydney Easter Sale.
Restricted to a more manageable book of 74 mares in 2017 before lowering to 45 in 2018, Redoute’s Choice has been a consistent, pre-potent force in the sire ranks since his debut stud season in 2000 at a fee of A$30,000, siring around 1,050 winners which collectively have won prizemoney in excess of A157 million and still counting.
Even this season, his results have been exceptional, and he’s still in the top five in the Sires’ Premiership. He is also likely to collect his first Australian Broodmare Sires’ title with progeny earnings to date amounting to $15.2 million from 15 stakes winners.
As well as Golden Slipper winner Miss Finland, other notables by Redoute’s Choice include Lankan Rupee, Stratum, Dariana, God’s Own, Allez Wonder, Nadeem, Lotteria, Melito, Fashions Afield, Master of Design amongst many others, plus resident Arrowfield sires Snitzel, Not A Single Doubt, and Scissor Kick.
The strength of the Danehill blood through Redoute’s Choice remains supremely dominant with 10 of his sons at stud led by current Champion Sire Snitzel having sired Group One winners.
Internationally Redoute’s Choice is credited with 54 Group One wins and a total of 329 group and listed events. At home in Australia, he has sired 34 individual Group One winners and 160 stakes winners. His second crop son Snitzel who won the Gr.1 Oakleigh Plate will this season emulate his dad when he takes out his third Champion Sire title.
Foaled in 1996 from the Canny Lad mare Shantha’s Choice, Redoute’s Choice was bred and raced by Muzaffar Yaseen. In his 10-start career from the Rick Hore-Lacey stable in Melbourne, he won five races including four at Group One level – the Blue Diamond Stakes at two years, the Manikato Stakes first-up at three, the Caulfield Guineas and the C.F. Orr Stakes.
As impressive as his race record reads, The Autumn Sun’s record is even superior as Messara points out: “He’s the only colt to win five group one races from his first nine starts since the keeping of groups and listed race records
“We are tipping out The Autumn Sun for six weeks,” he continued, “and during that time we are going to make up our minds whether to race him on or retire him. Redoute’s passing now tips the scale a little bit but to be fair he’s owned 50/50, and I want to hear what my partner has got to say.
“On Saturday Chris Waller said the track was an eight and was all right and will probably improve to a seven, and I thought on that basis we should start. But instead of being an eight it was probably a nine or a 10. If I’d known, we wouldn’t have run him; we could have waited for something else like the Doncaster.
“But we took our chances; our jockey Kerrin McEvoy got off after race one and said ‘this is a bog out here.’ He said, ‘ít’s not an eight, it’s a 10.’ I was nervous after that waiting for our race; I knew it would be a struggle. He was also jumping up to 2000 metres, but in the ground it was really 2100 metres – it was too much.
“He ran the same time as the winner of the Ranvet at weight-age-age. We were very lucky to get away with it.
“We won’t be going to the UK this year, but there’s still a chance for next year if he comes back next year as big as the trainer says. He says he could be the best racehorse in the world next year and will take Winx’s position next season if we give him a chance.
“I haven’t made a decision. Half of me says he should go to stud now with Redoute’s gone; the other half says how many times are you ever likely to get one like that. It’s extremely hard to make that decision.
“He pulled up alright after the race. Chris says ‘he’s well.’ He’s bright, and he’s tough, but there was nothing more to prove in this preparation, so we sent him out, and Chris agreed.
“A decision on his future will only be made after discussions with the other part-owner. That’s a matter of fairness.”
