THE AUTUMN SUN Shines Gr1 Glory on COCO SUN

07 May 24

Leading Hunter Valley thoroughbred nursery ARROWFIELD STUD appears to have supplied our industry with its next super sire THE AUTUMN SUN after his daughter COCO SUN sealed a momentous three weeks in the career of her sire as she powered to a popular victory in Saturday’s $1 million South Australian Derby 2500m Gr1 at Morphettville.

COCO SUN winning the Gr1 South Australian Derby

She became The Autumn Sun’s third Group 1 Classic Winner in the past 3 weeks, following on from

AUTUMN ANGEL

Autumn Angel’s Australian Oaks Gr1 on 13 April, and then the terrific trifecta compiled by Vibrant Sun, Private Legacy & Coco Sun in the Australasian Oaks Gr1 on 27 April.

Gr1 SA Oaks Trifecta

Such a sequence of elite successes within a three-week time-frame is rarely achieved.

Arrowfield’s records show that Redoute’s Choice did it once, in 2014, and Snitzel has done it twice, when he recorded 4 individual Group 1 winners in March & April 2017, and again in 2021.

THE AUTUMN SUN

And with only two crops of racing age, The Autumn Sun joins Zoustar, Savabeel and Written Tycoon as Australasian-based sires of 3 or more individual Group 1 winners in 2023/24.

Coco Sun's Group 1 triumph was predicted last week by jockey Jamie Kah after the filly's Oaks placing. “She loved the trip and even further is going to suit her down to the ground.”

Kah rode the filly positively out of gate 8 and after 500 metres they were beautifully positioned, third on the rail behind multiple stakes winner Air Assault & Tulsa King.

The challenges began 1000 metres from home, but Coco Sun kept rolling, held the rail, and kicked up to lead at the 200-metre mark. She then drove clear to score by 1.3 lengths from Warmonger with Air Assault third and New Zealand Derby Gr1 runner-up Antrim Coast in fourth.

Kah, celebrating her first hometown Group 1 win, said, “It’s amazing. I had a great ride today…She jumped so well last time and I wanted to ride her the same. I was not worried about the 2500 metres at all. She finished off last start so well and was a real lion after the line and today she was so tough. She was feeling the pinch, but she was sticking her head out trying her best.”

A delighted Tony McEvoy, who trains Coco Sun with his son Calvin, said, “She’s a really good filly…she’s developed beautifully and she’s the most gorgeous filly. I’m very proud of her.”

He added that her campaign is not finished yet. “There’s five weeks now to the Queensland Oaks…so if she’s well, we’ll go to the Oaks.”

Unbeaten in two juvenile appearances including the Oaklands Plate LR at Morphettville, Coco Sun was 5th in both the Wakeful S. Gr2 and the VRC Oaks Gr1 last Spring, before resuming in March.

She has now won three of her four Autumn starts, and a total of $836,000 prizemoney for her owner, well-known New Zealand businessman and former Test cricketer Terry Jarvis, whose silks have also been worn by Group 1 winners Hill Of Grace & Buzz Lightyear, and Group winners Rocha, Pure Theatre & Super Sequel.

COCO SUN as a yearling

Coco Sun was bred by Tyreel Stud from the previously owned and raced Dynamic Syndications city-winning mare Miss Hufflepuff (by Encosta de Lago). She won 3 races 1400m to 2000m inc ATC TAB Quaddie H., 3d ATC TAB Rewards H.

MISS HUFFLEPUFF

Miss Hufflepuff is the Dam of 6 named foals, 5 to race, 3 winners, including 3 stakes performers:

COCO SUN – 3 wins; Gr1 Winner and LR Winner, Gr1 placed.

QUEEN OF WIZARDRY – Winner at 2, 4th Magic Millions 2yo RL

NYMPHADORA – placed 3d Inglis Nursey RL

Chocolate Kisses - Winner at 950m,

Bridget Wenlock - placed at 3.

Miss Hufflepuff is back in foal to The Autumn Sun.

She was recently catalogued as Lot 232 in the upcoming Inglis Australian Broodmare Sale but understandably, has been withdrawn.

The Autumn Sun has a current Australian season tally of 35 winners; including four stakes winners of 7 stakes races, plus 5 stakes placegetters (3 stakes placed at Gr1 level) and over prizemoney of $5.1 million.

Stakes Winners List from his first crop:

AUTUMN ANGEL
1st - 2024 The Star Australian Oaks Gr1
1st - 2024 TAB Kewney Stakes Gr2
1st - 2023 Schweppes Ethereal Stakes Gr3

COCO SUN
1st - 2024 Thomas Farms South Australian Derby Gr1
1st - 2023 Oaklands Plate LR

VIBRANT SUN
1st - 2024 Sportsbet Australasian Oaks Gr1
1st - 2024 Dynamic Print Group Alexandra Stakes Gr3

AUTUMN BALLET
1st - 2023 Darley Silver Shadow Stks Gr2
1st - 2023 John McGrath Auto Black Opal Gr3

STAKES PLACEGETTERS

TUTTA LA VITA: 3-times Gr1 placed;

TULSI: Gr1 & Gr2 placed

PRIVATE LEGACY: Gr1 placed

THE AUTUMN BELLE: LR placed

KOSEGI: LR placed

The Autumn Sun has first crop 3yo’s so to have 4 stakes winners from his first crop with 3 Gr1 winners and a Gr2 Winner plus 3 Gr1 placegetters places him a close-up 3rd on the Australian Second Season Sires’ Premiership, and 5th on the Australian General Sires 3YO Sires’ table and 7th on the Australian General Sires 2000m plus range.

It certainly appears The Autumn Sun is heading the same way as a sire as he did on the racetrack.

In just nine starts over 11 months The Autumn Sun rocketed to stardom with an escalating series of championship victories that rank him with Australia’s best colts of the past quarter-century, including his own legendary sire, Redoute’s Choice.

He began with a brilliant 2YO debut win at Randwick on Anzac Day 2018, sprinting over 1200 metres in class record time of 1:08.61.

Eleven months later The Autumn Sun was the head of his generation, winner of $3.4 million and 5 Group 1 races from 1400 to 2000m in 9 starts, and the only horse to win the three major Australian Guineas races at Caulfield, Randwick and Rosehill.

He retired to stud at Arrowfield with a Timeform figure of 126 – equalling Redoute’s Choice – and offered Australian breeders the complete package of a champion colt from a champion sire-line, an internationally recognised pedigree, a supremely athletic physique and a splendid racing temperament.

Now the most exciting young sire proven by the fact he now lines up on par with Zoustar, Savabeel and Written Tycoon as the only sires with 3 Gr1 winners for the season.

Team Dynamic have been bullish on the sire from the start but knew with him that with a little patience owners would be rewarded.

It’s no coincidence as to why Dynamic Syndications purchased a superb colt by THE AUTUMN SUN at the 2024 Magic Millions Sales.

Our Colt at the sales

He was a colossal colt by the super young sire from the 1200m winning mare

GRAVITY ZERO a daughter of champion sire More Than Ready.

Firstly, it is vital that our owners and followers are aware of the highest regard we have for our (nearly private) trainer based at Newcastle – JASON DEAMER.

Dynamic JASON DEAMER

Jason only has 12 boxes to train from.

That is by choice. Jason feels that a dozen is a comfortable level for him to give the full attention to detail to each horse in his care. 11 of the 12 are filled by our Dynamic Syndications horses.

Jason’s horsemanship is exceptional, and he rides our horses trackwork each day.

So, this year we went to the sales to buy for Jason to train, the nicest colt we could find to be a 3yo and 4yo type sprinter/miler, knowing under Jason’s care, the longevity of such a horse would be increased giving extended racing/prizemoney opportunities.

Jason does a fantastic job with our horses and most of those he trains for us have hit the glass ceiling elsewhere before arriving at Newcastle.

We wanted to give Jason a yearling that hadn’t been elsewhere that he can mould and polish into something special.

He has only been given that opportunity a couple of times previously and one of those is HARD TO SAY a $160,000 Magic Millions purchase who has a career record of 21 starts: 7 Wins, 4 placings and is a 4-time stakes-performer winning $653,000 to date.

HARD TO SAY was back in the winners circle recently at Rosehill when setting a new class record.

HARD TO SAY

The next year we purchased Jason Awesome Tycoon who has had 5 starts: 2-0-2-1 and won recently resuming after a spell.

AWESOME TYCOON

After our due diligence work on the catalogue’s pedigree ratings, knowing which crosses are successful and what to avoid, then after three rounds of physical inspections, then vet inspection, x-rays, and endoscopic evaluations, we desired a particular colt to aim at in the Arrowfield Stud draft by their super sire THE AUTUMN SUN.

OUR Yearling COLT after purchase

It was Lot 729 being offered for sale under a Joint Venture foal share arrangement. They were only placing a very modest reserve on the colt because it was a foal share arrangement, and they needed the horse to be sold.

Bred on a cross that was rated A+++ and with a Quality factor of Q7, this rating was the Equal Top 3rd Rating Score in the whole catalogue. Of further importance to Team Dynamic, it was the Highest Rated Yearling in the whole Arrowfield Stud draft.

So, we knew we were buying the Best from the Best. The Best on genetic breeding, from arguably the Best nursery in the industry.

The Rated Cross is REDOUTE’S CHOICE (Sire of THE AUTUMN SUN) over daughters of MORE THAN READY.

This is a phenomenal working cross. It has produced 24 Stakes Winners already!

69 runners: 53 Winners (77%) and 23% Stakes Horses : Winners!

Whilst DANEHILL (Sire of Redoute’s Choice over daughters of More Than Ready) has 48 Stakes Winners.

However, despite all the ticks lining up as far as the breeder, and the genetics passing scrutiny, that is still only the minority aspects.

The most important aspect is the individual. It’s here that this colt sold himself.

Team Dynamic and our veterinarian Dr Tim Roberts rated him a score of 8+. That was the equal highest rating we gave a yearling at the sale.

So, he had the type, was clean on x-rays and scope plus has the “bells and whistles” genetics.

Knowing we had the product and then the realistic reserve because it was a joint venture foal share, we believed we were in for the fight.

We had valued the colt significantly higher than the reserve. He was a at least a multiple of 3 times service fee of $60,000 + GST placing him at $180,000 + one bid up to $200,000. However, with a reserve set at $80,000 when the gavel fell it was our bid at $90,000 + GST (1.5 times Service Fee) that was the winning bid.

We had our eye on this fella from the start !

This was one of the true saleyard gifts.

At Bimbadeen Park 17 January after arriving from sales

At Bimbadeen Park 17 January after arriving from sales

He was a colt that had fallen through the net, and we were there to catch him.

Lot 729 - The Autumn Sun x Gravity Zero from Dynamic Syndications on Vimeo.

Lot 729 - The Autumn Sun x Gravity Zero colt - Auction Video from Dynamic Syndications on Vimeo.

Since then, the sire THE AUTUMN SUN has continued to flourish.

Pictorial of the progression of our colt:

29 January before heading out to the paddock

In the paddock 7 February (left) with his mate Fastnet Rock x Tantalus (right)

At play in the paddock 7 February

Leading the way ! (Middle) Fastnet Rock x Tantalus & (left) Bivouac x Houston Benefactor

Breaking-In 13 March

First Ride 14 March with Shane Rose in the saddle

Under Saddle 18 March

In paddock 27 March

We have a full website about this Colt with 5% Shares at $9,460 inc GST and All Costs to 1/7/24.

We invite our owners and followers to be involved with the Jason Deamer stable in this colossal colt.