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Solar Girl sold in foal to The Autumn Sun.
James Bester and Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa al Maktoum's racing manager Tim Stakemire paired up to purchase Solar Girl (Lonhro) - who was sold in absentia - at Tuesday's Magic Millions Gold Coast National Broodmare Sale, paying Arrowfield Stud $500,000 for the mare, who was offered in foal to their resident stallion The Autumn Sun (Redoute's Choice).
The purchase comes a day after the mare's multiple Group 1-winning sister Sunlight (Zoustar) was bought by Coolmore Stud for a record-breaking $4.2 million and Bester said the mare - who was offered as Lot 434 - would be covered by Sunlight's sire Zoustar (Northern Meteor).
"After Monday's $4.2 million purchase she looks cheap," said Bester. "The plan is to send her to Zoustar. At that kind of price we think she is very well bought. There was always the possibility that she could have cost more than that, obviously Sunlight with all her Group 1 wins was a different kettle of fish."
Given the circumstances surrounding coronavirus and the fact the sale is a lot later this year, a lot of mares were unable to travel up to the complex and Bester said that due to them not being on the Gold Coast a few have slipped under the radar with people not being able to inspect them on the farm.
"She is an attractive mare and we were banking on the fact that she wasn't on the complex."
He also said the cover to The Autumn Sun was an attractive prospect, believing the progeny of the son of Redoute's Choice (Danehill) will be hot property at the sales, should Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa al Maktoum choose to sell.
"The Autumn Sun was an attractive prospect for sure," said Bester. "He is likely to be a highly sought after first-season sire when this foal comes to be sold - so my word that played a part.
"I inspected her beforehand and you can always get lucky out of the circumstances."
Bester also purchased winning Foxwedge (Fastnet Rock) mare Santa Clara on day two of the sale, paying Willow Park $190,000 for the mare, who was offered in foal to Coolmore's unbeaten Triple Crown-winning shuttler Justify (Scat Daddy).
Catalogued as Lot 400, the mare is out of unraced mare Great Notice (Nureyev), making her a half-sister a Diamond Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m) winner Anabandana (Anabaa), while she is a three-quarter sister to juvenile Listed winner Gybe (Fastnet Rock).
Great Notice herself is a sister Listed winner European Rose, while she counts Grade 3 winner Hessonite (Freud) and Listed winner Roanoke (Danehill) among her half-siblings.
Further afield this is the same family as New Zealand 1,000 Guineas (Gr 1, 1600m) winner King's Rose (Redoute's Choice) and Group 2 winner Hardham (Redoute's Choice).
Bester said the mare appealed to him because she was in foal to Justify, but that he had been blown away by her foal by Sebring (More Than Ready) at Willow Park during the on-farm inspections, but also highlighted the major disadvantages of not having all the mares available for inspection at the complex.
"I also bought the half to Anabandana in foal to my favourite stallion Justify and again I had inspected her on the farm and actually noticed she had a first foal by Sebring that was outstanding," said Bester. "That is the benefit of doing the pre-sale on farm inspections and those were the two I bought today.
"So many of us buy on spec, so horses that may not appeal to us in the catalogue, when you are at a sale and the horses are on the complex, word gets around and you can dart over and have a look at it and that helps a lot. This is one of the disadvantages at the moment. But we need to be grateful and I think given the circumstances it is holding up really well."
Of the market, Bester said: "Obviously it was easier to buy today than yesterday. It has been patchy and very difficult to buy top of the market type horses and I would imagine there are vendors out there who have found it hard going."
