Maurice's owner Mrs Kazumi Yoshida and her husband, celebrated owner and breeder Katsumi Yoshida, were special guests at the event to mark the addition of Japan's 2015 Horse of the Year to the Arrowfield line-up.Maurice is one of three Japanese stars shuttling to the Hunter Valley farm this coming season. Japanese and Australian Group 1 winner Real Impact (by multiple champion sire Deep Impact) returns to Arrowfield for his second Southern Hemisphere season, after serving 134 mares here in 2016.
Like Maurice, Champion Sprinter-Miler Mikki Isle (also by Deep Impact) will make the trip to Australia for the first time this year.
Arrowfield Chairman John Messara welcomed guests and introduced Maurice and the two sons of Deep Impact with video clips and a presentation describing the extrardinary rise of Japanese breeding and racing over the past four decades.
Katsumi Yoshida is sending Maurice the cream of his wonderful broodmare band, including two-time Horse of the Year & 7-time Group 1 winner Gentildonna; Horse of the Year Buena Vista; Champion Filly Harp Star; Champion Filly Sinhalite; and dual Group 1 winner Verxina. Arrowfield has committed close to 40 of its best stakes-winning and stakes-producing mares for Maurice's Australian book.
Maurice will stand his first season at Arrowfield at a fee of $33,000 inc. GST.
John Messara also announced the news that Arrowfield has secured a 50% interest in the Group-winning 2YO colt Pariah (Redoute's Choice-Secluded by Hussonet), along with the standing rights for his future stud career. Pariah will now race for a partnership of Arrowfield with James Harron Bloodstock Colts and all his current owners, and will continue to be trained by Peter & Paul Snowden.
Pariah was purchased by James Harron Bloodstock for $700,000 from Arrowfield Stud's 2016 Inglis Easter draft. Arrowfield has already had great success with home-bred and graduate colts, among them Champion Sire Flying Spur and leading sires Beneteau and Not A Single Doubt.
Arrowfield is the leading vendor by aggregate after Day 2 of the Inglis Easter Sale and ended the day on a high note, when the Snitzel filly from dual Group 1 winner Response (by Charge Forward) was knocked down to Emirates Park for $1.7 million. The filly was bred by Katsumi Yoshida and the mare is part of his long-standing joint venture with Arrowfield.
With the final selling session to be conducted on Thursday, the sale's average is $354,044, median $270,00 and gross $79,660,000 with a healthy clearance rate of 81 per cent.
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