TOPPER GOES TO SUMMERHILL'S ADMIRE MAIN CONNECTIONS

Click above to watch Azeri selling at the Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale
(Footage : Keeneland)

KEENELAND NOVEMBER BREEDING STOCK SALE 2009

International connections have been the lifeblood of Summerhill going back twenty years to the time the Maktoum family arrived with their first stallions. More recently, Summerhill has connected with Japan’s headline breeding dynasty, the Yoshida’s, and one of the family was in the news again yesterday.

Multiple champion Azeri made her second appearance of the year in the Keeneland sales ring Monday, and the second time was a charm, with the chestnut mare bringing a final bid of $2.25 million from Northern Farm’s Katsumi Yoshida to top the opening session of the Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale in Lexington. Azeri, in foal to Ghostzapper, failed to reach her reserve at $4.4 million at Keeneland in January. She sold yesterday in foal to Distorted Humor. The auctioneer looked to start the action at $1 million, but bidding began at a more modest $300,000. From there, bids came in rapid-fire succession in $100,000 increments, with Blandford Bloodstock’s Tom Goff among the bidders inside the pavilion. Bidding began to stall approaching the $2-million mark, but with encouragement from the auctioneer’s stand Azeri’s price tag inched up to the final figure. Shunsuke Yoshida, on the phone with his father Katsumi, did his bidding behind the pavilion and signed the ticket on the prized mare.

“We didn’t expect that we could buy this mare,” Yoshida said. “We just kept bidding up to our budget, and finally she came to us.”

Extract from Thoroughbred Daily News

ROBERT CLARK : Rembrandt's Acknowledgement

Robert Clark
Thoroughbred Artist

The press release on A.P.Arrow’s purchase for South Africa, has provoked a flood of congratulations on a scale we’ve not seen before. One of his most avid supporters is a man known in American art circles as the “Rembrandt of Racing”, Robert Clark. He took the trouble to write to us.

“I have been a big fan of AP Arrow for quite some time. I painted Azeri for Michael and Lenora Paulson a few years back and became friends with them. I was painting live at Gulfstream Park when AP Arrow won the Skip Away Stakes a couple years ago and joined the Paulson’s in the winner’s circle for the win photo, which I have hanging on my studio wall. So, as you can see I’m not just a casual fan of the sport or of this particular horse; I followed all of his races and know very well that while he never picked up his Grade 1 victory, he ran against the toughest competition year after year. He’s run with several horses that will be in the Hall of Fame some day. Add to that his pedigree that is impeccable and you have just acquired what will probably be a tremendous stallion. As sad as I was to see him leave the United States, after having a chance to study your farm’s web site for the last few weeks I am extremely impressed and realize that the best possible thing that could happen to AP Arrow is for him to have found his way to Summerhill.

I’ve been told by Shadwell manager, Rick Nichols, that Sheikh Hamdam was amazed by his painting of Invasor. I’d love to create an exciting painting of AP Arrow in action and/or a regal conformation painting set there at his new home”.

 

visit www.robertclark.us                    view Robert Clark’s painting of Invasor