King's Legacy Tells A Rich Arrowfield Story
A Group 1 quinella by a pair of outstanding Redoute’s Choice 2YO colts headed the three Arrowfield-sired Group wins on Day 1 of Australian racing’s 2020 Grand Finals, The Championships at Royal Randwick.
King’s Legacy & Prague in the $500,000 ATC Inglis Sires’ 1400m G1 gave Arrowfield’s late, great Champion Sire his fifth Group 1 quinella and his third in a juvenile feature, after Stratum & Fashions Afield in the 2005 Golden Slipper, and Nadeem & Miss Finland in the 2006 Blue Diamond. (2YO colts King’s Legacy & Prague give Redoute’s Choice his 5th Group 1 quinella. in the 2020 ATC Inglis Sires’ G1. (PHOTO: Bradley Photos)
King’s Legacy is the 38th Group 1 winner by Redoute’s Choice, his 10th juvenile Group 1 winner and – a King’s legacy indeed – the 4th Group 1 winner, after Danceteria, Loire & Alabama Express, since his death on 26 March 2019.
Arrowfield’s multiple connections with King’s Legacy’s pedigree tell an even richer story, encapsulating much of the Stud’s history and success over the past three decades:
The Inglis Sires’ drew a stirring performance from the two colts, both previous Group 3 winners and both sold for seven-figure sums at the 2019 Magic Millions Sale, by Segenhoe Stud & Bhima Thoroughbreds respectively.
Winning jockey Hugh Bowman gave a succinct description of the race and King’s Legacy’s effort.
“It was a high-pressure race and there was a lot of early tempo. The track is fairly testing.
“We saw his will to win today. Prague is a superb colt in his own right, but I was on a horse that wanted to win and wanted to win bad.”
Bred & sold by Kevin Maloney’s Segenhoe Stud, and trained by Peter & Paul Snowden, King’s Legacy was bought for $1.4 million by one of Australia’s best judges James Harron, for his powerful and highly successful group of thoroughbred investors: James Harron Bloodstock Colts, Belinda Bateman, Love Racing, Phil & Glenda Mehrten, Fergus & Delia Doyle, Steve & Louise Gillard, Gary Diamond, Danny & Pauline Saab, John & Fran Ingham and Pinecliff Racing.
Previous Harron purchases include Arrowfield graduate, dual Group winner and now Arrowfield stallion Pariah, bred on the same Redoute’s Choice/Hussonet cross as King’s Legacy and four other Group winnners.
King’s Legacy is the 4th Group 1-winning $1 million+ yearling by Redoute’s Choice, after Mustaaqeem, Master Of Design & Samantha Miss.
All going well, his next target will be the $500,000 Champagne S. G1 over 1600 metres at Randwick on 18 April.
Arrowfield’s success at Randwick included Group 3 victories by Not A Single Doubt’s 2YO son Doubtland in the Kindergarten S. G3 and Dundeel’s 3YO son Entente in the Carbine Club S. G3.
Placings by Stud graduates Eric The Eel (3rd, Australian Derby G1) and Wayupinthesky & Akari (2nd & 3rd, P.J. Bell S. G3), and Redzel’s tremendous fighting 3rd in the T.J. Smith S. G1 rounded out a spectacular day that Arrowfield will long remember.