The Champion Australian 3YO Colt of 2018/2019 and now a G1 producing sire, The Autumn Sun has a talented three year-old half-sister racing in the Northern Hemisphere and she won her first stakes race overnight scoring a dominant win in the Listed Garnet Stakes (1m) at Naas in Ireland.
The Autumn Sun was bred in Australia at Arrowfield Stud and was the result of a joint venture between Arrowfield and Aga Khan Studs, who sent a selection of high class European bred mares to Australia to go to Arrowfield’s champion sires.
One of the mares was Azmiyna (IRE), an unraced half-sister by Galileo to four time Group I winner Azamour, the Champion Older European Horse of 2005, and her first foal to race here was The Autumn Sun.
His success prompted a return to the Northern Hemisphere for Azmiyna via Japan with a cover to Deep Impact on the way home resulting in a three year-old filly called Azmaniya that is unraced.
The next foal for Azmiyna after she returned home is three year-old Siyouni filly Azada, who made a winning debut in the Aga Khan colours at her only start last year at two and then stepped up to win her first stakes race overnight.
Trained by Dermot Weld and ridden by Chris Hayes, Azada has been running well in some tough Black type races this preparation and broke back to winning form with a two length in against a big field of 16.
“She had been working well and I thought she might be hard to beat today,” said Dermot Weld.
“Chris gave her a lovely ride, he was in the right place at the right time, and she idled a bit in front so that’s why he had to keep her up to it.
“She’s a very big filly and there is a possibility that she may be kept in training next year, but that’s all for future discussion.
“The way she won there you would think there is every possibility she could win a Group race next year. That will be it for this year.”
Azada is the fifth winner and second stakes-winner from five foals to race from Azmiyna, who has an unraced two year colt by Dubawi called Azimpour and is back in foal to Siyouni.
Azmiyna has one daughter at stud in Australia and that’s the good Sydney metro winning Snitzel mare Archanna, who was sold by Arrowfield Stud as a yearling for $1.3million and then later bought back as a breeding prospect through Inglis Digital Online for $900,000. Archanna has a two year-old colt by Maurice called High Grade and has foaled this spring producing a filly by the same sire.
