Arcadia Queen goes for A$3.2 million to cap frenzied three-day broodmare sale

A A$3.2 million ($1.75m/€2m) deal for champion Arcadia Queen reached two days after she was initially passed in has brought to a close a frenzied Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale, the culmination of a three-day A$142m bloodstock spending spree never before witnessed in Australasia.

Arrowfield Stud agreed to terms to buy Western Australian owner-breeder Bob Peters’ three-time Group 1 winner for the sale-topping figure, which was below the reserve of A$4m, as the sun had gone down on the Gold Coast and the final lots were going through the ring.

Arcadia Queen, a supplementary entry in the fillies and mares session and billed as Magic Millions’ star attraction, surpassed Melody Belle, who made A$2.6m on Tuesday.

It capped a frenetic week in which 25 mares sold for A$1m or more, including five who went through the ring in Thursday’s final session, with Volpe Veloce the highest-priced of those at A$1.9m.

Arrowfield Stud’s Paul Messara revealed he had shown interest in Arcadia Queen in conjunction with a partner when the mare was offered prior to the Shadwell Stud Australasia dispersal, but the dynamic changed once she was passed in at A$3.4m.

After 48 hours of considering their options, Arcadia Queen became theirs for the eye-watering figure.

“Looking at it after the event, we valued her around the mark and she’s one of those foundation mares that you don’t get the opportunity to buy too often,” said Messara.

“They are great mares to have, hard to come by, and we are very happy to have her on the farm.”

Arrowfield will consider stallions on its own roster as well as looking to other elite sires as a first-season mating option for Arcadia Queen.

“We have got Dundeel, who would be a perfect cross for her, but we will look outside our roster if need be,” said Messara.

“Obviously, we want to have the best commercial outcome and produce the best horse. With those types of mares, you really have got to have a good look everywhere for the best possible options for her.

“Bob’s done a great job breeding and racing, so to be able to get into a family like that, and also at the top-end of that family, is brilliant. She’s the pinnacle of that family, so to have the top of it is fantastic.”

Peters, who sold another Group 1-winning mare in Celebrity Queen at the Inglis Chairman’s Sale for A$2.5m earlier this month, said that selling Arcadia Queen was “purely a business decision”.

“As I said before, we’ve got lots of the family and lots coming on for us in the future, so one of them has now gone out of the family, and not a lot of them have come out of that over the years,” said Peters from Perth on Thursday night.

“They are very competent people and I'm sure they will look after her really well. She's only just down the road from where she's been living.

“It’s very rare that you get a big mare like her that is so athletic. Most of them aren't like that, but she has just got everything you could want.”

If Arrowfield chose to send Arcadia Queen to Dundeel, they would have Peters’ endorsement.

He said: “She'd suit Dundeel down to the ground, really. I've got a share in Dundeel and we breed a couple of mares to him every year.

“He would definitely be a really good mating for her, if she were to go that way. It’s good that she stays here, but, on the other hand, it would have been great to see her on the international stage as well.

“Either way, it is good to see she is going somewhere where she will be really well looked after.”

Subscribe to make sure you never miss updates from Australia, New Zealand and beyond and to have ANZ Bloodstock delivered to your inbox every day