Racing
Le Metayer goes back-to-back at Premier
Back-to-back session-toppers for Astute Bloodstock at Melbourne sale.
There was no time for Louis Le Metayer to celebrate after landing a yearling for what was the highest-priced paid on Day 2 at this year's Inglis Premier Sale, with the Astute Bloodstock boss getting straight back down to business.
After setting a new mark for the top lot of the day when he secured Lot 418 – a filly by Written By out of Tune Doubt – for $450,000, Le Metayer buttered up to pay $625,000 for a daughter of Kermadec and Turaath who went through as Lot 419.
Le Metayer said it was not the first time he had bought back-to-back lots, but he had not previously had to cough up as much as he did on Monday and said it was just the luck of the draw that they followed each other.
"The order doesn't matter, what counts is you've just got to buy the horse you want to own," Le Metayer said.
"It's a game of conviction. When you have a strong conviction on something you've got to follow your gut and go for it and hope that your clients will follow you."
At the time of her sale, the Kermadec filly was the second most expensive lot of the sale behind the $850,000 Zoustar filly who topped Sunday's opening day.
Both her and the Written By filly, who were part of the Gilgai Farm draft, are destined for the Ciaron Maher stable.
Le Metayer has high hopes for the $625,000 filly, who is out of the Oasis Dream mare Maddie Raymond prepared to win a Group 2 Let's Elope Stakes by the same sire as Group 1 Oaks winners Montefilia, Willowy and Amokura.
"We've looked at thousands of fillies all year and I just thought she was the best athlete I've seen all year," he said.
"She's from an exceptional farm who have bred elite horses year in year out, often by obscure stallions.
"Their mating strategy is exceptional and when you buy an elite horse from a farm like that, you know you've got a good chance.
"I think she's going to be an elite three-year-old. She's got a phenomenal action and obviously a very good pedigree – the dam was a million-dollar mare to start with from a huge European pedigree.
"We all know the dominance of European bloodlines here in Australia and Kermadec is a sire that can get you a very good filly."
Le Metayer's Written By filly is by a young stallion from a mare from a family that has a major impact on the Premier Sale.
Tune Doubt is from the Not A Single Doubt mare Jestajune, who is also the dam of Jestajingle who in 2024 had the Premier sale-topper – a filly by Snitzel who sold for $925,000 – and also had that filly's brother Bruckner sell for $725,000 four years earlier.
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