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Redoute’s Choice was the rarest of thoroughbreds.
He exceeded even the lofty expectations of his glorious physique, powerful pedigree and brilliant racing career, to become a world-class stallion, a sale-ring sensation, a dominant sire of sires and broodmares and a major influence for years to come.
His death comes in a season of fresh recognition and achievement, including his 34th Group 1 winner Galaxy Star, a trio of million-dollar colts at the Magic Millions Gold Coast Sale and a spectacular 3YO campaign by his best racing son The Autumn Sun, who won his fifth Group 1 race, the Rosehill Guineas, last Saturday.
The Autumn Sun’s place on the Arrowfield roster is already reserved, alongside four other sons of Redoute’s Choice - record-breaking champion sire Snitzel, prolific leading sire Not A Single Doubt, Scissor Kick, whose first yearlings are being offered at 2019 sales, and Pariah, who served his first book in 2018.
Almost 13 years after he won the first of his three General Sires’ Premierships, Redoute’s Choice remains a top 5 sire. He is likely to secure his first Australian Broodmare Sires’ title this season with earnings of $15.2 million and 15 stakeswinners to date, among them Group 1 winners Extra Brut, Amphitrite and Arcadia Queen.
Redoute’s Choice was bred by Muzaffar Yaseen, foaled on 15 August 1996 and retained to race in the now-famous yellow, red, lime & orange Teeley Assets colours.
Yaseen sent him to Melbourne trainer Rick Hore-Lacy who prepared the strikingly handsome colt throughout his 10 career starts that yielded five wins and $1.6 million prizemoney.
He made headlines and history immediately.
After winning a Listed Race at his 2YO debut on 20 February 1999 he lined up a mere seven days later in the Blue G1 Diamond Stakes which he won by two lengths from his great rival Testa Rossa.
What might have been in the Golden Slipper of that year will never be known as he was a shock race morning scratching due to the onset of a viral temperature.
His spring 3YO campaign began with a 1200 metre weight-for-age victory in the G1 Manikato Stakes and peaked in the heroic, one-for-the-ages battle with Testa Rossa for the G1 Caulfield Guineas won by Redoute’s Choice only in the final metres.
Redoute’s Choice returned in the autumn to add a fourth G1 success, defeating Miss Pennymoney and Intergaze in the G1 C.F. Orr Stakes and retired to Arrowfield as Australia’s Champion 3YO Miler.
He served 134 mares in 2000 at a fee of $30,000 which did not increase until his fifth season, in 2004.
That was after the appearance of his first stakeswinners Not A Single Doubt and Tahni Girl, the 2003/04 Champion First Season Sire title and his first million dollar yearling.
It was in the 2004/05 racing season that Redoute’s Choice, with 137 runners from two crops of racing age, emerged as a potential champion stallion and the inheritor of Danehill’s crown.
He unleashed a staggering 16 stakeswinners including four at Group 1 level - 3YO filly Lotteria and 2YOs Fashions Afield, Stratum and Undoubtedly.
Only Danehill and Zabeel headed him on the Australian General Sires’ Premiership and his 2005 Inglis Easter Sale results included the Tugela colt, sold for a then all-time Australian record price of $2.5 million.
He served a full book of 196 mares in 2005 and continued to serve at least 100 mares each year until the last two seasons when his book was restricted to 74 and 45 mares.
Redoute’s Choice claimed his first General Sires’ Premiership with three crops racing in 2005/06, the season of six Group 1 winners - Champion 2YO Miss Finland, Snitzel (Oakleigh Plate), God’s Own (Caulfield Guineas), Nadeem (Blue Diamond), Fashions Afield (Flight Stakes) and Lotteria (Myer Classic).
His second premiership came in 2009/10, the year of the diversely gifted fillies led by dual G1 winning-sprinter Melito, Queensland Derby winner Dariana and Toorak Handicap winner Allez Wonder.
That season also marked the arrival of his statistically most notable crop, eventually the source of 21 stakeswinners from 107 named foals – a remarkable strike rate of 19.6%.
Flag-bearer for that 2009 cohort was world champion sprinter and Australian Horse of the Year, the five-time G1 winner Lankan Rupee, propelling Redoute’s Choice to his third and final premiership in 2013/14.
Snitzel’s second-place finish in 2014 resulted in a father/son premiership quinella unprecedented in Australian thoroughbred history and signalled the passing of the baton to the next generation of the Danehill dynasty at Arrowfield.
Redoute’s Choice has left 22 stakes-siring sons, 10 of them also G1 sires.
They are responsible for 279 stakeswinners, while his daughters have left 86 stakeswinners, including 13 at Group 1 level.
International recognition of Redoute’s Choice’s contribution to the Australian thoroughbred industry has grown steadily in recent years.
Only last month leading bloodstock analyst Bill Oppenheim announced that his APEX A Runner index of 3.82 earned Redoute's Choice the No. 1 spot among Australasian sires, ahead of Snitzel, I Am Invincible, Savabeel and Fastnet Rock.
John Messara said, “It is a great consolation to me that Redoute’s Choice leaves us at the top of his game, having sustained his greatness as a sire from start to finish, across the full span of his career.
“His legacy to Australian breeding and racing is immense, through his sire sons, his broodmare daughters, his final crops still to come and all the people he touched over the past two decades."
REDOUTE’S CHOICE - 1996-2019
(Danehill x Shantha's Choice)
STUD CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
PREMIERSHIPS: Champion Sire of Australia, 2006, 2010 & 2014; Champion 2YO Sire of Australia 2005 & 2006; Champion First Season Sire of Australia 2004
PROGENY EARNINGS: $157.2 million
STAKESWINNERS 163 (81 colts, 82 fillies)
2YO STAKESWINNERS: 38
LIFETIME SW/RUNNERS 11.7%
STAKES WINS: 329 (261 Australia, 25 NZ, 20 South Africa, 6 France, 5 Dubai, 3 each UK, HK, Japan, 1 each Macau, Turkey, Germany)
GROUP WINNERS: 106 (50 colts, 56 fillies)
GROUP 1 WINNERS: 34 (16 colts, 18 fillies)
GROUP 1 WINS: 54
CLASSIC WINNERS: 16
CLASSIC WINS: 21 (9 Guineas, 7 Oaks, 5 Derbys)
2YO G1 WINNERS: 9 (6 colts, 3 fillies)
MILLION-DOLLAR EARNERS: 17
LEADING EARNERS: MISS FINLAND ($4,632,775); LANKAN RUPEE ($4,129,510); THE AUTUMN SUN ($3,489,121)
LEADING G1 WINNERS: MISS FINLAND, LANKAN RUPEE & THE AUTUMN SUN - 5 Group 1 wins
CHAMPION PROGENY
LANKAN RUPEE – Horse of the Year, Champion Sprinter; MISS FINLAND – Champion 2YO & Champion 3YO Filly; SAMANTHA MISS – Champion 3YO Filly; FASHIONS AFIELD – Champion 2YO; STRATUM – Champion 2YO Colt; GOD’S OWN – Joint Champion 3YO; NADEEM – Joint Champion 2YO Colt; MAJMU – Champion 2YO Filly (SAF); MUSIR – Champion 2YO Colt (SAF)/Champion 3YO Miler (UAE); MUSTAAQEEM – Champion 2YO Colt (SAF)
LIFETIME YEARLING SALE AVERAGE: $417,000
MILLION DOLLAR YEARLINGS: 79
