Bill Vlahos and Danny O’Brien are mindful of the responsibility they now have after securing Black Caviar’s half-sister for $2.6 million at the Australian Easter Yearling Sale.
Vlahos is the chief executive of BC3 Thoroughbreds and outgunned an undisclosed Japanese bidder, ensuring the filly would stay in Australia to be trained by O’Brien.
“We’ve got a piece of history,” Vlahos said.
“To some extent we’re representing the Australian industry a bit with what we’ve got on our hands.
“We’ve got to be mindful of what we’ve got.”
O’Brien, who trains in Victoria, has witnessed first hand the kind of attention Black Caviar’s trainer Peter Moody has endured over the past two years as the mare has built on her early wins to remain unbeaten and earn the ranking as the world’s highest-rated sprinter.
He said he was lucky to be entrusted with the care of the Redoute’s Choice filly who was possibly the last of Helsinge’s progeny to be sold at public auction.
“She’s a filly that generally you wouldn’t even get a chance to buy,” he said.
“For whatever reason Rick (Jamieson) has sold her. I spoke to him the other night and he didn’t think there would ever be another horse out of this mare that would come on the market.
“We’re not going to be able to buy Black Caviar and we certainly can’t buy All Too Hard so this was the last opportunity.”
All Too Hard, the third foal out of Helsinge, is unbeaten after three starts and will attempt to win his first Group One race in Saturday’s Sires’ Produce Stakes at Randwick.
The filly’s price tag equalled the top price paid for a filly at public auction in Australia with the outstanding racehorse Alinghi’s full-sister reaching the mark at the 2006 Easter sale.
A half-brother to triple Melbourne Cup winner Makybe Diva is set to go through the ring on the third and final day of the sale on Thursday.