Vinery Australia said to divest

Vinery Australia, which announced late last year that it will disperse its bloodstock as owner Tom Simon focuses on his North American program, reportedly has sold its entire 50-foal weanling crop to Arrowfield Stud.

Arrowfield, headed by John Messara, is one of Australia's major breeding concerns. It joined with Vinery to stand Hussonet in 2004 at Vinery's Kentucky farm.

The weanling sale was private, according to reports, but the Sydney Morning Herald quoted an estimate of "around $4 million" in Australian funds.

Vinery had planned to sell the weanlings along with its broodmares at the Inglis sales in April and May. The broodmares are still headed for the Inglis broodmare sale in Sydney on April 3, where bloodstock insiders have estimated their total value to be between $18 million and $20 million in Australian money.

Vinery is developing a 220-acre facility in Ocala, Fla., as part of a shift away from Australia and toward North America. Simon also owns Vinery Kentucky.