Rising ambitions for burgeoning High Valley Equine empire

High Valley Equine, an increasingly active buying force in 2017, may be a new name among buyers but is fronted by the familiar face of Anna Sundstrom.

Normandy-based Sundstrom runs Coulonces Sales, an operation that has been a regular at the top of the consignors' lists at Arqana in recent years, while her forays to Britain have included the sale of Laurens, winner of the Group 1 Fillies' Mile, for £220,000 at the 2016 Goffs UK Premier sale.

But now Sundstrom is making headlines as a purchaser at sales throughout the northern hemisphere under the banner of High Valley Equine.

Her purchases included an Invincible Spirit colt foal half-brother to top-level placed Alterite from Keeneland for $125,000, and a Dark Angel brother to the speedy Heeraat from Goffs for €340,000.

The Sweden native said: "High Valley Equine is essentially me and some other partners who've joined me. It is an agency that is investing in horses all over the world; we have bought in the USA, Ireland, England and France.

"We are also buying racing prospects. This is something that will continue to develop, and this is just a start for what it hopefully will become. I have wanted to do this for a long time, but it needed to be the right time and place, and I'm now in a position to invest myself.

"We will, of course, keep Coulonces Sales and continue to consign for our clients, but we will try to keep the numbers down. We want to tighten it up so that we are able to travel to the sales abroad.

"There will be a mix of racing and reselling, but everything that we have bought we did so because we loved them. They are all quality horses. This year, we have a Camelot colt in training with Ger Lyons that we bought in August, and a filly called Angel Lane in training with Karl Burke [who trains Laurens], which is very exciting!

"I'm really excited about the two Starspangledbanner foals that we bought [from Goffs]. He has been doing so well, and we also bred Home Of The Brave."

The High Valley Equine team have been busy at Arqana's Breeding Stock Sale, having signed for six lots at a total spend of €310,000.

"High Valley Equine is very much a project of passion for me and for my partners," Sundstrom continued. "It is a dream come true. I'm only able to do this thanks to the people around me; myself, Charlotte [Hutchinson], who is a huge support, Amy Austin, who has come onboard this year to help at sales looking at horses. My family; my parents, and my daughter Moa who is very involved as well. We've had a fantastic 14 years in France to get where we are, and now it's time to start this new adventure."

Sundstrom's passion and enthusiasm for all aspects of breeding, racing, and above all the horse itself have always been infectious, and her eye for detail has led to her becoming not just one of the most successful consignors in the French bloodstock industry, but also one of the most popular and respected. The world would now appear to be very much at her feet.