Book 2 value as new wave of buyers join Magic Millions crowd
The Magic Millions Guineas (RL, 1400m) and the 2YO Classic (RL, 1200m), both worth $3 million, provided an important reminder of the value that can be found in Book 2 at the auction house’s January sale.
After selling 790 yearlings out of the main catalogue, which hit $230 million in trade, focus now switches to the two-day Book 2 offering of 448 lots and Saturday’s $14.25 million race day saw second session graduates Abounding (Rich Enuff) win the $3 million Guineas and Arabian Summer (Too Darn Hot) run fifth in the two-year-old feature.
“Whether you are buying to trade or just a nice horse to race or to go overseas, Book 2 is always a viable option because you’re not going in at a significant entry point,” Magic Millions managing director Barry Bowditch said yesterday.
“It’s a sale that will average $50,000 to $60,000 – last year was $62,000 – and you can find a bit of value for what you can race for on the track, whether it be here locally, the provincial tracks or at metropolitan level.
“Yesterday’s a great example of that with Abounding being a Book 2 yearling making $75,000 from memory. It shows just what value can be on offer with Arabian Summer also being a Book 2 yearling last year.”
Among the new contingent of buyers to roll into the Gold Coast were Hong Kong-based agent Willie Leung of Magus Equine and trainer Manfred Man, while a number of participants from South Korea have also made the trip to the Gold Coast for the Book 2 sale.
Prominent Book 1 buyers Newgate Farm’s Henry Field and agent James Harron had representation inspecting horses yesterday, while Lindsay Park’s Hayes clan were short-listing the catalogue, with Emma Coleman, representing fellow trainers Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott, also inspecting yesterday.
NSW-based agent Rod Scott, who combined with leading NSW country trainer Clint Lundholm to buy a Glenlogan Park Hellbent (I Am Invincible) colt for $105,000 last week, will also be looking for horses over the next two days to add to the depth of the Dubbo-based stable.
“There’s always a horse there if you do the work. My shoulders are hurting a little bit, but that’s all part of it. I’m sound, so I can get around all right and I enjoy it,” RM Racing’s Scott said.
“I am essentially looking for a type and my belief is type takes you a long way. From what I understand, even for the big guys, type is a big factor. I love pedigrees as well and I work through them – I never tire of pedigrees – but we’ve got to find a type who has a pedigree to complement the horse and we take it from there.”
That ethos has served Scott well so far, buying the David Vandyke-trained last-start four-and-a-half length Sunshine Coast winner Slippin’ Jimmy (Pariah) for owner Mark Cook of Mr Racing for $180,000 and $46,000 Quasimoto (Squamosa) for Lundholm at the 2022 Gold Coast sale.
“They’re now three-year-olds and the Pariah won his maiden a few weeks back and he’s since been tipped out. Realistically, the Pariahs haven’t done [as much as expected] but I was thrilled to see him win by a margin,” Scott said.
“And Quasimoto was a little horse we bought two years ago with a $50,000 budget and he ran second in the Wyong Magic Millions behind Sovereign Fund and that horse came out and ran second in the Guineas [on Saturday].
Scott has seen enough in the Book 2 sale so far to think he’ll be able to buy again over the next two days.
“You’ve just got to keep working away, but there’s a couple of nice colts here and I really believe you can find one,” he said.
The Book 2 sale starts at 10am local time.