Muir banking on some Magic in Rupert Clarke
Milburn Creek principal has Hellbent mare in Group 1 upon return from successful US trip
Buoyed by what John Muir considers value buying in the US broodmare market over the past week, the Milburn Creek principal is back home and hopeful that his Australian-bred mare Magic Time (Hellbent) can deliver at the highest level as soon as this weekend.
The Muir-bred and raced Magic Time, already a three-time stakes winner who endured a wide run in her last-start third in the $2 million The Invitation (1400m), is set to contest the Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes (Gr 1, 1400m) at Caulfield, one of the feature races which was pushed back into late spring as part of the Melbourne Racing Club’s remodelled carnival.
The Rupert Clarke, the Thousand Guineas (Gr 1, 1600m) and the Blue Sapphire Stakes (Gr 3, 1400m) are being run after the Flemington carnival instead of in September and October.
Four-year-old Magic Time, who is trained by Grahame Begg, is one horse who could be the beneficiary of the new-look November period for Melbourne racing and Muir is hopeful that the Hellbent (I Am Invincible) mare can add to her value as a consequence.
She will one day be in a broodmare paddock at Milburn Creek alongside Beyond Mybudget (Munnings), Bipartisanship (Bated Breath) and Mom’s Town (Speightstown), the trio of mares Muir, Milburn Creek stud manager Scott Holcombe and bloodstock agent Suman Hedge purchased at the Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale.
“I haven’t had time to speak Grahame since I’ve been back [from America] about Magic Time, so I thought I’d let the ducks settle for a few days before giving him a call, but he seems to be very happy with her progress,” said Muir who returned on Monday from his whirlwind trip to Lexington, Kentucky.
“Grahame’s throwing her in the deep end, but she’s a mare who really tries hard. At her last start she didn’t have a lot of luck, she was wide all the way, and I think she was hard done by, but anyway, you’ve got to be in it to win it and she’s in there on Saturday.
“She’s had nearly three weeks between her last start. He’s great with fillies, Grahame, always has been. I know his father [Neville] and his whole family and he’s a very good trainer.”
A daughter of the former Tony McEvoy-trained SAJC Sires’ Produce Stakes (Gr 3, 1400m) winner Time Awaits (Nicconi), who Muir bought for $300,000 with agent Damon Gabbedy at the 2018 Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale, Magic Time was retained to race by her breeder after failing to reach her $150,000 reserve at the 2021 Gold Coast Yearling Sale.
Magic Time demonstrated her obvious talent immediately by winning a Pakenham maiden by five lengths 13 months ago before winning the Amanda Elliott (Listed, 1400m) at the Flemington carnival. She returned in the autumn to win the PJ Bell Stakes (Gr 3, 1200m) in Sydney and claimed the Nivison Stakes (Gr 3, 1200m) at Rosehill last month, prior to her luckless run in the rich mares’ race, The Invitation, on October 28.
Regardless of Saturday’s result, it is almost certain Muir won’t part with Magic Time, but then his late father Les entered his mind.
“We have never thought about selling her and she’d be in our breeding programme, I guess, but you never know what happens in this world,” Muir said.
“If someone comes along and offers you enough money [we might]. My late father had a saying, ‘everything’s for sale except mum and the kids’.”
Magic Time’s half-brother by Arrowfield Stud shuttler Maurice (Screen Hero) will be offered by Milburn Creek at next year’s Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale while their dam Time Awaits is in foal to champion sire I Am Invincible (Invincible Spirit) on an early September cover.
The US-acquired members of Milburn’s broodmare band came at a combined cost of US$540,000 (approx. AU$847,915) and Muir believes they were well bought despite the 20-year low exchange rate for the Australian dollar.
“Scott Holcombe, my manager, is a wonderful person, and he looks after my best interests. He’s a very tough marker on type, they’ve got to have good hips, a good shoulder, good feet and they’ve got to walk well,” Muir said.
“The Fasig-Tipton sale over there was through the roof and unaffordable for Australians the way the dollar is at the moment, and Book 1 [at Keeneland] was strong, but then Book 2, the quality was there, but the market dropped away, so I thought it was good buying.
“Scott told me that Keeneland Book 2 was down about 18 per cent. People in America are starting to feel the pinch a bit with the cost of living and all that sort of stuff and maybe they’re looking for the right President, too.”
Beyond Mybudget, the first Milburn-purchased mare, is a stakes-placed daughter of Listed winner Amiable Grace (Alphabet Soup) who was bought for US$220,000 (approx. AU$345,380) before Muir, Holcombe and Hedge added for the same price the three-time Listed winner Bipartisanship who is from the same family as Yorkshire Oaks (Gr 1, 1m 4f) winner Quiff (Sadler’s Wells).
It was then that Muir decided to pull up stumps – until the Listed-winning two-year-old Mom’s Town took his fancy.
“We weren’t going to buy anything else, but I love Speightstown as a stallion, he’s a great stallion and he’s the sire of Munnings and many others and I said to [Keeneland’s Australian representative] Barry Bowditch, ‘Listen, it might be a waste of time, but let’s just go to US$100,000 on this’ and we were able to get her for that.”
The focus of Muir now switches to January’s Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale where Milburn Creek has a draft of 14 lots, including the sister to dual Group 1-winning filly Coolangatta (Written Tycoon), to go under the hammer.