Top-end hits the mark on day one at Magic Millions
Zoustar colt leads the way in opening National Weanling Sale session at $550,000 as offerings by Sheriff Iskander and Edinburgh Park prove popular
Buyers at the Magic Millions National Weanling Sale yesterday lapped up the chance to buy once-off offerings by Sheriff Iskander and the dispersal of Edinburgh Park Stud, with those two parties responsible for selling the top five lots on day one.
Iskander is reducing the size of his bloodstock portfolio and chose the Gold Coast National Sale to sell colts by Zoustar (Northern Meteor) for a session-topping $550,000 and $310,000 respectively. He also sold a colt by Written Tycoon (Iglesia) for $350,000.
New South Wales Mid North Coast breeder Ian Smith, on the other hand, is undertaking a dispersal of Edinburgh Park, selling 23 weanlings for $2,826,500 including the Snitzel (Redoute’s Choice) half-sister to stakes-placed juvenile Summer Loving (Exceed And Excel) for $480,000, and the Zoustar half-sister to Group 2-winning Aquis Farm-based sire Glenfiddich (Fastnet Rock) for $425,000.
The session-topping Zoustar colt was purchased by Newgate Farm stud manager Jim Carey and partners after a furious bidding duel with multiple parties keen on the star son of the roster-leading Widden Stud sire.
He is the first foal out of Typhoon Tracy Stakes (Gr 3, 1200m) winner Embrace Me (Shamexpress) who was bought for $700,000 by Iskander’s bloodstock agent Suman Hedge at the 2021 Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale.
The new owners of the high-priced colt hope he can go on to become a seven-figure yearling and his foal price backs up Carey’s assertion that he was “our pick of the sale”.
“That’s the plan, but there’s a few hurdles to jump between now and then. He comes off a great farm, he’s a beautiful colt, great colour, great action (and) out of a bloody good mare,” Carey said.
“We’re delighted to get him, and we’re delighted to get him back to Newgate where he can grow out in our big paddocks and we’ll bring him back either here (Magic Millions) or Easter next year and hopefully he makes good money.”
Carey also bought Edinburgh Park’s $480,000 Snitzel filly, who is the fourth foal out of the stakes-placed Serena Bay (Sebring), the dam of Magic Millions 2YO Classic (RL, 1200m) placegetter Summer Loving (Exceed And Excel). Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott, who train Summer Loving, paid $420,000 for her Written Tycoon half-sister at the Magic Millions in January.
“She will come back through the sale next year. She is a (half) sister to a very promising two-year-old this year who hopefully kicks on next season and can update the pedigree even further,” Carey said.
“I think you look at the sales this year, good quality sells and that’s the case whether it’s handbags or horses, so I hope it keeps it going.”
Carey also acknowledged Smith’s contribution to the industry.
“He’s a great mate, a great supporter of the farm and I’m delighted to be part of his dispersal. I probably stretched a bit, but she’s a nice filly,” he said of the Snitzel filly.
Yulong a powerful presence on the Gold Coast
Yulong’s Zhang Yuesheng cast a powerful shadow over the buying bench on day one, taking home nine weanlings to his Victorian farm, including Edinburgh Park’s Zoustar daughter of Nothin But A Dream (First Dream), and the Iskander-bred $350,000 colt by resident sire Written Tycoon.
Yulong’s chief operating officer Sam Fairgray said the Zoustar half-sister to Glenfiddich would be retained to race.
“That is the idea, she is a lovely physical and she has lovely residual value there, so she is one we will add to the group, we’ll race her and then we’ll add her to the broodmare band,” Fairgray said.
“Ian Smith has been a very successful breeder and there’s lots of fillies in the family, so hopefully it will keep on improving.”
Meanwhile, the Iskander-bred son of Written Tycoon is the first foal out of Group 3-winning sprinter Diamond Effort (Mossman), herself a sister to Group 2 winner Second Effort and a half-sister to Lady Einstein (Magic Albert), the dam of Group 3 winner Mileva (Headwater).
“Obviously, we’re supporting our stallions and we’ve bought some nice weanlings – so far, so good,” Fairgray said.
“He’s a nice colt from a very fast mare, so we’re pleased to be taking him home. We’ll decide whether we bring him back through as a yearling or we may even keep him and race him.”
With Yulong’s massive broodmare band, totalling close to 700, and the resulting foals on the ground, Fairgray and Zhang have plenty of horses to compare the weanlings against at the sale.
“He’s up there with some of the nicer ones we’ve got at home, so he’ll fit in well at the farm,” Fairgray said of Lot 133.
“He’s just a good physical and the first foal from a very fast mare, so really pleased to get him.
“Once we look at what we’ve got entered in the sales we’ll look at whether we’ll keep him or whether we’ll sell him.”
Close relation Mileva (Headwater) was purchased by Kia Ora Stud for $700,000 at the Inglis Chairman’s Sale earlier this month.
Redwall joins forces with Hedge and Harron
Iskander also sold a Zoustar colt out of European-bred mare Delectation Girl (Delegator) for $310,000 to a triumvirate of Australian and international investors who intend to reoffer him as a yearling in 2024.
The Redwall Bloodstock syndicate, led by Tweenhills’ David Redvers, offsider Hannah Wall and Widden Stud, signed for the colt alongside agents Suman Hedge and James Harron.
Redvers revealed the partnership developed “organically” as it became clear they were all keen on the pinhook colt.
“There aren’t many better judges than those two boys, so it’s great to be partners with them. These things sort of happen organically at a sale when you see you’re falling on the same horse,” Redvers said yesterday.
“He’s been bought to be resell, so it works well, and it is great having guys I highly respect down here to partner–up with.”
The colt is the first foal out of dual-hemisphere Group 3-winning, Group 1-performed mare Delectation Girl, who was bought by Hedge on behalf of Iskander for $245,000 in the 2021 Inglis Digital July Online Sale.
The Redwall syndicate has enjoyed some big pinhook results in previous years, most notably turning a $310,000 purchase of a Zoustar colt at the 2018 National Sale into $900,000 at the Gold Coast the following January.
“I think it’s as good a catalogue of foals that I have seen in the time we’ve been coming here, so we are thrilled to get on the board and buy a few,” Redvers said.
“Zoustar is kicking goals in both hemispheres now and works particularly well with fast two-year-olds, sprinters and milers.
“He is such a strong physical, which is exactly what we are after.”
Iskander, who raced champion stallions Written Tycoon and Zoustar, has four more lots to go through the ring today through the draft of John Muir’s Milburn Creek as part of his reduction.
For Edinburgh Park’s Smith, yesterday’s all-in-one weanling dispersal was the first part of his stud’s winding down, with 40 race fillies and broodmares to be sold next Tuesday.
The long-time breeder admitted that it was an emotional time standing in the vendors’ box watching foals from families he had developed over decades go through the ring.
“There were some nice horses who made very good money and then there were a few that were missed by people,” Smith said of yesterday’s Edinburgh Park offering.
“We met the market, so that is all you can do. Timing is everything and the market is very choosy with what it wants at the moment and the good horses make plenty and the others just file in behind.
“The $425,000 for the half to Glenfiddich and $480,000 for the half to Summer Loving, that’s good money for weanlings, you can’t complain about that. There were a couple of horses who made $200,000 each and the others made their money and there were a few that missed their mark.”
Edinburgh Park’s mares arrive at the Magic Millions complex early this morning.
“What we proved today, Edinburgh Park is meeting the market and there’s tremendous opportunity with mares coming to the sale,” Smith said.
“There’s so much upside in buying this stock and it will be a buyers’ paradise next week.
“My staff at home, they’ve put all the hard yards in and it’s been a big effort to get them here at such short notice. We’ve sold the weanlings now and the mares (go through) on Tuesday night.”
Mitchell and Gabbedy take shine to Bivouac colt
End users were also prominent on the buying bench yesterday, with a six-figure colt by world champion sprinter Bivouac (Exceed And Excel) and fillies by So You Think (High Chaparral) and Too Darn Hot (Dubawi) all purchased to race rather than be reoffered through next year’s yearling sales.
Owner Wayne Mitchell, a business partner in the Victorian training operation of father and son Tony and Calvin McEvoy, has so much belief in the prospects of Darley sire Bivouac that he was prepared to go to $275,000 to buy a first–crop colt by the three-time Group 1 winner.
Acting through agent Damon Gabbedy, who was on the Gold Coast taking instructions from Mitchell via the phone, the colt will be retained to race.
“[Wayne Mitchell’s] got a very big rap on Bivouac, he rated him the highest first-season sire in the catalogue,” Gabbedy said.
“We loved Bivouac, the half-brother goes really well, he wanted to have a Bivouac, so we thought we’d find the best one in the sale and we thought this was it.”
A half-brother to this season’s talented stakes-performed Ciaron Maher and David Eustace-trained two-year-old Tumbling (Trapeze Artist), the Three Bridges Thoroughbreds bred and sold colt, who was catalogued as Lot 5, is the third foal out of Viviette (Invincible Spirit).
The Redwall syndicate was believed to be the underbidder on the Bivouac colt.
Gabbedy reasoned that buying high-calibre weanlings to race was a cost-effective way of procuring stock for the Ballarat-based McEvoy Mitchell Racing.
“We’ve seen how strong the yearling market is at the top end, they’re hard to buy,” the agent said.
“So, you can afford to pay a little bit more if you’ve got a bit of patience. I still think he ended up being cheaper than (he would be) as a yearling.
“He’s a beautiful horse with a fantastic temperament. We saw him about four times over the last few days and he just did the right thing every time – head down, great attitude, good walker.
“He’s from a very good farm; Three Bridges are very good breeders, they rear their stock naturally and brilliantly, so great to buy off them.”
The European-bred Viviette’s second foal, a colt by Deep Field (Northern Meteor), was passed in with a reserve of $500,000 at this year’s Inglis Easter sale. She was covered by Swettenham Stud’s Toronado (High Chaparral) last October.
Meanwhile, agent Jim Clarke, acting for long-time client Cunningham Thoroughbreds, was also active on day one, purchasing the So You Think half-sister to the promising juvenile Spin Doctor (Trapeze Artist) for $220,000 and a daughter of Darley shuttler Too Darn Hot for $140,000.
The fillies will be sent to Ridgmont Farm in the Hunter Valley to grow out before joining the Cunninghams’ racing division.
The most expensive of the pair was the Kenmore Lodge-consigned So You Think filly, the sixth foal out of four-time winner Chit Chat (Anabaa).
The Steve O’Dea and Matt Hoysted-trained Spin Doctor, who is raced by Proven Thoroughbreds, won his first start in early March before finishing third in the $500,000 QTIS Jewel (1200m).
“I know Steve O’Dea’s got a big opinion of Spin Doctor, so hopefully he can add to the pedigree through the spring,” Clarke said.
“The Cunninghams have bought two to race (today), the Too Darn Hot filly and this filly as well, and I think it is a nice angle (to buy them as weanlings), particularly fillies.
“We are going to race them and hopefully turn them into broodmares down the track.
“He’s a very, very good stallion, So You Think, and I would have expected to have to pay a bit more for her if she did get to a yearling sale, so it was a good opportunity to snap up some value here for an end user.”
The Too Darn Hot filly, consigned by Segenhoe Stud as Lot 32, is the third foal out of the stakes-placed juvenile winner Al Naifa (Redoute’s Choice), a half-sister to champion two- and three-year-old filly English (Encosta De Lago).
Woburn Farm pounces on Extreme Choice colt
New Zealand pinhookers also go on the board yesterday, with Woburn Farm’s Adrian Stanley joining forces with Scone-based Dave Morrissey’s Cannon Hayes Stud to buy a The Chase-consigned colt by Extreme Choice (Not A Single Doubt).
The pair outlaid $240,000 for the colt who is the fifth foal out of Commandment (Commands), a half-sister to Group 1 winner Tully Thunder (Thunder Gulch).
Stanley indicated that the weanling, who will grow out at Cannon Hayes Stud, would most likely be reoffered at next year’s Inglis Easter sale.
“It’s a bit of money but still under service so you’ve got to think about it that way as well,” Stanley said.
“I valued him at between $200,000 and $250,000 and thought that if we got him in that price bracket he’d be a good buy. That was my last bid.”
Stanley’s Woburn Farm sold an Extreme Choice filly at the New Zealand Bloodstock Karaka Yearling Sale earlier this year to Sydney trainer Annabel Neasham for NZ$380,000.
A graduate of last year’s Magic Millions weanling sale, the Doug Walker-bred filly is a daughter of Majestueux (Snitzel).
“We had one (an Extreme Choice) in our (Karaka) draft this year, which we purchased out of this sale for $350,000, a filly,” Stanley said.
“She’s in training with Annabel Neasham – we sold her at Karaka and I kept my share in her because I believe in her.
“She’s had a second prep and she’ll get up in those earlier two-year-old races hopefully and we’ll see how she develops.”
Average, median up, clearance rate down
The day one session mirrored much of the yearling sales season, where the quest for quality horses was evident and the clearance rate fell compared to the past two years of trade.
There were 134 horses sold – 44 of them for $100,000 or more – at an average of $85,000 and a median of $60,000 with total turnover of $11.39 million. The year-on-year metrics were up two and 15 per cent respectively, while the clearance rate was at 70 per cent.
“I think there’s an unquenchable thirst for quality horses when they walk in the ring that the pinhookers perceive will make the select sales next year and be horses that the market will swarm to,” Magic Millions managing director Barry Bowditch said.
“I think in the ring there was a lot of confidence on those horses. There were some fantastic results throughout the day. It was a really solid weanling sale, with an average of $85,000 and an increased median on the same stage as last year’s sale.”
Bowditch added: “You’d like to turn over more horses, that’s probably the one negative from today. The market, as we’re seeing at the moment, is very, very strong, but selective.
“Whether they’re not liking the horse physically, on pedigree or on veterinary, there are reasons these horses fall through the cracks and either sell cheaply or are passed in. I guess that’s a horse sale, that’s the reality of it.”
Day two starts at 10am.
Potential highlight lots – day two
272 So You Think Marquise da Rossa Bay filly Phoenix Broodmare Farm
273 Harry Angel Martha Heights Brown colt Cornerstone Stud
277 I Am Invincible Melba Avenue Bay colt Yarraman Park Stud
304 Spirit of Boom Nataya Rose Bay colt Robyn Wise
320 Ole Kirk Oxford Angel Chestnut colt Rosari Farm
337 Zoustar Princess Wildfire Chestnut filly Widden Stud
362 Zoustar Run All Night Bay filly Vinery Stud
427 Blue Point Teebo Brown filly Three Bridges
453 Frankel Walk This Way Bay colt Coolmore Stud