Toronado colt makes $500,000 as Magic Millions vows bigger catalogue in 2023
Ten juveniles make $200,000 or more with average and gross climbing year on year
Magic Millions will attempt to grow its vendor base in order to have a larger, more diverse catalogue for buyers to consider at next year’s 2YOs In Training Sale after conducting a “pleasing” auction on the Gold Coast yesterday, headlined by a $500,000 Toronado (High Chaparral) colt.
As expected, the Hong Kong and Singapore buyers underpinned the top-end of the 107-lot sale, in which a further nine horses sold for $200,000 or more and another 15 changed hands for at least $100,000.
Buyers were prepared to pay a premium for the quality lots, but vendors were arguably forced to sell the horses considered to be of lesser quality for a discount, with 81 of the 107 two-year-olds to go through the ring yesterday selling for an average of $83,173, a 21 per cent year-on-year increase, and at a median price of $40,000, a decline of $5,000 compared to the 2021 sale.
The aggregate closed at $6,737,000, a jump of 16 per cent on last year’s corresponding sale, while the clearance rate was at 76 per cent.
“It’s hard not to be pleased with today’s results. There was a good vibe on the ground. It was great to have a lot of our international guests back here on the Gold Coast enjoying the Magic Millions hospitality and having a good time and obviously supporting the sale,” Magic Millions managing director Barry Bowditch said last night.
“All in all, vendors who had quality horses here and who were willing to meet the market did very, very well. In a lot of cases, they exceeded their expectations by a long way.
“Type and the breeze-up is what sells well here. The vendors who went to the yearling sales with a discerning eye and spent their money wisely, have come to this sale and done extremely well.”
Tang has taste for Toronado
The chance to buy a high-calibre colt by the same sire as Hong Kong’s unbeaten rising star Sweet Encounter (Toronado) lured prominent owner Vicky Tang to splash $500,000 on the two-year-old at the Gold Coast, her maiden foray into the Australian bloodstock market.
Tang races Toronado’s unbeaten four-year-old Sweet Encounter, who has made a stunning start to his racing career with victories at Sha Tin on September 25 and October 16 for champion Hong Kong trainer John Size.
Vicky Tang, her father Tony Tang and brother Kenneth Tang have sourced their horses to race in Hong Kong from New Zealand or from the Hong Kong International Sale, but the A List Stud-consigned colt’s pedigree and talent – displayed at a Brisbane breeze-up session earlier this month – was enough to convince them to expand their horizons to Australia.
A $400,000 yearling purchase by A List Stud’s Chris Lee from the Three Bridges Thoroughbreds draft at the Gold Coast in January, Tang bid online to land the half-brother to the stakes-placed Don’ttelltheboss (Street Boss).
The sixth foal out of the winning mare Canterbury Hill (Haradasun), who is owned by Victorian trainer Robbie Griffiths, he breezed up in 12.28 seconds at Eagle Farm. He was catalogued as Lot 24.
Allan Chau, A List Stud’s private trainer based on the Gold Coast, helped prepare a draft of 16 juveniles for the Magic Millions sale on behalf of proprietor Chris Lee.
“It was a very big day for the company. We brought 16 horses here and we were able to sell 12 of them, so it was very good for us and good for the clients,” Chau said.
“The Toronado colt sold for the top price today and it was very good to bring the horse here, to be able to top the sale and that stamps us [to say we did] a good job.”
A List Stud also sold a filly by I Am Invincible (Invincible Spirit), herself a half-sister to South Australian Derby (Gr 1, 2500m) winner Leicester (Wanted) and the stakes-placed Stroke Of Luck (Fastnet Rock), for $480,000 to Thoroughbred Owners Association and Sports Trust’s Constance Cheng.
Chau, who has 57 horses in training at the Gold Coast and another 30 in pre-training at Toowoomba for A List Stud, was delighted when Cheng told him the well-bred filly would remain in his care.
“She was sold for $480,000 to Constance Cheng and she is very happy for me to keep the filly in training here at the Gold Coast, so that’s another bonus for me because I believe she is a very, very nice filly,” he said.
“A List has invested a lot of money into this industry for the last three years since it was established by Chris to try and cement himself in racing.
“His concept is for people to come here to the Magic Millions breeze ups and buy quality horses… who we’ve prepped them to be quality, readymade racehorses.”
Starspangledbanner colt also heading to Hong Kong
The third highest-priced two-year-old sold yesterday was a colt by Coolmore reverse shuttler Starspangledbanner (Choisir) who was purchased to go to the stable of Hong Kong trainer Manfred Man for $370,000.
Man, who signed for the juvenile, was assisted in purchasing the colt by Magus Equine’s Willie Leung.
The KBL Thoroughbreds-consigned colt, catalogued as Lot 97, was purchased from the Magic Millions Adelaide Yearling Sale for $60,000 by Ian Sham of Hong Kong-based Bridle Bloodstock.
Out of the Listed winner Mutate (Octagonal) and a half-brother to the stakes-placed Costly Commitment (Encosta De Lago) and My Amici (Anabaa), he breezed up in a slick 10.37 seconds at Eagle Farm last Friday.
Starspangledbanner is the sire of nine winners in Hong Kong from 17 individual runners, headlined by Group 2 winner California Spangle and the stakes-placed Styling City.
Leung said the colt’s price tag was “within our expectations”.
“We loved this one as he’s very similar to a champion in Hong Kong, and hopefully it’s another California Spangle. The stallion is doing very well in Hong Kong, and no doubt also in Australia,” Leung said of the colt by Starspangledbanner, a Coolmore-owned stallion who most recently stood at Rosemont Stud in Australia.
“He’s an athletic type, scopey, very muscular. I’ll probably give him more time with a preparation here (in Australia) before I bring him to Hong Kong.”
Leung also added an American Pharoah (Pioneerof The Nile) colt later in the session for $240,000 from Nolen Racing and a Lean Mean Machine (Zoustar) colt from Kenmore Lodge for $150,000. They too will be trained by Man.
Sargent to train $260,000 Pride Of Dubai filly
Buoyed by Bella Nipotina’s barnstorming Manikato Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m) victory at Moonee Valley last Saturday, Byron Bay-based breeder and owner Ian Moses is hoping lightning can strike twice after purchasing a two-year-old daughter of Coolmore’s Pride Of Dubai (Street Cry) for $260,000 yesterday.
The expatriate New Zealander, a long-time associate of Group 1-winning Sydney trainer and fellow Kiwi John Sargent, bought the JCS Thoroughbreds-consigned filly with a long-term plan of adding her to his broodmare band which is housed at Coolmore.
Out of the unraced Lonhro (Octagonal) mare Transocean and closely related to the talented three-year-old colt Lofty Strike (Snitzel), she breezed up in 10.41 seconds.
Moses purchased the filly, who was catalogued as Lot 86 and consigned by A List Stud, under his Laguna Partnership banner.
“The reason I bought this filly is the high residual value, so she’ll race with Sarg for two or three years, then she’ll go to Coolmore,” Moses said.
“I talked to Sarg and he also has a very good vet called Chris Lawlor, and Chris looked at the horse for me.
“[Pride Of Dubai] seems to be throwing good fillies, so I’m happy – it was really the residual value I was after, though she breezed-up well.”
Moses has a number of horses in training at Randwick with Sargent, including Byron Belle, a three-year-old daughter of Snitzel (Redoute’s Choice) out of Group 1-winning mare Diademe (Savabeel), who ran in the Flight Stakes (Gr 1, 1600m) earlier this month.
“I’m trying to build up really high-credentialled mares. (I will) breed to sell, maybe picking one per year to race,” he said.
“I’m trying to get to probably ten, really high-quality broodmares. It’s a long road, but this is all part of it.”
Australian buyers accounted for 46 of the 81 two-year-olds traded yesterday, while Singapore (17), Hong Kong (nine) and the Philippines (seven) buyers were active. Macau owners also bought four horses.
Kiwi agent Bevan Smith went to $155,000 for a Brave Smash (Tosen Phantom) colt and $230,00 for a son of Showtime (Snitzel), another first–crop stallion.
The pair will be trained by Singapore trainer Michael Clements. The Showtime colt, who was prepared by Nolen Racing, breezed up in 10.36 seconds at Seymour.
Catalogued as Lot 62, he is the first foal out of the winning mare Hediard (Bernardini), herself a half-sister to stakes winners Exocet (Smart Missile) and Ready For Victory (More Than Ready).
He will be raced by the Falcon Racing Stable, which also owns former Nolen Racing graduate Top Knight (Zoustar), a multiple stakes winner in Singapore.
“Initially, I looked at his breeze and he breezed up in a really good time, but he did it really easily. He’s a horse who wants to do it, he tries hard, he has a lovely action, nice and smooth and low, so he ticks a lot of boxes on his breeze up,” Smith said.
“I came here and inspected him and he matched up as a type as well. He’s well-muscled, strong, and he has a great hip on him.
“Not often does the breeze-up and the physical type match up but this guy did and he’s got a bit of a pedigree as well.”
Bowditch indicated there was an appetite from buyers to acquire more horses yesterday if they were on offer.
“What disappoints me is that there were plenty of buyers who came to the sale, be they internationally or locally, who have probably gone away empty handed or with not as many horses as they would have liked,” he said.
“I hope we can grow our vendor base and increase how many horses each of them brings to the sale next year, because I have got to say that today’s market proved that this is the right place to be selling these horses and we could do with plenty more here in the sale.”
Bowditch believes vendors who supported the sale would have gained confidence from the results to press ahead again next year.
“We are willing to listen on how we can improve things, but… given the small catalogue, every number is up (except median),” he said.
“We sold more horses above $200,000 than we did last year, we sold more horses over $100,000, the average was up, the clearance was better, the gross is up and it’s off a smaller catalogue, so they’re all the numbers that should give vendors confidence that this is a really viable competent to our industry and that you can sell a horse really well here at the Magic Millions 2YOs In Training Sale.”
The New Zealand Bloodstock Ready to Run Sale will take place at Karaka on November 16 and 17.
Sale results
2022 2021
Catalogued 140 156
Offered 107 116
Sold 81 (76%) 85 (73%)
Aggregate $6,737,000 (+16%) $5,831,000
Average $83,173 (+21%) $68,600
Median $40,000 (-11%) $45,000
Top Lot $500,000 $350,000