Newgate steps it up with big Millions draft

Newgate will take a record number of yearlings to next month's Gold Coast Magic Millions Sale with general manager Bruce Slade admitting the logistics of managing a 61-horse draft means it will be as much a test of its people as it will the quality of its young horses.

Last January, Newgate sold 38 yearlings at the Gold Coast sale, the same as 2017, but a significant jump in its foal crop, plus a strong focus on Magic Millions, will see a 60 per cent increase on those numbers in 2019.

"We've had growth in terms of our foal crop on the farm, but it’s also just a sale which suits our model," Slade told TDN AusNZ.

"Number one, we are a young farm. We've got young stallions there, unproven stallions for the most part. And we just find that there's a lot more syndicators and trainers and those sort of people in the market."

"The sale suits the horses we are trying to breed and that we stand. Fast, early-maturing horses."

Slade said the timing of the sale is also advantageous, as it not only allows vendors to get a return on their yearlings earlier, but it also gets horses into stables more quickly, suiting the buyers.

"Our view is that the more we can get broken in early, it helps get them into training set-ups earlier, gets them into some trial programs and racing programs earlier and that should suit the profile of the races they have been set for," he said.

There are of course logistical challenges with such a big draft but Slade said Newgate is looking forward to the opportunity to showcase its ability to scale.

"We'll learn a lot from this year. It’s the biggest draft we’ve ever taken there and logistically that comes with its own challenges. Whether we can execute and carry out as well as we normally do with the size of draft. I'm sure we’ll learn a lot," he said.

"We are really happy with the way the yearlings are looking, the way they are prepared by the team. We've got a great group of people here that I'm sure can execute well on the numbers. But we'll wait and see. The proof will be in the pudding."

Slade said Newgate has as much confidence in its staff as it does the star crop of yearlings it will present on the Gold Coast.

"It’s going to be a great opportunity for a lot of our team to step up and take on extra responsibility and I'm very confident we’ll execute very well," he said.

Introducing Super One

The catalogue features the first crops of two Newgate stallions, Super One and Criterion (NZ).

There are 16 Super Ones catalogued with Newgate to present five of them and Slade is excited about what they will bring into the sales ring.

"They are very similar to him in type and mould. He was very precocious and a champion 2-year old. They are the same. They are very much like dad. They've got big hips, they are nice short-coupled horses, with really quality heads on them," he said.

"He comes into the marketplace off the back of his own father I Am Invincible, who has done such a great job and is proving to be such an important stallion in Australia."

"Not only does he look like his dad, he stood at the same fee as his dad in his first season, which makes his progeny very buyable for the market."

"They should be easy enough horses to syndicate, because number one they will be in a lot of people's hitting zone and number two, he's going to ride on the back of his father's deeds and a lot of us can't afford the I Am Invincibles anymore."

Newgate recently announced a $250,000 bonus for the buyers of any of Super One's first crop which then go on to win either the Magic Millions 2YO Classic or the Inglis Millennium in 2020.

Super Colt stands out

Slade predicted the lone Super One colt they were offering at the Gold Coast, Lot 831, would be very popular.

"The mare (Moral Suasion (USA) (Pulpit {USA})) has done a really good job of just leaving good running stock. She's left plenty of winners and this bloke has got a little bit more quality and a little bit more physicality than her previous foals. I think he’ll really catch the eye of all the good judges," he said.

The filly out of Wild Soiree (USA) (Fusaichi Pegasus {USA}), Lot 292, was another one Slade was looking forward to seeing in the sales ring.

"She's got a huge girth and a huge action. She's got a great way, a great demeanour about her," he said. "She's from the family of Tulip and Musidora, which is a great family going back. She has a bit of depth behind her in terms of her pedigree."

Limited editions for Criterion

Criterion's fertility issues have been well-documented and his owner Sir Owen Glenn has decided to retire him from stud duties after only one positive return in his third season.

"Sir Owen has supported him so well and sent a lot of mares his way and has done everything possible to get the horse off the ground given his fertility issues but the horse seems to be decreasing in terms of potency rather than increasing, so he's made the decision to pull the pin," Slade confirmed.

Newgate is offering one of two of his first crop catalogued at the Gold Coast, a colt out of Excelience (Exceed and Excel) (Lot 560) .

"He's going to be one of six yearlings that we know that are going to be offered by Criterion this season, so they are bit of a rare opportunity," Slade said.

"He's a big strong boy. His mother is from a great family and won in town and Criterion has added a bit of class and a bit of leg and a bit of scope into the mare too."

Lot 886, a filly also offered by Newgate, also has a strong connection to Criterion, being out of his half sister Our Pride and Joy (Canny Lad) and by the same sire in Sebring, making her a three-quarter sister to the four-time Group 1 winner.

"She's a filly with a lot of quality. A bright white star, bright-eyed, a kind nature and a free moving filly. She's a filly that looks like a Sires Produce, Champagne and Guineas type," Slade said.

Pair tipped to shine

In terms of the other highlights of Newgate's big draft, Slade feels Lot 446, the colt by I Am Invincible out of stakes winner Champagne Cath (Street Sense {USA}) will make a big splash.

"He's an absolute gun colt. As good as you'd breed. Obviously the stallion can do no wrong and the mother was a high class racemare for Chris Waller," he said.

Lot 590, the daughter of Written Tycoon out of speedy 2-year-old Fontiton (Turffontein) is another Slade has high hopes for.

"We paid $1.1 million for Fontiton, she went to Written Tycoon first season and she's given us a really beautiful filly with size and muscle tone and terrific angles. She’ll go down really well too. Obviously, her mother was freakishly fast and she looks just the same," he said.