At A Glance
>> Valiant Stud went to $210,000 to secure the sale-topper by Merchant Navy (Lot 1030) from Rothwell Park Thoroughbreds soon after purchasing a daughter of Fastnet Frock (Lot 1024) for $160,000
>> Lime Country Thoroughbreds enlisted the services of agent James Bester to land a quartet of weanlings, which will be re-offered as yearlings, with a top price of $230,000 for a Written Tycoon from Aquis Farm’s draft
>> Sledmere Stud and Cangon Stud farm co-signed for a son of Russian Revolution, Lot 947, for $200,000 out of Newgate’s draft
>> By average, Newgate was the leading vendor with five sold at an average of $100,400 and by gross Aquis Farm topped the sale with 46 lots sold for $1,618,111
>> The 2020 Weanling Sale grossed $7,707,000 at an average price of $41,435 for 189 lots sold and a clearance rate of over 72 per cent. The median price was $24,000
>> Twelve months ago, 686 lots were sold for $27,876,00 at an average of $63,499 and a clearance rate of 78 per cent with a median of $36,000
Valiant approach
Valiant Stud’s Fergal Connolly paid the day’s top price for a first-crop representative of Coolmore’s Merchant Navy hard on the heels of having purchased a daughter of Fastnet Rock, Lot 1024, for $160,000.
The Merchant Navy youngster was offered by Rothwell Park Thoroughbreds and is the first foal of Awoke (NZ) (Rip Van Winkle {Ire}), who won three races and is a half-sister to the G3 Lexus S. winner Cismontaine (High Chaparral {Ire}).
The pedigree also features the dual Group 1 winner Nimue (NZ) (Star Way {GB}), whose half-sister Smiling Like (NZ) won the G1 Wellington Cup and half-brother Sirstaci (NZ) (Silver Dream {GB}) triumphed in the G1 Easter H.
Lot 1030 - Merchant Navy x Awoke (NZ) (colt)
“This colt moved very well and I thought he’d appeal to so many people with his family being very up to date and modern. He’s a stand-out colt for me with the way he moved,” Connolly said.
“It’s great to be here on the Gold Coast to see the quality weanlings on offer and I have to commend all the vendors. They have turned out their horses in excellent condition, particularly the last two drafts we’ve purchased from, Rothwell Park and Aquis Farm. The horses looked outstanding.
“It’s great to be here on the Gold Coast to see the quality weanlings on offer and I have to commend all the vendors.” – Fergal Connolly
The Fastnet Rock filly was purchased out of the draft of Aquis Farm and is a half-sister to a pair of winners with their dam Antillanca (Street Cry {Ire}) a half-sister to the G2 Surround S. winner Ghisoni (Lonhro).
They are out of Portillo (Red Ransom {USA}), who won the Surround S. as well as the G2 Magic Night S., and is a half-sister to the G1 Galaxy H. winner and sire Snowland and the stakes winner and sire Snippetson.
Lot 1024 - Fastnet Rock x Antillanca (filly)
“I think it is great value. You’ve got a race filly first, but a broodmare for life. She’s a nice type of Fastnet filly like Atlantic Jewel. It’s a very modern family with Darley and Godolphin in the second dam,” Connolly said.
“We’re very excited to have a Fastnet Rock filly going forward and a Merchant Navy colt. It is so good to actually work with Merchant Navy again, being so close to the family having worked at Segenhoe for years. Having him foal there and watching his racing career, I’ve been very close to the whole process.
“We will aim to come to the sales and re-offer these horses for people to come and see and my prediction is that there will be a lot of people coming to see them.”
Fergal Connolly
Eyes on Magics return
An opening salvo of $100,000 for a Russian Revolution colt, Lot 947, got bidding underway and closed off at $200,000 with Sledmere Stud and Cangon Stud Farm signing the docket for the Newgate-offered youngster.
Sledmere’s Royston Murphy said they were being very selective, but was determined to secure the colt with the intention of re-offering him at the Gold Coast next year.
“I’m very happy as we thought he might have made a little bit more. We only really came here with the intention of buying a couple of horses and he was the one we definitely wanted to leave with and hopefully we can bring him back here next year,” Sledmere’s Royston Murphy said.
Lot 947 - Russian Revolution x Silent Cash (colt)
“We’re a very big fan of Russian Revolution. We’ve seen his stock at home and I think his stock will come here in January and be very popular.
“When the trainers get to see them I think they will see what we see. They are good, athletic horses who are well-muscled.
“We really like buying off Newgate because they always produce nice horses and the results on the track are good. I think he will be a horse who will fit in nicely with a few others by Russian Revolution that we have to offer next year.”
“We really like buying off Newgate because they always produce nice horses and the results on the track are good.” – Royston Murphy
Murphy said they took a good line from their own horses to those on offer when narrowing down their list of prospects.
“As I’ve said to a few people looking at horses this week, I think they change so much from May to July. Before we go to a sale we always walk around the paddocks at home to look at what we have so when you get to the sales you know what you’re comparing to.
“Even from our own draft, we’ve got horses who will change a lot in the next few months. That is why it’s important to talk to vendors and ask them where they think they are in their stage of life.
"This is what we do, so hopefully we can get it right. Like every sale I have ever gone to, the good horses have sold well.”
The Russian Revolution colt is a half-brother to three winners, including the G3 Vain S. winner Get The Nod (U S Ranger {USA}), Silent Savings (Mulaazem) and most recently Get The Cash (Artie Schiller {USA}) after the catalogue went to print.
Their dam Silent Cash (Secret Savings) is a half-sister to the multiple winner and Group 2 placegetter Silent But Deadly (Choisir) and family member Lope De Capio (Lope De Vega {Ire}) was a multiple winner at Listed level.
The best association
Lime Country Thoroughbreds enlisted the assistance of agent James Bester to purchase a handful of weanlings to be re-offered next year and were delighted with the results.
They purchased two fillies on Thursday, Lot 868 by Written Tycoon from Aquis Farm’s draft for $230,000 and Lot 873, a Vancouver filly from Rothwell Park for $35,000.
They were back in the action on Friday with two further purchases - a colt, Lot 979 by Russian Revolution from Kenmore Lodge for $115,000 and a son of American Pharoah (USA), Lot 1067, offered by Willow Park Stud for $70,000.
Georgia and Jo Griffin, with James Bester and Greg Griffin
“James has advised clients of the farm in the past and he was my pick for a weanling agent to work with. We’ve used different agents for different things.
“But as far as weanlings go, James always buys an athlete, a racehorse before anything else. That’s his top priority and I think as the market is what it is, trainers are more and more racehorse-focussed above pedigree.
“But as far as weanlings go, James always buys an athlete, a racehorse before anything else.” – Jo Griffin
“They can be more forgiving on some issues and James can see past the obvious issues.”
Each of their purchases will be heading back to various venues to be sold as yearlings.
“They will definitely all come back for the sales. Some will come to Magics, some will go to Melbourne or Easter, it will depend on how the stallions are travelling,” Griffin said.
“All of the horses have been chopped down with clients of the farm and the largest share we are holding is around 25 per cent in any of them.
“This was largely driven by clients to have a go this year and James is the right person for us to work with. He’s also very entertaining, it doesn’t matter what time of the day or night.”
Bowditch satisfied
Across the two days of selling, the National Weanling Sale rounded out with a gross of $7,707,000 and an average price of $41,435 for 186 lots sold at a clearance rate of over 72 per cent.
"When you look at what is going on in the world, I am satisfied with the results, although I did expect there to be a little bit more strength in the middle end than what there was,” Magic Millions Managing Director Barry Bowditch said.
“On the whole, the good horses sold seriously well and there were plenty of bids on the right product. As we've seen in all sales this year, anything that was off the pace seems to struggle a little bit more than it used to and I guess that is understandable.
“Vendors are very happy with the way the sale went and all in all they have come here looking to meet the market and in most cases they have.
“The whole week has just been hugely positive for the industry, having the buoyancy in the race fillies and broodmare section and obviously we traded some weanlings for very good prices.
“The whole week has just been hugely positive for the industry." - Barry Bowditch
“With the weanlings that were passed in, breeders have other options to sell them over the next 12 months and you would think we would see them back at yearling sales next year, but obviously we will be working to sell as many as possible over the next few days.”
Top lots
| 879 | Zoustar | Miss Husson | Rothwell Park Thoroughbreds, Blandford, NSW (As Agent) | Segenhoe Stud | NSW | $410,000 |
| 868 | Written Tycoon | Matildare | Aquis Farm Operations, Murrurundi, NSW (As Agent) | Lime Country Thoroughbreds/James Bester Bloodstock | NSW | $230,000 |
| 1030 | Merchant Navy | Awoke (NZ) | Rothwell Park Thoroughbreds, Blandford, NSW (As Agent) | Valiant Stud Pty Ltd | NSW | $210,000 |
| 865 | Dundeel (NZ) | Marquise Da Rossa | Phoenix Broodmare Farm, Euroa, Vic (As Agent) | James Carey | NSW | $200,000 |
| 947 | Russian Revolution | Silent Cash | Newgate Consignment, Aberdeen, NSW (As Agent) | Cangon/Sledmere Stud | NSW | $200,000 |
| 908 | Hellbent | Queen Of Kandy | Sledmere Stud, Scone, NSW (As Agent) | D R Pinhook | NSW | $160,000 |
| 1024 | Fastnet Rock | Antillanca | Aquis Farm Operations, Murrurundi, NSW (As Agent for Aquis Farm) | Valiant Stud Pty Ltd | NSW | $160,000 |
| 841 | Lonhro | La Parisienne | Sledmere Stud, Scone, NSW (As Agent) | Suman Hedge Bloodstock (FBAA)/Grant Bloodstock | VIC | $150,000 |
| 1066 | Pierro | Cosmic Powers | Newgate Consignment, Aberdeen, NSW (As Agent) | Jimmy Frank | NSW | $140,000 |
| 1035 | Sebring | Belle De Coeur | Aquis Farm Operations, Murrurundi, NSW (As Agent) | Steven & Gillian Madge/Sheamus Mills Bloodstock (FBAA) | NSW | $135,000 |
Top buyers
| Lime Country Thoroughbreds/James Bester Bloodstock | 4 | $112,500 | $230,000 | $450,000 |
| Segenhoe Stud | 2 | $218,000 | $410,000 | $436,000 |
| Valiant Stud Pty Ltd | 3 | $140,667 | $210,000 | $422,000 |
| Jazcom Thoroughbreds Pty Ltd | 5 | $68,000 | $100,000 | $340,000 |
| Suman Hedge Bloodstock (FBAA)/Grant Bloodstock | 3 | $106,667 | $150,000 | $320,000 |
| James Bester Bloodstock | 3 | $89,167 | $130,000 | $267,500 |
| BBT Breeding & Racing Pty Ltd/Sheamus Mills Bloodstock (FBAA) | 6 | $44,000 | $75,000 | $264,000 |
| Lion Rock Bloodstock/Bevan Smith Bloodstock | 3 | $83,667 | $130,000 | $251,000 |
| Simple Bloodstock Services | 4 | $57,750 | $120,000 | $231,000 |
| Cangon/Sledmere Stud | 1 | $200,000 | $200,000 | $200,000 |
Top vendors by aggregate
| Aquis Farm Operations, Murrurundi, NSW | 46 | $1,618,000 | $35,174 | $230,000 |
| Rothwell Park Thoroughbreds, Blandford, NSW | 20 | $1,586,500 | $79,325 | $410,000 |
| Sledmere Stud, Scone, NSW | 11 | $824,000 | $74,909 | $160,000 |
| Newgate Consignment, Aberdeen, NSW | 5 | $502,000 | $100,400 | $200,000 |
| Phoenix Broodmare Farm, Euroa, Vic | 10 | $338,500 | $33,850 | $200,000 |
| Bhima Thoroughbreds, Scone, NSW | 7 | $282,500 | $40,357 | $70,000 |
| Kenmore Lodge, Wyreema, Qld | 7 | $268,000 | $38,286 | $115,000 |
| Yulong, Nagambie, Vic | 5 | $246,000 | $49,200 | $100,000 |
| Rosari Farm, Warwick, Qld | 5 | $208,500 | $41,700 | $75,000 |
| Glastonbury Farms, Scone, NSW | 6 | $204,000 | $34,000 | $90,000 |
Top vendors by average (3 or more sold)
| Newgate Consignment, Aberdeen, NSW | 5 | $100,400 | $200,000 | $502,000 |
| Rothwell Park Thoroughbreds, Blandford, NSW | 20 | $79,325 | $410,000 | $1,586,500 |
| Sledmere Stud, Scone, NSW | 11 | $74,909 | $160,000 | $824,000 |
| Milburn Creek, Wildes Meadow, NSW | 3 | $60,833 | $100,000 | $182,500 |
| Yulong, Nagambie, Vic | 5 | $49,200 | $100,000 | $246,000 |
| Bell River Thoroughbreds, Dungog, NSW | 3 | $43,333 | $60,000 | $130,000 |
| Rosari Farm, Warwick, Qld | 5 | $41,700 | $75,000 | $208,500 |
| Bhima Thoroughbreds, Scone, NSW | 7 | $40,357 | $70,000 | $282,500 |
| Kambula Stud, Kadina, SA | 5 | $38,800 | $75,000 | $194,000 |
| Kenmore Lodge, Wyreema, Qld | 7 | $38,286 | $115,000 | $268,000 |
Top sires by aggregate
| Zoustar | 6 | $802,500 | $133,750 | $410,000 |
| Russian Revolution | 8 | $680,500 | $85,063 | $200,000 |
| Capitalist | 10 | $553,500 | $55,350 | $80,000 |
| Dundeel (NZ) | 6 | $502,000 | $83,667 | $200,000 |
| Merchant Navy | 7 | $441,000 | $63,000 | $210,000 |
| Deep Field | 8 | $430,000 | $53,750 | $120,000 |
| Written Tycoon | 2 | $300,000 | $150,000 | $230,000 |
| Invader | 6 | $299,000 | $49,833 | $130,000 |
| So You Think (NZ) | 3 | $285,000 | $95,000 | $130,000 |
| Hellbent | 4 | $277,000 | $69,250 | $160,000 |
Top sires by average (3 or more sold)
| Zoustar | 6 | $133,750 | $410,000 | $802,500 |
| So You Think (NZ) | 3 | $95,000 | $130,000 | $285,000 |
| Russian Revolution | 8 | $85,063 | $200,000 | $680,500 |
| Dundeel (NZ) | 6 | $83,667 | $200,000 | $502,000 |
| Pierro | 3 | $76,667 | $140,000 | $230,000 |
| Hellbent | 4 | $69,250 | $160,000 | $277,000 |
| Merchant Navy | 7 | $63,000 | $210,000 | $441,000 |
| Spirit Of Boom | 3 | $56,667 | $80,000 | $170,000 |
| Capitalist | 10 | $55,350 | $80,000 | $553,500 |
| Deep Field | 8 | $53,750 | $120,000 | $430,000 |
