Cover image courtesy of Sharon Lee Chapman
A catalogue of 420 yearlings will be offered over two days at Magic Millions' home base after a phenomenal yearling season so far which has seen records rewritten on the Gold Coast and in Perth, Tasmania and Adelaide in the past two months.
As a Sale which is traditionally the domain of Queensland breeders and vendors, there is much anticipation that the locals can get access to a buying bench with a seemingly insatiable appetite for quality bloodstock, in an Australian market operating with renewed confidence.
While unable to promise pre-Sale, the level of growth which has propelled a terrific run of results across the country in 2021, Magic Millions Managing Director, Barry Bowditch, does believe the right ingredients are there for a successful couple of days for Queensland breeders and vendors.
"This is the bulk of the quality of the Queensland harvest, so to speak, and a lot of the Queensland vendors bring their best horses here. It’s a Sale with a proven record for producing a lot of good horses and these horses have more incentives to race for than any other. Whether it be Queensland buyers or interstate buyers, it’s a Sale you’d hope would be on the radar of those people," Bowditch said.
"It’s a Sale with a proven record for producing a lot of good horses and these horses have more incentives to race for than any other." - Barry Bowditch
"In a market like we are enjoying this year, it’s great to see vendors at all levels getting a win. You suspect that here will be opportunities for that to happen at those levels over the next couple of days."
The history of the Sale paints a picture of one of opportunities for buyers, with graduates including Group 1 winners Buffering (Mossman) and Spirit Of Boom as well as stakes winners Winning Rupert, Boomsara (Spirit Of Boom), Apache Chase (Better Than Ready), Chapter And Verse (Rothesay), Ours To Keep (Seidnazar), Katsuro (I Am Invincible) and I'm A Rippa (Love Conquers All).
But it's not just the past results which should give buyers confidence, according to Bowditch, who said the unprecedented prizemoney and bonuses available to graduates should give further cause for positive sentiment.
"Whether we see the increases we have seen at other sales is hard to say, but what I do see in the Queensland market is that there will be plenty of people buying here. These horses have got an unbelievable amount of money to race for," he said.
"These horses have got an unbelievable amount of money to race for." - Barry Bowditch
"They are eligible for all the Magic Millions races. They have got a $1 million QTIS race in January and there are huge bonuses that are paid on two and 3-year-old races for first, second and third.
"You look at a day like yesterday (Saturday), with Jewel Day, where there is somewhere between $1.5 and $2 million available. It gives buyers, in particular Queensland buyers, so many incentives to play.
"On top of that we have 140 BOBS-eligible horses in the catalogue. In that sense, it’s not a Sale just for the Queensland buyers. This is a Sale that should be on the radar of buyers all over Australia, because what you can get here is an early, precocious horse at a value price."
Local stallions dominate the numbers
Recent yearling sales around Australia have been notable for the results achieved by quality offerings by the wealth of burgeoning young sires in Australia. Similarly on the Gold Coast, there will be opportunities to access yearlings by the likes of Capitalist, Flying Artie, Merchant Navy, Extreme Choice, Hellbent, Impending, Russian Revolution, Invader and the like. There are also lots by proven stars like Zoustar, Pierro, Deep Field and Sebring.
But this is a Sale which the Queensland sires have made their own in recent years and there will be an extraordinary depth of quality available from the likes of Lyndhurst Stud Farm's Better Than Ready and Eureka Stud's Spirit Of Boom.
That pair made up $1.7 million of the $7.9 million gross last year and accounted for 74 of the 279 horses sold last year. That is set to go to another level this year with 80 of the catalogue, or 19.1 per cent by Better Than Ready, alone.
The son of More Than Ready (USA) produced 174 foals in 2019 as his popularity boomed off the performances of his first crop and that boom will be felt over the two days of selling on the Gold Coast.
Spirit Of Boom has 35 lots catalogued, with that crop of 149 foals conceived off a service fee of $55,000 (inc GST), the first year his price jumped from $11,000 (inc GST) introductory price.
Bowditch is not at all concerned that the heavy representation from the two prominent Queensland sires will tip the balance of the catalogue.
"Those two horses in particular are our best two sires in Queensland right now. I think the breeding game in this state from a stallion perspective, is in as good shape as it has been in many years," he said.
"Whether it be Better Than Ready or Spirit Of Boom, or going to the first crop of Heroic Valour or the next crop of Sidestep, who has his first Queensland crop, there's a quality lineup of horses. They are horses that will get up and run and give their buyers an opportunity for quick returns and big returns."