Melody the $2.6 million Belle as broodmare market explodes on the Gold Coast

Cover image courtesy of Magic Millions

At A Glance

•

The day's trade, which also took in the much-anticipated Shadwell Dispersal, grossed an unprecedented $68.888 million.

•

The average price soared to $328,038, up from $206,714 after Day 1 last year.

•

The median also leapt to $145,000, up from $75,000 last year and $70,000 in 2019.

•

The Sale clearance rate stands at a very healthy 90.52 per cent, up from 84 per cent on Day 1 last year.

•

Melody Belle proved the star of the show, selling for $2.6 million, and is destined for a date with Yulong Stud's Written Tycoon.

•

The Written Tycoon Syndicate purchased 26 mares, spending $12.2 million.

•

The 37-lot Shadwell Dispersal saw an incredible $25.135 million in sales at an average of $679,324 and was topped by Qafila (Not A Single Doubt), who was purchased by Dean Hawthorne Bloodstock for $2 million.

•

Arcadia Queen (Pierro) was passed in for $3.4 million, short of her $4 million reserve.

Future is Written for superstar Belle

Melody Belle's presence as the sixth lot to sell created a considerable buzz early in the day, and the sales auditorium was brimming with expectation when the opening bid of $1 million was lodged for the 14-time Group 1-winning daughter of Commands.

That $1 million offer stood for some time before things got moving northwards. The battle to secure her came down to the Written Tycoon Syndicate, who were seated at Table 36, and an online bidder.

The Syndicate, set-up to support boom stallion Written Tycoon in his first season at Yulong Stud in Victoria, held strong against the competition to win the battle at $2.6 million.

"It’s fantastic. It’s great to have a mare of this quality joining the farm," Yulong Chief Operating Officer, Sam Fairgray, said.

"Obviously we are looking at mares of this quality now we have got Written Tycoon standing at the farm, she was an obvious mare, that we will look to put to him and we think she will suit him ideally."

Speculation has been strong all week about what price Melody Belle would fetch in the ring. A mare of her race record, in terms of Group 1 wins, had never been offered through public Sale in Australia before.

For Fairgray and the Syndicate, they paid a price they felt was reasonable given what a rare opportunity she presented.

"We thought she would be around that mark. She is a Group 1-winning 2-year-old and went on to win 14 Group 1 races, so a mare of that a quality doesn’t come on the market very often. It’s great to be able to have a mare of her race ability and type to join our broodmare band," he said.

"She's been such a consistent racehorse. She was bred by a very good breeder in New Zealand. She's been trained by New Zealand's best trainer. She came over and raced against the best in Australia as well. We are delighted that she is coming home with us and will visit Written Tycoon."

The nick of Written Tycoon to Commands mares has produced eight winners from 13 runners, including 2-year-old Yulong Turbo, who was bred on the Victorian farm.

Time to reflect for Galvin

For her 37-strong syndicate of owners, Melody Belle's sale was felt with mixed emotions. The Fortuna Syndicate have enjoyed the most remarkable ride with her since she was purchased for NZ$57,500 by David Ellis at the 2016 New Zealand Bloodstock National Yearling Sale at Karaka.

Managing Owner John Galvin reflected on the end of the journey with the history-making mare.

"It’s a bit of a relief, really. There’s quite a bit of pressure leading into a sale like this, of course. There’s all sorts of things to do, managing her campaign, managing the Sale, managing shareholder expectations, etc.," he said.

"It’s happened, she’s sold, and $2.6 million is a lot of money. While there was talk perhaps of figures higher than that, we’re very, very happy to have brought her here. She gets a great home, they’ve got some great stallions, so it’s done and dusted.

"I think that was the right way to sell this mare. It probably just needed another player or two to be in there bidding for her to reach a higher figure, but as I say, we’re pretty happy to get $2.6 million the back of a NZ$57,500 purchase, not to mention $4 million in race winnings.”

Galvin was also pleased to hear that Melody Belle would go to one of Australia's leading stallions.

“We love Written Tycoon. We’ve actually got a couple of Written Tycoons in Singapore and he’ll be a fabulous match for her,” he said.

Galvin said he and the ownership group had many people to thank for the journey they have been on with Melody Belle over the past five years, especially her breeder Marie Leicester, whose father had started the Belle family in the 1930s.

He also made mention of Te Akau Principal David Ellis, her trainer Jamie Richards and former co-trainer Stephen Autridge, as well as the other members of the ownership group and Blue Sky Premium Consignment, under whose banner she was sold on Tuesday.

“Julian Blaxland from Blue Sky has done a fabulous job with her consignment, Magic Millions have looked after us very well," he said.

Syndicate scoops up 26 mares

The Written Tycoon Syndicate was the day's biggest buyer, securing 26 mares in all for a total spend of $12.2 million.

It spent $1.5 million securing Group 2 winner and Group 1-placegetter Greysful Glamour (Stratum) from the draft of Widden Stud.

"She was just a lovely mare when we saw her. She's another great racemare and physically she's a mare that we thought would suit Written Tycoon really well, being by Stratum, the pedigree works as well," Fairgray said.

"She's just a beautiful mare to have on our farm, and another white one. We've got Utzon, who's a white one and so she is now going to have a buddy, which is great."

The sale of the much-loved grey mare by her big syndicate of owners was significant for Darby Racing's Scott Darby, who revealed the mare had a modest reserve of $600,000.

“She started as a 2-year-old and she’s still racing at five. She’s been in umpteen stakes races, she’s pretty much raced in stakes races all her life," he said.

“It’s her beauty, it’s her temperament. She’s got a cult following and the owners are very emotional selling her, but to get a result like that for a Group 1-placed mare, a Group 2 winner is phenomenal."

Other purchases by the Written Tycoon Syndicate include Group 2-winning mare Positive Peace (Stratum), who was picked up for $800,000 from the draft of Yarraman Park Stud and G1 New Zealand Oaks winner Miss Sentimental (NZ) (Reliable Man {GB}), who was purchased for $470,000.

"It’s going to be a very interesting couple of days, I think the market is going to be very strong. We’ve done our homework and research and so hopefully we can add some more mares to the broodmare band," Fairgray said.

Stunning Shadwell Dispersal concludes record day

In a brilliant crescendo to the day's bidding, the 37-lot Shadwell Dispersal, conducted by Yarraman Park, far exceeded expectations with $25.135 million in sales at an average of $679,324.

Sale a stunner for Magic Millions

Magic Millions Managing Director, Barry Bowditch, said that while the catalogue of mares on offer on Day 1 was as high a quality as he had seen, the sheer volume of spectacular results was beyond expectation.

“I am speechless. We’d hoped to achieve something extraordinary, but to do so is a remarkable result. It’s a remarkable result for the team and it’s a remarkable result for the industry here in Australia," he said.

“The industry’s in great shape here, isn’t it? It’s buoyant, there was so many people trying to get in and bidding was healthy from start to finish. It just shows that if you bring a premium product to a horse sale and we’ll ensure that the buyers are here to bid on these horses. Today reflected that like never, ever before.”

Arcadia Queen passes in

A major power cut, which delayed the Sale for around 45 minutes in the afternoon session while a back-up generator was deployed, was by no means the most dramatic moment of the day.

That came when triple Group 1 winner Arcadia Queen (Pierro) was passed in at $3.4 million, with two online bidders unable to get past her reserve of $4 million.

When auctioneer Grant Burns announced that one of the stars of the show would be passed in, the auditorium descended into a hush.

Bowditch said that there was still a possibility Arcadia Queen might be sold, but also respected her owner Bob Peters' position on her reserve.

“There’s interest in Arcadia Queen. I believe the reserve that was placed on her is deserved. She’s been a fantastic mare. The Peters family are in a position where they are giant breeders in their own right and we’ll work towards getting a result, but if not, we look forward to following the journey in the pink and white,” he said.

Magnier takes a shine to Mizzy

Mizzy (Zoustar) may not have had a Group 1 win on her resume, but she sold at an elite mare's price, when Tom Magnier paid $2.2 million for her from the Newgate Consignment.

Under Anthony Cummings' guidance on the track, she has won two Group 2 races and a Group 3 race and was runner-up in the G1 Canterbury S. and G1 Coolmore Classic.

Bred by Robert Crabtree of Dorrington Farm, she also boasts a strong pedigree, with her three dams on the pedigree page all stakes winners, including her own dam, Missy Cummings (Magnus). But it was her physical appearance which really lured in the major players to fight for her in the ring.

She fitted perfectly for the Coolmore band, bought as part of a new partnership, with no firm decision on a stallion as yet, but confirmation that she will enter Annabel Neasham's stables to be prepared for the G1 Tatt's Tiara.

“We’re delighted to get her. She’s a lovely, quality mare and, in fairness, she should have been a Group 1 winner. She was bred by Robert Crabtree and we’ve got a great association with Robert. She’s a lovely mare and we look forward to getting her home," Magnier said.

“We’ll take her home and have a look at her. We’ve got a really exciting roster this year. We’re obviously bringing Justify back and we’ve got Wootton Bassett coming down this year. He’s fully booked.

“We’ve bought a lot of big mares over the past couple of years, so we’ll be heavily supporting Wootton Bassett.”

The fact Coolmore had to go to $2.2 million for Mizzy is a measure of both her desirability as a breeding prospect and the buoyancy of the sales ring,

“It just shows the strength of the market at the moment in Australia. You have to put a zero behind your first valuation at the moment. It’s a great indication for Magic Millions that they have one of the best sales going on in the world right now," Magnier said.

Crabtree owned the horse in partnership and was so torn by having to let her go, he tried to secure her himself, bowing out as she climbed though the $2 million mark.

"The owners were very reluctant to sell, such is their affection for the animal. She was just a delightful mare to have raced. From a stud perspective, we are pretty proud of what we have done with her, Mum is in foal with the full by Zoustar," he said.

"It’s really a benchmark, but more than that, it is just an emotional time.

"It’s extraordinarily hard to let her go. I'll be frank, I did have a bid, and was close to the mark, but not quite good enough."

While he missed out on bringing Mizzy back home with him, Crabtree was pleased to see her go to the world-renowned Coolmore operation.

"She’ll get the chance to keep the family going," he said. "Coolmore are a wonderful organisation and they will give her every chance she deserves. She's quite a beautiful horse. We just live to have lovely horses. The money is incidental, it’s good when you get it, but it’s the horse you produce which gives you the thrill."

Another big result for Bella Vella

Another chapter was written in the amazing story of Bella Vella (Commands), whose connections turned their $22,500 investment into a $1.9 million windfall for the G1 Robert Sangster S. winner with Rosemont Stud the winning bidder.

She was consigned by Glenesk Thoroughbreds on behalf of her ownership group, who paid $22,500 off the Inglis Digital platform in April 2019. At that stage, she had already been tried as a broodmare, missing to Criterion (NZ), whose stud career was curtailed by fertility issues.

Twelve months later under Will Clarken's guidance, she became a stakes winner before leading all the way in the Robert Sangster at Morphettville.

Fast forward another 12 months, and she was again at the centre of celebrations, as Rosemont fought off substantial competition from the Written Tycoon Syndicate to land the sought-after mare, with a first stallion mating for her yet to be determined.

“It’s terrific. Obviously the monies fantastic, but it’s the appreciation of how good a horse she was and also how good a physical she was. I love horses and she’s as good a type as you will see and I am just so happy that people have respected that and respected how much ability she had," Clarken said.

“Myself and my racing manager Lachie Weekley and two of my oldest and best friends in Patrick and John Kelton and obviously my mentor David Jolly are all in her and so are the Rushton Park guys who have been with me from the start when I had five or 10 horses in work."

Rushton Park's Kayley Johnson was quite emotional after the Sale, with her and husband David having been part of the Bella Vella journey since she was purchased out of the Digital Sale.

"I didn't feel nervous at all this morning, but the last 10 minutes coming in, I started to get the shakes a bit and felt a knot in the pit of the stomach," she said.

"I was just a bit overawed because it’s the end of an amazing ride for us, to have her win a Group 1 where she has come from is just phenomenal.

"It means a lot, we’ve never been lucky enough to sell a million-dollar horse and this is just amazing for us. It’s an unbelievable experience. We were hoping for anything over $1 million, so $1.9 million is just amazing."

For Clarken, it was very much a vindication of the decision to offer the mare at the Gold Coast, having retired her after she finished down the track in the G1 The Galaxy in March.

“She had run her race I think. We had a choice to bring her back to the Sangster again, but we decided to retire her and I think it’s the best thing we did because she let down and she looks fantastic," he said.

"She didn’t look racy here at the sales. She looked like the beautiful mare that she is. All credit to Rachael and Brett Howard, they presented her beautifully and they did the job of showing the premium product we had here.”

Rosemont Stud Principal Anthony Mithen held his nerve during a tense dual.

"I was nearly out of bullets. Those competitive juices kicked in. It is a lot of money, but she is a quality product. She is by a quality broodmare influence in Commands. She has got a beautiful family and how they got her at that price online a couple of years ago, is beyond me," he said.

Mithen said the quality of Bella Vella took him by surprise when he inspected her ahead of the Sale, and from that moment, he and his team were determined to take her home.

"I expected her not be as good a type as she is. I thought she might be bit scrappy because they didn’t pay much for her online. It just shows that if you do your homework, and you get around, you can find a nice horse at all levels in the market," he said.

He said Rosemont would keep an open mind on which stallion Bella Vella would visit in 2021.

Rosemont's day out

Rosemont was the day's second biggest buyer, spending $9.675 million across 10 purchases, including four as part of the Shadwell Dispersal, in a massive statement of intent as to the Victorian farm's future ambitions.

"That was an extraordinary day really. To add a collection of mares and we bought 10 mares in all, to be able to add that sort of quality, the opportunity was there with the Shadwell Dispersal, but there was some beautiful mares before the Dispersal as well," Mithen said.

"We couldn't resist and we are very pleased. We have put a line in the sand about how serious we are about Rosemont."

Its other seven-figure purchase was the Group 2 winner, Fiesta (I Am invincible), who was offered by Glenesk Thoroughbreds on behalf of her syndicate of owners at Star Thoroughbreds, and sold for $1.35 million.

“She’s clearly got some speed elements and I love this filly. She was a high-class 2-year-old and, for an I Am Invincible, she trained on as an older filly and mare," Rosemont's General Manager of Bloodstock, Ryan McEvoy, said.

"She’s a big, strong, roomy mare who will carry a good foal. I just love that race record that will go and produce those two and 3-year-olds and that’s, ultimately, what we’re trying to do by getting a broodmare band that allows us to do that and have horses running in those big 2-year-old races.

“Fiesta comes with a free nomination to a Darley stallion after winning the Princess Series, so maybe we’ll look at sending her to Dubawi!”

Another million-dollar star

It was another million-dollar plus result for a mare owned by Star Thoroughbreds, who sold Invincibella (I Am invincible) through Glenesk at this Sale last year for $1.3 million.

"We are delighted, we thought she was a million-dollar plus mare, but you are not always certain. It’s a really good result. She was a great racemare. She has gone to a great farm at Rosemont and we couldn't be more thrilled," Star Thoroughbreds' Denise Martin said.

"When our mares are bringing those sorts of prices you know that they are going to a high-class farm and they will be given the opportunity so we are just excited at the moment. We know that she will be really well looked after and we are elated."

Sheamus Mills Bloodstock secured Group 1-winning filly Bonham (Per Incanto {USA}) for $1.6 million and aims for her to continue her racetrack career in similar ownership interests to G1 Thousand Guineas winner Odeum (Written Tycoon).

“I just thought she was a pretty rare offering. How often do you get a mare with six starts for four wins who is a Group 1 winner and a Group 2 second at her last start and is a lightly raced 3-year-old filly who is well looked after and is really good type?" he said.

“She has a really fast, good Aussie pedigree. Those horses just don’t come on the market. I can’t remember a horse who was so lightly raced and so well-performed coming through a broodmare sale."

Humma Humma returns to Widden

Widden Stud was both the buyer and seller of another $1 million lot of the day, the multiple stakes winner Humma Humma (Denman), who sold for exactly that amount.

Widden was part of the ownership group that raced the mare with trainer John McArdle, through a 32-start career which saw her earn over $650,000 in prizemoney.

Part of a progressive family, which includes her stakes-winning half-sister Tycoon Humma (Capitalist), she had great appeal for Widden Stud Principal Antony Thompson as a member of the stud's broodmare band.

"We're thrilled to get her back. We have been involved in the ownership and racing her with John McArdle. It’s been a great ride and we know how good she is. We are very close to her. So it was an honour to be able to sell her on behalf of the owners and even more thrilled to be able to buy her," Thompson said.

"I told the ownership group that she would sell very well and they didn't need to worry about a reserve. I told them that we were trying to buy her too, I was hoping for around $800,000, but we still had a bit more in the back pocket if we needed it."

One of the great appeals of the mare for Thompson was the versatility of her pedigree offers in terms of stallion options, and he said she could visit Widden residents such as Zoustar or Trapeze Artist, or a host of other major stallions.

The National Broodmare Sale continues at 10am AEST on Wednesday with the attention turning to established broodmares and mares in foal.

“We’ve got a beautiful catalogue. There’s a lot of quality mares to come through. We won’t be reaching the heights of what we have today, but it’s going to continue to be healthy. The depth of the catalogue provides breeders at all levels and will be seen over the next two days," Bowditch said.

“Buyers will continue to keep their lists long and even though the market is great, vendors will continue to be realistic."

Top lots

Top buyers

Top vendors by aggregate

Top vendors by average (3 or more sold)

Top sires by aggregate

Top sires by average (3 or more sold)

Top covering sires by aggregate