Cover image courtesy of Magic Millions
Day 1 of the Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale was in full song by the time the Gary Harding-owned race filly Bonham was sold in the mid-afternoon. Melody Belle (NZ) (Commands), Mizzy (Zoustar) and Bella Vella (Commands) had already lit up the auditorium, and Bonham followed suit as Lot 707, selling to Sheamus Mills Bloodstock for $1.6 million.
It was a glorious result for vendor Willow Park Stud, with studmaster Glenn Burrows preparing the filly on Harding’s behalf. Bonham will stay in training in either Sydney or Melbourne, the details yet to be fine-tuned by her buyer.
“She’s a beautiful filly, with just so much upside when it comes to her racing,” Burrows said. “It was so good to see that appreciated today, because she’s got so much potential for the future.”
“She’s (Bonham) a beautiful filly, with just so much upside when it comes to her racing. It was so good to see that appreciated today, because she’s got so much potential for the future.” - Glenn Burrows
Burrows admitted he was concerned in the weeks leading into the Sale.
“There were so many questions and queries about her ability to race on, and did she have issues?” he said. “We ended up getting her x-rayed and scoped so that we had confidence bringing her to the market, and everything was in order for today. Whoever Sheamus picks to train her, I hope they can have incredible luck with her.”
Sheamus Mills with Bonham | Image courtesy of Magic Millions
On the market and then some
The 3-year-old Bonham has raced exclusively in New Zealand. She was exported at foot with her dam, Fortune’s Choice (Redoute’s Choice), and had six starts for four wins for the training partnership of Johno Benner and Hollie Wynyard.
Bonham won her first three races, then won the G1 Levin Classic in January. She was a last-start second in the G2 Wellington Guineas before her shipment to Australia in late April to prepare for sale.
“I picked her out from the catalogue in the first place,” said Sheamus Mills. “I was reasonably excited by the fact that there was a 3-year-old filly in the Sale with six starts, four wins, a Group 1 winner and Group 2 second. I think that’s pretty rare for these sales. You get plenty of those mares at five or six years of age, but not necessarily at three.”
"I was reasonably excited by the fact that there was a 3-year-old filly in the Sale with six starts, four wins, a Group 1 winner and Group 2 second." - Sheamus Mills
Mills said Bonham was an interesting filly from the get-go.
“Most people are cynical about a horse like that in the catalogue, and wonder why she’s here,” he said. “Given the prizemoney here, I guess it’s rare for horses like her to appear in the Sale. I was pretty keen on her when I saw her in the catalogue, but I was very, very keen when I saw her in the flesh.”
Mills had to go a little deeper for Bonham than he was expecting.
“I didn’t expect her to make quite that money, but I thought she’d be pushing close to that," he said.
Bonham had two underbidders at Magic Millions, and from $750,000 she was on the market. It was a conservative reserve by owner Gary Harding, and Mills agrees.
“She has well-exceeded expectations,” he said. “Gary put a realistic reserve on her, and there are vendors known for their realistic reserves. I actually think it’s a good selling tool, especially if you’ve got a nice horse and you can tell everyone they’re on the market early, people tend to focus in on them.”
Mills will sit on Bonham’s immediate future. He has watched the tapes of her New Zealand races, and is undecided about which is her ideal distance. He is thinking perhaps a Golden Eagle, but probably not a start before the spring.
“She’s had six weeks since her last run, so she won’t go into work just yet because then she’ll be ready to race right in the middle of winter,” Mills said. “We’ve got to work out a bit of a program for her, and work our way back. I don’t know if seven furlongs is her best, because I’m not 100 per cent convinced of the mile yet.”
What they make is what they’re worth
Bonham’s sale reached spidery heights for Willow Park Stud on Day 1 of the National Broodmare Sale. Burrows and his team sold only three on Tuesday, but they completed the day as leading vendor by average, with only seven per cent of the draft sold for an average price of $726,667.
The stud also sold Lot 718, the Ocean Park (NZ) mare Savigne who, from Hy Fuji (Fuji Kiseki {Jpn}), is a half-sister to the brilliant racehorse and later sire Kermadec (NZ).
Savigne fetched $500,000 from Kulani Park’s Rhys Smith.
“She was an absolute glamour of a mare,” Burrows said. “Just a typical horse that Guy Mulcaster would have bought as a yearling. She had a huge, deep girth and the most fluent action you’d ever see. She’s a racing and breeding option, and I’d imagine you’d only race her on until the breeding season. But with prizemoney the way it is, you could still earn a lot of money with her.”
Watch: Lot 718 - Savigne parade
Savigne was a $200,000 yearling for Mulcaster in 2017, and has four wins to her name for trainer Chris Waller. She is handsomely bred, and a good candidate for Queensland’s winter carnival, with a last-start fourth at Caulfield.
“There’s a new stakes race in Queensland on Tatt’s Tiara Day, and it’s specifically for fillies and mares over 2100 metres,” Burrows said. “Although Savigne doesn’t have black type yet, in my mind that race has got her name stamped on it and, even if she runs a place, the buyer will look very clever indeed.”
“Although Savigne doesn’t have black type yet, in my mind that race has got her name stamped on it and, even if she runs a place, the buyer will look very clever indeed.” - Glenn Burrows
Heading into the Sale, Savigne was owned in partnership by Neville Morgan, who has little ambition in future breeding circles and was happy to sell. Burrows said the mare was a good option.
“She made a little over our average, but she’s just one of those special ones,” he said. “She’s got a terrific pedigree, she’s won just over $216,000 with the potential for more, and she’s an absolute queen of a type.”
Willow Park will leap into Days 2 and 3 of the National Sale with 39 mares left to sell, but Burrows is realistic, admitting its unlikely they’ll be cracking the million-dollar mark, as Bonham did.
“In this market, whatever they make is certainly what they’re worth, because it is rock solid,” he said. “The clearance has been phenomenal and our statistics have been the best number of inspections I’ve ever had at this Sale, and I’ve been coming here for a long time.”
