Cover image courtesy of Magic Millions
The Breeding Stock Sales series on the Gold Coast kicks into gear on Thursday with two days of weanlings, followed by three days of mares sales and the three weeks of action is capped off by a two-day yearling Sale.
The complex has been a hive of activity for the past few days, with buyers from home and abroad scouring the catalogue searching for the next superstar. With two COVID-affected years, Bowditch told TDN AusNZ it was good to see some familiar faces from overseas return to the Gold Coast.
“Since inspections started on Monday there’s been a sensational vibe here on the grounds, there’s a lot of people around. It's great to see many international faces around and obviously as well as all of the normal faces,” he said.
“Since inspections started on Monday there’s been a sensational vibe here on the grounds, there’s a lot of people around.” - Barry Bowditch
“It’s also great to have the New Zealanders being able to get here. It's great they can come and go as they please and enjoy the Gold Coast and find some horses they can trade for the future.”
Trade gets underway at 10am AEST and, with weanlings by some of the most sought-after sires including Capitalist, I Am Invincible, So You Think (NZ), Russian Revolution and many more, it presents the perfect opportunity for buyers to add a whole host of talent to their portfolio and Bowditch said he was impressed to see a plethora of buyers, including end users and pinhookers on the grounds.
Barry Bowditch | Image courtesy of Magic Millions
“It's exciting to see some end users here that are obviously not looking to trade,” said Bowditch. “I think the trade market has been quite extraordinary here over the last two years, it continues to grow. There’s plenty of pinhooker here and alot of them did extremely well at the yearling sales this year, so obviously they're coming back with gusto.”
Last year Magic Millions reported that 303 foals sold for an aggregate of $31,647,000 and those numbers were exacerbated by the Shadwell Dispersal, but, while Bowditch said those rare offerings helped boost the numbers, he is confident the Sale this year is also brimming with quality horses right the way through to the last lot.
A weanling parade at Magic Millions Gold Coast | Image courtesy of Bhima
“I do think you get to a Sale like this one and there’s far less of a tail in the catalogue,” said Bowditch.
“It's a very good, even line of weanlings with a good number of stars in amongst it. You don’t get years like last year; we had a Shadwell dispersal, a Woodside reduction and other farms that sold a significant number of horses. This year there’s just as much quality in the catalogue and we are delighted and the buyers' feedback I’m getting so far is that they’ve got a good number of horses on their shortlists.”
While the market throughout Australia has been red-hot in 2022, Bowditch is hopeful the vendors will place realistic reserves on their stock, giving buyers the confidence to bid on horses.
Tom Magnier and Robert Archibald | Image courtesy of Magic Millions
“What’s going to be important to the Sale is that the vendors have great knowledge in which ones are popular, which ones are going to go over well and which ones aren't. I think being realistic in the market place is what’s going to give our buyers confidence to bid and play their part on Wednesday.
“I think the trade market has been quite extraordinary here over the last two years, it continues to grow.” - Barry Bowditch
A total of 393 foals have been catalogued for the two-day Sale and it is an exciting time for the buyers and vendors alike with it being the first opportunity for purchasers to have a look at the new crop of stallions standing Australia.
This year there is a high-class bunch of first-season sires who have weanlings on offer at the Gold Coast, including Exceedance, Yes Yes Yes, Brutal (NZ), Pierata, Microphone, Alabama Express, D’Argento, Castelvecchio, Dubious, Tassort, Zousain, Dubious while shuttlers including Calyx (GB), Too Darn Hot (GB), Blue Point (Ire) and Magna Grecia (Ire) will be represented by their first Southern Hemisphere-bred foals.
Bowditch believes the first-season sires this year are as strong as there have ever been in Australia.
Lot 395 - Magna Grecia (Ire) x Maewyn (Ire) (colt) | Image courtesy of Magic Millions
Darley’s Multiple Group 1-winning Too Darn Hot enjoyed some strong results with his first group of weanlings offered at the Inglis Weanling Sale earlier this month, selling three foals for a aggregate of $495,500 at an average of $165,167, while his barnmate Blue Point enjoyed equally impressive results, when he had two foals sell for $342,500.
“Each and every year I think the credentials of sires that stand here in Australia continue to get stronger and this year is no different, having the powerful Darley pair Too Darn Hot, Blue Point - I think they’ll go extremely well in the market and rightly so.
“There’s a good number of quality horses by those sorts of sires. The first Everest winner to go to stud in Yes Yes Yes, we've got some outstanding horses by him here. It is an exciting group of first-season sires. In 2022 I think the farms have done very well to showcase these horses - very good, very exciting lot of first-season horses.”
“There’s a good number of quality horses by those sorts of sires. The first Everest winner to go to stud in Yes Yes Yes, we've got some outstanding horses by him here.” - Barry Bowditch
Widden Stud’s Zoustar has two lots set to be offered during the Sale, including Lot 333, who given her breeding is certain to garner a great deal of admirers.
Segenhoe staff members and Lot 333 - Zoustar x Members Joy (filly) | Image courtesy of Magic Millions
While the first-season sires play a huge role in the catalogue, the catalogue is bolstered by progeny of some of the best proven sires in the world, including Zoustar and Frankel (GB).
Offered as part of the Segenhoe Stud draft, the mare is out of Listed winner Member’s Joy (Hussonet {USA}), making the filly a half-sister to talented Group 2 winner Pure Elation (I Am Invincible) and Segenhoe’s Peter O’Brien told TDN AusNZ he is expecting the filly to be well received.
“She’s probably as good a foal as you’ll see, she’s beautifully balanced and she’s been extremely popular.”
The filly’s brother was purchased by Andy Williams and Silverdale Bloodstock for $350,000 last year’s edition of the Sale and he was subsequently bought for China Horse Club, Newgate Farm and Trilogy Racing for $550,000 at the Inglis Easter Australian Yearling Sale earlier this year.
“She’s been really well-received and is the most popular filly we have at the Sale - I think she'll go well.”
