National Sale Setting A Standard

This season, results of the progeny of mares purchased at the Magic Millions National Sale have spoken for themselves. In 2015, Katsumi Yoshida purchased Response (Aus) (Charge Forward {Aus}) for A$1.5 million carrying this year's G1 Golden Slipper winner Estijaab (Aus). A year earlier, Sheikh Fahad's Qatar Bloodstock had spent A$650,000 on another Charge Forward mare, Solar Charged (Aus). Mated later that year to their stallion Zoustar (Aus), she would produce this year's Magic Millions 2YO Classic winner Sunlight (Aus).

Last year, Olly Tait shelled out A$170,000 for Lipari (Aus) (Redoute's Choice {Aus}), and that figure looked like a mighty bargain when her 3-year-old colt Levendi (Aus) (Pierro {Aus}) won the G1 Australian Derby this year at The Championships. And it looked like a very mighty bargain just this past Saturday when her 2-year-old Marcel From Madrid (Aus) (Sepoy {Aus}) stayed unbeaten when winning the G3 National S.

The Broken Shore (Aus) (Hussonet) was not cheap when bought for A$1.9 million at Magic Millions by Dean Hawthorne from the Teeley dispersal in 2014, but the Fastnet Rock foal she was carrying at the time went on to become this season's triple Group 1 winner Shoals (Aus), whose full-brother topped this year's Inglis Easter yearling sale at A$2.3 million.

These are just a few in a long line of success stories to emanate from the National sale, and those stories also include international chapters. In 2014 Barbara Banke bought the G1 Blue Diamond S. winner Miracles Of Life (Aus) (Not A Single Doubt {Aus}) for A$900,000, and she went on to win another Group 1 and two Group 2s before joining the Stonestreet broodmare band. From that same Teeley dispersal, John Sikura bought Drifting Cube (Aus) (Encosta de Lago {Aus}) for A$1.1 million. Expatriated to the U.S., she was bred to War Front and produced a colt that was the joint top-priced weanling at Keeneland November in 2016.

Magic Millions Managing Director Barry Bowditch, who recently spent a week in Kentucky to take in the GI Kentucky Derby, said, “Most people worldwide are pretty encouraged by what happens here in Australia. They like our bloodlines, they like our speed, and we have a good culture for racing. Wherever you go in the world you feel as if the clientele are engaging in Australia. The world has never been smaller from the point of view of being able to view everything that's going on in the world racing wise, and they're engaging in what's going on down here and they're liking what they see.”

It is hard to imagine potential buyers not liking what they see when they flip open the catalogue for this year's edition of the National Sale, which begins on Thursday with the two-day weanling sale and continues through June 7 with the National Broodmare Sale, National Yearling Sale and National Racehorse Sale. The crown jewel of the lot, the broodmare sale, contains four Group 1-winning mares off the track: the Schweppes Oaks winner Abbey Marie (Aus) (Redoute's Choice {Aus}), also a full-sister to dual Oaks winner Absolutely (Aus) (lot 606); triple Group 1 winner (including the Caulfield Cup) Jameka (Aus) (Myboycharlie {Ire}) (lot 1606); Vinery Stud S. winner Montoya's Secret (Aus) (High Chaparral {Ire}) (lot 736); and William Reid S. winner Silent Sedition (Aus) (War Chant). Coolmore offers two New Zealand Group 1 winners on their third covers: Costa Viva (Aus) (Encosta de Lago {Aus}) in foal to Pride of Dubai (Aus) (lot 979) and Diademe (NZ) (Savabeel {Aus}) carrying to Vancouver (Aus) (lot 1007). G1 Tattersalls Tiara winner Miss Cover Girl (Aus) (Monashee Mountain {Aus}) is offered on her first cover to Capitalist (Aus) (lot 1217), and G1 Oakleigh Plate winner Shamal Wind (Aus) (Dubawi {Ire}) is offered on her third cover, in foal to Redoute's Choice (Aus) (lot 1644).

Beneath those top-flight mares, there are an additional 47 Group 2 or 3 winners catalogued, and 60 listed winners. Thirty-one percent of those are straight off the track, and the sale will begin with a session for those fillies directly off the track on May 29.

“There are so many stakes winners off the track that people can come to market and buy with confidence,” Bowditch said. “The syndicators, the owners and trainers see this as the go-to sale to–at the end of the racing season prior to the breeding season–offer their stock. And some of them have a bit of racing left in them; their buyers can race them on for a few more months before mating them to the stallion of their choice.”

“We have a lot of mares on their first, second, third covers; good strong, solid mares, group-quality mares that we feel should be popular in the market. There's a lot of elite stock that we're very lucky to have whether they're in foal on their first cover or if they've produced a nice horse to start with. It's not only about the elite stuff; we find at all levels of the market the catalogue is young, strong and diverse. Whether there's a buyer that has a very small budget or a big budget, I think we've got plenty of stock there that will fit the bill.”

One of the more anticipated first-crop covering sires with mares in foal at the sale is the American Triple Crown winner American Pharoah. He has 12 mares in foal catalogued including two-time Group 1 producer Better Alternative (Aus) (Flying Spur {Aus}) (lot 911); the regally bred Bossypants (Aus) (Redoute's Choice {Aus}) (lot 922), a full-sister to Beneteau (Aus); and triple group winner Sabatini (Aus) (Street Cry {Ire}) (lot 1363).

“Some of our best in-foal mares at the sale are in foal to American Pharoah,” Bowditch said. “Breeders have supported him down here. He was a phenomenal athlete, he is a beautiful horse to look at and I'm glad the breeders down here have seen it that way and have supported him with some of their best mares. We're excited to be offering a good number of quality mares in foal to him.”

Off the back of another strong yearling sale season Down Under, Bowditch said he thinks there is every reason to believe breeders will reinvest at the National sale.

“We've had great increases across the board at all our sales, so we're putting money back into the vendors pockets at all ends of the market,” he said. “We'd like to think those breeders that have benefitted from our good yearling sale season will reinvest and renew their product.”

The same goes for those who will be shopping the National Weanling sale, including pinhookers who enjoyed a good yearling sale season. Bowditch said an attraction of the National Weanling Sale is that a number of vendors offer all their stock there, instilling confidence that what is in offer is their best.

“There are a handful of vendors that sell all their stock as weanlings, namely Burnewang North, Kambula and Kingstar, so when you're selling everything it creates a very real market, and they're selling their best. I think that adds confidence to the market, and a lot of vendors are seeing this sale as a serious sale to bring good weanlings to. They're seeing good trade. The pinhookers have benefitted from good results this season but also the vendors see this as a viable option to get money early.”

The National Sale series wraps up with the two-day yearling sale on June 5 and 7, the last day also including the National Racehorse Sale.

“The Gold Coast is an amazing place to be this time of year, with blue clear skies, 25 degrees every day,” Bowditch said. “The Gold Coast is looking forward to sharing a fantastic vibe and getting into the sale.”