Peggy Jean (Aus) (Myboycharlie {Ire}) enjoyed her biggest day in the spotlight when winning the 2014 G1 Sires' Produce S., and the near-black 4-year-old was once again the centre of attention on the Gold Coast on Thursday when topping the second session of the Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale, bringing A$1 million from Widden Stud. Cataloged as lot 756, she was sold in foal to successful young sire I Am Invincible (Aus) and was consigned by Yarraman Park Stud for ownership group Triple Crown Syndications.
The positive trends in the figures apparent on opening day continued on Thursday, with the cumulative average up 15.3% to A$138,929. A total of 374 fillies and mares have found new homes over the last two days for a total of A$51,959,500, compared to 350 sold for A$42,173,000 at this stage last year. The buyback rate is down three points to 15.9%.
Peggy Jean is no stranger to the Magic Millions sales ring, having been bought by Belmont Bloodstock for A$25,000 at the National Weanling Sale four years ago. She was purchased by Triple Crown Syndications for a mere A$46,000 as a yearling from the Inglis Classic Sale, and went on to bank more than A$920,000. She was sold on Thursday carrying her first foal, and Widden's Antony Thompson said her next date is likely to be Widden's leading sire Sebring (Aus).
“She's a lovely mare for Sebring, so he looks the obvious choice and I think a Sebring out of Peggy Jean is something that every trainer around Australia would love to have in their stable,” Thompson said. “She's just gorgeous. She's a mare that I think will breed a sale topper. She's got a lovely deep pedigree and it's there right on top as a Group 1-winning 2-year-old. For mine she's one of the mares of the sale and hopefully she's a mare we can breed a Group 1 winner or champion from.”
The first foal out of the unraced Lady Of Love (Aus) (Lago Delight {Aus}), Peggy Jean hails from the family of G1 Blue Diamond S. winner Lady Jakeo (Aus) (Last Tycoon {Ire}) and G1 Oakleigh Plate scorer Mrs Onassis (Aus) (General Nediym {Aus}).
A Sweet Family Tradition…
Group 1 winner Sweet Idea (Aus) (Snitzel {Aus}) topped this sale last year when selling for A$1.6 million to Nick Vass Bloodstock, and her year-younger half-sister Surf Poet (Aus) (Charge Forward {Aus}) (lot 875) continued the family honour on Thursday when purchased by Emirates Park Stud for A$700,000. Also a full-sister to Singapore stakes winner Rush (Aus), Surf Poet is the sixth foal out of the Group 3-placed Flidais (Aus) (Timber Country), who has a 2-year-old filly and a yearling and weanling colt all by Snitzel. Her second dam is the G1 Metropolitan H. and G1 Ranvet S. winner Electronic (Aus) (First Norman {Aus}). Surf Poet, a maiden winner at Geelong last June, was sold in foal to Snitzel, so is therefore carrying a close relation to her famed sister.
“She is a mare that ticks all the boxes,” said Emirates Park's Bryan Carlson. “Pedigree, type and especially being free of Danehill blood. She is a half-sister to a Group 1 winner in Sweet Idea. Charge Forward is starting to become a good broodmare sire and she is in foal to Snitzel. The competition was strong but I thought the price was right.”
Surf Poet was sold by Willow Park Stud, which topped the opening day of the sale with current A$1.9 million topper Bounding (Aus) (Lonhro {Aus}).
Surf Poet wasn't the only mare Willow Park sold in foal to Snitzel on Thursday. The New South Wales nursery also offered Why Be Discreet (Aus) (Medaglia d'Oro) (lot 929), who was bought by China Horse Club for A$520,000. Why Be Discreet, a winner over 1200 metres in November who was sold carrying her first foal, hails from a family rich with black-type, being a half-sister to stakes winners I'm Discreet (Aus) (Elusive Quality), Very Discreet (Aus) (Exceed and Excel {Aus}) and Forever Discreet (Aus) (Bernardini). China Horse Club is currently the sale's leading buyer, with 11 bought for A$5,365,000, while Willow Park Stud is the leading vendor by average, with 23 sold for A$287,913.
New Name, Same Story…
Eliza Park International recently underwent a name change and is now known as Sun Stud, and the operation–which has been stocking up on quality breeding stock worldwide in recent years–indicated it is business as usual when shelling out A$580,000 for Yosei (Aus) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) (lot 944), the triple Group 1 winner in foal to first-year covering sire Deep Field (Aus). The winner of the G1 Sires' Produce S. as a juvenile in 2010, Yosei went on to add the G1 Schweppes Thousand Guineas the following season and added the G1 Tattersalls Tiara late in her 3-year-old campaign. Yosei has produced a pair of fillies by Fastnet Rock (Aus) and Pierro (Aus), and is carrying her third foal.
“She's by Invincible Spirit, who is a world-class sire and she's a triple Group 1 winner, so we were really pleased to get her,” said Sun Stud's David O'Callaghan. “She's a quality mare and she's an outcross, so she could be bred to almost any stallion you like, really.”
Sun Stud also signed for Always Discreet (Aus) (Exceed and Excel {Aus}) (lot 969), a Group 2-placed half-sister to G1 Schweppes Oaks winner Maybe Discreet (Aus) (Shamardal), for A$400,000. She is in foal to Sebring and carrying her third foal.
Another mare in foal to Deep Field to sell well on Thursday was Newgate Farm's Group 2 winner and triple Group 1-placed Vormista (Aus) (Testa Rossa {Aus}) (lot 920), who was bought by Anthony Penfold for A$400,000. The 12-year-old mare is the dam of Reemah (Aus) (Redoute's Choice {Aus}), a A$600,000 yearling purchase by Shadwell who was second in last year's G1 Blue Diamond S.
Beau Mare Brings A Pretty Penny…
This year's breeding stock sales have offered the first mares in foal to Darley's standout sprinter Brazen Beau (Aus) (I Am Invincible {Aus}), and one of those to draw plenty of attention on the Gold Coast is the four-time stakes producer Pretty Penny (Aus) (Encosta de Lago {Aus}) (lot 769). Consigned by Amarina Farm, the 15-year-old was bought by Colm Santry for A$570,000.
“She is an older mare but she has four black-type horses from her first four foals, and I didn't think there was a better broodmare in the sale,” Santry said. “She's by Encosta de Lago. She's a magnificent looker and everything out of her has sold very well in the sale ring.”
“We'll be very happy to get three or four foals out of her,” Santry added. “They will be very valuable. We bought her specifically to go to Fastnet Rock.”
Pretty Penny's first foal is the G2 Sandown Classic winner Sertorious (Aus) (Galileo {Ire}), who was also placed in the G1 Futurity S. and G1 Sydney Cup. Next came the listed-placed Fortune Of War (Aus) (General Nediym {Aus}) and I Am Titanium (Aus) (Flying Spur {Aus}), followed by the G3 Thoroughbred Breeders' S. winner Clifton Red (Aus) (Sebring {Aus}). Pretty Penny has a yearling colt by Sebring and did not produce a foal last year.
Brazen Beau enjoyed another good result later in the session when Damon Gabbedy's Belmont Bloodstock went to A$410,000 to secure the Group 3 winner Written Dash (Aus) (Written Tycoon {Aus}) (lot 941) in foal to him. That resulting foal will have speed stamped all over his pedigree, also being from the family of Group 1-winning sprinter Sizzling (Aus) (Snitzel {Aus}).
Magic Millions Managing Director Vin Cox said upon conclusion of trade Thursday, “The sale has gone from strength to strength. It is powering along at every level. Our numbers are well up; our gross is up almost A$10 million to over A$51.9 million, and that by anyone's standards is a very, very good sale. The average of A$138,000 is up 15% or about A$18,000, and a clearance rate of 84%–that really is the indicator of where the markets sits. When you're selling eight-and-a-half horses out of 10 it's a strong market and people are selling and people are buying.”
The third session of the broodmare sale begins Friday at 10 a.m.
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