Maluka Thoroughbreds' Luke and Mags Anderson approach their fifth Inglis Melbourne Premier Sale with an extra spring in their step after some terrific performances from their recent graduates, highlighted by Seabrook's (Hinchinbrook) win in last year's G1 Champagne S.

Seabrook's victory in the Randwick feature last April was the start of a big 12 months for horses who have come through Maluka's yearling preparation.

Perast (Snitzel), a graduate of the 2016 Melbourne sale, was twice a stakes-winner during the Brisbane Winter Carnival, Jericho Missile (Smart Missile), sold in Adelaide last year, has become one of WA's best 2-year-olds, winning the recent Magic Millions WA Classic, while in Hong Kong, Full Of Beauty (Darci Brahma {NZ}) has been flying the flag and is unbeaten in four starts for John Size.

"It’s certainly a great benefit to us because at the end of the day, success at the track is what you need because you are providing young athletes for sale," Luke Anderson told TDN AusNZ. "If you have the success on track, then it shows your product works."

"Success on the track is what it is all about and it gives buyers the confidence in the product."

Maluka presents a big draft of 27 (from 31 catalogued) at this year's Melbourne sale, which begins at the newly refurbished Oaklands Junction on Sunday.

Luke and Mags both boast strong connections to New Zealand's major studs, having both spent time at Cambridge Stud, where Mags was Yearling Manager for close to a decade. Those relationships, plus strong support from Australian breeders, have been important in building their business over the past five years.

"We've got quite a few New Zealand clients that we prepare and sell for. Sir Patrick Hogan has sent over horses this year, as has Gene Tsoi from Hong Kong who has been a loyal client since we started. Warwick Jeffries and Raffles Racing also have horses in our draft, so we’ve got good quality New Zealand clients," Luke said.

A Group 1 decision

Jeffries may not be New Zealand's biggest breeder, but his decision to send his Hinchinbrook x Midnight Revels (NZ) (Don Eduardo {NZ}) filly to Maluka, on the recommendation of Casey Dando at Bradbury Park for the 2017 Melbourne sale, proved a significant one for the Andersons.

Seabrook fetched $85,000 at that sale and a little over 12 months later had become a Group 1 winner for trainer Mick Price and owners Blueblood Thoroughbreds.

Two years later and Jeffries has sent Midnight Revels' colt by Proisir for Maluka to sell at this year's sale as Lot 310.

"Even though she was a Group 1 winning 2-year-old, he's more forward," Anderson said.

"He's a really precocious, strong, good walking colt. He's strong, he's correct. He's a perfect size. He's a really good colt and I really like him. He has got a good brain and has been happy in stable life and during the prep."

Star of the sale

But while in previous years, the half-brother to a Group 1 winner would be the headliner at Maluka, it is the Zoustar colt out of Saffie Darling (Catrail {USA}) which has Anderson most excited.

"I really like his presence and his head. He's just a powerhouse. He's so athletic and light on his feet. He walks like a panther and it helps being by Zoustar," he said.

One of only nine colts by the Widden Stud stallion at the sale, he is from a mare which has already produced five winners. More significantly, she is the half-sister to former Hong Kong superstar Sacred Kingdom (Encosta De Lago) as well as stakes placed Opter (Redoute's Choice).

"It's a ripping dam side with Sacred Kingdom, who is a four-time champion sprinter in Hong Kong and one of the best in Hong Kong ever. He's well-related. He is bred for speed and if you look at him, that's what he's got. His pedigree matches his type," he said.

Maluka also offers the full brother to seven-time stakes winner Whispering Brook (Hinchinbrook), the winner of the recent G2 Australia S. at Moonee Valley.

"He's a big strong colt. He's got a lovely walk. He's just got a lot of quality about him, really athletic and a lot of presence," he said.

Calm despite Weir storm

The Victorian industry underwent significant recent upheaval when Australia's biggest trainer Darren Weir was disqualified and understandably there is a degree of apprehension about how his absence, and the flow on effect of a lot of other trainers gaining additional horses, will have on the yearling market.

With a big draft Maluka are exposed to significant downward shift in the market, but Anderson believes the demand for quality yearlings will remain strong.

"There are a lot of horses that have been circulated and changed stables. But they have got to replenish their stocks and if they don’t buy yearlings now, they won’t have 2-year olds in their stables next year. I think there is a need to still purchase because of that fact," he said.

"You have to have fresh horses coming into your stables. I still think there's a need to buy and as a vendor if you've got a quality horse by a proven sire, you are halfway there."

A homebred gelding from a bargain-basement broodmare that was the winner of a two-horse race at a tiny picnic track, and by Larneuk Stud's working class sire O'Lonhro... it's fair to say owner-breeder Neville Murdoch has "one for the battlers" with O'Tauto in Saturday's G1 Australian Guineas.

"It's hard playing against the big boys ," Murdoch, owner and stud manager of Larneuk Stud, told TDN AusNZ. "But we aren't there to make up the numbers, and you've got to have a dream, don't you?"

It was Murdoch who sourced O'Tauto's dam Taut (Strategic) for just $800 (yes, $800, there's not a zero missing), at the 2014 Inglis Great Southern Bloodstock Sale as what he thought would be an ideal match for the small stud's resident overachiever, O'Lonhro.

"I'm a bit of a fly by the seat of my pants type of operator and I have to admit it was a bit more luck than measurement, to be honest," said Murdoch, who might be doing him self a disservice given the result of his match looks a future stakes contender in the making.

A two-horse race

Taut was far from stakes class herself, in fact she won her sole race as $1.50 favourite in a two-horse maiden at Yea, a tiny track in country Victoria, and had produced a total of one winner from five previous foals when Murdoch spotted her at the sales.

Taut's page did reveal that her younger half-sister Trim (Lonhro) was a G3 winner and she had showed what the family could do with the right cross.

"Actually I was looking for a Night Shift (USA) mare, because there aren't many left, but I think they do well with Lonhro. Taut was out of a Night Shift mare, so that was close enough for me, and she was the right type for O'Lonhro, too," Murdoch said.

For a horse that stands for just $5,500 at Euroa, O'Lonhro has punched above his weight, if only with lower level winners, by producing a solid ratio of nearly 60% winners to runners.

O'Lonhro progeny like G2-placed Mamzelle Tess, city winning stayer O'Lonera and six-time winner Social Media have represented their sire well but O'Tauto looks the type most likely to deliver the 13-year-old sire a first stakes win.

"I guess I am biased but I think he deserves one," Murdoch said. "It would be a massive help for him as a sire, but it would be a massive help for me as well!"

Apache memories

O'Tauto's trainer Greg Eurell knows a thing or two about fairytales, especially in the G1 Australian Guineas, with a win in the 2006 edition proving a life-changing result for the former top equestrian rider.

When Apache Cat (Lion Cavern {USA}) fought off Darci Brahma (NZ) in the 2006 Guineas it was Eurell's first G1 win and the beginning of an amazing five years for the Cranbourne-based horseman.

Apache Cat went on to win eight G1s, including a sequence of five straight at top level that matched a record set by the mighty Tulloch (Khorassan {Ire}) in 1957.

The popular sprinter with the baldy face raced at top level throughout his 43-start career and Eurell later won the 2011 G1 WS Cox Plate with Pinker Pinker (Reset).

Eurell isn't putting O'Tauto in the same category as those top liners but is daring to dream ahead of Saturday's race, and beyond.

"Yep, it all started with this race," Eurell said. "Apache Cat was a great horse and they all have to start somewhere. This Saturday will be a tough race, and whoever wins will be earning their stripes. They don't seem to rate our bloke, he is around 50 to 1, but I don't know if that's the right odds."

Mile a positive

What heartens Eurell most with his gelding is a step up in trip, proven Flemington form and a better gate than last start.

Last time out jockey Dwayne Dunn was forced to ride a conservative race from a wide gate and O'Tauto was game, battling third behind The Inevitable (Dundeel {NZ}) over 1400m in the G3 CS Hayes Stakes.

Although O'Tauto isn't a horse that can be bustled to be handy, the slower tempo and barrier four should afford him a better spot in the run.

"That 1600m is what we are really looking forward to," Eurell said. "Flemington is a track where they all get their chance, and the longer straight should sort a few of the contenders out. The thing with him is that he is still raw and has quite a lot to learn, I hope the tempo will suit him better and from the barrier he should be able to be a little bit handier and that could give him an opportunity to find the line."

"He is a lovely, sound horse and a great horse to work with at home, I think there is quite a bit of upside with him."

If it all comes together for O'Tauto a trip to Sydney is next and a shot at the G1 Rosehill Guineas.

"If he steps up here at a mile, then Sydney and tackling 2000m is certainly on the agenda and there is an open door there for him at the moment," the trainer said. "If he can run top three again I'll be rapt, especially for Neville. This is a big moment for him, to have a horse he bred himself in a race of this calibre. He is a trier and always on the look out for a good stallion, he works hard and is a genuine bloke, so it would be great if O'Tauto could go and run a race for us on Saturday."

Raffles has enjoyed past Group 1 success with horses purchased by sires, that at the time, didn’t have buyers falling over each other to put their hands up.

The Raffles mantra is to zero in on the individual. Their G1 Vodafone New Zealand Derby hope – and a serious one – Surely Sacred (NZ) (Rock ‘n’ Pop) is a prime example.

“Our philosophy going to the sales is that we’re always looking for athletes and focussing on the type and not necessarily the pedigree,” Bruce Sherwin said.

Surely Sacred is from the second crop of Waikato Stud resident Rock ‘n’ Pop and Raffles purchased him out of the Matamata nursery’s New Zealand Bloodstock Yearling Sale draft in 2017 for NZ$160,000.

It was the highest price by a considerable distance that year at Karaka for a youngster by the Fastnet Rock stallion.

“Sacred Elixir was probably one in a similar boat. His sire wasn’t the most fashionable at the time and we paid NZ$170,000 for him,” Sherwin said.

Watch: Surely Sacred as a yearling

“We were after an athlete and got one. He was a terrific racehorse.”

By Pour Moi (Ire), Sacred Elixir (NZ) won three times for trainer Tony Pike as a 2-year-old, including the G1 JJ Atkins at Eagle Farm, and the following season returned to Australia to claim the G2 Moonee Valley Vase and finished runner-up in the G1 VRC Derby.

On his return home, he ran fifth in the G1 New Zealand Derby with Raffles pinning their Classic hopes on Saturday on Surely Sacred, also from the Pike barn.

The gelding has won three of his five starts with Group 2 victories in the Auckland and Avondale Guineas and in between times, he finished an unlucky fifth in the Karaka Million 3YO Classic. His efforts have promoted him to the top of the pre-race Derby market.

“He’s come a long way in a short time, he only won his maiden at Te Rapa in November. He’s got the all the makings of a very good horse,” Sherwin said.

Surely Sacred’s rise to prominence hasn’t gone unnoticed either, but so far that interest has been put to one side.

“There were some really large offers for him leading up to the Karaka Million and after the Guineas races,” Sherwin said.

“We didn’t want to be involved in any distractions leading up to this special race. After it, we’ll sit down and discuss his future. He’s got a terrific turn of foot and in these 3-year-old races you need luck in the running. He got held up in the Karaka Million so we’re just all hoping for a clear run on Saturday.”

Surely Sacred will be ridden by the Derby king Vinnie Colgan, who has previously won the Blue Ribband aboard Rangipo (Stryker), Habibi (NZ) (Ekraar {USA}), Redoute’s Dancer (Redoute’s Choice), Hades (NZ) (Zabeel {NZ}), Zonda (NZ) (Zabeel {NZ}) and Roysyn (NZ) (Bakharoff {USA}).

Raffles also has an interest in race rival Prise De Fer (NZ) (Savabeel), having bred the gelding who was sold through Trelawney Stud’s draft at Karaka to Te Akau chief David Ellis for NZ$100,000. He is a son of the unraced Foiled (Snippets), who was a $250,000 Magic Millions Gold Coast Winter Broodmare Sale purchase for Raffles.

She is the dam of the G2 Sapphire S. winner Belong To Many (Belong To Me), who has in turn produced the dual Group 3 winner Native Soldier (Sepoy).

“She’s rising 21 now and retired. She’s got a nice 2-year-old colt by Sacred Falls in pre-training here and a Sacred Falls filly at foot,” Sherwin said.

Trained by Jamie Richards and to be ridden by Opie Bosson, Prise De Fer broke his maiden at his second start in the spring and has subsequently made excellent progress. He had a chequered run when sixth in the Karaka Million 3YO Classic and then finished solidly for sixth in the G2 Avondale Guineas.

“He looks like he’s got a really good future,” Sherwin said.

She knows; where the winning post is, what she is out on the racetrack to do – even how to pose in a photo shoot – and jockey Hugh Bowman is happy to be along for the ride as Winx (Street Cry {Ire}) attempts to extend her incredible winning sequence to 31 on Saturday.

Bowman doesn't go as far as to use the word passenger to describe his role in the streak, which should continue with a record-equaling fourth G1 Chipping Norton Stakes at Randwick, but he says his is a support role and that the champion mare now has a race awareness all of her own.

"With the maturity and knowledge of where she is these days, she could almost do it without me, in fact I'm sure she could," Bowman said with a laugh. "But somebody has got to ride her, so I guess I'll have to do it."

When asked if Winx was aware of where the winning post is in a race, Bowman was adamant, "oh, she knows," he said.

"When I really feel it is when there's a few in front of me and she really strides and attacks to get to the front," he added. "She is the most competitive individual I have ever had anything to do with, you can see the ears go back and it's smooth and finesse, but it's also power." "

"Along with her ability, it's that will to win and that extreme purpose she moves with that sets her apart."

The close ones

Bowman recalled the 2017 G1 Warwick Stakes where a bombed start saw the mare trail the field by four lengths, and the streak almost ended at 17, before Winx extended to nab then-stablemate Foxplay (Foxwedge).

"When we missed the start, I could see Ecuador (NZ) (High Chaparral {Ire}) but I couldn't see Foxplay," Bowman said. "I was casually wheeling in Ecuador, knowing I had him covered, and I got to him, but Foxplay was another length in front and Winx just found again. She did that, I had her balanced and poised, but you could see the effort she put in late."

Watch: Winx win the 2017 G1 Warwick S.

Then there was the following start, number 19 of the streak, when Winx pinned those ears back again and gunned down tearaway leader Red Excitement (Excites) in the 2017 G2 Chelmsford Stakes.

"She breaks the rules," Bowman said, who had dropped the whip at the top of the straight that day. "Red Excitement was about six lengths in front, I dropped the whip, but she just chased him down and won pulling up. No other horse could have possibly done that."

Uncanny awareness

An early morning press call three days before raceday has become a part of the Winx routine and there were more than 20 media members on hand, including mainstream TV outlets, to watch Bowman take the 7-year-old through her paces at 5.30am on Thursday.

Trainer Chris Waller said that Winx is not only blessed with an "uncanny" awareness, but that she is getting smarter.

"I would say if you were comparing her to a person she is a little bit smarter, she knows where the winning post is and she has just become used to winning and it has become habit," he said. "Just the fact that she knows what she is doing is the most uncanny part of Winx. I think that helps Hugh get out of situations... and helps me. Whether she is a little bit over done or underdone, or doesn't have a perfect preparation, she just seems to pull it all together and make us look pretty good. She knows her job better than ever."

Even off-track commitments, which have become ever more frequent as the Winx phenomenon has grown, have become second nature for the veteran.

"She is different to most horses," Waller said. "All horses have different attributes and some might be better than others but she is the complete model. After the races, when she is in her box at home she is happy to meet kids and be pampered, probably more so than she ever has in her career."

And when Waller calls Winx a "model", he might mean literally after a recent example of that uncanny awareness.

"She had a model shoot for a big fashion company a couple of weeks ago, and we were all on tenterhooks wondering how she would cope with it, but she just posed out there and strut her stuff," Waller said. "She didn't move a muscle, the models were petrified of working with a horse, but she mixed in with them and I think that's a good example of what this horse does. She does what she is required to do and she is happy doing it. That's Winx."