Cover image courtesy of Magic Millions

At A Glance

>> Pierro’s sister Right Chord (Lonhro), in foal to Exceed And Excel, lived up to her name when she struck the top note, selling to James Harron for $1,050,000

>> Yarraman Park Stud featured in two major sales when it bought back a major share in Mark Two (NZ) (Pins) presented in foal to I Am Invincible and later sold Group-winning mare Pecans (Skilled) for $560,000

>> Offered by Arrowfield Stud in foal to The Autumn Sun, Sunlight’s half-sister Solar Girl (Lonhro) was signed for by James Bester and Tim Stakemire for $500,000

>> Yulong continued to snap up mares for resident sires Alabama Express and Grunt (NZ), including the day's third top-priced lot Storytime (NZ) (Savabeel) in foal to I Am Invincible for $575,000

>> With 264 lots sold for $39,374,000, the sale average remains a healthy $149,144 compared to last year’s $146,9147. The Day 2 average currently sits at $103,907

>> The current clearance rate of 72 per cent is down on the 79 per cent of 12 months ago, but will lift in the coming days, while the median has dropped from $70,000 to $60,000

A regal offering

Multiple Group 1 winner Sunlight (Zoustar) lived up to all pre-auction hype and then some on Monday when she realised a staggering $4.2 million and it was the Godolphin-offered Right Chord (Lonhro) who was the star of the show on Tuesday when she was knocked down to agent James Harron for $1,050,000.

The well-bred Lot 384 is a sister to the five-time Group 1 winner and leading sire Pierro and, in foal to Exceed And Excel, attracted an opening bid of $300,000 before Harron beat off spirited live and online competition.

“She’s a very exciting mare and she’s obviously quite a rare commodity and Pierro is doing an incredible job at stud,” he said.

“I’ve been lucky to be quite closely associated with Pierro through the Kolivos family, so I was really excited to see this mare. She’s such a beautiful type and I think she’s in foal to the perfect mating in Exceed And Excel.

“The page is outstanding and there’s a lot of fillies in the Godolphin system being bred to the best stallions in the country and being trained by one of the best trainers in the country (James Cummings), so you can look forward to lots of updates.

“With Pierro just kicking so many goals for a young stallion, she was a must-have and once we saw her we fell in love with her.

“Exceed And Excel’s going through a real purple patch and he’s got some really exciting colts, so he could be on a real run. Hopefully we get a nice foal.”

Harron said he would wait until the end of the sales series before giving serious thought to the next mating for Right Chord.

Also a half-sister to the G2 Wakeful S. winner Ambience (Street Cry {Ire}), Right Chord is out of the unraced Miss Right Note (Ire) (Daylami {Ire}). She is a half-sister to the dual international Group 1 winner Laverock (Ire) (Octagonal {NZ}).

“It’s a premium family, as evidenced, and we do have a lot of sisters and half-sisters to Pierro, but having said that, our view was to expose a branch of the family to the market,” Godolphin Australia’s Managing Director Vin Cox said.

“They become partners with us in the pedigree, they are obviously going to invest very heavily in the mare and it’s something that, together, we might be able to keep building the pedigree. That was part of our thinking.

“Coming up here, if someone said we were going to get $1 million for her we would have grabbed it with both hands. It became evident that she was hugely popular during the week, as happens at a horse sale, but to crack seven figures is a remarkable result by anyone’s chances.”

Harron enjoyed a busy and successful day with his first move for Kanga’s Eye (Denman), who is in foal to Not A Single Doubt, from the draft of Turangga Stud as Lot 260 for $300,000. She is a grand-daughter of the G2 Grand Prix S. winner Sky Watch (Star Watch), who has produced the stakes winners Lim’s Prestige (Flying Spur) and Risky Business (Danehill Dancer {Ire}).

Harron later secured Queen Of The Air (I Am Invincible) for $300,000, who was offered by Baystone Farm as Lot 373 in foal to Written Tycoon.

A two-time winner, the mare is a half-sister to the leading sire Not A Single Doubt and the family of this season’s dual Group 1-winning 2-year-old King’s Legacy (Redoute’s Choice) and the G1 Flight S. winner Oohood (I Am Invincible).

Watch: Queen Of The Air parade

“It’s been a very robust market. People certainly know what they want and are happy to bid strongly on the mares,” Harron said. “It’s great that we’re able to get here for the Sale and Magic Millions has done an incredible job to put it on.”

Yarraman makes mark

Mark One (NZ) (Pins) was offered as Lot 304 by Yarraman Park Stud to dissolve a partnership and was bought back for $600,000 by the leading Hunter Valley farm, but with a high-profile identity joining in the ownership.

“It was a partnership and the partner wanted to sell out so the way its fallen is that Yarraman will stay in with Gerry Harvey as the other partner,” Arthur Mitchell said.

“She’s a young mare with good form and a lovely pedigree, so if she has a nice Vinnie or two, she’ll be fine. She’s a lovely mare and Pins is shaping up as a very good broodmare sire.”

“I think the nicer ones are selling well and the lesser ones probably aren’t, but there aren’t that many top-quality mares here.”

The ticket on the mare, who is in foal to champion Yarraman stallion I Am Invincible, was signed for by his brother Bill, who operates under the Mitchell Bloodstock banner with his son James.

Mark Two was lightly-raced and won once in an eight-start career and showed her quality as a runner-up in the G2 Sir Tristram Fillies’ Classic from Stephen Marsh’s stable.

She is a sister to the G3 Eulogy S. winner Whistling Dixie (NZ) and a half-sister to the Listed UCI S. winner Atmosphere (NZ) (Savabeel), who as Victory Magic won the Listed Hong Kong Derby and finished runner-up in the G1 Champions & Chater Cup.

Their dam is the unraced Danasinga mare Zephyr Song (NZ) and she is a half-sister to the dual Group 2 winner Glenview (NZ) (Sir Tristram {Ire}). They are out of the G1 New Zealand Oaks winner Zepherin (NZ) (Zephyr Bay).

In action again

Yarraman was also central to another high-profile sale when the farm offered the well-performed mare Pecans (Skilled) in foal to Pierro as Lot 357 with Chris Lee, of A List Stud, having the final say at $560,000.

“It is really helping and strengthening the A List broodmare band and keeps increasing the mare quality, which is why I purchased this mare,” Lee said.

“I also have a good association with Darley, which is why she appealed to me. I think the price represents value, considering she is in foal to a stallion like Pierro and I am really happy.

“She will go to I Am Invincible. I purchased Sanity the year before and she is also in foal to I Am Invincible.”

Pecans won six races and twice successful at Group 3 level in the Belle of the Turf H. and the Hawkesbury Godolphin Crown. Out of the stakes-winner Walnut (Procul Harem), she is a half-sister to the multiple winner and black type performer Secession (Lonhro).

Lee said the resilience and ongoing success of the domestic racing industry was encouraging buyers.

“I can see the market is a bit tough at the moment, but because Australian racing is still going on, the market is still finding support. Also, Hong Kong is still racing and a lot of my clients are there, so I am not really, really worried.”

Star in Bester’s eyes

Bester considered the $500,000 spent to secure Sunlight’s half-sister Solar Girl (Lonhro), Lot 434 presented by Arrowfield Stud, to be good value following the events of Monday.

“After Monday’s $4.2 million purchase she looks cheap. The plan is to send her to Zoustar and at that kind of price we think she is very well bought,” Bester said.

“There was always the possibility that she could have cost more than that, obviously Sunlight with all her Group 1 wins was a different kettle of fish, but she is an attractive mare and we were banking on the fact that she wasn’t on the complex.”

The first foal produced by the dual Group 3 winner Solar Charged (Charge Forward), Solar Girl unfortunately slipped to Zoustar last year, but is safely in foal to The Autumn Sun.

“I inspected her beforehand and you can always get lucky out of the circumstances. The Autumn Sun was an attractive prospect for sure. He is likely to be a highly-sought after first-season sire when this foal comes to be sold, so my word that played a par,” Bester said.

“It has been patchy and very difficult to buy top of the market type horses and I would imagine there are vendors out there who have found it hard going.

“So many of us buy on spec, so horses that may not appeal to us on catalogue, when you are at a sale the horses are on complex and word gets around and you can dart over and have a look at it and that helps a lot.

“This is one of the disadvantages at the moment, but we need to be grateful and I think given the circumstances it is holding up really well.”

Yulong a happy camp

Yulong successfully continued its shopping for mares to be served by resident stallions Alabama Express and Grunt (NZ) with another eight added to the list.

The Victorian operation purchased three during the opening session, headed by the $2,750,000 buy Unforgotten (Fastnet Rock), and Tuesday’s purchases were led by Storytime (NZ) (Savabeel), Lot 455, secured out of Yarraman Park Stud’s draft for $550,000.

“They will all be going to our stallions and Mr Zhang is continuing a trend to buy more nice mares to support our horses,” Yulong Chief Operating Officer Sam Fairgray said. “They are a really nice group of mares and in foal to quality stallions.”

A winner and runner-up in the G2 Sir Tristram Fillies’ Classic, Storytime is in foal to I Am Invincible and will be visiting Alabama Express while Grunt’s highest-priced future consort is Miss Imagination (Fastnet Rock), Lot 318, a $270,000 purchase also offered by Yarraman.

A sister to the stakes-winner Miss Debutante, their dam is the North American Group 2 winner More Than Real (More Than Ready {USA}) with Miss Imagination in foal to Deep Field.

“I think it’s been a very good sale and nice mares with good pedigrees and selling very well, the top end is strong,” Fairgray said. “The middle and lower end is very tough and that’s been the way all sales have been going.”

Inside knowledge

Musk Creek Farm put the ring around Notre Dame (Exceed And Excel), offered as Lot 342 and a daughter of the four-time Group 1 winner Divine Madonna (Hurricane Sky), pre-auction and they duly secured the Godolphin-offered mare for $320,000.

“Notre Dame was our main target of the in-foal mares as we’ve got some inside knowledge of the family. We’ve got another daughter of Divine Madonna on the farm and we’re looking to develop that family,” Farm Manager Scott Williamson said.

Notre Dame’s half-sister Deipara (Lonhro) was a $600,000 Gold Coast broodmare sale buy two years ago.

“We’ve seen what she has produced already so the family is definitely going in the right direction. We’ve retained a rising 2-year-old by Exceed And Excel in training with Anthony Freedman and she’s got a rising yearling by I Am Invincible that we are pretty excited about.

“We’ve seen what she has produced already so the family is definitely going in the right direction."

Musk Creek and Boomer Bloodstock went slightly over budget to claim Notre Dame, but were quite happy to do so.

“We thought she would go for about $300,000, maybe a bit more and I’m stuck in Victoria, but from all reports she’s a very good mare,” Williamson said.

“She’s a lovely balanced mare with plenty of quality,” said Rounsefell.

“I love daughters of champions and I get a lot of confidence buying off Godolphin with their full disclosure. Hopefully she’ll produce a good horse for Musk Creek Farm.”

Notre Dame was unraced and was offered as the only mare in the sale in foal to the multiple Group 1 winner Street Boss (USA).

“We’re quite a big fan of Street Boss and obviously with the likes of Hanseatic still to come out as a 3-year-old it’s exciting times. He’s a very good, consistent stallion so we’re happy, for sure,” Williamson said.

Breeding plans for Notre Dame have yet to be decided and will confirmed in the coming weeks.

“It’s still pretty fresh so we’ll sit down in the coming days and hash out a mating. We’ve got a little bit of time as she’s about four weeks away from foaling, but we’ll be looking at some of the nice stallions in the Hunter Valley,” Williamson said.

Bowditch happy with outcome

Magic Millions Managing Director Barry Bowditch believed vendors to have taken a realistic approach would be satisfied, while buyers were able to take advantage of the chances presented by the current times.

“It is hard to have clear expectations in the current times, but I thought vendors on the whole did their best to meet the market. There are a lot of opportunities for buyers,” he said.

“A lot of these horses have got good covers and they are young mares and I expect anyone keeping their lists long at this sale would have a fruitful outcome in years to come.

“There is obviously a little bit more uncertainty at the moment, whether everyone has seen the mares, because there is a good percentage of them at home, but all in all when you look at the figures and what the good mares made today I would have thought the vendors would be pleased with the outcomes.

“The average is healthy and there are plenty of buyers here that have got money to spend on the right product and a lot of it is still in their pockets, which bodes well for tomorrow and for the guys that are bidding online doing their research and getting among it.”

Bowditch said the highlight of day three would undoubtedly be the multiple Group 1 winner Viddora (I Am Invincible).

“Hopefully tomorrow we can continue to find some of our breeders some products at the right price with some important mares to go through, including Viddora.

“She was a superstar on the racetrack and she is a good-looking mare and she has a great cover to Lope De Vega. She is the headline act. I think it will be another solid day's trade.”

Top lots - Day 2 (Lots 223 to 469)

Top buyers

Top vendors by aggregate

Top vendors by average (3 or more sold)

Top covering sires by aggregate

Top covering sires by average (3 or more sold)

Hellbent showed his class on the racetrack with seven victories, headed by the G1 William Reid S., along with Group 1 placings in the William Reid and Oakleigh Plate. He retired to Yarraman Park in 2018 standing alongside his sire, super-stallion I Am Invincible, for $22,000 (inc GST).

There has been plenty of buzz around Hellbent’s first crop of 120 foals.

“I think they’re lovely, athletic types,” said Middlebrook Valley Lodge’s Verna Metcalfe. “The sire certainly stamps them.

“They have very good shoulders and hindquarters, and they’ve got a great walk as well. I’ve been really impressed, and I’ll be sending mares back to Hellbent again this year.

“We’ve got three of his progeny on the farm now. They are just cracking types. We really like them.”

Sledmere Stud have also been impressed, and they will offer a Hellbent colt during this week’s Magic Millions National Weanling Sale on the Gold Coast.

Going through the ring as Lot 908, the colt is out of Queen Of Kandy (Magic Albert) – a winning sister to the G2 Royal Sovereign S. winner Master Harry (Magic Albert). Another sibling, Barcelona Girl (Noverre {USA}), is the dam of G1 Stradbroke H. winner and sire Under The Louvre.

“We’ve got a really nice Hellbent colt who we’re selling this week at the Magic Millions Sale,” Catriona Murphy said. “He’s a lovely colt. He’s just got lots of quality. He’s really athletic.

“He’s the first foal out of a Magic Albert mare, and he’s got a bit of pedigree behind him. But he’s just really good-looking and a very correct colt.

“He also has a fantastic attitude. He’s been a true professional every time he comes out to be paraded, and he’s been really well received.

“We’ve got another four Hellbent weanlings back at the farm, and they’ve all got quality. They’re all showing that same athleticism and class that this colt has.”

Ashleigh Thoroughbreds also gave an enthusiastic report on their group of Hellbent weanlings.

“We have three Hellbent weanlings – all colts,” Ivan Woodford-Smith said. “They’re all quality types of good size and strength.

“They are very correct and all you could ask from this impressive young sire.”

Ascot Farm manager Amy Kerr has been similarly impressed.

"We have two Hellbent fillies," she said.

"The first is out of Sunset Express, making her a half-sister to Shamus Award.

"This old mare is huge and can throw big, gangly stock. This filly is compact, totally correct and a very neat, well-balanced package. We will retain her to race and breed.

"The second is out of a half-sister to Sunset Express, Fimatino.

"This young mare has always produced very strong, short-legged, muscular stock. This is her first filly and Hellbent has given us an elegant, refined, scopey product without lacking in the strength department. She also is completely correct and well balanced.

"Both fillies have beautiful attractive heads and bold, intelligent natures.

"We are delighted with what Hellbent has produced with two very different types of mares. He has certainly improved them both and we will be sending more mares to Hellbent this season."

Strong start in the sale ring

Hellbent’s weanlings have also made a highly encouraging start in the sale ring.

Four of his weanlings have been sold so far, three at the Inglis Sydney Weanling Sale and one through Rosemont Stud’s Exclusive Online Sale, racking up an aggregate of $241,500.

The headline act was a colt out of the multiple stakes-winner Sister Madly (Redoute’s Choice), who was a $140,000 purchase at the Inglis Sydney Sale. He was bought by bloodstock agent Andrew Williams on behalf of the New Zealand syndicate Spyglass.

“We saw him on the farm at Segenhoe initially and he made the second list to go back and have a look at him at the complex, he really caught our eye,” Williams said.

“He’s a sharp-looking horse, moderate size, good action. I really like these Hellbents. They are great-shaped horses and I’m really quite excited by him.

“I thought Yarraman did a fantastic marketing play on him by going to the farms with Matt Scown, and he really caught my attention.”

For Yarraman Park Director Harry Mitchell, the early weanling results have been a promising taste of what might be to come.

“They’re very good-looking horses, and they’ve been well received so far,” he said. “A few quality weanlings have come on to the market and sold well, particularly that excellent $140,000 result in Sydney earlier this month. I think it augurs very well for the yearling sales next year.

“There are some more nice weanlings here on the Gold Coast that have attracted a bit of interest, and we’re hoping they’ll sell well too. We’ve been thrilled with how his progeny have been received so far.

“We haven’t sold any weanlings of our own – we’re waiting until next year and hoping to have a real presence when we get them to the yearling sales.

“But at this early stage, the signs are all very positive for Hellbent.”

Magic Millions weanlings

Four weanlings by Hellbent will be offered at this week’s National Weanling Sale, starting with Sledmere Stud’s colt out of Queen Of Kandy.

Vinery Stud is offering Lot 925, a colt out of the winning Redoute’s Choice mare Rupavari, whose dam Clean Sweep (NZ) (End Sweep {USA}) is one of only two fillies in the last 20 years to beat the boys in the G1 New Zealand 2000 Guineas.

Lot 954, consigned by Phoenix Broodmare Farm, is out of the four-race winner Soosa Rama (Bel Esprit), from the family of stakes performers such as Lordag (Any Given Saturday {USA}), Singularity (Not A Single Doubt), Springsteen (Danehill {USA}) and Distant Melody (Distant Music {USA}).

Rounding out the quartet of Hellbent weanlings in this week’s sale is Lot 1049, offered by Milburn Creek. The bay filly is out of Calamity (Flying Spur), a half-sister to the Group 1 winner and sire Sizzling.

Cover image courtesy of Phoenix Broodmare Farm

Phoenix principals Damian Gleeson and Deb Gifford changed tack in 2016 and moved out of the yearling business to concentrate on the weanling market. They have steadily increased their involvement with a consignment of 13 to offer on July 30-31.

The boutique farm made a quiet entry into the Gold Coast weanling sale in 2018 with a top price of $42,500 for a Sizzling filly and 12 months ago presented seven lots with a son of Shalaa (Ire) topping the bill when knocked down for $125,000.

“We made a decision four years ago to get out of selling yearlings and more into selling weanlings. It wasn’t just a business decision, but a lifestyle decision as well,” Gleeson said.

“Deb and I are both in our mid-50s and we wanted a change. Deb’s not very tall, and as she says, 'the horses are getting bigger and I’m staying the same size. '

“We’ve sold for the last two years at Magics and prior to that we sold at Melbourne. Coming to Magics is a lifestyle change, it’s nicer up here than trying to sell in June in Melbourne when it’s freezing cold.”

Phoenix’s draft this week features a strong representation of first-season sires and dominated by youngsters owned by the principals of the nursery, a 380-acre property located about 10km north of Euroa.

“We’ve got a sprinkling by sires doing the job as well and we’ve got two client horses and those people are actually helping us out staff-wise,” Gleeson said.

“They’ve got the Astern and the Hallowed Crown and then all the other horses belong to Deb and I, we’re partners in the farm and the horses.

“We’re fairly careful in our selection and budget plays a big part in it. We’re not at the top level and we have to be competitive because they are all our own horses.

“We select horses that we think can fit our economic situation and our outlook on what we want to do.”

Headline youngsters

Of the proven sires represented in the draft, Gleeson singled out a son of Dundeel (NZ) while a colt by Pariah is a favourite among the new stallions represented.

“The Dundeel is a lovely colt, he’s a very nice horse who has been very popular and he’s a good-walking horse,” he said.

“The Pariah is another lovely horse and we targeted Pariah, particularly with a Magic Albert mare, and it’s the right cross and we’re getting very positive feedback from him,” he said.

Lot 865 is the Dundeel colt, who is out of the Testa Rossa mare Marquise Da Rossa, a three-quarter sister to Elmore, who won eight times and was stakes-placed.

It is the family of the G1 Golden Slipper S. winner and successful sire Marauding and his stakes-winning half-brother and sire Springsteen. The G1 Myer Classic and G1 Doncaster H. winner Sacred Choice (Choisir) also features further back in the pedigree.

The son of Pariah will be offered as Lot 813 and is out of Happy Highway (Magic Albert), successful on three occasions, and a half-sister to Not A Happy Camper (Not A Single Doubt), the Group 3-performed winner of three races.

Another Golden Slipper winner in Mossfun (Mossman) also appears on this colt’s pedigree page.

Phoenix will also put forward weanlings by other first-season sires in Invader (Lot 849), Impending (Lot 869), Hellbent (Lot 954) and Tosen Stardom (Jpn) (Lot 1098).

Job expertly done

Gleeson was full of praise for Magic Millions’ determination to stage a live show and for its support of Phoenix.

“Thankfully, we’ve made the right decision this year by sticking with Magics and we were always determined to get here and they were very pro-active that they would have a live sale,” he said.

“They’ve done an amazing job and we continue to support them and they continue to support us."

The vibe around the Gold Coast complex was encouraging pre-sale, and the outstanding opening session of the National Broodmare Sale had served to further lift spirits for the rest of the series.

“After Monday, everybody is up and about again and you wouldn’t know there’s anything else going on in the outside world,” Gleeson said.