With many Sydney-based trainers unlikely to be able to make it to the upcoming Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale, renowned South Australian farm Mill Park Stud will give those in NSW the chance to inspect its draft on Sunday, January 3.
Mill Park’s 13 Magic Millions-bound yearlings will make a pit-stop at Darren Smith’s stables in Newcastle this Sunday with inspections to take place by appointment from approximately 10am AEDT to3 pm, before they continue their journey north.
Chris Watson, General Manager of Mill Park, said with the farm being based out on its own in South Australia, it was extremely important to give those who are unable to attend the Sale an opportunity to inspect the yearlings.
Chris Watson
“Our normal stopover area is in Sydney in the hotspot area so we had to make plans to bypass to those areas obviously,” Watson told TDN AusNZ. “A couple of people, including John Kelly from Newhaven, recommended Darren Smith’s stables as a great stopover on the way up to the Gold Coast.
"Our normal stopover area is in Sydney in the hotspot area so we had to make plans to bypass to those areas obviously." - Chris Watson
“It’s a lovely seven and a half to eight hour trip from there up to the Gold Coast complex so it fitted in ideally with our travel plans coming up from South Australia.
“We know that with the increased exposure on the Magic Millions website in regards to having all the vision there available with everything much more transparent it makes it a lot easier, but to see the horses actually in the flesh is extremely important and for us to have the opportunity on the way up there to expose our horses to these Sydney trainers is of the utmost importance.”
Quality baker's dozen
Of Mill Park’s draft of 13 yearlings headed to the Gold Coast, Watson said he believes there is something in there for everyone including a range of early 2-year-old types, to progressive 3-year-olds.
“The preparations have gone very smoothly, we’ve got a lovely draft of 13 horses with seven fillies and six colts,” Watson said. “I think they are a terrific draft of horses overall, I think our fillies certainly stand out extremely well so we’re excited.
“We think we’ve got a horse there to suit all buying ranges and we’ve certainly got pretty precocious sorts of horses, but when people see them they’ll realise there are some 2-year-olds and some more progressive 3-year-olds amongst the lot as well.”
"There are some 2-year-olds and some more progressive 3-year-olds amongst the lot as well.” - Chris Watson
One of Mill Park’s headline lots to go through the Magic Millions ring will be Lot 173 who is by the red-hot Written Tycoon and is out of a half-sister to star filly Away Game (Snitzel) in Cocoa Doll (More Than Ready {USA}).
Lot 173: Written Tycoon x Cocoa Doll (filly)
“It’s an extremely active family for us and we couldn’t be more excited with what’s happened there in relation to Away Game and the way Written Tycoon has performed,” Watson said. “She’s very much in the mould of the family, not dissimilar to Away Game, it’s not an overly big family but they’re very precocious.
“Again she looks like she’s a very early and precocious style of filly, she’s just got a lovely bit of length and strength to her and just looks like she's going to be extremely quick.”
Lot 441 is another headline act of the Mill Park draft with the filly by So You Think (NZ) also a half-sister to multiple stakes winner and Group 1 runner-up Dalasan (Dalakhani {Ire}).
Lot 441 - So You Think (NZ) x Khandallah (filly)
“She’s a very typical So You Think style of horse and is very similar to Dalasan,” Watson said. “She looks extremely progressive and looks like a real 3-year-old style of filly.
“We just thought she would be very suited to the Gold Coast because she’s such a well put together and active filly. She move’s extremely well, she just looks like she’s an extremely athletic style of horse.”
Lot 482 is the only horse in the Sale by former shuttle stallion Free Eagle (Ire), and being out of the Galileo (Ire) mare Livia, he is also a half-brother to G1 VRC Derby winner Warning (Declaration Of War {USA}).
Lot 482 - Free Eagle (Ire) x Livia (colt)
“Again, his pedigree suggests he should be in a later sale, obviously being a half-brother to a Derby winner, but I think people are going to be extremely surprised when they see him,” Watson said. “He’s a very strong, compact style of horse and to my eye he certainly looks like he’s going to be able to go as a 2-year-old.
“He’s a horse that is very well put together, a lovely balanced and quality individual and I think a lot of people are going to love him when they see him.”
One final yearling out of Mill Park’s draft that stands out to Watson is Lot 94, the filly by star sire I Am Invincible out of Listed Hill Smith S. winner Beluga Blue (Lookin At Lucky {USA}).
“Obviously it’s very hard to fault an I Am Invincible but this filly has just got a lot of quality and presence to her,” Watson said. “She’s very typical of the I Am Invincible stock but just the quality that this filly oozes, with the size of her girth and chest, she’s just an extremely quality looking individual and is extremely athletic.”
Lot 94 - I Am Invincible x Beluga Blue (filly)
Excited to get to the Coast
Having been locked away in South Australia for much of the year, Watson said it is exciting times ahead for the Mill Park team as they get set to head up to the Gold Coast where months of hard work will come to fruition in the Magic Millions sale ring.
“It’s has been a very strange year for everybody but certainly for our team,” he said. “They’ve been locked away in South Australia and it’s been extremely easy to isolate here obviously, but we’re very excited to get up to the Gold Coast and hopefully continue from here on in with a normal year.
“Certainly there’s been a lot of anxious moments for our team, a lot of hard work and there has been some extremely tired people, but now we’re getting very close to the end result so they’re starting to get quite excited.”