Cover image courtesy of Torryburn Stud
In what is a very COVID-era necessity, Copelin and her staff arrived on the Gold Coast on Saturday, pre-empting any border closure which may prevent them from attending the Sale. However, back in the Hunter Valley, the Torryburn draft are still on display to those Sydney-based trainers and buyers who may be prevented from attending when the action kicks off on Tuesday January 12.
"The horses are still at the farm, they get up here on Thursday, and start parading on Friday. We are still finishing off with a few of the parades for the Sydney trainers at the farm," Copelin told TDN AusNZ.
"It’s been a bit hard, because we have sent the staff up to Queensland, in case the border shut, and so the horses are in one state and the staff at another. Hopefully, it will work out alright."
Magic Millions has been working closely with all vendors to find solutions for negotiating the complexity of state border crossings in the COVID-era, something that would have been unimaginable 12 months ago when it staged its most successful ever Gold Coast Sale.
The peculiar circumstances of the current era has necessitated flexible approaches from everyone involved in the thoroughbred industry and while the latest developments represent a further spanner in the works, Copelin feels the market will handle and adapt accordingly on the Gold Coast.
"It does feel like the trainers that know they can’t get here have done the leg work, while others have done the regional New South Wales stay for the 14 days. Everyone seems to be trying to do their best to be involved," she said.
"We’ll be there selling, no matter what. So long as we can get the horses up here, and we are in a sales ring environment, we will be okay.
"We want to sell these horses and everyone wants to buy horses at this time of year, so there should be lots of buyers. Magic Millions have been very positive."
"We want to sell these horses and everyone wants to buy horses at this time of year, so there should be lots of buyers. Magic Millions have been very positive." - Melissa Copelin
Torryburn has every reason to be confident in its draft, having produced some quality graduates through the Sale in recent years, especially in 2019, where of the eight horses it offered, all four to make the track to date have been winners, including the Group 1 placegetter Aysar (Deep Field).
Group 1 placegetter and Torryburn graduate, Aysar
"If you look at the 2019 draft at this Sale, we have had two of the most promising 3-year olds in Australia come out of it, in Aysar and Vowmaster. We’ve got something to live up to, but I'm confident this draft will see us do it," Copelin said.
"We’ve built up the Torryburn brand to be a lot stronger at these sales over the past few years and every year we take more horses to the Gold Coast. We've got 15 this year, where last year we had nine, so it’s a sign of the confidence we have. We feel we have built the momentum every year."
Vinnie filly points to growing confidence
Perhaps the greatest sign of intent from Torryburn comes in Lot 232, a filly by I Am Invincible out of Diddums (Snitzel). Diddums is a Torryburn homebred, who was retained to race in the Torryburn colours and won a G3 PJ Bell S.
In previous years, elite fillies like Diddums, were retained, but Torryburn wants to test the I Am Invincible filly's value in the open market on the Gold Coast.
Lot 232 - I Am Invincible x Diddums (filly)
"It’s an important sign that we are offering one of the best fillies we have ever had. We have always been known for keeping good fillies and not selling them and Diddums was one of those we retained," Copelin said.
"She's got the black type and was part of the broodmare band. We have decided to put forward this quality filly, which is her first foal.
"She's so well conformed and she just looks like she is going to be very, very fast. She ticks every box for us. She's been a doll from day one."
"She's so well conformed and she just looks like she is going to be very, very fast. She ticks every box for us. She's been a doll from day one." - Melissa Copelin
Backing up that confidence to sell is the fact that Diddums produced another high-quality filly, this one by Deep Field, in 2020 and is successfully in foal to Written Tycoon.
"You always wonder if your opinion on them will be backed up, and all I Am Invincibles are nice, but the feedback is that she in that top 5-10 per cent of fillies around. We haven't seen the others, but what we have heard has been very positive," she said.
D-Day on Day 2
Less than 30 minutes earlier on the second day of the Sale, Wednesday, January 13, the other of Torryburn's top-rated yearlings will step through the ring, Lot 221, a colt by Not A Single Doubt out of Group 1 placegetter Denmagic (Denman).
"I've been calling it D-Day. It will be a big hour for us. We bought the mare at Magic Millions, and being a first foal again, he's exceeded our expectations of her. He's by the right stallion and is an absolute dream colt. He does everything right and everyone loves him. Hopefully, the stars can align for him," she said.
Torryburn's Group 1 placegetter, now mare, Denmagic
There are 13 different stallions represented among the 15-strong draft, with Newgate's Deep Field among those to have multiple entrants. That includes Lot 693, the colt out of Red Hot Chillies (Red Ransom {USA}) and Lot 153, a filly out of Chicquita (Commands).
"We’ve done really well with that stallion. We sold Three Beans in the first crop and Aysar in the second crop, and both of them were 2-year old winners and have been stakes-performed," she said.
"From the third crop, we had the Sale topper at the (Inglis) Classic Sale last year and Lot 693 is our nicest colt from the fourth crop. The filly will be a good buy for someone as well."
The other standout for Copelin, is Lot 119, the colt by Pride Of Dubai out of Listed winner Bring A Ring (Sebring), making him a half-brother to Chris Waller's emerging 3-year-old Vowmaster (Written Tycoon).
"He does have that currency about him and things are looking very positive for him," she said.
