Cover image courtesy of Bronwen Healy
Offered unreserved in a bespoke Inglis Digital auction by Mathew Becker’s Group 1 Bloodstock (FBAA) as agent for the Sierra Sue Syndicate, Pearce fought off fierce competition for the daughter of Darci Brahma (NZ) eventually winning the right to take the mare home.
Sierra Sue (NZ) | Image courtesy of Inglis
Speaking to TDN AusNZ at the conclusion of the online sale, Pearce said part-owner Ozzie Kheir had retained a share in the mare and she will be retired immediately.
“We’re really thrilled with the acquisition. Ozzie showed some interest in staying in her, we raced Cox Plate winner Sir Dragonet and a few others together and I was actually offered a slice of her in her infancy, but I didn’t take it up. So, because of that, I watched her passionately with great interest and I always had a soft spot for her,” Pearce said.
Chris Pearce and Bill Pearce | Image courtesy of Bronwen Healy
“Physically, she is a lovely mare. She has a great big shoulder, a deep girth and she is just a lovely specimen with a big back end and I always thought she would make a special broodmare. Ozzie wanted to team up and keep an interest in the horse, so at that price we thought, between the two of us, that it was a steal at that price.
“I just loved her as a race mare, she was so honest and so talented and if she can bring those traits to her broodmare career, she’s going to produce some magnificent foals.
“I just loved her (Sierra Sue) as a race mare, she was so honest and so talented and if she can bring those traits to her broodmare career, she’s going to produce some magnificent foals." - Bill Pearce
“I have been trying to buy a mare, including at Tattersalls, in recent weeks, and Group 3 winners and stakes winners are making huge money, even when you are trying to buy them privately in the UK. So, at that price, we just couldn’t resist her.”
Overseas stallion not ruled out
Pearce said that while no stallion had been decided, a trip to an overseas sire was not out of the question for the rising 6-year-old mare.
“We will immediately retire her and then we will sit down over a cup of coffee in the next week or so and make a decision as to which stallion she goes to. There are a few options but we shouldn’t shy away from sending her overseas,” he said.
Trained for the entirety of her career by Trent Busuttin and Natalie Young, the daughter of Darci Brahma snared nine of her 24 starts, spearheaded by her victories this season in the G1 Sir Rupert Clarke S. and G1 Futurity S., which saw her amass a little over $1.7 million in career prizemoney.
Natalie Young, Trent Busuttin and Sierra Sue (NZ) | Image courtesy of Bronwen Healy
Sierra Sue’s rise to the top is even more astonishing given she started life from fairly humble beginnings. The mare was passed in as a yearling when failing to make her NZ$30,000 reserve at Book 2 of the New Zealand Bloodstock Karaka Yearling Sale in 2018, before being snapped up by co-owner Peter Lock for the bargain price of NZ$2000 at the New Zealand Bloodstock Karaka May Sale the following year.
Fantastic result
Meanwhile, Becker, who is also Kheir’s bloodstock manager, was thrilled with Wednesday’s result.
“Ozzie is staying with Bill, they’re both clients of mine so I get to remain involved, and those owners who have sold out of her today have got a great result with her. She’s been nothing but good to everybody,’’ he said.
“To the team at Inglis, the whole process was so well handled, it was seamless and professional from our perspective and we feel there wasn’t a major breeder globally that wasn’t aware this mare was for sale today, which helped us achieve the best result possible and as a seller, you can’t ask for much more than that.’’
“To the team at Inglis, the whole process was so well handled, it was seamless and professional from our perspective and we feel there wasn’t a major breeder globally that wasn’t aware this mare was for sale today." - Mat Becker
In realising $1.55 million, Sierra Sue becomes the second most expensive horse sold online in Australia. The record is still held by Group 1-winning mare Funstar (Adelaide {Ire}) after she realised a massive $2.7 million when selling to Katsumi Yoshida last July and on Wednesday night Inglis Digital’s Business Manager Nick Melmeth was celebrating another brilliant result for the online platform.
Significant activity
“There was significant bidding activity all the way through, as you would expect with a mare of Sierra Sue’s quality, by some of the racing and breeding industries’ biggest players.
“She was an inexpensive young horse, won over $1.7 million in earnings on the track and now sells for $1.55 million, so it’s a phenomenal story.
“I’d like to thank Ozzie Kheir and all the partners in Sierra Sue, and Mat Becker, who brought the idea to offer her online to life, for entrusting us with the responsibility of selling her.
“I’d like to thank Ozzie Kheir and all the partners in Sierra Sue, and Mat Becker, who brought the idea to offer her online to life, for entrusting us with the responsibility of selling her." - Nick Melmeth
“This is yet another extraordinary result achieved through Inglis Digital and with the breeding season almost upon us, there is no better way to offer stock to what is a massive, and ever-growing, market of domestic and international buyers.’’
Attention now moves to the Inglis Digital July (Late) Sale, for which entries close at midnight tonight Wednesday, July 20.
