Written by Jessica Owers
Cover image courtesy of Bronwen Healy
Magic Millions Online hosted its early December sale this week, which closed on Thursday with Lot 22, the 5-year-old mare So Bene (Hinchinbrook), setting the highest price of $92,500 when selling to Damon Gabbedy’s Belmont Bloodstock (FBAA), the latter barely off a plane from Arqana.
So Bene was offered in the 50-horse catalogue by Brenton Scott of Joynt Holdings in South Australia, who had raced the mare through her 24 starts to date. She was bought by Gabbedy on behalf of an undisclosed New South Wales client.
Watch: So Bene parading before her last start
So Bene has been with Strathalbyn trainer Andrew Clarken since last year, and before that Phillip Stokes. A series of five straight placings crept her up to stakes company, and she was second in the G3 Lord Reims Cup at Mornington in February.
In the mare’s last seven outings, she’s been unplaced only once, showing very consistent form in South Australia, and she was offered this week as either a racing or breeding prospect, her ultimate purchaser settling on both.
“She’s nominated for a race in Melbourne next Wednesday, so she’ll stay in training with Clarken and hopefully get a quick return on investment,” Gabbedy said, speaking to TDN AusNZ. “Her buyer is a New South Wales breeder, and she was a last-start second so she’s knocking on the door of a win.
“Ultimately he’s bought her to be a broodmare because he’s building up a nice little band, with four or five right now. He thought she represented a bit of value.”
Very good buying
So Bene is from the Royal Academy (USA) mare Molto Bene, who won the G2 SAJC Sires’ Produce in 2012 and Listed Paris Lane S. at Flemington in 2013. She is a half-sister to the brilliant Mourinho (Oratorio {Ire}), whose G1 Underwood S. victory was backed up by a further five Group wins between 2011 and 2015.
Molto Bene winning the 2013 Listed Paris Lane S. | Image courtesy of Sportpix
Molto Bene is also a half-sister to the Shamus Award gelding Classic Weiwei, who won the Listed Port Adelaide Guineas a handful of years ago.
As such, So Bene’s page is relatively strong. She is a half-sister to the stakes-placed filly I Am Bene (I Am Invincible), who is also raced by Brenton Scott with Clarken and whose eight-race career so far includes four wins and a second in the G3 Proud Miss S.
“I think So Bene represented great value this week as a stakes-placed mare with some racing potential in her,” Gabbedy said. “She’s out of a stakes winner and she’s a half to a promising stakes-placegetter in I Am Bene. That filly has got the ability to win a blacktype race.
So Bene | Image courtesy of Inglis
“I had a chat with the trainer before bidding on this one and he’s confident he can get I Am Bene to win a stakes race, so that should add to the value of this mare (So Bene) with a bit of luck in time.”
So Bene is looking good buying with a strong pedigree and good form behind her, and Gabbedy agreed.
“She’s a mare by Hinchinbrook, a winner at 1400 metres and she’s stakes-placed,” he said. “It’s very hard to buy these stakes-performed mares in Australia this year. I think the timing of the sale and the timing of the market worked to our advantage. We’re thrilled to bits with her.”
“It’s very hard to buy these stakes-performed mares in Australia this year. I think the timing of the sale and the timing of the market worked to our advantage. We’re thrilled to bits with her (So Bene).” - Damon Gabbedy
With the online platforms getting more and more competitive, value has become harder to find these days. Gabbedy said the occasional gem can fall through the cracks.
“We’re leading into Christmas and a lot of people aren’t that focused,” he said. “They’re distracted, which was lucky for us.”
Racing Club No.4 for four
While So Bene topped proceedings on Thursday, Lot 37, a yearling colt by All Too Hard from the Testa Rossa mare Testa Sarah, posted the second-best price at $75,000. Offered by Cavallo Park Stud in Sydney’s North Richmond district, the colt was bought by Racing Club No.4.
Lot 37 is from the family of the Zeditave mare Calming, the grandam of the Champion older horse in Germany, War Artist (Orpen {USA}). The colt was offered as a pinhook opportunity or a possibility for the sales circuit in 2023.
Racing Club No.4 went in for four of the top five horses in Thursday’s online auction, snapping up Lot 37, a yearling filly by Pride Of Dubai (Lot 33) for $60,000, a Grunt (NZ) filly (Lot 30) for $35,000, and an Impending filly (Lot 41), also for $35,000.
