Cover image courtesy of The Image Is Everything

The physical sales season might be over, but on Inglis Digital on Wednesday, it was business as usual as the high figures rolled in for Daisies and Literary Magnate. Both were on account of Sheamus Mills Bloodstock (FBAA), and both are on their way to Yulong Stud.

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Sandwiched between them was the prolific mare More Aspen, who sold for $720,000 when bought by Ultra Thoroughbreds.

Four-year-old Daisies topped proceedings at $920,000, with 52 bids edging her close to seven figures throughout Wednesday’s session. Literary Magnate was sold for $640,000, concluding a good day’s work for Mills at the desk.

“I was a bit nervous with these two top lots,” Mills said, speaking to TDN AusNZ. “Daisies was one thing. I’m in the ownership group for that filly and we all know each other, but Literary Magnate was a filly I was selling on behalf of (Warrnambool trainer) Matty Williams.

“Matty trained this filly and he did a great job with her, so I was really hoping for a good result. Selling on behalf of someone else’s clients, it can make you a bit nervous.”

In the end, it was relatively plain selling. Daisies was Lot 229, an obvious selection for Yulong in the 612-strong catalogue. Literary Magnate was Lot 197, sold on behalf of a syndicate headed by Warnambool trainer Matthew Williams.

Both are lucrative, Group-winning breeding prospects now heading to Victoria.

The Daisies chain

Daisies is something of a set completion for Yulong, with Mr Zhang’s breeding empire also owning her full sister, the stakes-placed Motown Lil (Sebring), as well as dipping further into the family as recently as April when buying her Pierata half-sister for $250,000 from Widden Stud at the Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale.

It makes for a replete investment in this family by Yulong, which isn’t surprising because it’s a page heavy with black type.

Daisies’ first dam is Tigress Lily (Snitzel), who is a three-quarter sister to the stakes winners Ygritte (Snitzel) and My Sister Lil (Snitzel). The third dam here is Tycoon Lil (Last Tycoon {Ire}), who was a Champion racehorse in New Zealand and Horse of the Year in 1997/98.

“I used to do some work for Mr Zhang so I was rapt to see him buy her,” Mills said. “It looks like they’ve enjoyed her career given they’ve got the half-sister, Motown Lil, and the other half-sister by Pierata at Easter. They’ve now got three sisters, so there was a little bit of synergy there with her purchase. Mr Zhang is certainly keeping it in the family.”

Daisies was offered on Wednesday as a breeding prospect for the purposes of condition of sale. Whether the mare will race on is unclear, but she already has a decent record behind her to retire to the barn this spring.

The 4-year-old won the G2 WH Stocks S. and G3 Alexandra S. last year, and, in 2021, the G3 Ethereal S.

“Potentially, if they wanted to race her, she comes to them sound,” Mills said. “There’s been no issue in that regard. We were very happy with her first-up run this prep (on March 11) and second-up is when she always shines.

“We had another Group 2 at The Valley pencilled in for her because her second-up record is so good, but we offered her as a breeding prospect purely because she’s been out of work and it made sense to sell her at this time.”

Daisies hasn’t run since that race in March. Earlier in the year, Mills and his co-owners had decided to put her into any one of the major breeding-stock sales in Sydney or the Gold Coast, but she was bitten by a spider in the meanwhile and struck ill. She spent up to a fortnight in a veterinary clinic, washing away any plans to take her to a major sale.

“She was bitten by that spider after that run in March, and spider bites can really do damage to thoroughbreds,” Mills said. “Although we went to close to losing her, she made a full recovery and we gave her a long time to get on her feet. She probably could have made the live auctions if we’d pushed it, but I really wanted to nurse her back to absolute full health, which we did to the point of doing a full pre-training prep with her.”

For the last six weeks, Daisies has been doing dressage work. Mills said she likes to be busy.

“She’s going to make a fantastic mother,” he said. “She has the most personality of any horse I think I’ve ever had. She’ll be very protective of her foals and I think she’ll put a lot into her offspring, and I’m looking forward to seeing what she does.”

Mills is attached to Daisies. She’s a horse that he bought for $250,000 at the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale in 2020. She was sold by Widden Stud, as all of the Tigress Lily stock is these days, and she netted Mills and his co-owners (which includes Widden) close to $600,000 in earnings.

It makes her $950,000 price-tag on Wednesday fairly good.

“It was a pretty fair price,” Mills said. “When you’re getting close to seven figures, everybody would love to see them make it. But we’re happy with that. She’s a mile to 10-furlong horse and I understand the market pays pretty big dollars for the strong 2- and 3-year-old sprinting form.

“But as somebody who just wants to breed successfully, as far as getting good horses goes, I’ve never owned one who is more determined than this horse. I do think they’ve got themselves a lovely mare.”

Mills said Written Tycoon would be an obvious choice for Daisies if she heads to stud in the spring. He said it would be a good mating first time out, and she is exactly the sort of mare that he would be sending to that stallion, if he were keeping Daisies.

“Sometimes horses are just too valuable for you to be able to keep,” Mills said. “She’s one of them.”

Big return on Literary Magnate

Four-year-old Literary Magnate profiled similarly to Daisies, being a Group 3 winner of the Northwood Plume S. last year in a career that handed her owners two wins in 14 starts and $520,500 in earnings.

This daughter of Written Tycoon was bred by Wallings Bloodstock in 2018 and purchased by Mills from Tyreel Stud at the 2020 Inglis Classic Yearling Sale. He paid $135,000 for her.

Trainer Matthew Williams last lined her up in the G1 Robert Sangster S. on May 6, in which she was a long way unplaced, but this tells only the briefest part of the mare’s story because, in 14 outings, she has been off the podium only four times.

“I’d bought Literary Magnate as a yearling and Matty (Williams) and I do a lot of work together,” Mills said. “He’s been a great supporter of mine over the years so I was keen for this mare to do well. And it was a good result.”

At $640,000, Literary Magnate has topped up her earnings record nicely. She is clear of $1 million banked for her group of owners, which includes her trainer.

“She was $135,000 as a yearling and she’s won half-a-million and got $640,000 today,” Mills said. “It’s a pretty good day’s selling.”

A little More Aspen

Daisies and Literary Magnate were just two of the high-profile candidates offered through Wednesday’s bumper Inglis catalogue. Splitting them was the 12-year-old mare More Aspen, who was offered by her Western Australia owner, Kim Doak, and his partner Maria, along with Perth trainer Luke Fernie.

As Lot 574, she was among the last of the session to sell, in the end attracting $720,000 when going the way of Ultra Thoroughbreds after a late flurry that eventuated 55 total bids.

More Aspen had brought recent attention as the dam of the G1 JJ Atkins S. winner King Colorado (Kingman {GB}). The 2-year-old colt was a huge upgrade for this mare, as was her Pride Of Dubai yearling that topped last Sunday’s Magic Millions Perth Winter Yearling Sale when going to a Bjorn Baker-led purchase for Hong Kong at $260,000.

More Aspen was offered in foal to Maschino while she, herself, is a Listed winner that was Group 2-placed in America. Her Maschino foal will be Westspeed eligible, with Sean Buckley of Ultra Thoroughbreds keeping his options open with the package he bought.

“We’re thrilled to get this mare,” he said. “For her to have produced a Group 1 winner so early in her career is an unbelievable achievement, so who knows how far she can go as a broodmare. We’ll foal down the Maschino foal and then decide who we send her to next, but there are plenty of options.”

In Western Australia, Kim Doak was huddled around an iPad at a restaurant, watching the final moments of his mare's sale tick down.

“It’s crazy, absolutely crazy, I don’t know what to say,’’ he said. “I still can’t quite believe what’s just happened. You hear about these stories and hope that one day it might be you and today was our day. The last hour we’ve all been sitting at a restaurant together with an iPad on the table, watching it all unfold as the bidding went up and up and up.’’

King Colorado was the first foal for More Aspen, so she couldn't have had a better start. Last spring, she slipped to Brazen Beau but, at just 12 years old, she has vital years ahead for her new owner.

Not Guilty

The 4-year-old mare Not Guilty (NZ) (Not A Single Doubt) was among the top four of sellers in the Inglis Digital June (Late) Online Sale. She was offered by Pike Racing from Cambridge, New Zealand, and bought by Hunter Valley Bloodstock for $480,000.

This bay mare had won four of her 12 starts, with black-type placings in her last two outings. She is a half-sister to the dual Group 2 winner Subpoenaed (Rip Van Winkle {Ire}) and from a family that also boasts the multiple stakes-winning Apple Danish (Danehill {USA}).

Originally, Not Guilty was a Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale youngster, consigned by Bhima Thoroughbreds but passed in. She returned to New Zealand where she did all her racing, running second to I Wish I Win (NZ) (Savabeel) at Trentham in January last year, which proved a good form-result.

She was third in the Listed Lightning H. in March and second at her last start, which occurred in Listed company at Hawke’s Bay on April 15.

Ahead of her sale on Wednesday, she’d been in work for three weeks and, as such, was a sound racing or breeding prospect.

The merit of the platform

Daisies, Literary Magnate, More Aspen and Not Guilty were four of the 14 six-figure horses that sold on the Inglis Digital June (Late) Online Sale on Wednesday.

Among other notable results were Silent Sovereign, a grey mare by Dalakhani (Ire), who fetched $280,000 when going to Grandlodge. The racing options Clemenceau (Capitalist) and Mafia (Written Tycoon) were bought for $200,000 and $180,000 respectively, while Bunker Hut (NZ) (Savabeel), a 3-year-old gelding, went for $155,000 to Darby Bloodstock, as did Mafia.

Gallery: Some of the notable six-figure lots, images courtesy of Inglis Digital

The demand across the session was insatiable, which wasn’t news to Inglis’ CEO of Bloodstock, Sebastian Hutch.

“This catalogue came out at 2pm last Friday, giving people the best part of five days to evaluate what was in it,” he said, speaking to TDN AusNZ. “Inglis Digital has become a crucial part of our business, and what we’re finding time and time again is that the timeliness of these sales is crucial to the appeal. People know they can pitch their stock into a true and fair market, and similarly, buyers who are looking for stock at appropriate times know they can access this sort of stock regularly.”

As of late on Wednesday evening, the June (Late) Online Sale was still ongoing, with results still filing in. However, while the Inglis Digital record was untouchable, set in April last year when an 80-strong Arrowfield broodmare reduction sent results into the rafters with a $10.7 million gross, this week’s session was punching well.

“It’s certainly one of the best catalogues we’ve ever put together and it’s going to deliver one of the best results,” Hutch said. “One of the major challenges with the digital format five or six years ago when it was starting out was recreating the sense of theatre and emotion around a live auction, and we constantly get feedback that the digital auctions recreate their own theatre and their own sense of emotion.

“We’ve seen it today across any number of lots. The manner in which people bid, the sense of engagement that people had and the attachment people develop to particular lots with drawn-out bidding, it’s really become a very effective way of selling horses.”

Initial speculation is that Wednesday’s sale delivered Inglis Digital a solid set of results across the board, be it racehorses earlier in the session or the broodmares later on.

The whole session grossed $8,056,950 (which was short of the record by over $2 million), with 612 lots offered and 433 sold for a clearance rate of just over 72 per cent. The average was $18,607, which is significantly up on regular sessions.

However, while it is easy to be bedazzled by the Daisies and Literary Magnates twice a month, Hutch points out that the intense competition among the lower grades is often the lifeblood of Inglis Digital.

This was well-demonstrated on Wednesday when the final lot, Red Sista (Deep Field), pushed the session into late in the night. With minutes to go, she had 44 bids for a final price of $45,000.

“The competition is amazing,” Hutch said. “You’re talking about horses making $40,000 or $50,000 regularly getting up to 12 competitive bidders on them. Those bidders with a very keen appetite for appropriate stock, and then vendors who are motivated sellers, result in a lot of very satisfied people because at either end of the ledger, there are so many fantastic results to demonstrate the merit of the platform.”

Entries for the Inglis Digital July (Early) Online Sale are now open and will remain so until midnight on Wednesday, July 5. The auction will run from July 7-12, with Nick Melmeth, Inglis Digital business manager, confirming some big names.

“The July (Early) catalogue has already attracted some top-quality fillies and mares, some mares off the track that would be a standout at a Chairman’s Sale and the first of those will be announced tomorrow (Thursday) so that’s really exciting moving forward,’’ he said.

Cover image courtesy of Ashlea Brennan

The great Gai Waterhouse, who has remained in Europe after attending the Royal Ascot Carnival last week, will have woken to some wonderful news on Wednesday, that being the stable’s 2-year-old filly Taormina (Written Tycoon) was an impressive winner at Warwick Farm at the first time of asking.

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Taormina is named after the hilltop town on the east coast of Sicily, Italy - one of Waterhouse’s “favourite holiday destinations and places on Earth”.

Furthermore, Taormina is one of four 2-year-old fillies that runs for the Valerie Syndicate, which was named in honour of her late mother, Valerie Smith.

Consigned by her breeder - Newhaven Park Stud - at the 2022 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale, Taormina was knocked down to Waterhouse/Adrian Bott and Kestrel Thoroughbreds for $450,000.

“She will get a huge kick out of that,” Kestrel Thoroughbreds’ Bruce Slade told TDN AusNZ.

“This filly is one of four fillies we purchased for the Valerie Partnership, which we named after Gai’s mum. It was a pre-raised syndicate, we had $2 million to go and buy four fillies.

“They all race in these colours, they’re the Valerie colours.

“The first one was (the Group 3 winner) Platinum Jubilee and she’s been great for us, and we’ve also had Sicilian, who ran second in the Listed Lonhro Plate on debut and was second again (at Gosford) last week.

“This filly is the third one to run of those four fillies and she’s won in town, which is great for that group, because when you’re asking for money upfront for a concept as opposed to a horse they can see in front of them, it takes a lot more belief and a lot more trust.

“They’re rising 3-year-olds and hopefully there’s plenty more fun to come.”

Among those in the Valerie Partnership is Geoff Wilson’s GW Holdings and Darren Halpin’s Just Fun Racing syndicate. Francis and Christine Cook of Mystery Downs are also involved and they have shared in Group 1 glory with Tulloch Lodge with Shout The Bar (Not A Single Doubt) - a two-time victress at the highest level, who was bought by Coolmore’s Tom Magnier for $2.7 million at last year’s Inglis Chairman’s Sale.

Taormina is the third foal from the winning Exceed And Excel mare Infra Dig.

Taormina’s second dam is Shibboleth (Encosta De Lago) and she herself is a three-quarter sister to the Newhaven Park Stud-bred dual Group 1 victress English (Encosta De Lago).

Other stakes winners on the filly’s page include Court (Anabaa {USA}) and Grand Lodge (USA).

Infra Dig was covered by Xtravagant (NZ) last spring.

“She was a cracking sort, a typical Magic Millions filly,” Slade explained.

“Obviously, she’s by a Champion Sire, but she’s a top-class physical, very precocious. She’s medium-sized, has a massive hip, pretty head - very typical of what we’re trying to buy for this Valerie Partnership - these are fillies that we feel down the track will be high-end commercial broodmares.

“We’ve had so much luck with Newhaven Park when you consider English, Shout The Bar, In The Congo; they’re all Group 1 horses in recent times. If you like one off there, it gives you that extra confidence that it’s been raised on a great farm.”

Lofty spring ambitions?

Taormina showed at the trials that she possessed plenty of ability, and she had her share of admirers, sent out the second favourite in Wednesday’s 1200–metre contest on a Soft 6.

In typical Tulloch Lodge fashion, the filly found the front early under Tim Clark and was tough to the line, fending off the late challenge of Arctic Glamour (Frosted {USA}) and the $2 million yearling I Am Famous (I Am Invincible) - a half-sister to the 2020 The Everest champion Classique Legend (Not A Single Doubt).

Speaking on Sky Racing post-race, Bott said the filly may have one more run before being put away before spring.

“I think we can aim up with her, I do think she’s a quality type and capable of getting to a better level,” Bott commented.

“Whether we look to give her another run just to condition her, over the winter, we will monitor and see what races are coming up.

“We’ll look for some of those early spring targets, it comes around pretty quickly.”

Slade said there’s plenty of good black-type options for 3-year-old fillies for connections to consider.

“I think even a 2-year-old win in Sydney is good for these fillies’ value these days, people understand how hard that is to do,” Slade explained.

“So, it’s nice to bank that, but black type is what we will be chasing.”

A stellar 2-year-old season for the stable

Remarkably, Taormina is Tulloch Lodge’s 32nd individual juvenile winner in 2022/23, and the filly joins Introducing (Trapeze Artist), Tropical Squall (Prized Icon), Piercing Arrow (I Am Invincible), Zia (Zoustar), Soldier Of Rome (Snitzel) and Amazonian Lass (More Than Ready {USA}) as midweek metropolitan maiden winners on debut over the past few months.

Gallery: Tulloch Lodge's midweek metropolitan juvenile winners, images courtesy of Ashlea Brennan

Stakes-winning 2-year-olds trained by Waterhouse-Bott this season include Platinum Jubilee, Red Resistance (Russian Revolution), Azula (Maurice {Jpn}), Zia, Autumn Ballet (The Autumn Sun), The Instructor (Russian Revolution) and The Novelist (Written By).

“It’s hard to win these 2-year-old races in Sydney, but we’ve had some success and it’s nice to get another one (on Wednesday),” said Slade.

“To have 32 2-year-old winners… I think it’s a pretty good effort, given we’re a big stable but not the biggest.

“It’s promising, more than anything, heading into next season. Hopefully we’ve got a nice crop of 3-year-olds.”

Cover image courtesy of Swettenham Stud

Swettenham Stud on Wednesday announced the appointment of Adam McLaughlin as stud manager, a role that will commence on July 10 after McLaughlin’s arrival from Ireland.

His name won’t be a mystery to many in Australian circles, with McLaughlin relocating to Swettenham from Coolmore Ireland and, while a regular visitor during the shuttle season, it will be the first time McLaughlin will be permanently based in Australia.

The Irishman first visited Swettenham in its Nagambie foothold during the 2021 breeding season. That spring, he looked after Highland Reel (Ire) on shuttle duties and, according to the farm’s General Manager, Sam Matthews, he left a deep impression.

“He was a star for us that season,” Matthews said when we caught up with him on Wednesday. “Adam always wanted to come back to Australia, and this was the right time for him to make that move.”

McLaughlin is upping sticks from Tipperary, where he has lived for the last few years. He has a partner and two young children, aged two years old and eight months, all of whom will follow him to Nagambie in the coming months.

It’s a huge migration, but McLaughlin is already familiar with the Swettenham surroundings and the way things roll on the farm. He and his family will live onsite in the hub of the Swettenham family.

“His background includes Shadwell as well as all his work with Coolmore on mares, foals and stallions,” Matthews said. “He’s got a broad range of experience, and his attitude and work ethic is well-aligned to what we’re all about here. He’s a very genuine person and he knows his stuff.”

In 2021, Matthews spent a lot of time with McLaughlin, visiting nearby farms to introduce him to the way of things in Victorian breeding. Some of those visits included helping out befriended breeders with online sales, inspections and directions about where weanlings and yearlings should be heading.

“Adam came to a few sales with me and he ended up helping out a lot of farms,” Matthews said. “It was actually really impressive. He was a stallion hand at the time, but the way he presented, and the way he put up his hand to help out, it was excellent. He was the first one to put up his hand for things.”

McLaughlin was one of the faces leading horses in a lot of Inglis Digital videos from mid-2021. He walked horses for Bill Shelton and the guys at Ealing Park, among others. In other words, he had no tickets on himself, and nothing was too much trouble.

“He is the first one to put his hand up,” Matthews said. “Adam is happy to delegate when he needs to delegate, but he’s happy to get his hands dirty too. He is a person that will show you how to do things but work with you to get them done.

“He won’t just sit in the office and point fingers, or get it all done himself. He knows the happy medium, which is a very important way to be, particularly in such a busy role during the breeding season when it’s hectic. It’s five months of madness.”

The role of stud manager has been vacant at Swettenham since last year’s catastrophic flooding. It’s a hands-on role and a big role, typically filled by candidates much older than McLaughlin.

He will handle all the responsibility of the outdoors staff, and he will also have a degree of responsibility over the on-farm bloodstock. McLaughlin will oversee the veterinary aspects of the operation, which are extensive, along with the smooth, seasonal, day-to-day running of Swettenham Stud.

“We’ve been incredibly lucky with our staff the last few years,” Matthews said. “We’ve had a lot of long-term employees, and we are full up for this coming season. Everyone gets along and there is a lovely working environment here, which we’re really looking forward to sharing with Adam and his family when they arrive.”

'You learned and you learned quickly'

This season, McLaughlin will arrive to a Swettenham roster that includes gang-busting Toronado (Ire), Wooded (Ire) by Wootton Bassett (GB), local hero Rubick, old flame Puissance De Lune (Ire) and young gun I Am Immortal.

It’s been about four or five years since the farm opted out of yearling preparation, and that has made a significant difference to staff contentment, according to Matthews. All yearlings are sent out-of-house in the sales season.

“I think that was the making of a new culture at Swettenham,” Matthews said. “Our staff knows that it’s head down, bum up throughout the spring, and then they get a very good break thereafter. The season can get very hectic, as it does for every farm, and come the end of December, the stallions are turned out and it’s basically about looking after the mares and foals into the early part of the year.”

Gallery: Swettenham Stud's stallion roster in 2023

That will make it a relatively unique environment for McLaughlin, who has handled the full kit and kaboodle of breeding and yearling-sales seasons with other operators.

“Generally my previous roles have been on the ground, but last year I got a promotion within Coolmore to area manager, which meant that an entire area was up to me look after and control, so in hindsight it was a good lead-up into this gig,” McLaughlin said, speaking to TDN AusNZ. “I won’t be coming down to the position without a clue. I’ll have an idea of management and looking after a property.”

McLaughlin is originally from County Tyrone, which is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland. None of his family was connected to racing but, as most Irish kids are, he was exposed to horses and riding from a young age, and the gradual ease into thoroughbreds occurred.

“I was the only one into horses and I started at a riding school,” he said. “I turned out quite good at that and I went from breaking ponies on the weekend to sport horses. It was actually a friend who suggested I give a try to racing and, to be honest, I didn’t have a clue about it at the time. That’s how I ended up with John Jenkins in England, and that was an education. You learned and you learned quickly.”

Jenkins is in Royston, England, sandwiched between Cambridge and Luton to the north of London. It was a baptism of fire for McLaughlin, but from there he went to Olly and Hetta Stevens at Robins Farm and, later, to William Haggas. At Shadwell, which was his formative experience in bloodstock, he was embedded in the rehabilitation yards.

“Once I’d made my way to Newmarket, that was when I went to Shadwell and later on to Coolmore,” McLaughlin said. “It’s all been a brilliant grounding leading to this role in Australia.”

The Swettenham move will be the first time McLaughlin will live permanently in Australia. For years, he has experienced the Australian summer in a temporary fashion, flying in around July and departing in early December.

“It will be strange to get to December time and not have to pack a bag,” he said. “We are all looking forward to it, and my partner is really looking forward to the Australian summer. It’s going to be a really good move for all of us.”

McLaughlin will arrive in Australia on Tuesday night. For a month, he will ease into the role at Swettenham before his family arrives, all the while getting child seats organised for the car and the myriad of furniture demanded to raise very young children.

However, the part he is most looking forward to is just getting stuck in.

“At this stage, I’m really excited to be getting started,” McLaughlin said. “We’ve been in discussions with visas and such for a long time, so it will be good to just get down and get stuck in with the team, to meet everyone again and see the new people who have arrived since I was last there, and the clients too.

“I land on Tuesday and the plan is for the family to join me after a month or so. There’ll have to be a few shopping expeditions before that to get everything ready for them. You know yourself.”

McLaughlin has the likeable manners of so many of his Irish compatriots. There’s no arrogance or big-noting; he is as Matthews said, a genuine fellow. In a fortnight or so he will assume the position of stud manager at Swettenham, and it’s a valuable appointment. And the Swettenham team knows it.