Attention to detail and focus on quality for smaller vendors

Cover image courtesy of Magic Millions

The small are getting smaller. Last year there were 14 vendors with three or fewer lots at the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale. In 2026, there are only eight farms with three or fewer lots on offer.

While this shrink effect is a concern, and a reflection of the industry, the quality of the stock offered by these farms means they are definitely worth an inspection. Each vendor's passion for their horses is easily recognised when talking to any of them.

Balius Farm’s inaugural draft

Based in Victoria, Balius Farm will present their inaugural draft in 2026 with three well-bred yearlings on offer. “We are a very small boutique family run farm in Southern Victoria with about 20 mares. I grew up riding and eventing for fun and then my husband decided he wanted a racehorse and here we are,” said Jacqui Sushames.

“This is our first toe in the water at Magic Millions under our own name. We’ve previously sent our yearlings through Meredith Park’s draft.” They will present three yearlings from their initial draft of four with the Farnan filly, Lot 734, withdrawn.

Jacqui’s husband Tam Dieu is the pedigree enthusiast of the pair. “We are in Gippsland, getting better each year and we are very passionate about it and our quality are improving each year. We punch above our weight on the track,” Dieu said.

“We felt this was a good chance to advertise our brand this year. I normally do the stallion selection, then have a chat with Sheamus Mills too, before sorting out all the budget constraints.”

Lot 365, an Acrobat filly is out of Group 3-placed I Am Gypsy (I Am Invincible) who won six races and has already produced three winners including Candlelight Dinner, a horse Balius Farm raced themselves. “I Am Gypsy is a quality mare that we bought from the Chairmans Sale. She was supposed to go to a big name proven stallion, but she had a Russian Revolution colt with Anthony and Sam Freedman that they didn’t have much of an opinion about, so we went to Acrobat instead.”

I Am Gypsy was carrying Candlelight Dinner when Balius Farm bought her, and they tried to sell him twice as a yearling but couldn’t find a home, so ended up racing him.

“Candlelight Dinner proved everyone wrong, winning four of his first five starts in Australia. We sold him to Hong Kong where he’s won two there. Fastnet Rock over I Am Invincible mares has good results and I’m confident this yearling will be better than Candlelight Dinner.”

Lot 768 is an Extreme Warrior filly out of G1 Levin Classic-placed Sardaaj (NZ) (Iffraaj {GB}). “She’s a black type mare who was Group 1 placed. She’s a bit older but has some winners on the board. We picked her up cheaply from Rosemont in foal to Extreme Warrior and this filly has turned out to be a cracking type," said Dieu.

"She’s nice and compact, and Extreme Warrior is going extremely well with a stakes winner pre-Christmas. Knight’s Choice, who is by Extreme Choice, is on the page, so it’s a similar pedigree.

“And there are only two Extreme Warrior’s in the catalogue, so there’s a rarity factor too.” The other Extreme Warrior in the whole sale is Lot 458, a colt being presented by Rosemont Stud.

Balius Farm’s other yearling is a filly by proven sire Wootton Bassett (GB), who Dieu joked about getting at a reasonable price before he went up sharply in fee. “She’s the second foal from the mare,” Sushames said.

“She’s a nice filly, very straightforward to deal with. She’s not very big but big horses don’t always make fast horses. She has a really good attitude and when you get her in the lunge yard and she moves like a big horse.”

Lot 646, by Wootton Bassett is out of Our Fraulein, a Snitzel mare who won twice, and is a daughter of G3 Moonee Valley Champagne Stakes winner Miss Stellabelle (Dehere {USA}).

Hidden Valley’s hands-on focus

Established in 2017 and situated on NSW’s Central Coast, Hidden Valley Thoroughbreds typically sells all their stock as weanlings. “We only breed eight to twelve mares a year, but we try to breed quality and always upgrade our mares. We’ve got a pretty good strike rate with the horses we sell, in the 80% range for horses who have won,” said Leon Bradbery.

“Our set up is very hands on and the horses are handed, in some respects, more often than the big farms. Our horses should be easier to be educated after the sales, and we pride ourselves on that side of it. When you don’t have the big numbers, you can afford to bring them along with a bit more intense handling.”

With the withdrawal of Lot 731, a filly by Home Affairs, Hidden Valley Thoroughbreds have three lots going through the ring. “We’ve been changing our business model where we send our full draft to a weanling sale, and then for a few of them that we have a higher regard for, we put a higher reserve on them and maybe we bring them home and take them to a yearling sale.

“It’s a great option for a small breeder as you get two bites at the cherry to get an opportunity to sell your horse. There’s a few in the sale (in other drafts) that we sold as weanlings in Sydney.

“Because you spend more time with them, it makes it harder to let them go but you’ve got to sell to save for another day. We want to sell them to keep us in the game. The small breeders are the heart and soul of the game and keep the wheels turning.”

The draft consists of two colts and a filly. Lot 206 is a Pinatubo (Ire) colt from winning mare Darook Park (Darci Brahma {NZ}) who has already produced G3 Maribyrnong Plate and G3 Zeditave Stakes winner Finance Tycoon.

“Our Book 1 colt is by Pinatubo and he’s a half-brother to Finance Tycoon who stands in Victoria. He’s an athletic sort of colt, and Pinatubo was a super star in Europe as a 2-year-old and that’s what everybody in Australia wants, so that’s what we’ve tried to deliver to the market.

Gallery: Hidden Valley Thoroughbreds draft for 2026 Magic Millions Gold Coast Sale, images courtesy of Magic Millions

“Our other colt is by Shamus Award out of an American mare who won five group races and half a million over there. He’s a really nice sensible type of colt who is very correct. He could be a nice horse for the Hong Kong market.”

Lot 1125 is out of Grade 3 winner My Option (USA) (Belong To Me {USA}) whose three foals to race are all winners. My Option is a daughter of Listed winner Out Of Options (USA) (Cohiba {USA}) who won 10 races.

Hidden Valley’s other lot is Lot 1158, a Written By filly from winning mare Riapinka (Bel Esprit) who ran fourth in the Listed Mode Stakes.

Kerlin Farm’s Stronger colt models for Aquis

Situated on the Logan River in Beaudesert, an hour from the Gold Coast, Kerlin Farm has a draft of two yearlings at the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale. “We’re a small farm based across the road from Beaudesert racecourse. We’ve got about 60 acres, and Michael Morrison leases our barn and trains out of it,” said Mark Dunkley.

“It’s lovely black soil land. We are right on the river and with all the river silt over the years, the pastures are just unbelievable. We don’t have to feed much hay because the grass is that good and it replenishes as fast as they can eat it. We’ve got water feeders to all the paddocks and never have to worry about water.

“We’re a boutique farm and we battle along without big drafts. I spent four years working for KBL Thoroughbreds then ventured out on my own. We are always looking for new clients and being a family run farm, we are hands-on. The old man is on the mower all the time for me, and there’s always eyes on the horses, so nothing gets missed.”

This will be their second yearling draft, having taken four yearlings to the 2025 Magic Millions March Yearling Sale. They also sold Mick Price and Michael Kent Jnr-trained Biancelli (Cosmic Force) via a digital sale as a yearling, and she won her first three in succession in Melbourne as a 3-year-old last season.

“We sold a Tassort filly last year in book 2 through Raheen’s draft, and she sold to Mishani Racing and won a trial at the Gold Coast by nine lengths for Paul Shailer last week.” Toorak Jewel (Tassort) sold for $36,000 and won a juvenile trial on December 30.

In 2026, Kerlin Farm has two lots on offer, both in Book 2. Lot 1146 is a colt by first season sire Stronger. “This colt is a really nice horse. Aquis have been in love with him from the get-go and used him in all their Stronger photo shoots. He’s cheeky but the owner spoiled him a little bit. A really lovely mover and nice type, and a really good doer. This prep, I’ve had to put a bit more work into him as he gets away on you a bit. He’s cheeky but not stupid, nothing fazes him,” said Dunkley.

The third foal of four-time winner Prickles (Hinchinbrook), the Stronger colt’s dam is a half-sister to Listed winner and Group 1-placed Soft Sand (Dansili {GB}), whose daughter Pippie Beach (Maurice {Jpn}) recently ran fourth in the G3 Gosford RC Belle of the Turf Stakes.

Lot 1143 is a filly by first season sire In The Congo. “She’s a dream, a chestnut with four white socks, a big blaze, real flashy, with the blonde mane and tail. She’s like an old Jersey cow, you can do anything with her, she just lopes along and she’s a nice mover too.”

She is the first foal of winning mare Polite Applause (NZ) (Highly Recommended), who is a half-sister to dual Group 1 winner Ladies Man (NZ) (Zed {NZ}) and Group 1 winner Ladies First (NZ) (Dylan Thomas {Ire}).

Pepper Tree Farm rebrands into Thoroughbreds

Currently owned by Dr Brianna Vandyke and her husband Damian Kirwan, Pepper Tree Farm’s first Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale draft was in 2024 and is headlined by winning 3-year-old gelding Kevin (Winning Rupert), whose silks are based on the movie characters The Minions.

“Pepper Tree Farm has been established (as the Thoroughbred farm) for about two and a half years. It was originally Australia’s leading Standardbred stud. It’s a proven equine property and on the property is a vet clinic that services the local Thoroughbred farms and surrounding areas. About three years ago, the move was made by Damian and Bree to buy the property (from Bree’s parents), and I got brought in to grow it into a commercial Thoroughbred farm,” said Rob Sims.

“They’d been doing the seasonal repro work for the local industry and wanted to take it on to the next level. There’s about 40 resident mares, we’ve been well supported by good breeders throughout NSW and Victoria, and we still do a walk in service during the season. The vet clinic is now geared to our resident horses with some small levels of outside work.

“Last year we sold a Too Darn Hot filly for $300,000 and we had a strong sale at the Great Southern Sale. We’ve been keeping the best of the best (for this sale). We are still small and concise at the moment.”

Lot 567 is a Hitotsu filly from unraced mare Miss Valor (Hinchinbrook) who is a half-sister to Group 3 winner Nettuno (I Am Invincible). Her five runners have resulted in four winners led by $1.2 million earner Gallant Star (Zoustar) who ran third in Saturday's The Lakes.

“She’s our comedy mare," laughed Sims. "Kerry O’Keeffe is in the ownership of Gallant Star, and he got caught on the cricket commentary (during The Ashes) watching him run. They bought the 3-year-old too and Kerry’s grandkids named him Kevin and he runs in the Minions outfit. He’s a little pocket rocket and the ownership group are getting behind him.

“The filly is a serious model for Hitotsu. And there’s this celebrity sporting bit that adds to it. Out of that mare, she’s had a million dollar earner so you know that she can produce a serious racehorse.”

Pepper Tree Farm’s other yearling is Lot 876, a Too Darn Hot (GB) filly from Superego (So You Think {NZ}) from the family of dual Group 1 winner Faint Perfume (Shamardal {USA}).

“There’s a limited edition of Too Darn Hot’s and she’s a very nice quality filly. She has a great action, moves very nicely. On the same cross as Rivellino, which makes it a proven cross. And she’s been noticed well (by buyers).” Her half-sister Extreme Virtue (Extreme Choice) has won five-times for the Hayes brothers.

“For the smaller consigners it’s hard to get a real gauge as you’ve only got two to parade, but we’ve been busy enough. Both fillies are making lists, which is all you need, and second looks are only just starting now. We are sitting waiting for ages, the Hitotsu goes through on Thursday and the Too Darn Hot on Friday, and you can drive yourself crackers if you aren’t careful (waiting). We are focusing on enjoying being on the Coast.” Can we put this in the boutique article under pepper tree?

Waylon J Stud seeking to sell another Yellow Brick

Yellow Brick (The Mission) was sold by Waylon J Stud for $20,000 to Sears Racing and Paul Moroney Bloodstock, and he’s proved a bargain for his connections with his eight wins garnering over $2.5 million.

Another bargain buy was $10,000 sale Crafty Cruiser (Good Journey) who earned over $1 million from a staggering 159 starts and 13 wins. He also placed on 41 occasions.

“Yellow Brick – he was always a nice horse. The Mission wasn’t the horse of the moment. Paul (Moroney) and Catheryne (Bruggeman) loved him, he was a beautiful moving horse,” said studmaster Brian Smith.

“Paul has bought a few off us, they are all similar types of horses that he buys. He loves them out of those staying bred mares crossed with Australian sprinters. Yellow Brick was out of a very good mare. At $20,000, I would’ve liked to have bought him!

“We’ve probably been selling horses for twenty odd years. We haven’t always had very big drafts. A couple of years ago, we topped the QTIS sale with one to Tony Gollan. We started out doing Ready to Run style horses and they were good to us in the early days, and we stopped doing them three or four years ago and moved into breeding and doing a few yearlings.”

Of their draft of three yearlings, the Farnan filly has been withdrawn and will go to a later sale. That leaves Lot 1057, a colt by Stronger, and Lot 1160, a colt by Better Than Ready.

“The Stronger belongs to Jonathan Davies at Aquis and he’s getting prepped down there. We normally prep his horses for him, but that one he’s doing himself,” said Smith. Lot 1057 is out of four-time winner Grimhild’s Revenge (NZ) (Zerpour {Ire}) whose three winners include six-time city winner Bangers And Mayo (Spill The Beans). This is the family of Group 1 winner Le Drakkar (Anabaa {USA}).

“The Better Than Ready, we pinhooked out of June last year, he’s a nice colt, good big strong early type of colt. Better Than Ready has done a great job, probably just needed a few more interstate horses.”

Lot 1160 is out of six-time winner Royal Applause (Congrats {USA}) who ran fourth at Group 3 level. She’s a half-sister to Willybeafactor (The Factor {USA}) who has won 12 races and his last start was in the 2025 Listed Balaklava Cup.

Table: Small drafts at the 2026 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale