Cover image courtesy of Attunga Stud
Attunga Stud’s Magic Millions draft isn’t just deep - it’s unusual and it cuts against the way this market is moving. In an era where top mares are increasingly sold outside traditional consignments, assembling a draft like this has become harder, not easier. That’s what makes this one notable.
Headlined by Group 1 winner Legarto (Proisir) and Magic Millions 2YO Classic winner O’Ole (Ole Kirk), the draft has the kind of top-end most farms would want. But, as Brian Nutt makes clear, the bigger story sits behind the page - access to mares in a market where timing, relationships and opportunity rarely line up.
“With the online sales, if you've got a really nice mare, you don't have to wait any longer,” said Nutt.
“You can put them online every month, basically.
“That's been a great innovation, but it's also meant that farms like us can't present those sorts of drafts like we used to. Having said that, this is one year which is very much an exception.”
A market getting harder to access
“Where it's also changed a little bit these days is that sometimes some of the trainers are doing their own drafts, with the likes of Chris Waller and Ciaron Maher offering drafts.”
For farms such as Attunga, that has changed the rhythm of the market. The best mares no longer wait for the major sales cycle, nor do they necessarily require a traditional consignor. Drafts of this quality are harder to assemble, and carry more weight when they do come together.
In that environment, relationships have become more than an advantage; they are the entry point. It is a reality reflected in Attunga’s long-standing ties across the industry.
Against that backdrop, Legarto sits at the top of the draft - a mare secured as much through trust and connection as opportunity.
“Relationships are crucial to get those kind of mares,” Nutt said.
“These sort of drafts don't come along for us very often, and so we're extremely excited to have a draft of this quality, especially, the headline star, Legarto.
“I've known Philip Brown (Legarto's owner) from back in the days when I used to work at Wrightson Bloodstock, so many years ago - probably too many to remember!”
Brian Nutt | Image courtesy of Magic Millions
That long-standing connection proved pivotal when Legarto’s sale became a possibility.
“So when I heard that she was coming to the sale, I made contact with him and said, look, we'd love to offer her. We've got a good small quality band of mares going to the sale and, thanks to Philip, she's our headline act.”
One of six Group 1 winners amongst Proisir’s 24 stakes winners, Legarto amassed 12 wins and a tick over NZ$3.15 million in prizemoney in her 24-start career. She is one of three winners from her two-time winning dam Geordie Girl (NZ) (Towkay {NZ}), who showed her class when running fourth in the Listed Wairarapa Breeders’ Stakes.
Geordie Girl has also left the 11-time winner and Listed-placed runner Emanon (NZ) (Burgundy {NZ}), who foaled a Proisir filly last spring and was subsequently served by him again, and the 10-time winning stayer Locally Sauced (NZ) (Iffraaj {GB}), meaning her three offspring to race have amassed a staggering 33 wins.
Legarto | Image courtesy of The Image Is Everything
While Legarto anchors the draft, she is far from alone at the top end, with another high-class, precocious performer close behind.
“Then, not too far behind her would be a mare like O’Ole. She's just a beautiful mare, and she obviously had plenty of precociousness about her. She'd had quite a few races as a 2-year-old, she was tough, she won the Magic Millions in a convincing manner, so to have a couple of mares like that going to the Gold Coast is very exciting for us.”
“Then, not too far behind her would be a mare like O’Ole, and she's just a beautiful mare, and she obviously had plenty of precociousness about her.” - Brian Nutt
“Bjorn's (Baker) been such a great supporter of our farm and he and I go back a long, long way. I've known him since he was about 10 years old.
“I've been a great friend of the Baker family over the years, especially Murray. So, yeah, we've had a great association. He's been a great supporter of our farm and, you know, we've had some very good success racing horses with him, including mares like She’s Ideel, who went through our draft a couple of years ago.”
Bjorn Baker | Image courtesy of Bjorn Baker Racing
The fourth foal of provincial winner Vellor (Sepoy), O’Ole was a $325,000 purchase for Bjorn Baker Racing and Clarke Bloodstock (FBAA) from the draft of breeders Gilgai Farm at the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale. As well as winning the Magic Millions feature 2-year-old event, she also won the Listed Wyong Magic Millions 2YO Classic, was placed in the G3 Gimcrack Stakes and ran fourth in the G3 Vo Rogue Plate.
Vellor is a daughter of triple Group 2-winning Hosannah (Octagonal {NZ}), making her a half-sister to G2 Magic Night Stakes winner Altar (Commands). She has a 2-year-old full sister to O’Ole named Chanterelle, foaled an Ole Kirk colt last August and was subsequently served by Extreme Choice.
O’Ole | Image courtesy of The Image Is Everything
Beyond the obvious stars, Attunga’s confidence in the draft is built on its overall strength - a point underscored by the breadth of contributors behind the mares.
“Included in that bunch is Double Market, a Group 2 winner by Castelvecchio. Plus O’Invincible and Bonita Queen, so it's a really, really good line-up of quality stock, and we're extremely excited and privileged to have them.
“Then there is Shezanalister; although she wasn't a stakes winner, she was stakes placed, and she's a good sort of a mare as well.
“We have to thank people like Philip, Bjorn Baker, Tony Kynaston and his partners for putting faith in us to present them.”
“There really is a nice mix of a bit of everything,” he added, before pointing to further versatility within the draft.
When your daughter becomes your boss
While the industry evolves externally, Attunga itself is undergoing its own transition, with the next generation now firmly at the helm.
“Anna's my boss now and she's been doing a fantastic job. She's got a marvellous work ethic and she's extremely keen.”
That shift has also sharpened the farm’s commercial focus, particularly around where their product best fits.
Brian and Anna Nutt | Image courtesy of The Image Is Everything
“She loves the industry and hopefully the industry going forward will look after people like Anna and her contemporaries. We're only small, our farm is now about 110 acres and we don't carry a lot of stock on the farm.
“She (Anna) loves the industry and hopefully the industry going forward will look after people like Anna and her contemporaries.” - Brian Nutt
“We tend to concentrate on the yearling sales, especially the Magic Millions Sale, because that seems to be the sale that suits us best,” he said, outlining a pragmatic approach to placement.
“We don't seem to have those top-line horses that you need to go to sales like Easter that often. So we feel that the product that we produce fits in well with Magic Millions and tend to concentrate on that sale.”
“We get great support from people such as Bob Hannon and also Australian Bloodstock. Jamie Lovett's been a great supporter of ours over the years.
“So when those sorts of people keep coming back, we must be doing something right - well, Anna must be doing something right!”
“We're in the game now along with purchasers and vendors alike and I'd like to think that we've gained respect over the years.”
A broader role in a changing industry
Beyond the farm, Nutt remains deeply engaged in the wider direction of the industry, particularly through his role with the Racing Reform Group (RRG), where similar themes of change and advocacy are playing out.
“A lot of people will remember that this group was formed reaffirming the recommendations and findings of the Rosehill Inquiry. The committee that conducted the Rosehill Inquiry were from across all parties, whether it be Liberal, Labour, National, Independents, Animal Justice, Greens, and the recommendations and findings that came out of that enquiry was, most importantly, that the Racing Act of 1996 was no longer fit for purpose.
“A lot of people will remember that this group (RRG) was formed reaffirming the recommendations and findings of the Rosehill Inquiry.” - Brian Nutt
“So it recommended it be reviewed. There are a number of other recommendations and findings that came out of that enquiry, and the two that we latched onto were the two that were excluded from the terms of reference.
“One was the funding model, and two was the examination of the relationship between Racing New South Wales and the government.”
Rosehill Gardens | Image courtesy of Australian Turf Club
The response was the formation of a participant-driven group pushing for greater scrutiny and reform.
“So when those two items were excluded from the terms of reference, many participants felt they needed to be brought back in.
“We formed a group representing a broad cross-section of the industry - breeders, owners, syndicators and administrators - including Arthur Mitchell, Will Johnson, Jason Abraham, Helen Sinclair and David Walter.
“We formed this group trying to get the terms of reference extended, and to engage with participants and politicians to make them aware that this act needs to be reviewed.”
With the review now underway, there is cautious optimism.
“Brad Hazzard was appointed to conduct the review and we've had a couple of meetings with him. We feel that he is listening to not only the RRG, but a lot of other participants throughout the racing community of New South Wales.”
More broadly, Nutt believes the implications stretch beyond policy alone.
“We feel that there are natural ramifications as well. The relationship between the states, for example, we feel that the states used to get on a lot better than what they are currently.”
While at times criticism has followed, he remains comfortable with the group’s position.
“While certain jurisdictions might label us demeaningly as agitators, I take a different view. Growing up, an agitator was the part of the washing machine that cleaned everything up.
“If that’s the label we wear, we’re comfortable with it - because all we’re trying to do is what’s best for the industry.”
