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Ontrack Thoroughbreds take home on daughter exciting Coolmore sire
Ontrack Thoroughbreds' Grant Morgan admitted the $170,000 he paid for a filly by Coolmore Stud's exciting young sire Pride Of Dubai (Street Cry) at the Magic Millions Gold Coast March Yearling Sale on Tuesday was slightly more than he expected, but was happy to leave the complex with the yearling - who will head into training with David Vandyke.
The filly is out of the three time-winning Fraar (Topside) mare Fiery Dee, whose four winners include Group 1 and Group 2-placed gelding Looks Like A Cat (Husson).
Fiery Dee herself is out of dual winner Biography (Rory's Jester) who also produced Group 3 winner Silent Surround (Face Value), who in turn is the dam of Silent Command (Commands).
The filly's third dam is Ma Vie (Sir Tristram) - the dam of Group 2 winner and Group 1-placed Station Hand (Rancher), while she is also the grandam of 2004 WATC Derby (Gr 1, 2400m) winner Mr Sandgroper (Peintre Celebre) and Superior Star (Nothin' Leica Dane) who took out the Western Australian Oaks (Gr 2, 2400m) in 2003. The filly was catalogued as Lot 208.
Morgan said the QTIS bonus scheme, particularly for fillies, is a very attractive prospect when buying yearlings at a sale.
"You have always got to pay a lot of money for the best QTIS fillies," said Morgan. "We knew that from when we bought Savanna Amour a few years ago from the first crop of Love Conquers All and Baroda by Epaulette.
"You have to dig a bit deeper for these QTIS fillies because they can win nearly $80,000 on a Saturday which is just fantastic prize-money. The good ones like her don't come cheaply, so we went a bit further than what we thought she'd be worth but for a good QTIS filly, we're happy to have her."
"David Vandyke is going to train her for us. We've got a good list of clients who were keen to get some yearlings with David through this sale, so we've hit the ground running with some nice yearlings for David and she certainly fits that bill."
Pride Of Dubai has made a brilliant start at stud, siring eight winners, including stakes winner Tanker. The stallion stood for a fee of $38,500 (inc GST) at Coolmore's Jerrys Plains base in 2019.
Morgan has also opted to send a filly by Lyndhurst Farm-based sire Better Than Ready (More Than Ready) he purchased from the Aquis Farm draft for $85,000 on Monday at the sale to David Vandyke.
"I thought she was the best Better Than Ready filly in the sale and she will also go to David," said Morgan.
"She's out of a young mare and we like buying out of young mares. She looked very much like Better Than Ready with his shape and size, so you'd think she'll come fairly early."
Catalogued as Lot 37, the filly is from the family of Golden Slipper Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m) winner Polar Success (Success Express).
Morgan also snapped up a filly by Sun Stud resident Bel Esprit (Royal Academy) for $38,000 and she will head into training with Toby and Trent Edmonds.
Meanwhile, of the sale, Morgan said: "I think the nice horses have still made reasonable money. If you had a good type, by a good stallion with a reasonable page that they are still making reasonable money and that's the end of the market that we've been hunting.
"We haven't found it easy because I think a lot of the agents, syndicators and trainers have got similar shortlists at the end of the day.
"I know in the case of the Pride Of Dubai filly, we had to beat Tony Gollan, Rob Heathcote, First Light Racing and Greg Eurell. They were all on that filly and that's why you had to pay that bit more for the nicer horses.
"I don't think it's been as bad as what everyone expected. It's probably been tougher at the lower end of the market but the nicer horses have still made reasonable money."
Bruce Slade's Kestrel Thoroughbreds made its presence felt at the Magic Millions Gold Coast March Sale on Tuesday when he paired up with trainers Toby and Trent Edmonds to purchase a filly by Pride Of Dubai's barnmate Pierro (Lonhro) for $120,000.
The Lyndhurst Stud Farm-consigned filly is out of dual winner Pegasus Miss (More Than Ready), making her a half-sister to Listed-placed filly Boomstress (Spirit Of Boom).
Pegasus Miss herself is a half-sister to six winners, including Group 3 scorer Metallic Crown (Northern Meteor) and dual Listed winner Snitzpeg (Snitzel). Further back this is the family of McGinty (One Pound Sterling).
"We were buying horses at that middle road," said Slade. "We're happy with what we've bought. It's been a hard sale for vendors but the market has held up reasonably well I think.
"We did our homework and the colts market was competitive as ever but the fillies were much softer and we were able to pick up what we liked of those for what we thought was good value.
"The Pierro filly is by the sire on fire and he probably looks like being crowned Australian champion sire at some stage and quite possibly this year."
Slade, who worked for Gai Waterhouse when Pierro was in the stable, said the filly reminded him of her sire.
"She's an elite athlete who we thought was great buying with the dam's first foal a stakes horse. Her being by Pierro, she has the scope and has lovely angles, balance and great movement. Pierro was at Gai's when I was there and this filly reminded me a lot of him.
"Just like Pierro [as a racehorse], he gives his horses cardio capacity and they are able to mix it with the best at two and she has the size and scope to make the weight for age improvement in her three-year-old year. She can only get better at three and four."
The now-Queensland-based Slade launched his new bloodstock business consultancy venture - Kestral Thoroughbreds - in December and has since been working closely with Toby and Trent Edmonds, which he said he is enjoying.
"I am enjoying working Toby and Trent," said Slade. "There is a real appetite there to be better in every aspect and that has shone through in our syndication since the New Year. We've had some events for owners and the guys have always trained winners with a high strike-rate running at 20 per cent and they have shown that ability to train stakes winners, not only in Brisbane but interstate.
"Half their stakes winners the past few years have been interstate. I am very happy to be here and they are willing to put new things in place to make it enjoyable to work with them."
A filly by Better Than Ready (More Than Ready) will join her three time-winning sister Kisukano (Bel Esprit) at Michael Nolan's stable after the trainer parted with $115,000 for the filly at the Magic Millions Gold Coast March Yearling Sale on Tuesday.
Kisukano has won three of her four starts and Nolan said the filly was his pick of the sale.
"She was my pick at the sale and we've got the sister so we wanted to keep that going," he said.
"I thought $100,000 might have pulled her up and it kept going in dribs and drabs so we went a couple more.
"Being a filly, she's got the residual value as well and she's a really good type as the price reflected. We'll syndicate her and try and get a good group together to race her."
Catalogued as Lot 272 and offered by Alexia Fraser Bloodstock, the filly is out of Kiss For Gran (Show A Heart), who is herself a half-sister to Listed winner Princess Margaret (Spectrum) and is a three-quarter-sister to Listed-placed Show A Prince.
The filly's third dam is the Listed-placed mare Huntington Girl (Black Zephyr) - the dam of 2000 Stan Fox Stakes (Gr 2, 1400m) winner Dynamic Love (Brave Warrior) and Listed winner Key Bar Nights (Anabaa), who in turn produced Listed winner Barbed (Canny Lad). Huntington Girl also produced Nero Cavallo (Charnwood Forest) - the dam of dual Singapore Listed winner Top Knight (Zoustar).
At the close of trade Magic Millions reported the aggregate $7,788,500 was traded on 273 lots sold at an average price of $28,529, median of $20,000 and a clearance rate of 73 per cent and despite the uncertain times globally managing director Barry Bowditch was happy with the results recorded over the two days.
"To conclude this year's sale with the figures we have is a great result for the Queensland breeding industry," Magic Millions Managing Director Barry Bowditch said.
"The buyers got in and, although selective, bid strong on the quality lots and to end with a clearance rate of over 73 per cent is a pleasing result with all things considered."
"To everyone that played their part in the sale in very trying circumstances - we thank you for your cooperation, support and understanding.
"The Magic Millions team and everyone around them had to quickly adapt to what were unprecedented circumstances and an ever changing landscape," Bowditch added.
At the 2019 renewal 300 yearlings sold for $9,956,100 at an average of $33,187 and median of $24,000.
Better Than Ready finished the day as leading sire by aggregate with 34 yearlings having sold for $1,503,000 at an average of $44,206 whilst Rothesay (Fastnet Rock) finished the sale as leading sire by average (with three or more lots sold) with three yearlings having sold for $157,500 at an average of $52,500.
Gollan Racing / John Foote Bloodstock were the leading buyers having spent $357,500 on six lots whilst Eurkea Stud were the leading vendors having sold 37 lots for $1,151,500 at an average of $31,122.
The majority of buyers were Queensland-based with 200 lots having been bought for $5,981,000, accounting for over 75 per cent of the market.
