3 minute read

Yearlings out of 23 Group 1-winning mares feature in high-class auction

A total of 1273 lots have been catalogued for Books 1 and 2 of the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale which gets underway at a slightly later date of January 12 and, due to the extraordinary amount of entries the auction house has received, the sale will run for an unprecedented seven days. 

The 2020 sales have been thwarted by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, but with the interstate borders opening throughout Australia on Monday and Magic Millions managing director Barry Bowditch told Racing & Sports Bloodstock all the indicators are signalling the Australian buyers will be able to travel to Queensland for the sale. 

“First and foremost the indicators at the moment tells us that every Australian that wants to be on the Gold Coast and can be on the Gold Coast, which is very important,” said Bowditch. 

The international buying contingent have in the past flocked to the Gold Coast sale and make up a significant part of the market. 

In 2020 overseas spend accounted for $15,882,500 from a sale aggregate of $178,932,000 and Bowditch said the auction house are preparing for every eventuality in terms of getting information to the international purchasers who may not be able physically make it to the Gold Coast this year, something Magic Millions embraced during the recent 2YOs In Training Sale. 

“From an international engagement perspective, we will be doing everything we can to either try and find a way to get them here or most likely try and give them all the information we can to make it easier for them to buy away from the Gold Coast,” said Bowdtich. 

“One thing we have learned during this uncertain time, the industry globally has become so much better at putting all the information out there and transparency has never been better and we feel as though we have made the horse a lot more real for the guys that can’t be here. 

“Our vendors have really made the effort to make all the information available and we have already had a lot of sales where that needed to be implemented.

“There is nothing like everyone being here, but I think we are doing the next best thing, getting them all the information they need to make an informed decision, whether they are on the Gold Coast or not.”

The sale will offer the progeny of a record 117 individual stallions including 24 first season sires and Bowditch is confident the increased numbers have not taken away from the quality of the catalogue and believes this is the strongest yearling sale ever staged on the Gold Coast. 

“Obviously this year, with the increased numbers, we have had more horses that fit our criteria, which is really exciting for us and our vendors have shone the light on this sale and I think it is bigger and better than previous years,” said Bowditch. 

“We have yearlings by the best sires in Australia, with I Am Invincible, Snitzel and Zoustar to name a few, but then another appealing part of it we have yearlings by first-season stallions and also the second season horses that have started so well. All around this is a really well-balanced catalogue.”

Arrowfield’s four-time champion sire Snitzel (Redoute’s Choice) leads the way in terms of number of entries with 58 and his sons Pariah (28 lots), Russian Revolution (35), Invader (15) and Jukebox (3) will be represented by their first yearlings. 

Yarraman Park’s I Am Invincible (Invincible Spirit) hass 55 yearlings set to go under the hammer and he is joined in the catalogue this year by his two sons Overshare (1) and barnmate Hellbent (39). 

Meanwhile, Written Tycoon (Iglesia) - who has made an extraordinary start to the season - will be represented by 45 yearlings on the Gold Coast in 2020, while Widden Stud’s Zoustar (Northern Meteor) will have 60 yearlings set to go under the hammer. 

The catalogue assembled for next year’s sale includes 23 lots out of Group 1-winning mares, 22 lots out of Group 2 winners, 55 lots out of Group 3 winners and 104 lots out of Listed winners. 

One lot that will no doubt garner a certain amount of attention from the buyers and public alike is the first foal out of star Group 1-winning mare Global Glamour (Star Witness) - a yearling colt by Zoustar, who is catalogued as Lot 346. 

Magic Millions is synonymous with the Global Glamour story, with the auction house having sold her as a yearling at the Gold Coast Yearling Sale for $65,000 in 2015. She was raced by the It’s All About The Girls syndicate - a brainchild of Anna Seitz and Legs Lawlor - for whom she won five races, spearheaded by victories in the Flight Stakes (Gr 1, 1600m) and Thousand Guineas (Gr 1, 1600m). 

The mare was then subsequently sold for $1,550,000 to Coolmore, Gerry Harvey and James Bester at the 2019 Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale, carrying the Zoustar colt in utero. 

Bowditch said it is fantastic to see the Global Glamour story come full circle, with her first foal returning to the stage where it all began. 

“Global Glamour is very special to Magic Millions,” said Bowditch. “She is a natural ambassador for the sale. She was bought for a great group of women and a flagship for Katie Page’s dream for women in the sport. 

“Her success on the racetrack was obviously enormous and then for Gerry, Katie and Coolmore to buy her together and to be able to sell her first foal is very special and exciting. I have seen the colt and he is a lovely horse and it is just a great story and we are really looking forward to seeing how the next chapter plays out.”

Featured among the entries for the sale are 46 relations to Group 1 winners, including a sister to dual Group 1-winning star Loving Gaby (I Am Invincible), who will be offered by Kia Ora Stud as Lot 500, while Willow Park will offer Lot 597 a sister to 2015 Champagne Stakes (Gr 1, 1600m) winner Pasadena Girl (Savabeel). 

2021 Gold Coast Yearling Sale Schedule
Tuesday, January 12
Gold Coast Yearling Sale – Book 1 (Day 1: Lots 1-180) – 12pm

Wednesday, January 13
Gold Coast Yearling Sale – Book 1 (Day 2: Lots 181-410) – 10am

Thursday, January 14
Gold Coast Yearling Sale – Book 1 (Day 3: Lots 411-640) – 10am

Friday, January 15
Gold Coast Yearling Sale – Book 1 (Day 4: Lots 641-870) – 10am

Saturday, January 16
The Star Gold Coast Magic Millions Raceday
Gold Coast Yearling Sale – Book 1 (Day 5: Lots 871-962) – 6pm

Sunday, January 17
Gold Coast Yearling Sale – Book 2 (Day 6: Lots 963-1073) – 2pm

Monday, January 18
Gold Coast Yearling Sale – Book 2 (Day 7: Lots 1074-1273) – 10am
Gold Coast Yearling Sale – Book 3 to follow (catalogue available December)
Gold Coast Summer Racehorse Sale – to follow yearlings – entries open soon