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Victorian-based farm team up with Justin Bahen for colt by Zoustar for $700,000

As expected, the Shadwell dispersal was well received by the buying bench at the Magic Millions National Weanling Sale, with 20 weanlings selling for an aggregate of $5,435,000 at an average of $271,750, with a colt by Zoustar (Northern Meteor) the headline act among the 20, when he was purchased by Rosemont Stud and Bahen Bloodstock for $700,000. 

It was no surprise to see Rosemont buy the colt, with Anthony Mithen's operation having paid $1.2 million for the colt's Snitzel (Redoute's Choice) half-brother at the Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale last month. 

Ryan McEvoy of Rosemont Stud told Racing & Sports Bloodstock that the son of Zoustar had been purchased with a view to joining their racing team in time, but that plan was open to change and they could choose to offer it at a yearling sale next year. 

"He is a beautiful horse," said McEvoy. "We are pretty familiar with the family having purchased his half-brother at the Inglis Sale last month. It is a pedigree that exhibits really sharp early, stakes-winning precocity. With the experience I have had with Zoustar when working at Widden, she is certainly a mare that suits him really well. He was just a smashing horse. 

"He is beautiful, strong and powerful and still developing and furnishing, but you can tell he has a beautiful shape. He is the sort of horse that you can tell would mostly likely be on the list to try and buy as a yearling, so we are rapt to secure him. 

"We are keeping a pretty open mind in terms of plans for the weanlings going forward, whether we keep them to race or resell them. Probably the initial view is to add them into the Rosemont racing system and ultimately it is the elusive quest to secure a stallion. But right now we are buying him as an end-user."

Catalogued as Lot 73 and offered by Yarraman Park on behalf of Shadwell, the colt is the sixth foal out of Listed-winning Shamardal (Giant's Causeway) mare Bulbula, whose one winner is Group 3 winning filly Aryaaf (Epaulette). 

Bulbula herself is a daughter of fellow Listed winner Taameer (General Nediym), who is also the dam of Group 3 scorer Khulaasa (Epaulette). 

Bulbula herself will be offered at the Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale next week carrying a sibling to Aryaaf and she is catalogued as Lot 829, while her aforementioned daughter Aryaaf will be offered as a race filly proposition as Lot 803. 

Later on at the sale, Rosemont Stud and Bahen Bloodstock joined forces again to secure a colt by Fastnet Rock (Danehill) out of the A D Hollindale Stakes (Gr 2, 1800m) winner Oregon's Day (Domesday) for $600,000. 

Catalogued as Lot 116 and offered by Segenhoe Stud, the colt is the first foal out of the daughter of Domesday (Red Ransom) and she is herself a daughter of Group 3 winner Oregon Seal (Oregon), making her a half-sister to Group 2 scorer Talent Show (Juene) and Listed winner Oregon Spirit (Bel Esprit). 

Oregon's Day herself was purchased by Tony Fung for $1 million at the Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale in 2019 and she failed to make the $1 million reserve when offered at the Inglis Chairman's Sale earlier this month. 

McEvoy said, as with the Zoustar colt, the weanling had been bought to race, but nothing was set in stone in terms of future plans. 

"He just exhibited a lot of quality," McEvoy said. "He really was just a beautiful horse, with an unbelievable brain on him. He looks a really intelligent horse, the way he paraded up and down the grounds, he never looked to get too flustered and he had an old man's head on him. He had an intelligent eye and a lot of swagger about him and a lot of quality. 

"Again, like the Zoustar, we are open-minded as to plans for him, but at the moment we will send him into the system with a view to racing him. He does look like a horse that will stand-out at a yearling sale and be on the list to try and buy and will probably be difficult to buy. I thought that $600,000 was a very fair price for him."

McEvoy said the market was very strong as a result for the robust yearling market, end-users were at the sale trying to secure top-class horses for less than they would end up making as yearlings. 

"The market was strong as expected and I don't think anyone has come away being super surprised at the level the market is at," said McEvoy. "It is becoming a little bit more challenging for pinhookers that are ultimately trying to find weanlings to reoffer as yearlings. I think there are probably a few more participants that are buying weanlings with end use in mind. 

"The market is very buoyant and for the good horses there is a lot of strong competition on them and this is also stemmed from the success of the yearling sale and it is giving people confidence to go strong on the weanlings, knowing we have a very strong and sustainable yearling market."

Peter O'Brien of Segenhoe told Racing & Sports Bloodstock he thought the colt was a perfect mixture of his father and his mother, while he was in agreement with McEvoy that there was more competition from end-users than ever before at the sale.  

"He is a beautiful looking horse and as good as any first foal that I have ever seen," said O'Brien. "He had all the good traits of both his mother and his father. He has a great action, great substance, is very correct and looks like a real racehorse. 

"As it turned out there was a lot of bidding from end users, which seems to be more and more to the fore here in Australia last year and this year. I think the yearling sales are so strong at the moment, that end users are coming to weanling sales and basically getting these really good colts for a bit of discount. 

"From the people I have spoken to, everyone is thinking the same way. I have never seen so many end users, even to the point that you see Ciaron Maher, Kurt Goldman and plenty of other trainers around and they are getting involved. There are trainers and also yearling purchasers, including the stallion syndicates that were in operation at the yearling sales are in operation at the weanling sales also."

Segenhoe sold seven weanlings for an aggregate of $1,455,000 at an average of $207,857.