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First day of the National Broodmare sale finishes with an extraordinary aggregate of $68,888,000
At the close of trade on Tuesday at the Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale, the auction house reported that 210 lots sold for an aggregate of $68,888,000 at a clearance of just over 90 per cent and Magic Millions managing director Barry Bowditch told Racing & Sports Bloodstock he had never experienced a sale like that before in his life.
“I would say undoubtedly it was one of the highlights of my career to date,” said Bowditch. “I am incredibly proud of the team who built this catalogue and put it together.
“To have 18 seven-figure mares in one day and an eclectic sales ring is rare to see and I couldn’t be prouder of my team, but also the industry as a whole who have gone in and supported what I think is the most extraordinary catalogue we have ever offered.”
As expected, the Shadwell Australia dispersal proved popular on Tuesday, with 37 mares and fillies, selling for an aggregate of $25,135,000 at an average of $679,324 and Bowditch said the results exceeded all their expectations.
“The Shadwell dispersal was quite extraordinary,” said Bowditch. “Obviously the time and effort of over 30 years of work culminated in over 30 minutes and the emotion and the electricity in the room was something I had never experienced before.
“All the staff at Yarraman were in tears and they had us in tears, it was something I can’t put into words, I was speechless. They were results that far exceeded anyone’s expectations, but in saying that the results that were achieved are kudos to what Angus [Gold] and Sheikh Hamdan dedicated the last two and a half decades to.
“Our mandate when you get a dispersal of this kind is to create a market and to get the biggest buyers from this part of the world all in one room and to see them all bid with gusto and a lot of positivity was enjoyable to watch and it was an experience I had never felt before in a sales ring.”
Of the sale of topping mare Melody Belle (Commands), Bowditch continued: “It was a privilege to be able to offer mares like Melody Belle on behalf of Te Akau and Fortuna. Obviously, she was early in the day and she set the emotions running and set the tone for the rest of the sale.
“We were delighted with what she brought, but if I bought her at that money I would be delighted as well, it was a great transaction. Obviously the ownership group have enjoyed a brilliant journey with her winning 14 Group 1s. It was a huge result.”
With a coronavirus hit last year comparisons are difficult, but the average of $328,038 recorded on Tuesday represented a massive 124 per cent increase on the $146,397 recorded during the 2019 edition of the sale. Meanwhile, the median finished on Thursday at $145,000 up 107 per cent on $170,000 recorded in 2019. The comparisons are also massively altered due to the Shadwell dispersal which equated over a quarter of the sale’s aggregate on day one.
Mr Zhang’s Written Tycoon Syndicate finished the day as the leading buyers, purchasing 26 lots for total receipts of $12,200,000 at an average of $496,231.
Meanwhile, not including the Shadwell dispersal, Julian Blaxland’s Blue Sky Premium Consignment led the way in terms of vendors by aggregate, selling 35 of the 37 offering for an aggregate of $7,226,000 at an average of $206,457.
Willow Park finished the day as the leading vendors by average (with three or more lots sold) when they sold three lots for an aggregate of $2,180,000 at an average of $726,667.
Day two of the Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale gets underway at 10am on Wednesday.
