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Sheikh Hamdan’s dispersal realises a massive $25,135,000 on the Gold Coast

The late Sheikh Hamdan’s huge investment into Australia over the past 36 years was richly rewarded at the Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale as the 37 mares sold as part of the Shadwell Stud Australasia Unreserved Dispersal realised a massive $25,135,000, selling at an average of $679,324. 

The Shadwell dispersal was well received by the buying bench at the Magic Millions National Weanling Sale last week, with 20 weanlings selling for an aggregate of $5,435,000 at an average of $271,750, while at the Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale last month 12 yearlings realised $6,060,000 at an average of $505,000. 

Hamdan’s racing manager Angus Gold told Racing & Sports Bloodstock he found the whole experience both emotional and very humbling. 

“It has been a very humbling day and very emotional,” said Gold. “I am delighted to be able to repay Sheikh Hamdan and his family a little bit of their investment over the years. It is a great testament to him and his enormous investment that people were so keen to come back to buy his stock. 

“I want to also thank Yarraman Park, who did a brilliant job. Obviously Harry and Arthur Mitchell and Matt Scown, who was outstanding throughout this whole process and a huge thank you also to Magic Millions, who have done a tremendous job promoting the sale and keeping me in the loop. 

“It has been an extraordinary experience. It was obviously very weird sitting here unable to be there and it definitely hit me that it was all over when the last one went through. But it was so great to see them all head to good homes - I will be keeping a keen eye on them and they will all get the best chance to go on to be champion broodmares. 

“I would also like to thank everybody who bought yearlings, weanlings, mares and fillies off us and I wish them all the very best with them.”

Of the 27 mares offered for sale on Tuesday, 2018 South Australian Derby (Gr 1, 2500m) winner Qafila (Not A Single Doubt) - who was offered in foal to Arrowfield Stud-based Dundeel (High Chaparral) - was the headline after she was purchased by Dean Hawthorne Bloodstock for a partnership with Coolmore and GSA Bloodstock for $2 million.

Gold bought the daughter of Not A Single Doubt (Redoute’s Choice) for $450,000 at the 2017 edition of the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale from the Attunga Stud draft and she would subsequently go on to beat her male counterparts in the 2018 South Australian Derby having finished fourth in the South Australian Oaks (Gr 1, 2000m) only a week before. 

The mare also won Debutant Stakes (Listed, 1000m) on debut as a two-year-old and she retired the winner of three of her 22 races, with $731,420 in career prize-money and Hawthorne told Racing & Sports Bloodstock she had been one of the target mares when it announced last February that Shadwell would be disbanding their Australian holdings. 

“She was a quality mare on the track, winning a Derby was obviously the highlight and Dundeel is doing a great job down here to get her started. 

“She is just a lovely mare and we are delighted to have her. We thought she was the target mare of the Shadwell dispersal. These opportunities don’t come along very often and we decided we weren’t going home without her. 

“She was hard and tough and that is important, she retired sound which is obviously important as well. They don’t make anymore Not A Single Doubt’s so that was one thing. She didn’t look like a big staying type, she had her length and she was a very physical mare. She clearly had the strength to go early, hence why she was able to run at two.”

Catalogued as Lot 815, the mare is one of two winners out of Zighy Bay (Tapit) and she is herself a half-sister to Japanese Grade 1 winner Mozu Superflare (Speightstown) and Grade 3 winner Sacristy (Pulpit). 

A few lots later, Hawthorne teamed up with Coolmore and GSA Bloodstock to secure another from the Shadwell dispersal, securing Listed-winning Redoute’s Choice (Danehill) mare Zamzam for $1,250,000. 

While she was not offered in foal, Zamzam’s progeny previous progeny proved a real hit in the sales ring, with her yearling colt by I Am Invincible (Invincible Spirit) having been purchased by Tom Magnier and James Harron for $1,150,000 at the Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale last month, while Fernrigg Farm bought her I Am Invincible filly for $300,000 at the Magic Millions National Weanling Sale last week. 

Zamzam herself is out of Group 1-placed Dehere (Deputy Minister) mare Fleur De’here and she is herself out of New Zealand Group 2 winner Fleur De Chine (Centaine), making Zamzam a three-quarter sister Lipari - the dam of 2018 Australian Derby (Gr 1, 2400m) winner Levendi (Pierro) and Group 3-winning duo Wu Gok (Sebring) and Marcel From Madrid (Sepoy) as well as Listed scorer Duplicity (Duporth). 

Further back this is the same family as Group 2 winner and Group 1-placed Thunder Lady (Mastercraftsman) and Listed winners Irish Flame (Zed) and Sufficient (Zabeel). 

Hawthorne said that the fact that Zamzam is by Redoute’s Choice, who is generally regarded as one of the best broodmare sires in the world, meant she was a very attractive prospect.

“Her second foal was a cracker, who Coolmore bought. She is only eight and she has two foals on the ground and people are paying $1 million - $1.5 million for six-year-olds off the track, so have an eight-year-old mare off the track for that,” said Hawthorne. 

“She is a Redoute’s Choice mare and everyone knows how good he is as a broodmare sire and they don’t make any more of them!”

Hawthorne said both the mares would be heading to Coolmore stallions, but that it would be decided in the coming weeks which ones would be the best fit. 

“They have both been bought in conjunction with Coolmore so they will both be covered by a Coolmore stallion,” he said. “We are massive Wootton Bassett fans, we are sending mares to him in both hemispheres, but no plans have been made for them as yet but we will sit down with the Coolmore team and make a plan in the not too distant future.”

Of the Shadwell dispersal, Hawthorne continued: “This is proof that Shadwell will be sorely missed. Angus and his team have done a wonderful job down here accumulating these families down here and over the last few weeks at the National Sale they have sold accordingly. The mares were beautifully turned out by Yarraman and beautifully raised. You are investing in the future here, so it is going to be exciting.”