‘She was just a clear standout for us’
Zoustar headlines a spending spree for Blueblood Thoroughbreds at the Magic Millions Adelaide sale
A filly by Widden Stud’s flagship stallion Zoustar (Northern Meteor) came out on top as the curtain came down on the 2025 Magic Millions Adelaide Yearling Sale on Tuesday.
Consigned by Baramul Stud, the filly sold to Blueblood Thoroughbreds in conjunction with Ciaron Maher Racing for $350,000, which saw her finish $90,000 in front of the second-top lot, a daughter of Written Tycoon (Iglesia) that was sold by Yulong to Chinese investor Wei Jiaoqi for $260,000 during Monday’s opening day of the sale.
Offered in the catalogue as Lot 255, the Zoustar filly was the sole yearling to sell during the two-day sale with the other lot to be offered, a colt that was also consigned by Baramul, failing to meet his $200,000 reserve by $10,000.
“I usually would come down here to look for some value and take home a few cheapies, but in this case, quite the opposite,” Blueblood Thoroughbreds’ racing manager David Mourad told ANZ Bloodstock News.
“She was just a clear standout for us this Zoustar filly and I don’t think there’ll be many that disagree with that. So we had to be strong on her, but we just didn’t want to leave the sale without her, so we were very excited to have been able to purchase her.”
The filly is out of the winning Swiss Ace (Secret Savings) mare Beauty Betty and she is herself out of the stakes-placed winner Ugly Betty (High Yield), making her a sister to the Listed scorer and Group 1 placegetter Huka Eagle.
Lot 255 was the third lot to be purchased by Blueblood Thoroughbreds over the two-day sale, while they would go on to secure another three yearlings later in the day to take that total up to six.
“We have bought three, we bought a Home Affairs filly [Lot 291, $77,500] as well and we did buy a nice cheap Star Turn colt [Lot 159, $10,000],” Mourad, whose other purchases on the day were Lot 319 ($80,000), Lot 384 ($50,000), and Lot 308 ($20,000), said after purchasing the sale-topper.
“So there is a budget for everyone, basically he [the Star Turn colt] was at the lower end and we’ve got one in the middle with the Home Affairs filly and then this one [Zoustar filly] at the top end. We’ve still got more to go, but we’re very happy with what we’re taking home so far.”
Meanwhile, on Zoustar, who currently sits second in the leading sires’ table behind Pride Of Dubai (Street Cry), Mourad said: “We love the stallion. Zoustar is doing a terrific job and we have had success with Zoustar with Lightsaber in the past and when you see filly that looks like her, that nice big hind quarter, very strong, good, deep girth, a lovely action. He just puts that plenty of substance and power into his horses. So just on type, she was just a clear standout and that’s the main reason why we just wanted to go home with her.
“I believe she’s [Zoustar filly] got all the attributes to make a nice two-year-old that should train on.”
Later in the day, a pair of lots sold for $200,000 respectively to secure their placings as the joint-second-top lots on the second day of trade.
Lot 273, the first of the duo to go under the hammer, is a filly by Yulong’s Written Tycoon who sold to Ridgeport Holdings, Clarken Bloodstock, and Suman Hedge Bloodstock (FBAA).
The filly is out of Blue Morpho (Hussonet) who from 16 starts on the track managed three wins, including landing the 2018 Laelia Stakes (Listed, 1600m).
Clarken and his training partner Niki O’Shea know about the family, with the filly’s brother, the unraced Windrow, and her Alabama Express half-sister, who Clarken bought for $80,000 at the Inglis Premier Yearling Sale in 2021, both residents of their Murray Bridge stable.
“The quality always makes money and there have been some really nice types and there’s been no doubt that they have been well received. We were narrowly beaten on the Zoustar filly [Lot 255] earlier today and we were lucky enough to get the Written Tycoon filly a second ago,” Will Clarken told ANZ Bloodstock News.
“I’ve got her two full relations who have shown great promise and haven’t been to the races yet. Written Tycoon has been a good stallion to the yard and we’ve got Kuroyanagi who was Group 1-placed in the Blue Diamond and it’s going to be for the same ownership group [Ridgeport].”
“We’ve got four so far [on the day], we’ve been sent a few and I think there’s a couple more on the list for the rest of the day, but we really came here to buy what we thought was the best filly and the best colt and I think we’ve done that.
“Adelaide has been a really happy hunting ground for us. We bought Beau Rossa here and he was narrowly beaten in a Group 1. I bought Galaxy Patch out of here, Prawn Baba and both of them have run in a Hong Kong Derby [Galaxy Patch second in 2024] and I just know the sale and it’s been really good for us.
“Let’s hope the Magic Millions lives on here in South Australia. Obviously there are some changes ahead, but it’s a great asset to have a sale in our backyard.”
John Foote was the other buyer to hit the $200,000 mark on Tuesday when purchasing Lot 342, a colt by Newgate Farm stallion Brutal (O’Reilly).
Offered by Riverina Downs, the colt is out of the winning Sir Percy (Mark Of Esteem) mare Esteemed Elegance making him a half-brother to Red Elegance (Toronado), a five-time winner in Hong Kong, and Foote revealed this colt will also be headed to the Asian jurisdiction.
“He’s a very athletic horse. I bought him for some Hong Kong clients and Brutal has had one runner in Hong Kong it won, and he’s a half-brother to quite a decent horse in Hong Kong, so he had that flavour,” Foote told ANZ Bloodstock News.
“But he was a very athletic horse, we liked him immediately when we saw him the other day, and we had to pay a bit for him.
“[Brutal] is an emerging sire, isn’t he? And the thing about Hong Kong is that the horses that do well there, they like to buy those stallions that have done well in Hong Kong as well. So he ticks all the boxes, but he was just a nice horse and by a good sire and out of a mare that is proven.”
Asked about where the colt would be headed in Hong Kong, Foote replied: “Don’t know [who will train] yet. We will keep him here in Australia and get him up to trialling stage or maybe racing, and then the owners will take him to Hong Kong. But they’ve got three trainers in Hong Kong and they’ll decide which trainer at the time.”
Meanwhile, on the sale as a whole, Foote said: “[The sale has been] okay, probably not quite as good as last year. There were probably a few nicer horses last year, but very similar. We just pick out the ones we like and have a go and we’ve got four so far, so that’s okay and if we get another one or two would be good.”
A half-sister to the stakes-placed winner Queen Takes King (Charm Spirit), Esteemed Elegance is out of Egeria (Daylami). The latter is a half-sister to dual Listed scorer Inglenook (Cadeaux Genereux) being out of the Sadler’s Wells (Northern Dancer) mare Spring, who herself is a half-sister to Rich Hill Stud’s foundation sire Pentire (Be My Guest).
Earlier in the sale, Gawler-based trainer Aaron Bain teamed up with Summit Bloodstock to secure Lot 228, a colt by Coolmore shuttler St Mark’s Basilica (Siyouni), for $120,000.
Offered by Willaroon Thoroughbreds, the colt is out of the Choisir (Danehill Dancer) mare Zhaojun making him a half-brother to Dubai Focus (Pride Of Dubai), who Bain has trained to three wins from six starts in partnership with co-trainer Ned Taylor.
“We bought a lot of value yesterday [on day one], a lovely Grunt filly [Lot 57, $30,000] early on out of a mare called Our Filly from the Yulong draft. We bought two from them last year and had really good success, both of them trialled on Friday, so they are a draft that we wanted to buy from and worked closely with, so really pleased with her,” Bain told ANZ Bloodstock News.
“[St Mark’s Basilica] is obviously a very new sire, but we’ve had the first foal out of the mare in Dubai Focus and he’s won his last three for us so there was probably no secret that the auditorium turned to where we were sitting and that we were on him [Lot 228].
“We got on him very late, but I thought we’d probably have to pay a little bit more, which was really nice to get him at $120,000. His brother hopefully goes on to win a Listed race very shortly for us and he is showing a lot of promise.”
Bain revealed that this year’s Magic Millions Adelaide Yearling Sale offered him the opportunity to buy at a lower price, with the co-trainer stating the sale ‘provides us with great value’.
“I think there’s been a lot of value [in the sale],” he said. “I think the good horses sold well, but for our stable looking to grow from Angaston Park, the former Lindsay Park site, it’s pivotal that we come, certainly to our local sale, and play a big factor and with the success of teams having at the moment it’s essential that we can buy horses and get people into them and that proves great value for us.
“We’ve been to all the sales, but certainly this sale provides us great value and I think for vendors and buyers it’s a nice sale.
“It’s a great environment here in Adelaide, from the launch on the Sunday night to just the general atmosphere down at Glenelg, we were down there with some owners last night.
“But Magic Millions in general, their support to Racing SA and the two races we put on at Murray Bridge last week with the [Magic Millions SA 2YO Classic and Magic Millions SA 3 & 4YO Classic]. We were fortunate enough to win the three-year-old race with a horse [Shady Thinker] we brought out of the sale in 2023 from the Cornerstone Stud draft, with Seymour Bloodstock, so the local support goes a long way.”
And as far as the future of racing in South Australia goes, Bain was optimistic.
“Magic Millions with the support of Racing SA and the board here have certainly done some great things for the sport, and with Sportsbet coming on board as well through our carnival.
“But particularly Magic Millions and the support that the industry has got to go forward, we’re in a really good spot. We are certainly very excited about the future basing ourselves on one of the best training properties in the world and we’re looking for expansion and we love it here on our home turf.”
Bain teamed up with Summit Bloodstock to secure 12 lots at the sale and was leading buyer on spend at $627,000, ahead of John Foote with five purchased at a total of $590,000.
Baramul Stud was the leading vendor by gross ($1,842,500 for 20 sold), while Yulong was on top by average ($105,778 for nine sold), marginally ahead of local Whim Park, who sold their two lots at an average of $102,500.
Overall, the two-day Adelaide Yearling Sale saw 455 lots catalogued, up from 452 in 2024, and a total of 293 of those sold (76 per cent), which was down from 306 last year (79 per cent). There were 81 lots passed in last year, whereas a total of 91 passed in this time.
The overall spending stats were also down this year, with the sale grossing $14,348,500, down from $15,379,500 in 2024, and the average of $48,971 ($50,259 in 2024), median of $32,500 ($40,000 in 2024), and top price of $350,000 ($400,000) all representing drops from the previous year.
However, despite this, Magic Millions managing director Barry Bowditch felt the sale was in line with his expectations, telling ANZ: “I think today [day two] was a very similar sale to yesterday [day one]. Obviously the clearance rate has improved a little bit and the average has held and all in all I think it’s been a pleasing couple of days without anything too outstanding.
“It was very much in line with [my expectations]. I think it showed this week that quality horses are still making plenty of money. We sold more horses for six figures than we did last year and I think last year we had some more significant horses than what we did this year. So we’ll look to our local breeders to support this sale with their better horses going forward.
“We think we’ve got a really good market here for those sorts of horses and a nice horse walked in the ring, especially a colt that ticked the boxes, there were numbers of people on each of those and they sold very, very well.
“I think the local market is really what’s pleased us. They bought more horses than last year. They spent more money than last year and that’s important to the ecosystem of South Australia.
“It’s really important and that’s part of the reason we have this sale here to support the local economy and to support local racing and that’s evident. And as you say, the international buyers, I think Hong Kong and New Zealand have been fantastic and then obviously China, Thailand played their part.
“You look at some of the other interstate markets, I think Victoria was great and Western Australia was fantastic at this sale. So I think there’s a great cross-section of buyers. We’re pleased overall with the results and I think you’ll see as the day goes on and into tomorrow the clearance rate will improve and get close to the last year’s and with that the gross will become closer.
“So, I think it’s a pleasing result for the state. It’s a pleasing result for the breeders that supported this sale and we will garner more support for the sale in the next few months for next year.”
Sale statistics – overall
2025 (2024)
Catalogued 455 (452)
Offered 384 (387)
Sold 293 (76%) (306 [79%])
Aggregate $14,333,500 (-7.3%) ($15,379,500)
Average $49,087 (-4%) ($50,259)
Median $32,500 (-23%) ($40,000)
Top Lot $350,000 ($400,000)