Breeze Up Bloodstock makes mark on final day in Adelaide
Sons of Zoustar and Nicconi fetch $140,000 as Magic Millions sale comes to a close
Chinese owner Gu Tao and his expatriate New Zealand trainer Quinton Cassidy yesterday added two colts and a filly to their burgeoning Breeze Up Bloodstock operation on the final day of the Magic Millions Adelaide Yearling Sale.
The pair landed a colt by Zoustar (Northern Meteor) and a son of Widden Stud-based barnmate Nicconi (Bianconi) for $140,000 each as well as adding a filly by Darley shuttler Frosted (Tapit) for $30,000.
The trio of yearlings, to go with a $110,000 Brazen Beau (I Am Invincible) colt bought on day one, brings Breeze Up Bloodstock’s 2020 Australasian yearling sale tally to 38 with the Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale still to go.
Cassidy, who trains from Wuhan in mainland China, and Gu have been in Australia since early January with no chance of returning home due to the coronavirus outbreak.
While concerned with the growing crisis and the wider ramifications, Cassidy said yesterday the pair have used their time in Australia and New Zealand to ramp up Breeze Up Bloodstock’s thoroughbred interests.
“We do plan on getting a racing team up and going, which is already under way, and we will also have some that will be re-offered (at two-year-old sales) and the ones we think are suitable for China will go back there later on.
“We are covering all bases and once everything settles down – we’ve still got Easter to go – we will decide which ones do what. It is exciting times ahead and really looking forward to what we are establishing.”
The Zoustar colt, catalogued as Lot 324 who brought $140,000 yesterday, is the first foal out of the three-time winner I’m A Flying Star (Starcraft) who in turn is a half-sister to Hussterics (Hussonet), the dam of Inglis 2YO Classic (RL, 1200m) winner Lady Jivago (Beneteau).
“He was magnificently turned out from Leneva Park – they did a great job preparing him, so full credit to them,” Cassidy said.
“He is a very athletic colt. We loved everything about him and the good thing is, the boss loved him, too. That makes the job very easy.”
Leneva Park’s Sarah Beaumont admitted it had been a tough market in Adelaide, but was “very happy with the way he sold”.
“He really developed throughout the prep. He is a big colt with the biggest overstep and he was extremely busy throughout the parades, he was never in his box and paraded beautifully and very professionally throughout the week,” Beaumont said.
“I think the real selling point with him was his walk, he used every part of his body to walk and just improved and improved and I think in six months time we will see an even bigger and better colt.”
The Nicconi colt, who brought the same price for Breeze Up Bloodstock, was offered by Balcrest Stud as Lot 364. He is the first foal out of the two-time winner Life’s Zerprise (Choisir).
“It will be a tough decision with what we actually do with him. Initially, we did have plans to breeze him up but looking at him two or three times, we might have to restrategise our plans (and add him to the racing team),” he said.
On the coronavirus that has prevented Gu and Cassidy from returning to China, he said: “It has been very tough on both of us but it has enabled us to do now what we were going to be doing later in the year.
“We have brought that plan forward and our racing team has given us something to do until everything settles down over in China.
“When it is time to go back we will pursue our projects over there, but it’s a million-dollar question at the moment (when that will be).”
There were five yearlings who reached six figures on day two, bringing the total number of lots to make $100,000 or more at this year’s Adelaide auction to 14, down from 19 in 2019.
Among them was the half-brother by Shamus Award (Snitzel) to Group 3 winner Li’l Kontra (Krupt), who also ran fourth in last year’s star-studded Coolmore Stud Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m) at Flemington.
The colt was bought by Newcastle-based syndicator Australian Bloodstock who went to $135,000 for the Golden Grove-consigned yearling who was catalogued as Lot 362.
By the Cox Plate (Gr 1, 2040m) winner, who relocated to Rosemont Stud last year, he is the seventh foal out of nine-time winner Li’l Cashy (Keltrice) who has had four foals to race for four winners including Li’l Kontra and the stakes-placed Cashed (Krupt).
Australian Bloodstock’s Luke Murrell believes the colt was a clear stand out, not just in Adelaide but at all sales he had attended this year.
“I spent three days down there looking at him and as soon as he walked out he was just the best looking colt and also moved so well,” Murrell said.
“I thought he was in the top ten balanced horses I’d seen all year – I just loved him. I was hoping, it being Adelaide, that I didn’t have to spend that much, but he was worth every cent and I guess in 12 months we will find out if it was a good decision or not.”
Shamus Award is best-known as the sire of Queensland Derby (Gr 1, 2400m) winner Mr Quickie and Murrell believes he is an underrated stallion.
“He is 60 per cent runners to winners and I think his colts are about seven per cent stakes horses and this is coming off probably not the best batch of mares he would have covered in those seasons,” he said.
“We bought a filly, Enchanted Heart, off the same farm a couple of years ago and she has won four from seven for us.”
Earlier, Leon Macdonald went to $120,000 to secure the Palentino (Teofilo) half-sister to Tequila Time (Stratum), the Group 3-winning sprinter under his care.
The veteran trainer, who runs a Morphettville stable with son-in-law Andrew Gluyas, prepared Tequila Time to win at Morphettville on February 29.
By Sun Stud’s first season sire, the Willow Grove Stud-bred and sold filly is the seventh living foal out of El Milagro (Encosta De Lago), making her the half-sister to not only Tequila Time, himself a $170,000 Adelaide graduate, but also the Tasmanian Guineas (Listed, 1600m) winner Inner Warrior (God’s Own) and two other winners. She was catalogued as Lot 278.
The top-priced lot in Book 2 was a Puissance De Lune (Shamardal) filly sold to Ballarat trainer Mitch Freedman from the draft of Phoenix Broodmare Farm for $90,000.
Golden Grove also sold a Shamus Award colt in Book 2 for $85,000 to Gold Coast trainer Michael Costa.
The Book 1 sale last night closed with 288 yearlings changing hands at a clearance rate of 79 per cent, at an average of $38,318 (down 3.7 per cent) and a median price of $30,000 held steady from 2019. The aggregate was $11,035,500, up 11 per cent on the previous year but in line with the larger offering.
“I think the way the sale results were, was reflective of some of the stock. I thought the Magic Millions Gold Coast sale was very even across the board,” Australian Bloodstock’s Murrell said.
“But the last two Inglis sales (Classic and Premier) and now this Adelaide one, I thought those better horses were standing out because the difference between the top horses and the bottom horses is big.
“When you look at every one of them you get those lesser horses out and they really stand out when you’ve just looked at a good horse. I saw all the horses (in Adelaide) and if you were to rate them out of 100 there were a lot of horses at 90, but there were a lot of horses at ten as well and all in between and I would think that is reflected in the results.”
While the overall yearling market has been up this year, Murrell was well aware that there were breeders who had lost money.
“The whole industry is pretty tough at the moment. There are some very good prices there, but there are a lot of costs associated and I am sure there are a few people that have done it a bit tough in all the sales,” he said.
“But if you have the right product they will certainly pay for it.”
Magic Millions managing director Barry Bowditch again reiterated that it was “a very selective market” that played in Adelaide.
“Buyers came here, they knew what they wanted to buy and they had to pass all their criteria to bid and in those cases they did bid strongly, but in other cases a lot of horses slipped through the cracks,” Bowditch said.
“On the right horses there was plenty of activity and competition. It just shows if you bring the right horse to Adelaide you get plenty of money.”
The focus for the Magic Millions bloodstock team now switches to next week’s two-day QTIS March Yearling Sale on the Gold Coast.
“It is always a fantastic sale, plenty of opportunities, great value to be had with the prize-money available up there (in Queensland),” he said.
Sale statistics – Book 1
2020 2019
Catalogued 401 345
Offered 362 (+14.5%) 316
Sold 288 (80%) 250 (79%)
Aggregate $11,035,500 (+11%) $9,950,000
Average $38,318 (-3.7%) $39,800
Median $30,000 $30,000
Top Lot $270,000 $250,000