First Light backing repeat with second crop of Russian Revolution
Colt by Newgate’s young stallion offered by Lyndhurst Stud tops Magic Millions March Yearling Sale at $230,000
The deeds of young stallion Russian Revolution (Snitzel) were at the forefront of buyers’ minds when a colt by the exciting Newgate Farm sire sold for $230,000 on the Gold Coast yesterday, the highest-priced horse sold at this week’s Magic Millions March Yearling Sale.
Trainers Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott teamed up with syndicator First Light Racing to take home the imposing colt from the second crop of the dual Group 1-winning sprinter, the most expensive of the 314 yearlings sold and one of 22 to make $100,000 or more at the auction restricted to QTIS-eligible horses.
The colt and a $185,000 Capitalist (Written Tycoon) filly helped sustain a consistent day two market which maintained day one demand, with the aggregate closing out at $12,446,500, down 14 per cent year-on-year, while the average was $39,639, a decrease of 11 per cent, and the median was $30,000, down $5,000 on the 2021 sale.
The sale-topping son of Russian Revolution, a foal share between Newgate Farm and Lyndhurst Stud Farm’s Griff Kruger, is the fourth foal out of the Sydney-placed, Waterhouse-trained juvenile Right Of Way (Denman), herself a daughter of the stakes-placed Street Sign (High Yield). Right Of Way is the dam of the winning, multiple Brisbane-placed three-year-old gelding Pentito (Spill The Beans).
Waterhouse was at her effervescent best immediately after the combination landed the colt, conducting a Facetime call between First Light Racing’s bloodstock manager Ashleigh Dowley, Bott and herself to celebrate the Gold Coast purchase.
“We thought he was the colt of the sale, so we weren’t going to leave without him. We were particularly excited to get another Russian Revolution, the leading first season sire and I think he’s the next big stallion on the rise,” Dowley told ANZ Bloodstock News yesterday.
“We bought him with Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott and they train the first stakes-winning colt by Russian Revolution in Rise Of The Masses, who ran in the Golden Slipper on the weekend.
“They’re big fans of the stallion and so are we and, on top of all that, they trained the mum Right Of Way. They had a fair opinion of her. Gai said she was a very fast two-year-old, she was a multiple city placed two-year-old … who had above average ability.”
The October 31-born colt, who was catalogued as Lot 274, was offered by Lyndhurst Stud Farm.
“It is a huge result. I sent the mare to Russian Revolution on a foal share, we got a lovely colt who stood out in this sale being a QTIS and a BOBS horse and he’s gone to great trainers in Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott,” Kruger said.
Russian Revolution, the sire of five first crop winners including Blue Diamond Prelude (F) (Gr 2, 1100m) winner and Blue Diamond runner-up Revolutionary Miss and Pago Pago Stakes (Gr 3, 1200m) winner Rise Of The Masses, has averaged $165,721 so far this year, up 56 per cent compared to his first crop yearlings.
Newgate Farm’s Tony “Tubba” Williams, who was on the Gold Coast for the sale, was effusive in his praise of Russian Revolution and the colt as well as breeder Griff Kruger.
“There is no doubt we couldn’t be happier with how the stallion is going. At this point he is the leading first season sire and to produce stock like he has, we can see his second season being equally as good as his first, if not better … and this colt is right up there with the best of them,” Williams said.
“Make no mistake, he’s as good a Russian Revolution colt as has been at a sale all year.”
Dowley believes the colt has the physique and maturity to be racing as a two-year-old and, like many who buy a horse from Magic Millions, has designs on next year’s $2 million 2YO Classic (RL, 1200m) at the Gold Coast in January.
It was an opinion shared by Waterhouse and Bott as well as Kestrel Thoroughbreds’ Bruce Slade, the trainers’ representative at the Gold Coast sale.
“He is a pretty forward, physical type already. He does look to be that natural two-year-old and we’ve seen it time and time again that just because he is a late foal it doesn’t mean he is going to be too far behind,” Dowley said.
“Anamoe is a November foal; Daumier won the Blue Diamond and he’s a late November foal as well, so it can be done, and if he doesn’t (get to the Magic Millions 2YO Classic) there’s always plenty of opportunities in the autumn.”
Later in the session, Dowley was good on her promise to source yearlings for First Light Racing’s Queensland stable which is overseen by Eagle Farm trainer Rob Heathcote.
The syndictor bought a Winning Rupert (Written Tycoon) filly for $80,000 from Lyndhurst Stud Farm, a filly by Spill The Beans (Snitzel) for $11,000 and a colt by Better Than Ready (More Than Ready) for $75,000 from Eureka Stud in conjunction with Heathcote.
Queensland’s Lyndhurst Stud Farm, which stands Better Than Ready (More Than Ready) and will welcome Black Opal Stakes (Gr 3, 1200m) winner Barbaric (I Am Invincible) to the roster later this year, was second leading vendor by aggregate, trading 29 yearlings for $1,301,500.
“As a vendor, I think across the board it was pretty good. If you had a reasonable reserve you were well rewarded and the Better Than Readys are going great guns up here, so they weren’t too hard to sell, they were pretty popular,” Kruger said.
Tullyard celebrates ‘best ever’ March sale
A List Stud’s Chris Lee, an investor at almost all yearling sales so far this year, was again active yesterday, purchasing two yearlings, a $185,000 Capitalist (Written Tycoon) filly the most expensive of the pair.
Lee also bought a colt by Newhaven Park’s Xtravagant (Pentire) for $90,000 with the assistance of Magic Millions bloodstock consultant Nicky Wong.
Ben and Amelia Spoelder’s Tullyard offered the Capitalist filly, who is the seventh foal out of juvenile winner Prerequisite (Charge Forward), a half-sister to Group 1-winning sprinter Gold Trail (Hussonet) and the dam of two winners to date.
The sister to the sale-topping filly, the unraced juvenile Marxist (Capitalist), is being trained in Victoria by Aaron Laing at Cranbourne. She was catalogued as Lot 254.
Ben Spoelder was “absolutely thrilled” by the sale of the filly, another Newgate Farm foal share yearling, one of ten yearlings Tullyard sold for a total of $546,500.
“Newgate has been very supportive of us and it was great to have produced a good article for them and we had a good result, so we couldn’t be happier for Newgate and for us to have such a good filly to go through,” Spoelder said.
“She was a lovely, scopey filly. She was very nice, she had a great body, plenty of power and hopefully she can be a good two-year-old. She goes to A List and will get every opportunity.”
The Spoelder’s race the filly’s half-sister Vital Source (Headwater) with Eagle Farm trainer Chris Munce and he was one of the buyers making a play for the September 30 foal.
“Johnny Morrisey is a great supporter of us too and he was in on the action and that all helps. This has made a big difference to us,” Spoelder said.
“We bought ten horses down here, sold them all and we walked away with just short of $550,000. That would be our best sale by far.”
Capitalist had four yearlings sell over the two days of the March sale, averaging $120,000.
Tony Gollan also continued his investment in QTIS-eligible yearlings, adding two more horses yesterday to the six he acquired on day one either through agent John Foote or clients.
Having bought a colt by Spirit Of Boom (Sequalo) on day one for $180,000, he added two more by the stallion yesterday, a $125,000 colt out of Now You See (Magic Albert) for $125,000 and a filly for $85,000.
In total, leading buyer Gollan spent $712,000 in partnership with Foote and another $125,000 with syndicators Dream Thoroughbreds and Flying Start at the March sale.
Gollan bought nine yearlings by Spirit Of Boom in 2021 – the first crop from a vastly upgraded band of mares – and he was given many more to train by clients such as Honey Pot, who is owned by Central Queensland beef breeders Alan and Jennifer Acton who also raced stakes winner Outback Barbie by the stallion.
“We haven’t raced a lot of them yet, only the one filly when a lot of things weren’t going right for her, but before the end of the two-year-old season you will see a lot start to step out,” Gollan said.
“We’ve been very pleased with what we’ve seen with them at home and they are horses who can train on, like he did, they don’t just have to be two-year-olds. I am very pleased with the crop from last year. We spent a bit of money obviously, but they will come to fruition for their clients in the next couple of seasons.
“They’re all nice horses, it’s just a matter of when we step them out.”
Spirit Of Boom, at a fee of $33,000 (inc GST), covered 178 mares in 2021 at Eureka Stud.
Leading North Queensland owner Tom Hedley, trading under Group 1 Bloodstock, was also a big buyer, taking home 11 yearlings who will be sent to various trainers.
Kenmore Lodge was the leading vendor by gross ($1,771,500 for 35 lots sold) while Glenlogan Park topped the vendor averages (three or more sold) at $84,625 for eight sold.
Although the March sale did not follow the 2022 Australian trend of year-on-year increases, Magic Millions managing director Barry Bowditch was satisfied with the way the QTIS auction played out.
“I think there was a very healthy market for the two days. Vendors brought well-presented, well-conformed horses here and they were motivated to meet the market and that’s a good recipe for a horse sale,” Bowditch said last night.
“There was plenty of interest from regional and south east Queensland as well as interstate participation and some international buyers, it has been a solid two days trade.”
The Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale, on April 5 and 6, in Sydney will now take centre stage on the southern hemisphere sales circuit but for Magic Millions, it will turn its attention to the National weanling, broodmare and yearling sale scheduled from May 19 to June 2.
“We have been really delighted with how the tour of Australia, as we put it, has gone for the Magic Millions yearling sale series,” he said.
“Now all roads lead back to the Gold Coast in mid to late May and we’re really looking forward to an outstanding broodmare, weanling and yearling sale.
“We’re still taking entries for that and anyone who is considering selling should get in touch with our bloodstock department in the next seven days.”
Sale results – overall
2022 2021
Catalogued 427 419
Offered 380 384
Sold 314 (83%) 323 (84%)
Aggregate $12,446,500 (-14%) $14,462,500
Average $39,639 (-11%) $44,776
Median $30,000 (-14%) $35,000
Top Lot $230,000 $370,000