‘He doesn’t want to buy green bananas anymore’
For Victorian breeder Robert McClure, this year’s Magic Millions sale is about chasing ultimate success, be it on the racetrack or in the sales ring.
Morning Rise Stud’s McClure, who co-bred this season’s Magic Millions 2YO Classic (RL, 1200m) winner Storm Boy (Justify), has had a long and successful career in the breeding and racing game and he’s craving more and in order to chase that next adrenaline rush he’s stumping up his money.
On Wednesday, he and agent James Bester paid $1.2 million for Grande Dame (Lope De Vega), a European Listed winner and Group 1-placed mare, who was trained by John and Thady Gosden for Mrs Tabor, Mrs MV Magnier, Mrs Shanahan, was offered in foal to champion European stallion Frankel (Galileo) on an early September cover.
They also teamed up with Coolmore to buy Rosemont’s $1.4 million stakes-winning filly Legacies (Justify), who will race on for another season with trainers Peter Moody and Katherine Coleman.
“He doesn’t want to buy green bananas anymore. This is a very all-or-nothing market and if you’re not playing at the top level you might as well not be playing,” Bester said of McClure’s ramped up investment.
“The thought of having a Frankel out of such a good mare and such a good type of mare was very enticing.”
The influence of Juddmonte’s superstar Frankel in the southern hemisphere could gather pace given the amount of progeny by the stallion bred to southern hemisphere time over the past few years.
Bester said: “Frankel from his southern hemisphere progeny alone has 15 per cent Group winners – most world-class stallions have ten per cent stakes winners.
“So, Frankel’s record in the southern hemisphere is outstanding and there are more coming through.
“He is the world’s best stallion, if Justify isn’t, so to me it’s the high-end play with a lot of safety nets underneath it.”