Hedge and Trilogy capitalise on well-bred colt during day one of March Yearling Sale
Suman Hedge splashed the cash at the rescheduled Magic Millions Gold Coast March Yearling Sale, spending a combined $467,000 on six yearlings including the sale’s only Capitalist (Written Tycoon) colt, who topped the opening day when he fetched $150,000.
Having procured the colt from boutique family-run operation KBL Thoroughbreds, Hedge following up with a spend of $120,000 on a Spirit Of Boom (Sequalo) colt and the $110,000 purchase of a powerful Brave Smash (Tosen Phantom) filly – both in partnership with Grant and Alana Williams.
No fewer than five of the six yearlings will join the in-form husband–and–wife team, who are dominating the Western Australian Trainers’ Premiership with a remarkable strike–rate in excess of 24 per cent. They will be hoping their new Spirit Of Boom colt can replicate the achievements of the stable’s stakes-winning mare Keshi Boom (Spirit Of Boom), a $120,000 purchase at this sale three years ago.
Before his spending spree with Williams Racing, Hedge teamed up with Trilogy Racing – the proprietors of Blue Gum Farm – to secure the striking Capitalist colt from the draft offered by KBL Thoroughbreds, based nearby in Beaudesert.
A stable is yet to be determined for the colt, who topped the sale on an opening day when the market was, according to Magic Millions’ managing director Barry Bowditch, “very selective”.
The colt’s dam Sold For Song (Collate) was a multiple stakes winner when she was prepared by Toowoomba-based trainer Kevin Kemp, one of the first people in the sales ring to congratulate Hedge on his purchase.
“He looks a very strong individual,” Hedge told ANZ Bloodstock News.
“I was really taken by his looks and he also has the pedigree to match. Capitalist needs no introduction and the colt’s dam was a very smart race mare with an excellent record, so we think he represents good value.
“We had him out and took a good look a few times, and he was always very professional during the inspections. So we knew he would be popular and I’m delighted to secure him for the team at Trilogy, who have become great clients for me.
“I’ve started working closely with them over the past 12 months, they’ve put a lot of money into the industry and they’re good people to work with. They’re having a real crack and hopefully we can have some good results with them.”
Brad Lowe, who runs KBL Thoroughbreds in tandem with his partner Kandice Pritchard, was understandably delighted that their prized asset would be given the best possible chance of achieving racetrack success.
“Suman is a great judge and Trilogy send their horses to top trainers, so we’re really happy this colt has found such a good home and we’re excited to see what he can do,” he told ANZ.
“The colt was bred by one of our clients, Ian Price, and he arrived on our farm around eight weeks ago. He’s really thrived in that time, so we were fairly confident that he would be popular but you never really know.
“Obviously the fact that he was the only Capitalist here worked in his favour, and he’s out of a really good mare so the pedigree spoke for itself. He’s a real professional with a great temperament, so we had high hopes for him and we’re obviously delighted to get a result like that.
“Alongside our Pinatubo colt [Lot 351], he was probably the standout from our draft here. The Pinatubo colt will go through the ring tomorrow [Tuesday], so we’d love to get a similar result with him. Pinatubo is siring plenty of winners in Europe and his yearlings have been selling well in Australia this year. This colt is the only Pinatubo here and he’s a lovely animal, so hopefully he’ll be popular.”
Having dominated this sale last year, Queensland’s leading sire Spirit Of Boom – who boasts a 72 per cent winners to runners strike–rate – made a big impression in the opening session of the two-day auction.
Rockhampton horseman Clinton Taylor paid a sale-high fee of $230,000 for the sister to his stable star Chinny Boom (Spirit Of Boom) last year, and the progeny of Eureka Stud’s flagbearer were again in demand at the Bundall complex.
Tony Gollan, who saddled up Spirit Of Boom to dual Group 1 success, teamed up with right–hand man John Foote to purchase the sire’s filly out of the stakes-winning mare Sweet Dolly (Real Saga) for $140,000.
Sweet Dolly – a $1,500 purchase at the 2019 Magic Millions National Weanling Sale – burst out of the blocks with four straight wins, including the Calaway Gal Stakes (Listed, 1000m) at Eagle Farm in 2020.
She was subsequently acquired by Daandine Stud for $320,000 at the 2022 Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale, and the Darling Downs operation – who bred Ciaron Maher’s Group 1 winner Southport Tycoon (Written Tycoon) – recouped almost half that fee when her first foal was knocked down to Queensland’s leading trainer.
South African bloodstock agent Craig Ramsay, who has been active at the Australian sales this year sourcing yearlings for his clients back home, paid the same price ($140,000) for another Spirit Of Boom filly from the Warrandale Stud draft.
Hedge, meanwhile, waited for the very last lot of the day to enter the sales ring before jumping on the Spirit Of Boom bandwagon. In a spirited end to the day’s proceedings, he eventually outlasted his bidding rivals to secure the third foal produced by Dylan’s Deeva (Dylan Thomas).
“Grant and Alana have had a lot of success with the Spirit Of Booms, so we’re hoping this colt can keep that run going,” said Hedge.
“They were keen to buy another Spirit Of Boom this week, and from early on we identified this colt as one of the best horses in the sale. It was quite a long wait for him to come into the ring and we faced a lot of competition, but I’m really pleased that we managed to secure him in the end.
“I’ve been working with Grant and Alana for three or four years now, and their stable just keeps going from strength to strength. They’re active at all the sales, they’re very ambitious and they’re also very loyal. Their record speaks for itself, they’ve got one of the best strike rates in the country so it’s a privilege for me to source horses for a stable like that.”
The colt was presented by Glenlogan Park, who enjoyed a very profitable opening day having sold their three lots for a combined $300,000. Stuart Kendrick paid $70,000 for their other Spirit Of Boom colt, before Hedge made his move by pouncing on the farm’s Brave Smash filly.
In contrast to the acceleration he displayed on the racetrack, Brave Smash’s stud career has been more of a slow burn but, aided by the exploits of Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes (Gr 1, 1400m) heroine Kimochi, the Yarraman Park Stud resident is now starting to make his mark.
Such was the size and stature of Lot 49, Hedge initially assumed the filly was a colt.
“She’s a real powerhouse,” he said. “She’s got a big hind quarter and broad shoulders, so you would have to go a long way to find a more powerful yearling filly than her.
“She comes from a great producing farm in Glenlogan Park, so that gave us a lot of confidence and the stallion is doing a really good job – especially with his fillies. The mare is stakes placed so there’s a fair bit of depth to the pedigree.
“She looks an early going type, so hopefully Grant and Alana can get her up and running and have some fun with her. They’re generally very patient with their horses, but if they were to get one going as a two-year-old this filly looks to fit the bill.”
Speaking in conclusion of a day which saw a total of eight lots sell for $100,000 or more – compared to just two in the same price bracket on the opening day last year – Bowditch was reasonably satisfied with the trading but has urged more Queensland buyers to come out and support the local vendors.
“Each year this sale produces well-priced horses that go on to have great racetrack success, and I’m sure this year will be no different,” he told ANZ Bloodstock News.
“The clearance rate was very similar to last year and the average price is up, so that’s clearly a positive. The fact that we sold eight horses for six figures is great, and if you had the right horse here there was a lot of interest in it, as you saw with the bidding on the final lot of the day.
“We had buyers from China, New Zealand, South Africa and right across Australia, but there’s no hiding from the fact that it’s a very selective market. There was definitely value to be found, and I would urge the Queensland market to get involved more heavily tomorrow.
“I think we probably have a stronger line-up of horses tomorrow, so I’m hopeful that we can increase our turnover significantly and get our clearance rate up.”
The second and final day of the March Yearling Sale will begin at 11am (Qld time) on Tuesday.