Magic Millions to take on Inglis in battle for online market share
Magic Millions has launched an internet auction platform and will go head-to-head with the rival Inglis Digital business in a bid to capture a share of the rapidly growing and lucrative online thoroughbred trading market.
South Australian farm Cornerstone Stud has embraced the Magic Millions Online service with an unreserved 66-lot draft of stakes-winning and producing broodmares and weanlings to help the Gold Coast-based auction house enter a new digital phase.
McEvoy Mitchell Racing will also offer three race fillies through the inaugural auction, including the stakes-winning two-year-old Westport (Not A Single Doubt).
In confirming the news yesterday, Magic Millions managing director Barry Bowditch said the company’s online division had come to fruition after much thought and investment over an extended period of time.
“It is something that we’ve been looking at for quite some time and it has worked out that when Cornerstone was on the table we thought, ‘why not work towards that as our goal by working with Sam (Hayes) and pulling that together as our feature sale and our first sale?’,” Bowditch said.
“Magic Millions Online will give clients great faith once they see how the process works. Hopefully, we can represent many vendors in online sales going forward.”
Inglis, and to a lesser extent New Zealand Bloodstock’s Gavelhouse.com and independent business Bloodstockauction.com, has dominated the online thoroughbred selling space with the Inglis Digital brand growing significantly in turnover month on month.
A 564-lot Inglis Digital sale, the biggest offering in the business’s short history, is currently underway.
Bowditch, who first revealed publicly the company’s desire to offer an online service nearly 12 months ago, has watched on as Inglis continued to grow its digital platform but he has yet to commit to a calendar of sales using the platform.
“We will learn a lot from having this sale and what works best for us and how we should do it,” he said.
“As soon as we’ve got through that, we will look to have another sale, but we’ll get a bit of clarity out of this sale and take it from there.
“During these times of Covid-19, it’s important to give our clients as many different options as possible.”
Hayes, Cornerstone Stud’s principal, revealed he was contemplating holding an on-farm auction at the Barossa Valley property but the onset of coronavirus led to a partnership with Magic Millions.
“As 2020 progressed we then looked at trying to do that online and Magics expressed interest in partnering with us to launch their platform at the same time. That is how it came about,” Hayes said.
“What was exciting for us was to effectively be a bit of a standalone sale and … it made it very easy to work with Adrian Hancock.
“He is based in Adelaide and he was able to come up and look at all the stock and make comments for potential buyers who want a second and third opinion on horses, so to partner with our own local sales company made sense.”
Cornerstone Stud has used online platforms in the past to sell stock and Hayes predicted that the number of vendors and buyers using the digital avenue would only continue to grow.
“Inglis has been very successful and got the jump of the two major sales companies, they were the first to market, so I think it makes sense for Magics to enter the market,” he said.
“It is a trend not just in our industry, but in all industries, and that has been fast-tracked through Covid with more business being done from home and online than ever before.
“I can only see that trend continuing, so I think it’s smart for Magics to be operating in that space.”
Hayes said Cornerstone had a history of selling quality weanlings – graduates who have gone on to win at Group 1, 2 and 3 level – and believes buyers have the opportunity to strike in a market heavily impacted by coronavirus.
“We thought we were going to be incredibly clever in a bullish market and we were going to come in in April before the major sales in what felt like was going to be another bull market and sell all our stock without having to leave the farm,” he said.
“Obviously all that changed, but we still feel that it is the right time as we were going to sell at some point anyway and there’s no guarantee that the market will be stronger in July and August.”
Prospective buyers must register and receive credit approval before they will be able to bid, much like a live auction.
The first Magic Millions Online sale will start at 3pm (AEST) tomorrow and conclude at 3pm the following Tuesday, May 5.
It will run in a similar fashion to other online sale platforms, with a countdown clock restarting when a new bid is received in the closing minutes.
“We have a huge database of buyers to offer our clients when it comes to selling to the market,” Bowditch said.
“Once we launch Magic Millions Online that will be evident with lots of registrations.
“Once people get on the site, I think they will enjoy having a look as Sam’s got some great stock there to be offered.”
Related links: Magic Millions Cornerstone Unreserved Reduction Online Sale