Potent partnership pounces on Pinatubo colt at the Gold Coast
The KBL Thoroughbreds success story continued as the Magic Millions Gold Coast March Yearling Sale wrapped up, with the family-run farm celebrating the $290,000 sale of the only Pinatubo (Sharmadal) colt offered across two days of trade in Queensland.
Having sold their Capitalist (Written Tycoon) colt for $150,000 on the opening day, KBL’s co-owner Brad Lowe had expected Lot 351 to fetch a similar price but that modest prediction was swiftly blown out of the water when Tony Gollan formed a three-pronged attack with his bloodstock agent John Foote and First Light Racing to emerge victorious from a heated bidding battle.
Queensland’s leading trainer is an avid admirer of Pinatubo’s progeny, having previously teamed up with Foote to pay $260,000 for the Darley shuttler’s colt out of Fitna (Fastnet Rock) from the Eureka Stud draft at the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale at the start of the year.
According to Lowe this colt, who was prepared by KBL on behalf of Peachester Lodge proprietors Linda and Graham Huddy, shared many similar traits – so he wasn’t surprised to see Gollan and Foote make their move late on day two. The Huddys bred the colt from their mare Of The Day (I Am Invincible), a winner of six races for Gollan, and Lowe was naturally delighted to secure a terrific result for such loyal clients.
“It’s been a great couple of days for all the team,” said Lowe, who runs the Beadesert operation in tandem with his partner Kristine Pritchard.
“We’re delighted to get that sort of price for the Pinatubo colt, it exceeded our expectations by a fair way. We did think he was our top colt here this week, but when the Capitalist sold for $150,000 on day one, we thought he’d maybe go for $10,000 or $20,000 more than that. So to get almost $300,000 for him is amazing.
“The reserve had been set at $130,000, so when the bidding opened at $100,000 and kept going up pretty quickly from there, we were able to sit back and enjoy the ride. Linda always uses our farm up here for her QTIS horses, so she’s been a great supporter of the farm and I’m really happy for her.”
The dam’s sister Most Important (I Am Invincible) was a multiple stakes winner, so the colt boasted a solid pedigree to complement his innate athleticism.
The fact that Gollan has previously enjoyed big race success with the Huddy family, through the likes of stakes-winning mare Comrade Rosa (Capitalist), made the colt an irresistible commodity according to the stable’s general manager Andrew Dunemann.
“We were the underbidders on a fair few lots yesterday [Monday], but we were happy to bide our time and wait for this colt to enter the ring because he was the clear standout of the sale for us,” Dunemann told ANZ Bloodstock Media.
“Obviously Tony trained the mare and Linda Huddy is a great client, so this colt ticked all the boxes. You know anything bred at Peachester is going to look the part and has to be respected, so that gave us a lot of confidence.
“We’re big fans of the stallion, because we think he profiles really well for Australian racing. He was just an out-and-out sprinter and he did his best racing on firm tracks, so we’re pretty confident his progeny will perform well in Australia.
“He had really good tactical speed to put himself into his races, so if his progeny can replicate that then we’re in business with the two colts we’ve purchased. This colt is quite big but he’s a great mover, and really well balanced. So we’re really looking forward to getting him into the stable once he’s been broken in, and seeing what he can do on the racetrack.”
Earlier in the day, Clinton Taylor had continued his love affair with the progeny of Spirit Of Boom (Sequalo), parting with $210,000 to secure his colt from the Kenmore Lodge draft.
Taylor, whose stable star Chinny Boom (Spirit Of Boom) contests Friday’s $750,000 King of the Mountain (1200m) at Toowoomba, took his combined spending on Spirit of Boom yearlings to $300,000 with his purchase of the fourth foal produced by Lonhro’s Spirit (Lonhro).
The bay colt is closely related to End Assembly (Outreach), who made headlines in 2022 when he won the Gold Edition Plate (Listed, 1200m) at Eagle Farm – only to be subsequently disqualified when a post-race urine swab showed traces of cocaine in the horse’s system.
End Assembly’s majority owners Bacon Racing will now race his half-brother after they teamed up with Taylor to procure the second most expensive yearling of the sale.
Lonhro Spirit’s only other foal to race, Wedged (Outreach), is also a winner so the mare has made a very encouraging start to her career as a broodmare, and Taylor was determined to leave the complex with Lot 293 in tow.
“We love the stallion and we’ve had terrific success with his progeny, so we’re hoping that run can continue with this colt,” Taylor told ANZ Bloodstock News.
“He’s obviously the half to a very smart horse in End Assembly, at the start of his career he looked like he could be anything. We probably identified this colt more as a three-year-old type, so we’ll take our time with him but we really liked him and I’m very pleased to get him.
“I do think there is a trick to training the Spirit Of Booms, they don’t cop a whole heap of work so we don’t overdo it with them. We identified that with Chinny Boom, and she has thrived on the lighter workload. Obviously every horse is different and we treat them as individuals, but the Spirit Of Booms do tend to run well for us so hopefully we’ve unlocked the key to training them.”
The sale capped a highly profitable day for Kenmore Lodge, operated by the husband and wife team of Cameron and Kellie Bond. Across the two days of trading, they sold 16 yearlings for a combined total of $782,000 and an average price of $48,875.
Early on day two, their colt by Darley’s shuttle stallion Victor Ludorum (Shamardal) piqued the interest of buyers with the gavel falling at $110,000 for the half-brother to five-time winner Whistling Spirit (Spirit Of Boom).
The progeny of Group 1 winner Victor Ludorum, who went through his two-year-old campaign unbeaten, had proved popular on the Gold Coast during the Magic Millions Yearling Sale in January, headlined by the $280,000 sale of his filly from the Emirates Park draft.
Victor Ludorum’s sole colt offered this week was the subject of a keen contest in the ring, with the team of Alchau Racing and Yuen Lai Him eventually outbidding their rivals.
Kenmore’s Cosmic Force (Deep Field) colt was another great result for the team, heading to the Munce Racing stables at Eagle Farm after the father and son team of Chris and Corey prevailed with a bid of $85,000.
Overall, Magic Millions’ managing director Barry Bowditch was reasonably satisfied with most of the sale’s key metrics.
“The sale was largely in line with our expectations,” Bowditch told ANZ Bloodstock Media.
“We always knew that the clearance rate was likely to be reasonably soft, but we were very pleased to sell as many horses for six figures as we did, and obviously to get $290,000 for the Pinatubo colt was a terrific result for the sale and especially for his vendors. He was a real beacon, and it just goes to show that if you bring the right horses to this sale, you can get the desired result.
“Whilst we’re not ecstatic with some of the numbers overall and there is room for improvement, there are clearly plenty of positives to take from it. We’ll work with the breeders and with Racing Queensland to see where we can improve, and we’ll take the feedback on board from our vendors and buyers.
“But the cross-section of buyers was very encouraging, both domestically and from overseas. That kept the local buyers honest and validates what we’re trying to do here.”
Sale statistics – Overall
2025 (2024 )
Catalogued 380 (392)
Offered 328 (350)
Sold 240 (73%) (264 (75%))
Aggregate $8,312,500 (-5.5%) ($8,796,500)
Average $34,635 (+3.9%) ($33,320)
Median $25,000 (-10%) ($28,000)
Top Lot $290,000 ($230,000)