Relief as interstate buyers make trip to Tasmania for Magic Millions Yearling Sale
A last-minute influx of interstate buyers will provide much-needed depth to the marketplace ahead of today’s Magic Millions Tasmanian Yearling Sale, the Apple Isle’s first thoroughbred auction since the state’s racing industry was shut down for three months last year.
The most affected jurisdiction during the pandemic, the Tasmanian participants’ resolve has been tested over the past 11 months, but they are set to butter up again today at Quercus Park at Carrick, near Launceston, with renewed optimism.
A 122-lot catalogue features progeny of 51 different sires including Deep Field (Northern Meteor), Impending (Lonhro) and Saturday’s Blue Diamond Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m)-winning sire Flying Artie (Artie Schiller), as well as local stallions Needs Further (Encosta De Lago), Alpine Eagle (High Chaparral) and newcomer Zululand (Fastnet Rock), the 2014 VRC Sires’ Produce Stakes (Gr 2, 1400m) winner.
Magic Millions Victoria and Tasmania manager Tim Brown, who made the trip south from his Euroa base prior to his home state’s five-day lockdown, revealed yesterday that a number of trainers and agents had made the most of the lifting of the “circuit breaker” action last Wednesday.
Among those inspecting yearlings at Quercus Park were Victorian trainers Robbie Griffiths, John McArdle, Matthew Brown, Charlotte Littlefield and Tal Nolen, along with Yulong’s bloodstock manager Luke Wilkinson, agents Damon Gabbedy and Brett Howard, a key adviser to Star Thoroughbreds’ Denise Martin.
“(Magic Millions’) Cassandra Simmonds has booked about 70 trips for 20 people because they keep dropping flights off and this, that and the other,” Brown told ANZ Bloodstock News yesterday of the interstate buyers in Tasmania.
“It hasn’t been easy for anybody, but the sales complex is working very well indeed and hopefully we have a good sale.”
Grenville Stud, along with Armidale Stud (31 lots), will offer 21 yearlings, including a Zululand half-brother to Tasmania’s star unbeaten two-year-old Turk Warrior (Outreach), the centre of a big Hong Kong offer recently. The Glenn Stevenson-trained gelding made it four from four yesterday in Launceston’s Magic Millions 2YO Classic (1200m).
Bart McCulloch, who runs Grenville Stud with his trainer-father Graeme, was yesterday displaying a perhaps unexpected confidence about today’s sale after significant local and interstate buyer interest during a hectic day of inspections.
“We were very relieved a couple of days ago when the (Tasmanian) premier announced the borders would be open,” McCulloch told ANZ Bloodstock News yesterday.
“It was two or three days there of watching the Covid cases in Victoria very closely, so it was a big relief when that happened and we’ve been absolutely run off our feet today.
“There’s been a lot more local interest than previous years which I think has been largely driven by the TasBred incentive scheme and there’s plenty of mainlanders coming through.
“The response to our first season sire Zululand has been overwhelming. A lot of the Magic Millions team have come over and said that everyone on the complex is talking about the Zululands, so we just can’t wait for the sale.”
Magic Millions’ Brown was reticent to make any bold predictions about the Tasmania sale breaking any records and following the trend of the Australian auctions conducted so far this year, most recently last week’s Perth Yearling Sale.
“We realise that Tasmanians were impacted for three months with no racing down here, which has been hard, but now they are getting going again,” he said.
“This will be a harder sale as Perth buyers had no options to go anywhere else this year, so they were lucky in that regard, but to be honest with you the Tasmanians have been able to go interstate if they want to, so we just hope they spend the money wisely at their local sale.”
Brown continued: “There are some nice horses here. The Zululands have impressed many people here and the Alpine Eagles continue to do so.
“The breeders deserve a pat on the back because they have certainly raised the standard over the years of the preparation of the horses.
“They wouldn’t look out of place in a mainland sale. They have done very well with the whole production of the horses.”
The Tasmanian Yearling Sale starts at 12pm today.