So You Think colt makes $185,000 on final day at Magic Millions
Curtain comes down on Book 2 at the Gold Coast and finishes with an aggregate of $10,673,500
A son of So You Think (High Chaparral) set the standard on the final day of Book 2 at the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale when R S Bloodstock, Catheryne Bruggeman and Paul Moroney Bloodstock went to $185,000 to secure the Goodwood Farm-consigned youngster.
Eclipsing the $170,000 paid for a filly by Spirit Of Boom (Sequalo) on the first day of Book 2, the So You Think colt is from a family Moroney knows well, having bought the youngster’s Irish-bred dam Marjoram (Kodiac) for 15,000gns at the 2021 edition of the Tattersalls July Sale.
Moroney told ANZ Bloodstock News that he and Bruggeman had set their sights on the colt after being impressed by him during the inspection process.
“We look at every horse. And as soon as I saw him, I put him on the top list. And Catheryne had a look at him as well, and she just went: ‘wow.’
“He’s so much like his dad. He’s a great moving horse. He has everything that we try to find in those Sadler’s Wells line horses,” he said. “He has the ‘High Chaparral walk’ we call it, and there’s so much of that about this horse.
“He’s sleek, he walks over the ground, he’s so light on his feet. He just has a head movement that goes forward and takes everything with him. We thought he was one of the stand-outs, in both books.
“We know a lot about him because we actually bought the mother in England for a client. We were delighted to be able to find him here and see what a lovely horse he’d developed into and what that mare had produced. So we’re really delighted. We bought him for a client in Victoria who has entrusted us to buy quite a bit of bloodstock for him over the last three or four years.”
The colt’s dam is herself a half-sister to Listed winner Martlet (Dansili) and the stakes-placed winner Stowell (Zoffany), while further afield this is the same family as Irish Oaks (Gr 1, 1m 4f) winner Margarula (Doyoun), who in turn produced Sydney Cup (Gr 1, 3200m) winner Grand Marshal (Dansili).
Moroney said he hoped the colt would develop into a Derby candidate in time.
“We’re really looking forward to this horse stepping out later on. He’s going to be developing into perhaps a Derby horse – that’s what I’d see him as,” he said.
“He’s from a really good European staying family. He’s the horse that we sat and waited for most of the sale and just delighted that we’ve got the opportunity to get him.
“We probably paid a little bit more than what we thought we might have to, but there was strong competition and there always is on the good horses. So we’re just delighted we got him.
“We had to wait till the very end of the better horses that we saw to get this one. But good things come to those who wait.”
Kerrie Tibbey of Goodwood Farm, who consigned the colt, was delighted with the result and she thought he might race earlier than some of the breed usually do.
“It was an exceptionally good result,” Tibbey said moments after the gavel fell. “He’s a lovely horse and I reckon he’s a two-year-old.”
“He’s got the mentality of a racehorse. He could be here next year.”
Later on in the afternoon, Moroney and Bruggeman struck again, paying Riversdale Farm $100,000 for a filly by Extreme Warrior (Extreme Choice).
Having delivered a session-topping figure on the first day of Book 2, Spirit Of Boom’s (Sequalo) popularity continued into the final session and his results were headed by another filly, who will join Sunday’s top-priced lot in Tony Gollan’s Queensland stable, after being bought by Paul Beamish and Craig Rounsefell of Boomer Bloodstock for $160,000.
Monday’s $160,000 filly (pictured below) was consigned by Robyn Wise and she is out of winning Foxwedge (Fastnet Rock) mare Foxarelli, whose two previous foals are both winners.
Foxarelli herself is out of the Listed-placed winner Cicarelli (Rubiton), making her a half-sister to the 11-time scorer Aiguilette (Epaulette), who was also placed in stakes company.
Boomer said the fact the filly was fully paid up for QTIS was a very attractive prospect, given the prize money that is up for grabs, particularly for fillies.
“I’m a big fan of Spirit Of Boom. I have been for a long time, but just purely on type. We went through, looked at everything and that was the one we settled on,” he said.
“I want to find something to give to Tony Golan again this year, a QTIS filly. There’s great prize money up here, especially for the fillies. So we’ll have a little group together.
“Also, Paul Beamish, he loved it too, so we just joined forces, instead of bidding against each other, we joined up.
“I spoke to him [Tony] this morning and he had a client that was keen to go as well, so we joined together and purchased her. I’ll just be all my established clients and look forward to having some fun up here in Queensland.”
In his role as the Hong Kong Jockey Club’s southern hemisphere agent, Boomer bought five colts during Book 1 of the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale for an outlay of $1,445,000. The most expensive of his purchases was a son of Hellbent (I Am Invincible), who he purchased off Yarraman Park Stud for $425,000. The agent also bought a filly by the same sire for an American client for $370,000.
Boomer told ANZ Bloodstock News he was pleased with the week’s purchases and was of the belief the market is softer than it has been in previous years, meaning he felt there was value to be found.
“We actually found we got great value,” he said. “We found the market a bit on the softer side actually for the horses that suited us. Obviously, the horses we’re buying, very clean and proven stallions and types that get through our system that are going to be later maturing for Hong Kong.
“As opposed to previous years, we found the market, great buying from other clients. We picked up a filly for an American client that will race here. I think that the ones that had the right types and the pedigrees definitely made their money.”
A few lots later, Spirit Of Boom was once again thrust into the spotlight after a colt by the stallion realised $130,000 when he was snapped up by Scott Morrisey, who signed the horse down to Danny Maher.
Another youngster offered by Eureka Stud, the colt is the second foal out of winning Exceed And Excel (Danehill) mare Glaciers, who was bought by Eureka’s Harry McAlpine for $100,000 at the 2022 Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale and at the time was carrying her first foal, a filly by Harry Angel (Dark Angel), who realised $80,000 at Magic Millions last year.
Morrisey is set to saddle three runners at the Gold Coast on Friday night, including two by Spirit Of Boom in the form of Magic Millions 2YO Classic (RL, 1200m) contender Forgotten Spirit, a $100,000 Gold Coast yearling sale graduate, and six-time winner Safework, who was a $110,000 purchase for Morrisey and will line up in the QTIS Open (1300m).
The Queensland trainer was buoyed to secure another good looking individual by the sire for his stable.
“We knew he’d sell well and we weren’t sure we were going to get him,” Morrisey said. “He just reminded us so much of Safework as a yearling.
“We did our best and we got there, luckily. It’s so important to buy those good athletic types and that’s why we had him.
“Out of the second book we only had a few choices that we really liked and we could have gone and got one of the others, but if we missed him we could then get nothing so we thought we’d stay stronger with this bloke.
“Those good strong types always sell and when you’re syndicating it makes it easier if you’ve got a good looking yearling like that to syndicate and find new owners.
“We have Safework and he’s done a great job and we’ve got a runner in the two-year-old on Friday in Forgotten Spirit, who is also by Spirit Of Boom.
“The stallion has been very good to us, so we try and support him.
“We’ve had a lot of luck with Lyndhurst Farm over the years – you stick to what works, so that’s why we went there.”
During Book 2, Spirit Of Boom had 13 lots sell for a leading aggregate of $1.76 million, while he was also the leading sire by average (with or more lots sold) accruing an average of $90,462 over the two days of trade.
Eureka Stud, where Spirit Of Boom resides, clinched Book 2’s leading vendor title by aggregate, selling 13 yearlings for total receipts of $980,000, while Yulong were the leading vendor by average (with three or more sold), parting with three lots for an average of $93,333.
The last of 17 yearlings to enter the ring consigned by Bowness Stud realised their biggest result of Book 2, as the colt by Tiger Of Malay (Extreme Choice) fetched $165,000 when selling to Campton Racing.
The first foal out of the winning Shamus Award (Snitzel) mare Streets Of Suemori was the trainer’s third buy during the final session. He also forked out $40,000 for a Kingstar Farm-consigned Time To Reign (Time For War) filly, and teamed up with Rob Luck Bloodstock to buy a Raheen Stud-offered filly by Brutal (O’Reilly) for $85,000 earlier in the session.
“We had a lot of support with that horse and he was an outstanding type for a first foal out of the mare,” Bowness Stud’s James Daly said. “It was a massive result for the farm.”
“We always back Magic Millions to get the results and we’ve done it again and it’s testament to the guys at home.
“We’re very happy, we have a great clearance rate and we’re very happy with the way it’s gone and they’ve all gone to great homes, which is the main thing.
“We’ve definitely stepped it up this sale with the quality of mares and we’re working hard on that – we’re always trying to make the systems better at home and I think that is really working in the sale ring.”
Telemon Thoroughbreds’s decision to not to let a filly by Widden Stud’s first-season sire Portland Sky (Deep Field) go after she failed to make her $50,000 reserve at last year’s Magic Millions National Weanling Sale paid off when she sold to trainer Darryl Hansen for $110,000 during Monday’s final session of Book 2.
The filly is out of the winning I Am Invincible (Invincible Spirit) mare Haven, who is herself out of multiple stakes winner Crevette (Danehill), the dam of dual Group 1 winner Cosmic Endeavour (Northern Meteor).
Hansen said he was impressed with the filly and said she looked like she would be an early type.
“When we went to look at her, she’s just a lovely neat filly and very correct,” he said. “We’re very happy with her. I bought her on behalf of a few clients, mainly mates, up at the Sunshine Coast.
“She looks very mature for a two-year-old and when she catches up on the front she’ll hopefully be early.”
Across the Book 2 sale over $10.6 million was traded on 235 lots sold at an average price of $45,419 and clearance rate of 70 per cent.
“It’s been a fantastic fortnight on the Gold Coast,” Magic Millions managing director Barry Bowditch said. “It hasn’t been without its obstacles obviously.
“We had a fantastic Book 1 – a sale that averaged over $270,000 with a clearance rate of almost 83 per cent and a new record breaking price of $3.2 million.
“It’s been phenomenal. So much international money being spent is a real confidence booster for Australia.
“Book 2 was a decent enough sale. Obviously we would have loved to have cleared a few more horses.
“The participation got a little tough there at the bottom end [of the market]. That could be the new normal for this sort of market. Vendors are going to have to understand they are going to have some tough sales at the lower end in the short term.
“Given we are racing for so much prize-money and Magic Millions goes to Perth, Tassie and Adelaide – we encourage the trainers and syndicators to get involved. These horses race for such great prize-money and there’s the Magic Millions Race Series.”
The focus now switches to Friday night’s transferred Magic Millions Raceday, which will be held under lights for the first time after rain stopped the meeting after three races on Saturday.
The remaining seven races from Saturday’s card, carrying prize-money of $13 million, will take centre stage.
“There’s plenty to look forward to on Friday night,” Bowditch said. “We have strong fields – great depth and it should be a fantastic spectacle under the lights.”
