Booming Finish to Record Magic Millions Gold Coast Sale

Seven days of trade on the Gold Coast came to a close late Jan. 16, with more than AU$243 million (US$169,486,911) changing hands and a new record aggregate set for the Magic Millions Yearling Sale in another vote of confidence for the Australian thoroughbred industry.

The new benchmark of AUS$243.25 million ($169,661,280) across Books 1 and 2 also saw a new record average of AU$241,319 ($168,314) achieved after a wave of buyers made the most of the opportunities in the two-day second session yesterday.

"It's been an unbelievable selling week for us. To have a new record gross for Magic Millions with a really healthy clearance over the two books - Book 1 is at almost 90% now and Book 2 has a really healthy 81% clearance rate and an increased average on last year and a significant increase in gross—is an outstanding result," Magic Millions managing director Barry Bowditch said, soon after the last of 1,279 lots was knocked down for AU$17,500 ($12,205) to Gold Coast trainer Les Kelly.

"We have to thank our vendors for supporting us with an outstanding product and buyers for supporting the Magic Million sale like never before and, obviously, all the cogs in the wheel that make it happen, whether that be our team, the transport drivers, the stud staff, and everyone else in between.

"The (Magic Millions) team was out on the road, pushing hard to get the best yearlings we possibly could and I am glad all their efforts came to an outstanding fruition."

The record for the most expensive yearling sold at a Gold Coast sale was also broken three times at the 2023 sale: by the I Am Invincible —Booker colt, Lot 676 sold for AU$2.5 million ($1,743,693); the Zoustar  sister to Sunlight filly, Lot 399 sold for AU$2.6 million ($1,813,440), and the I Am Invincible—Anaheed colt, Lot 606 sold for $2.7 million ($1,883,188). 

There were 74 Book 1 yearlings bought by internationals, including 26 by New Zealanders, last week compared to 41 in 2022 and 58 two years ago. 

There were 76 yearlings purchased by internationals in 2020, conducted just two months prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, causing lockdowns of domestic and international borders in Australia as well as New Zealand.

While international participation is building, Bowditch said it would take some time to match pre-pandemic levels.

"It will take a while for the internationals to all come back to the table, but it's good to see some new faces here and to welcome back some old faces and I think we are the envy of the world when it comes to what we're selling, and in particular our racing," Bowditch said.

"They're going to continue to participate down here, they're looking at what we're doing and it's our job as a sales company to continue to invest hard overseas and find new money to bring in and complement the existing market."

One of the biggest marketing tools for sales companies is graduate success and Bowditch is confident that buyers will have plenty to cheer for—and Magic Millions will have a host of horses to shout about—from the 2023 sale once they turn 2 and into their 3-year-old season.

"I think this was the strongest catalog we've ever put together, so I'm very excited about what these graduates will achieve on the racetrack over the next two to three years," he said. 

"If we continue to do a good job for our vendors, they'll continue to sell their very best stock that are ready for the Gold Coast each January."

Randwick Bloodstock's Brett Howard, who bought 11 Book 1 yearlings alongside Denise Martin's Star Thoroughbreds for AU$2.9 million ($2,022,683), said the Magic Millions sale once again demonstrated the unprecedented demand from owners and trainers wanting to participate in the industry.

Howard said: "Considering everything that's gone on in the world in the past six to 12 months with interest rates going up, consumer confidence diving, energy prices, inflation, etc, the fact that prices pretty much stayed the same, it's a great reflection on the strength of our industry."

There were 451 colts sold in Book 1 at an average of AU$295,359 ($206,006) while the fillies averaged $289,636 ($202,014) from 322 lots sold and the honors were shared between the sexes, with ten seven-figure lots each.

"I thought if you had a high-end filly, they were very well sought-after here. It was the first time I was confident that we had a significant number of those fillies," Bowditch said. 

"They all found their level and were extremely hard to buy, and I'd have thought most vendors would walk away extremely pleased with what they got for those fillies.

"But the colt market had so much depth, be it at AU$300,000 ($209,243) all the way through to the big numbers—there's so many stallion funds and people trying to buy those colts to live the dream and hope they're the next superstar and they're the next stallion for their farm."

Meanwhile, Brisbane trainer Chris Munce has Miss Coota in the Jan. 19 Magic Millions 2YO Classic, but Monday he added another horse by Eureka Stud's Spirit of Boom  to the stable for AU$225,000 ($156,932,), the highest-priced lot on the final session of the Book 2 sale.

Consigned by Newhaven Park as Lot 1107, the colt is the third foal out of juvenile winner Giroux, herself a daughter of high-class juvenile and 2009 Magic Millions 2YO Classic runner-up Paprika .

"Spirit of Boom is a good stallion up here in Queensland; they're tough, you can get into them early and he was just a beautiful colt. He had a nice action, a good body to him and the QTIS (bonus scheme) obviously helps up here," Munce said.

"Most of the Spirit of Booms do (go early), but he'll get broken in, go through the system, we'll prep him up and hopefully we can get him to the races early."

Munce and agent Arthur Hoyeau signed for six yearlings across the seven days of selling.

"(The Spirit of Boom colt) is probably up there for Book 2, it's a decent price for Book 2, but I think he is worth it. 

"He was a lovely colt and he's ready to go to the races. We haven't had a bad sale."

Munce is hopeful Miss Coota, who won her first two starts by a combined 12 and three-quarter lengths before running fifth in the BJ McLachlan Stakes (G3) on Christmas Eve, can run a big race in the Classic.

"She galloped this morning at Eagle Farm and worked beautifully, so we've just got to see what happens," the champion jockey-turned-trainer said yesterday. 

"I will leave it up to Justin (Huxtable) on how to ride her—he knows how to ride her."

A filly by Alabama Express, the first crop group 1-winning Yulong sire, sold for AUS$220,000 ($153,445) Monday to Lucky Clover Thoroughbreds.

The Yulong-consigned filly's dam, four-time winner Prontezza, is a half sister to group 2 winner Anaheed whose first foal sold for a Magic Millions record price of AU$2.7 million on Thursday.

The daughter (Lot 1215) of Alabama Express will be trained on the Gold Coast by Toby and Trent Edmonds.

"We trained the mother Prontezza, who came to us with a few issues, but she was an absolute jet—and I like buying yearlings out of those types of mares," Toby Edmonds said. 

"I like buying first-season sires and I just loved the walk and everything about her. Her mother was a big, strong filly and I think, with a bit of time, this filly will be built in her mould. 

"I'm hoping the mix of speed with More Than Ready and the stamina with Alabama Express could be quite good."

The Book 2 sale averaged AU$62,553 ($43,629), up almost AUS$5,000 ($3,487) year-on-year, while the median was AUS$50,000 ($34,873), the same as both the 2022 and 2021 sales. There were 219 horses traded for a gross of AU$13,699,000 ($9,554,737) at a clearance rate of 83%.

New Zealand Bloodstock will hold the next Australasian yearling sale, which starts Jan. 29, before Inglis opens its sales season with the Classic Sale from Feb. 12 to 14.

"On the back of the past two days with Book 2, we're looking forward to what the markets present at all those sales: Tasmania first, Perth, then Adelaide, and back here for the March sale," Bowditch said.

"This sale was really, really solid, it was very healthy with great depth. There was a good spread of buyers and from start to finish it was pleasing, so I think that bodes well for the yearling sale market in the next two months."