The 11-year-old dual stakes producer Listen Here (Aus) (Elusive Quality) (lot 1375) re-wrote the Magic Millions history books on Friday when selling for A$3.4 million to the China Horse Club and Bruce Perry Bloodstock to top the Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale on the Gold Coast. That price is the highest-ever paid for a horse in a Magic Millions ring, toppling the previous record of A$3 million paid for four-time Group 1 winner Princess Coup (Aus) (Encosta de Lago {Aus}) at this sale in 2009. Listen Here, whose only two foals to race are Group 2-winning sprinter Deep Field (Aus) (Northern Meteor {Aus}) and G1 Caulfield Guineas winner Shooting To Win (Aus) (Northern Meteor {Aus}), was sold in foal to Medaglia d'Oro, the sire of last year's G1 Golden Slipper winner Vancouver (Aus).
The record sale added further fuel to figures that have been positive all week. The three select sessions of the broodmare sale saw a total of 556 sold for a record A$74,676,000, compared to 527 sold for A$62,294,000 12 months ago. The buyback rate is down four points to 17.5%, while the average climbed 13.6% to A$134,309.
“We've obliterated all the records,” said Magic Millions Managing Director Vin Cox. “A gross of almost A$74.7 million is just out of this world. We dream of this sort of result. It was only four years ago this sale was grossing A$20 million.”
“Where we are getting now is comparable to anywhere in the world, and we're very proud of that–a lot of hard work has gone into it and to sit at that sort of number is very satisfying,” Cox added. “What we have proven this year is that we have put something like A$38 million extra into the system–over both the [Gold Coast Yearling Sale] and the National Sale, which is an extraordinary amount of money. When we are getting the support that we are getting and we are attracting the buyers we are it really sets up us well for the future.”
Loud And Clear…
What the listed-winning Listen Here has thus far achieved at stud could hardly be bettered. Her first foal, produced in 2010, is Deep Field, who was sold by Edinglassie Stud–which also consigned Listen Here on Friday–for A$440,000 as a yearling. After setting a new 1100-metre track record at Canterbury, he went on to win Flemington's G2 Tab.Com.Au S. and finish third behind Lankan Rupee (Aus) (Redoute's Choice {Aus}) and Brazen Beau (Aus) (I Am Invincible {Aus}) in the G1 Lightning S., earning him a place in the Newgate stallion barn. Deep Field stands for A$22,000 and has had his first in-foal mares sell this year with one, Cafe Scientific (Aus) (More Than Ready), realizing A$775,000 during Friday's Magic Millions session.
Next came Deep Field's full-brother Shooting To Win, who won the G2 Stan Fox S. by three lengths followed by the G1 Caulfield Guineas. He is now a shuttler for Darley, standing for A$38,500 at Kelvinside in the Hunter Valley and €7,000 at Kildangan Stud in Ireland. Deep Field and Shooting To Win have stallion potential stamped on their pedigree as well, their third dam Theme Song (NZ) (Sackford) being a half-sister to successful sires Commands (Aus) (Danehill) and Danewin (Aus) (Danehill).
Listen Here has an as-yet unraced 2-year-old filly named Look And Listen (Aus) (Hinchinbrook {Aus}) and a weanling filly from the first crop of Zoustar (Aus).
The bidding on Listen Here opened at A$2 million, with three different parties participating before the China Horse Club's Michael Wallace and Bruce Perry, acting on behalf of Cressfield Stud, had the final say at A$3.4 million.
“She offered the whole package,” said Wallace. “We've never seen a mare like this come to the market. Her first two foals were sold to stud for massive money off the track–both highly talented and good-looking. She's still a young mare and it was a unique opportunity.”
Wallace noted that Listen Here's outcross pedigree–she is by the Mr. Prospector-line Elusive Quality out of a Sir Tristram (Ire)-line mare–allows for plenty of opportunities for her breeding career.
“The beauty with her is that with her breeding we can go anywhere,” he said. “We're lucky in that regard and that was half the attraction as well.”
Listen Here was sold by Edinglassie on behalf of the family of the late Bob Oatley. Oatley, best known for founding Rosemount Estates wine and also a yachtsman and philanthropist, died in January aged 87. Edinglassie's Mick Talty said, “It's great to get a price like that; it was way over what we thought. She's such a beautiful mare so hopefully she will be good for the new owners. It's always sad to see good mares go off the farm because they've got the chance to produce a champion, but hopefully she will do it for the new owners.”
Edinglassie was the select broodmare sale's leading vendor by average with 11 sold for an average of A$477,182.
Of the record price and fireworks late in the session, Cox said, “It was incredible. The three individual bidders above A$3 million in our market is quite unheard of. Congratulations to Mick Talty from Edinglassie and the Oatley family. It's regrettable that we had to offer the mare on behalf of the Estate of the late Mr. Bob Oatley, but I think it was a fitting result for a lifetime of commitment to the Thoroughbred industry for Mr. Oatley.”
Monsoon Hits Again…
Magic Millions has become nearly synonymous with the family of star producer Monsoon Wedding (Aus) (Danehill). It sold the mare herself for A$2.3 million from the Teeley dispersal at this sale in 2014; her Pierro (Aus) yearling filly for A$1.4 million at the Gold Coast yearling sale in January; and two of her daughters this week: Crystal Flute (Aus) (Encosta de Lago {Aus}) for A$1.4 million on Wednesday and the aforementioned Cafe Scientific (Aus) (Encosta de Lago {Aus}) (lot 1010) for A$775,000 on Friday. Cafe Scientific, in foal to Deep Field and carrying her second foal after producing a Fastnet Rock (Aus) colt last year, was bought by agent Dermot Farrington from Newgate Farm as agent.
“We wanted this family and it's very hard to get into,” the British-based agent noted. “We're really happy and she was reasonably good value.”
“This is what we strive for,” he added. “We try to get these pedigrees and she's one of the best pieces of paper in the book, so we're delighted.”
The winning Cafe Scientific is a full-sister to stakes winners Precious Lorraine (Aus) and Lucky Raquie (Aus). Her dam, Monsoon Wedding, is a full-sister to Group 1 winners Redoute's Choice (Aus) and Platinum Scissors (Aus)–the former a three-time champion sire–and a half to G1 Sires' Produce S. winner and sire Manhattan Rain (Aus) (Encosta de Lago {Aus}) as well as Sliding Cube (Aus) (Rock Of Gibraltar {Ire}), the dam of dual group-winning sprinter and young Coolmore sire Rubick (Aus) (Encosta de Lago {Aus}).
Diva Sister Headed For The Hill…
Another well-related mare to draw attention on Friday was La Amistad (Aus) (Redoute's Choice {Aus}) (lot 1194), the half-sister to three-time G1 Melbourne Cup heroine Makybe Diva (GB) (Desert King {Ire}) offered in foal to I Am Invincible (Aus). The 6-year-old, a two-time stakes winner herself, was picked up by Queensland-based bloodstock agent Josh Hutchins for A$675,000 and will join the broodmare band at his family's boutique breeding farm, Element Hill.
Hutchins said he has two New Zealand-bred sires in mind for La Amistad.
“At this point she could go to New Zealand to be served by Tavistock, or she could stay here and possibly go to So You Think,” he said. “She has a lovely pedigree and she's a lovely mare and she will stay at Element Hill for life.”
“Redoute's [Choice] as a broodmare sire is doing a great job,” Hutchins added. “She's about 16 hands and she's a lovely, good- walking mare.”
In addition to Makybe Diva, La Amistad is a full-sister to G2 Shannon S. winner Musket (Aus) and a half-sister to G3 Tesio S. winner Valkyrie Diva (Aus) (Jade Robbery), the dam of stakes winners C'Est Beau La Vie (Aus) (Bernardini) and Wales (Aus) (Redoute's Choice {Aus}). Another half-sister, Optimist (Aus) (Red Ransom), has produced the G1 Australian Oaks third Believe (Aus) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}).
La Amistad was consigned by Makybe, which later in the session reinvested some of that sales price to buy Star Of Sydney (Aus) (Starcraft {NZ}) (lot 1363) from Newgate Farm for A$470,000. The unraced 4-year-old, sold in foal to Snitzel (Aus), is out of the stakes-winning Flame Of Sydney (Aus) (Encosta de Lago {Aus}), and therefore a half-sister to Not Listenin'tome (Aus) (Dylan Thomas {Ire}), winner of the G3 Zeditave S. Down Under, three stakes races in Hong Kong and three times Group 1-placed.
After a dark day Saturday, the final session of the Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale takes place Sunday.
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