When the Mill Park team left for their trip to the Gold Coast for the 2015 Magic Millions Yearling Sale, they were quietly confident that the nine-strong draft of well-bred yearlings would sell well, but once the sale had ended, the results simply blew the team away.
After some really positive pre-sale days where the draft appealed to the numerous ‘potential buyers’ who inspected the draft, the first lot through the ring for the team was early on Day 1.
Lot 13, an impressive looking chestnut colt by Northern Meteor out of the half-sister to stakes winner Victory Cry was knocked down to Scone Bloodstock Service’s John Hutchinson for $300,000.
From the final crop of his ill-fated sire, competition was extremely competitive on the progeny of the Group 1-winning and producing sire, with this colt being the fourth highest of the 20 yearlings sold.
After what was an outstanding first result for the team, we couldn’t have envisaged what happened next!
With the progeny of the first season sires touted early on to produce some outstanding results, Lot 143, our Sepoy filly out of the stakes-winning Starcraft mare Celebrity Girl recorded a Day 1 topping result of $850,000.
Knocked down to Michael Wallace on behalf of the China Horse Club, the filly set a then record, the highest price ever achieved by a yearling on the Gold Coast by a first season sire.
“She's a filly with an exceptional pedigree,” Wallace said.
“She has great similarities between her sire and her mother.”
“She's an outstanding first foal from some of the best breeders in Australia in Mill Park so she had plenty going for her.”
After the exciting results of achieving a then sale topping result, we then had what we expected to be our leading colt enter the sale ring.
Lot 185 was an absolute standout colt by Redoute’s Choice out of the Group 2 Villiers-winning Anabaa mare Dance On Waves.
From a pedigree the exuded black type winners highlighted by this season’s Group 1 VRC Derby winner Preferment and the Group 1 Salinger Stakes winner Ancient Song, the colt was secured for $575,000 by David Raphael’s Stallion Racing and Damion Flower’s Jadesky Racing.
The fourth highest priced seller on Day 1 of the sale, it capped off an amazing day for the farm as we had sold two of the four top priced lots!
After topping the sale on Day 1 of the sale, the team were back in action on Day 2, with Lot 219 our only yearling heading to the ring for the day.
A bay or brown filly by Snitzel, the filly was the third foal of the stakes performed Elusive Quality half-sister to Listed winner Tantra.
Purchased by outstanding judges Troy Corstens’ Malua Racing and Justin Bahen’s Bahen Bloodstock for $175,000, Corstens’ later tweeted “Love this Snitzel Filly. 2yo type purchased from one of the best breeders in Aus @millparkstud from @mmsnippets #hot”
By Champion Sire More Than Ready, out of Pushing Daisies, who has already produced the Group 1 winner Captain Sonador, Mill Park’s Lot 534 was the first yearling on Day 3 of the sale.
Purchased by Bjorn Baker Racing and Blandford Bloodstock, the same combination that secured the 2014 Magic Millions 2YO Classic winner Unencumbered, we wish these connections the best of luck with the colt they purchased for $160,000.
Our final lot of the day was a Manhattan Rain colt out of Rock On Madonna, a family that Mill Park knows extremely well and owes a lot to.
Sold as Lot 570, the colt is closely related to the four-time Group 1 winner Divine Madonna, as well as the Group 3-winning, Group 1 placed pair of Blessum and Angle Of Mercy, who were all raised and sold by the farm.
Going to one of the new wave of trainers in James Cummings, the colt was purchased for $150,000 and will get every chance at the Randwick stable he co-trains at with his legendary grandfather Mr JB Cummings.
With the next day of the sale being the night session, the team at Mill Park had a chance to take stock of the amazing results achieved to date and look forward to selling the final three yearlings from our draft.
Mid-way through the night session, Lot 651 from the first crop of Emirates Park’s Dream Ahead out of the stakes performed Subsequential went through the ring.
A half-sister to the Listed Tasmanian Guineas winner Moving Money, the filly found a home with Gerald Ryan and Jadeskye Racing for $55,000.
A handful of lots later the team sent Lot 679 through the ring, another filly by Dream Ahead, this time out of the seven-time-winning Tobougg mare Tobouggie Woogie, herself a half-sister to the Group 2 winner Majestic Music.
Purchased by Malua Bloodstock and Bahen Bloodstock for $90,000, the same team who had secured our Snitzel filly earlier in the sale, she is bound to get every chance at Corstens’ Melbourne Stable.
Effectively having some time off, with no yearling selling until right towards the end of the next day of the sale, the team putting everything into ensuring Lot 909 looked his best.
And they did…
A classy looking grey colt by Duporth out of the Volksraad mare Typify from the family of recent Group One Hong Kong Mile winner Able Friend, the colt was purchased by Magic Millions as agent for $170,000, and outstanding result for all concerned.
Ending Book 1 of the 2015 sale as the second leading vendor on averages, having achieved an average price of $294,375 with a top of $850,000, Mill Park’s Chris Watson was clearly overjoyed with the results of the sale.
“The Mill Park team not only here at the sale but at the farm need to be congratulated on preparing an outstanding draft.”
“It’s a bit of a commitment to travel all the way from home (South Australia) for the sale, but we felt we had the right horses for the sale, and our clients have been rewarded.”
“Best of luck goes out to all the purchases of our yearlings and we look forward to following their success on the track in the coming years.”
The next sale on the Mill Park calendar sees a draft of 6 yearlings head to the Inglis Premier Yearling Sale which commences on March 1, and then we will offer a draft of 17 at the Magic Millions Adelaide Yearling Sale which starts on March 9.
