(Edited Magic Millions press release)
More than Aust$1.5 million was traded for 153 horses Thursday – mostly yearlings – to bring the overall gross to a $87,766,100 for the Magic Millions National Sale on Australia's Gold Coast. The record-breaking aggregate was up more than $16 million from last year’s fromer record.
Magic Millions managing director David Chester said he was thrilled with the strong selling to cap off a a three-week run.
“It’s been a big few weeks here on the Gold Coast, and our industry will look back on this sale as a landmark year for the selling of Thoroughbreds in this part of the world,” Chester said. “Breeders can now be confident they can send any horse – no matter which sale or which budget – and know they are going to find a strong lineup of buyers to compete for their stock.”
Chester said he’d already received dozens of complimentary messages from breeders and vendors from around the country.
“Everyone knows our National Sale is the biggest and best breeding stock sale in the Southern Hemisphere – there’s absolutely no doubt about that,” he said. “I know plenty of people were shocked at how well our National Weanling Sale went a couple of weeks ago. But it certainly didn’t surprise me; we’d worked strongly to promote this sale in recent times.”
“Breeders are now realizing that buyers are well and truly on the lookout for quality weanlings," Chester continued, "and they found our sale the number one place to buy them. Traditionally in Australasia, weanling sales have been regarded as somewhat of a dumping ground, but it’s not like that at the Gold Coast now. We proved this year that if you put the right weanling into this market you will be rewarded handsomely.”
A Redoute’s Choice half-brother to multiple group I winner Dance Hero became the first weanling in Australian history to sell for seven figures when purchased by Coolmore Stud for $1.15 million.
“All of the quality weanlings in the sale were hot sellers," Chester said. "And to boast a sale average of well over Aust$44,000 is a wonderful feat.”
The success experienced at the National Weanling Sale continued throughout the five-day National Broodmare Sale that followed. The first two select sessions of broodmares averaged Aust $142,034, up almost $50,000 from the record figure achieved in 2006. For the first time in Australasian sale history, five broodmares sold for more than Aust$1 million apiece.
“The National Broodmare Sale was also a remarkable success,” Chester said. “Never before has a mare sale attracted such an outstanding local, interstate and international buying bench. Most of the world’s biggest breeders were represented and active during the sale, and quality offerings proved extremely popular.”
And the unprecedented highs continued throughout this week’s National Yearling Sale with records across every level being set. Highlighting the yearling portion of the auction was theAust $800,000 sale of a Redoute’s Choice colt from the group II-winning mare Magic Music on Tuesday.
“The National Yearling Sale is now a great option for breeders who may not have their prime yearlings ready in time for the earlier sales of the year," Chester said.