Victorian’s hedge their bets on day three of Magic Millions

Victorians weren’t only present on the selling front but also managed to produce some strong buying results.

The newly formed Victorian Alliance, in partnership with Suman Hedge Bloodstock and David Redvers, had a busy day three, striking late when they went to $950,000 for a colt by I Am Invincible.

The colt, lot 636, was sold by Coolmore Stud and is out of stakes placed mare Petition who had two wins at 1225 metres and 1400 metres for $195,275.

The Victorian Alliance, dubbed the Hedge Fund by the auctioneer, earlier in the day and went to $300,000 for a Written Tycoon colt from Edinburgh Park’s draft catalogued as lot 420.

The colt is out of a Commands mare, Jester’s Girl who is a stakes winner and has had three foals to race, all winners including stakes winner Assimilate who won the Listed Restricted Canberra Guineas.

The colt is from the same family of Group 3 MRC Caulfield Classic winner and Victorian-bred Thought of That.

Towards the end of the third day, lot 636 was knocked down to the group for a colt out of an Exceed and Excel mare Overstep and sired by I Am Invincible.

Purchasing the lot for $950,000 Anthony Mithen of the Victorian Alliance said the concept of the group had received great support and was aimed at finding a top stallion which would stand at his Rosemont Stud.

⭕️???? Yet another stunning colt by I Am Invincible out of Petition lowers the gavel at $950,000.
Consigned by @CoolmoreAus he sells to Victorian Alliance @RosemontStud /@dredvers / @shbloodstock @yarramanpark @Aushorse_TBA @mmsnippets pic.twitter.com/Y2zQKmDfUv

— ANZ Bloodstock (@anz_news) January 14, 2021

With a sizeable budget, the group will target other yearling sales throughout the year.

He said the concept was the brainchild of Rosemont’s Ryan McEvoy who joined the stud last year as is general manager of bloodstock.

“For use of a better word, Ryan has done a magnificent job putting together a prospectus and we have presented that to partners and they have jumped at it and we are actually oversubscribed,” Mithen said.

“We had planned on keeping 50 per cent of all the horses at Rosemont, but I think we are now somewhere near 40 or 45 because people keep coming at us and say listen, we like what you are doing and this could be best way of finding a little chunk of a good colt that might end up a stallion.

“We have had some new players who like the idea of racing 12 or 14 colts and seeing how they go and enjoying that ride and backing us in  to find a fast one that will hopefully end up being a stallion and more than pay for the venture.”

Mithen said he believed the Overstep colt was cheap at $400,000 –he thought it was half price – which then gave the group an extra bid to have a crack at Coolmore’s I Am Invincible colt which they won for $950,000.

“There are swings and roundabouts,” he said.

“You will get some wins and pay a little bit more for some over the course of the selling season, but hopefully we can end up with 12 or 14 really nice colts.”

The formation of the group includes individuals from leading Victorian broodmare farms.

Shortly after the first colt the Victorian Alliance purchased, Yulong Investments held out to purchase a colt from Arrowfield’s draft. The colt is by the same sire as Yulong owned Tagaloa being by Lord Kanaloa.

The colt is out of Laguna Azzurra who is a winner at 1800 metres in Japan and is half-sister to Group 3 winner Seewind.

The colt, purchased for $475,000, looks to be an excellent two-year-old prospect for the team in green.

Yulong’s Sam Fairgray said it was a nice colt that would continue to develop further.

“Obviously he is bred similarly to Tagaloa, so we are really pleased to get a colt like him,” Fairgray said.

“Hopefully if we can repeat the deeds of Tagaloa we will have another stallion.

“He is going to furnish into a very nice horse and he’ll definitely go forward and he’ll do well in the next few months.”

Fairgray said the colt, who will be trained by Ciaron Maher and David Eustace, was sought after because of the similar breeding to Tagaloa which is expected to be retired from racing this year to join Yulong’s stallion roster.

“We will be patient with him and there is no mad rush sort of thing,” Fairgray said.

“We’ll get him to the races when he is ready.”

Fairgray said Yulong was pleased with the results they’d achieved with the yearlings they’d offered and said Magic Millions had done a super job getting people to the sale.

Yulong sold three lots on day three of the sale, with the first lot 575 being knocked down to Trent Busuttin and Natalie Young/ First Light Racing, a filly out of stakes placed mare Motown Lil.

The filly is related to Gosford Guineas winner Ygritte and as Busuttin Racing tweeted, ‘the perfect filly to run for the Magic Millions Racing Women’s Bonus in 2022.’

Can’t wait to see a splash of pink in amongst the blue & gold of @FirstLight_FLR ????

She was identified as the perfect filly to run for the @mmsnippets Racing Women’s Bonus in 2022 ????

Why wait ladies? Be a part of the ride!

???? natalie@busuttinracing.com.au https://t.co/9YUunPCYhs

— Busuttin Racing (@busuttin) January 14, 2021

Lot 604 and 610 of Yulong’s draft both sold for $200,000.

Lot 604 will head to Victoria with Henry Dwyer and lot 610 will remain in Queensland after being purchased by Edmonds Racing.

Baystone Farm’s Dean Harvey was the successful bidder on behalf of Sean Buckley’s Ultra Racing for a colt from Bhima Thoroughbred’s draft.

The colt, purchased for $800,000, is by first season sire Almanzor and out of a Sebring mare, Lazumba. The colt is from the same family as Group 1 winner Montoya’s Secret.

Harvey said bidding for the colt was strong and when they were highly sought after it was always hard to gauge where the final price would end up.

“It’s always hard to buy those colts when everyone has them in their top half a dozen in the sale,” he said.

“Look he probably wasn’t a go to for everyone looking for a two-year-old that is generally in this sale. This sale has evolved now that I think it’s across the board and everyone brings their nicest horses.

“Whether it’s going to be a two-year-old or a three-year-old, you’re chasing the best horses that are here and I think the colt fitted the mould for a lot of people as a three-year-old type horse which are lot of races suit over here as well.”

Harvey said while there was plenty of competition for him, the colt fitted Buckley’s profile of what he wanted and he was keen to get him.

The colt will be trained by Danny O’Brien who Harvey said the Melbourne Cup winning trainer had him in the same mould as his dual Group 1 winner Russian Camelot which finished third in last year’s Cox Plate and finished eighth in the Melbourne Cup.

“Danny said he was very similar in type as a yearling to Russian Camelot,” he said.

“He was keen to train him, and Danny will take some himself.”

Almanzor stands at Cambridge Stud in New Zealand where his oldest progeny are yearlings.

Leneva Park also purchased two lots on day three, 474 and 491. Two fillies from Coolmore Stud and Widden Stud respectively. The team spent an aggregate of $300,000 for the two lots, with lot 491 being out of a Fastnet Rock mare, Lucia Bella.

The dam who is a winner at 1200 metres and is the sister to Lone Rock, is the dam of two foals to race both who are winners at 1100 – 1200 metres. The filly also includes Personify as part of her family.

Late in the day, Spendthrift went to $340,000 for lot 611, a colt out of Strawberry Hill Stud’s draft and a son of Redoute’s Choice. The colt is out of a Johannesburg mare Once Were Wild, who won seven of her races with five of those in succession. She has had foals two race for three winners, including the Group 3 Summonds Stakes winner, Long Time Ago.

Rounding out the day for Victoria was a great result for Musk Creek Farm, when lot 635 was knocked down for $575,000 to Gollan Racing and John Foote Bloodstock. The colt is out of Personalised who is the half-sister to Group 1 VRC Oaks winner Personal and the Stakes placed mare Trope.

The median at the end of day three remained at $180,000, the average was $257, 471 and the clearance rate was 88%.