Last year, Godolphin parted with five mares in foal to Astern. Since then the Darley stallion has gone on to sire six stakes winners this season, two at group 1 level, and reinvent himself as a commercial Hunter Valley sire.
Seven mares were also sold in foal to a then-unproven shuttler in Harry Angel, the current second-leading Australian first-season sire, at the 2022 Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale, with buyers almost certainly happy with their investments and good fortune.
Once again, it will be the Gold Coast and the Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale where Godolphin conducts its 2023 reduction of mares and racing. Bloodstock manager Jason Walsh promises there will be more opportunities for owners and breeders to capitalize on the global organization's enviable broodmare band.
"It is a long-term strategy in any owner-breeder operation to constantly be looking at our broodmare band, and we've managed to get ourselves into a position where it's a very high level of racetrack performance or a particularly strong pedigree that is required to join our broodmare program, which means there are some otherwise well-performed mares from families that (are sold to provide) opportunities for the market," Walsh told ANZ Bloodstock News.
"It is a focus to present them in foal to what we consider to be an exciting young stallion roster. That gives our stallions another opportunity with a young mare to produce offspring for them, and we think it presents an opportunity for potential clients as well."
In the past fortnight, there have been reminders of the potential value to be found in the Godolphin reduction sales, with the dam of Australasian Oaks (G1) winner Affaire a Suivre in Laurrelling being sold for AU$27,500 (US$18,700, AU$1=US$0.68) at the 2014 Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale before being on-sold at the 2019 Inglis Australian Broodmare Sale for AU$34,000 (US$23,920).
Then at last Thursday's Inglis Chairman's Sale, Berimbau—the dam of five-time group 1 winner Imperatriz—was sold for AU$1.8 million (US$1,222,000) to Yulong's Chatsworth Farm carrying a sibling to Te Akau's star mare.
She was initially bought out of the Godolphin draft for AU$180,000 at the 2016 Magic Millions Sale.
Previously, Boomer Bloodstock's Craig Rounsefell paid AU$70,000 at the 2018 Magic Millions Sale for stakes winner Sung, subsequently the dam of Godolphin's champion 2-year-old and now young sire Microphone, while Chris Lee's A List Stud, then trading under Laceby Lodge Stud, bought Sanity for AU$800,000 in 2019.
She was in foal to Darley's champion Exceed And Excel and he was able to sell the resulting colt for AU$1.05 million at the 2021 Inglis Easter Sale.
Highlights in Godolphin's 2023 53-Lot Magic Millions National Sale reduction include:
Lot 763: Alriyah, a three-quarter sister to Golden Rose-winning, group 1-producing sire Astern, who is in foal to world champion sprinter Bivouac.
Lot 933: Esterhazy, out of a sister to champion sire Snitzel, in foal to Anamoe's sire Street Boss.
Lot 948: Jadida, daughter of Blue Diamond Stakes (G1) winning filly Miracles Of Life. In foal to Ghaiyyath.
Lot 1094: Salamanders, a half sister to Golden Slipper (G1) winner Kiamichi. In foal to Astern.
Lot 1123: Sliders, a half sister to Thousand Guineas (G1) winner Flit. In foal to Europe's five-time group 1-winning champion miler Palace Pier.
The Godolphin draft has mares in foal to Victor Ludorum, Bivouac, Microphone, Palace Pier, Blue Point, Kermadec, and Harry Angel, among others.
Godolphin has consistently been transparent in its bloodstock dealings at auction, providing a history of veterinary treatment or surgery, and Walsh said the operation had also ensured its stock was placed on the market at acceptable values.
Nine-time group 1 winner Anamoe was recently retired at a fee of AU$121,000 (inc GST) just as Exceed And Excel enters the twilight of his career.
The champion stallion, who will stand at Darley again this year, sired One Thousand Guineas (G1) winner Mawj in the UK at the weekend to once again underline the influence he has had in both hemispheres.
"Exceed And Excel is just an amazing horse, but we are at a juncture where we are working hard to see if we can produce an heir to that throne, and we've got some hugely exciting young stallions on the roster in Anamoe and Bivouac," Walsh said.
"The way Blue Point has started in the Northern Hemisphere and the quality of the stock we saw at the yearling sales this year, along with Too Darn Hot, there's great reason for optimism. And that's the general feeling within the organization that we've got some top-class racehorses retired to stud here in the past four or five seasons that bring with them world-class pedigrees and sire lines."
Industry participants have suggested throughout the sales season that the Australian bloodstock market has zeroed in on quality stock and that buyers are less prepared to compromise. Walsh echoed those sentiments.
"I think increasingly so the market is discerning what they value, and there's no doubt that quality is sought after at every level of the market," he said.
"We are in the early part of the nominations booking season and there seems to be a good deal of interest in our stallion roster across all levels.
"Whilst the market may have come back a little bit this year, it's still in a very vibrant place and there's great reason for optimism in the industry generally."
The Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale, which is preceded by the two-day weanling sale May 18 and 19, will be held across three sessions from May 23-25.
