A colt by Widden Stud resident Zousain looks bound for Hong Kong after he topped the second and final day of trade at the Magic Millions Gold Coast March Yearling Sale when knocked down to Campton Racing and Stable 23 for AU$250,000 (US$175,000, AU$1=US$0.70).
At the close of trade March 13, Magic Millions reported that 294 of the 443 at a clearance rate of 66%. The turnover rose 31% year-on-year to AU$10,908,500 (US$7,635,950). The average price lifted 6.5% to AU$36,944 (US$25,861), while the median finished at AU$27,500 (US$19,250), up 10%.
Magic Millions managing director Barry Bowditch described the market as selective, with buyers strongly favoring the right types.
"I thought today was very strong for the right horse," he told ANZ News. "Horses that were well inspected, that had good vetting, and suited a trade market were very easy to sell. Unfortunately, there's no discretion in a selective market for horses that are a little bit off the pace or have anything in its X-rays or anything from a veterinary perspective, so that's slowed down the clearance rate a little bit.
"I think we're not immune to the fact that there are floods all over Queensland at the moment. There's skepticism around diesel prices or petrol prices at the moment, so we copped a bit of that today. People we were speaking to that are normally here and normally show interest, it's not as if they're not interested in the sale and not interested in buying horses, but they're just sort of sitting back for the moment and seeing what the next few weeks means for them."
Despite the soft clearance rate, Bowditch said he was looking toward the positives.
"You can take a lot of positives. The gross is up well over AU$2 million, we've sold a lot more horses than what we did this time last year and the average is up.
"We'll look at what we do from a selection perspective for this sale next year, but I think fundamentally opening it up has worked. I think it's got more interstate interest in the sale.
"The vendors that are here from interstate have been relatively pleased on the whole with their results. We'll look to bolster this sale and continue with a very similar format and build confidence about what's going on here in Queensland. I think the QTIS (Queensland Thoroughbred Incentive Scheme) system is underestimated when you look at what horses race for tomorrow at the Gold Coast, or QTIS in general.
"We need to ensure every buyer knows that this is where a QTIS horse's career starts and get as many of them here as possible. Disappointed in the clearance rate, but all other numbers we're pleased with."
The expanded format of the sale, which included non-QTIS yearlings for the first time, also appeared to attract broader interstate participation, something Bowditch believes will help the sale grow in the coming years.
"We think this has got huge potential. I think the timing of it works, especially when the sales season isn't as compressed—there's a real place for it. There's a lot of vendors down south that find it very convenient. They can do their horses for the early sales, go home, focus on this and then focus on the later sales.
"So it works well and we'll work with Racing Queensland and the Queensland breeders first and foremost, but then once we have a level of confidence from them we can go to our interstate vendors and try and build this catalog."
Consigned by Toowoomba-based Robyn Wise, the top seller is the second foal from the unraced mare So Cait, herself a half sister to Lindsay Park's star juvenile of last season Shining Smile, who won five of his seven starts at 2, including three at stakes level.
Cataloged as Lot 416, trainer Adam Campton ultimately secured the highly sought-after colt.
"There was plenty of interest in the beautiful colt," Campton told ANZ News. "I knew we'd have to be pretty strong, but thankfully a great client over in Hong Kong was lucky to support us and we got the job done."
