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THE 2007
Magic Millions National Sale opened up with a proverbial
big bang last Wednesday at the huge Magic Millions horse
complex in Gold Coast.
The
cream of the horse-breeding crop in the Southern
Hemisphere was so well-attended that there were no
surprises when top-quality weanlings were sold for more
than 10 figures.
Just as
the first-day sale was about to wrap up after more than
eight hours of nonstop ring auctioning, the whole
complex was rocked by a monstrous sale that smashed the
standing Southern Hemisphere record for a thoroughbred
weanling.
Yes, a
thunderous applause reverberated across the whole of
Australasia when a three-quarter brother to a popular
Australian runner Dance Hero was sold for A$1.15
million. Whewww…that’s a total of P43,274,500 if
converted to peso at the prevailing rate of Australian
dollar at P37.63. The previous Australasian record for a
weanling was set when Murtajill was knocked down for
$660,000 at the 2005 Magic Millions National Weanling
Sale.
It was
our good friend, Julian Blaxland, who was the auctioneer
onboard, who brought the hammer down at the said record
price when nobody tried anymore to outbid the winner,
Tom Magnier, who is the son of the Coolmore managing
partner John Magnier. It was Tom who bought the horse
for his father because the latter wanted it so much.
The huge
eight-month colt was a son of the prolific Redoute’s
Choice from the Group-I producer Gypsy Dancer (by Dance
Floor). Gypsy Dancer’s elder son, Dance Hero (by Danzero),
is one of the greatest two-year-olds Australia has
produced in 45 years. The multiple Group 1 winner Dance
Hero has already won A$3.9 million so far.
Dance
Hero is one of the finest gallopers unearthed in
Australia in the last decade. As a two-year-old, the son
of Danzero did what no other has managed in Australian
racing history. After winning the $1-million Conrad
Jupiters Magic Millions 2YO Classic, he annexed the
elusive Sydney Juvenile Triple Crown. And he is
certainly no one-season wonder. Last spring he added the
Group-1 Salinger Stakes at Flemington to his outstanding
career résumé to push his career winnings to A$3.9
million.
“We
haven’t decided what we will do with him just yet. Dad
wanted him so I bought him. He has a stallion’s pedigree
no doubt, but he may fetch double this at the January
yearling sale—we just haven’t made up our minds on him
yet,” Tom Mangier was quoted as saying right after the
mind-boggling purchase.
Coolmore’s Australian general manager Michael Kirwan was
quoted as describing the colt a “standout.” “He’s the
standout in the catalogue, He’s a quality individual and
he’s a three parts brother to a former top two-year-old
who’s still a top racehorse. I don’t think I’ve seen a
better two-year-old in Australia in the past 30 years
than Dance Hero. He won the Golden Slipper and Alinghi
was third, Fastnet Rock fourth and Charge Forward was
second—they all turned out to be champions. Rarely does
the opportunity come up to buy a weanling like him. You
have to pay the big dollars to get them.”
The colt
was offered as the supplementary catalogue and was
consigned by the leading Hunter Valley nursery Vinery
Stud on behalf of its millionaire builder-owner Tony
Akkari. “I must thank each and every person at Vinery
for their hard work in preparing him for the sale. As
well I must thank David Chester and the team at Magic
Millions for giving me the opportunity to sell my colt
at the sale.
Akkari
reportedly was not surprisingly delighted with the final
sale price of A$1.15 million. “He’s a lovely colt, but
the final price did exceed my expectations.
“Horses
like this colt’s mother come along once in a lifetime
and they change your life. I am just so very happy she
came my way.”
Akkari
entered the horse-breeding business in 1997 when he
bought a low-priced broodmare who died while she was
in-foal to the stallion Danzero. She bought another one
named Gypsy Dancer for A$15,000 and sent her once again
to Danzero. Her first foal—who turned out to be Dance
Hero—was sold for A$90,000 before Akkari decided to keep
her next three filly foals. “But I felt this was the
perfect time to sell her latest colt as I thought he’d
sell well. And if I had hung on until he was a yearling,
who knows what may have happened. Plus, there would have
been commission to pay on his sale as a yearling. At
this weanling sale, there was no commission!” he was
quoted while puffing his cigar profusely.
Akkari
will definitely be back in the ring next week when he
finally sells Gypsy Dancer during next week’s Broodmare
Sale, also at the Magic Million National Sale that ends
on June 14.
I might
not be able to catch that sale because we will be
arriving on the 12th to watch the last three days of the
National Yearling Sales. But I will certainly be looking
for Mr. Akkari to interview him, huh!
Earlier
in the day, the popular stallion Redoute’s Choice got
his two offsprings sold for A$808,000. His filly,
consigned by
Scone’s
Sefton
Park,
out of Donna Dior was sold for A$460,000, the
second-highest for the day, to prominent New Zealand
businessman Don Ha who signed for his Manaukau
Bloodstock. Don Ha first made a name for himself in New
Zealand earlier this year by purchasing a number of
high-priced horses, including the Zabeel—Sunline colt
for NZ$2 million at the Karaka Sales.
The
first day of selling at the Magic Millions exceeded all
expectations by Magic Millions managing director David
Chester after a total of 215 horses were sold as
compared with only 158 last year. The gross sale for the
day was a whopping A$11,057,000 as compared to a measly
A$6,163,300 last year. The average price for a horse
sold was A$51,428 as against the A$39,008 last year. |
