$1.4 million Rubisaki signs off on near $100 million broodmare sale

Multiple Group winner Rubisaki proved the highlight of the final day of the Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale, selling for $1.4 million to B2B Thoroughbreds.

A prolific winner for Prime Thoroughbreds in her racing days, Rubisaki was sold for $1 million at this sale two years ago. Returning with a pregnancy to Snitzel, and having had a Written Tycoon colt last spring, she fetched $400,000 more.

The daughter of Rubick will join the Surace family’s burgeoning broodmare band in the NSW Southern Highlands.

“We’re really excited to get her. We came here to buy one mare and this is the one we landed on,” Ricky Surace Jr said.

“Obviously she’s a stunning physical, in-foal to Snitzel and terrific racehorse. We’re really excited. We had to pay a lot of money for her but it is well-spent.”

“She was the only one in the whole sale that we wanted so we did have to pay a little bit extra for her but these horses are so hard to buy and the market is selective now. These are mares that you want to be breeding out of and selling them.”

Later in the day, Coolmore’s Tom Magnier got involved in the mares-in foal market, buying Single Blonde, a stakes-placed Not A Single Doubt mare who is in foal to Coolmore’s own Wootton Bassett.

Single Blonde’s most recent foal by I Am Invincible topped the National Weanling Sale earlier in the week when she sold for $800,000, demonstrating the popularity of the family.

This mare features a 3 x 3 cross of the blue hen mare Easy Date, the dam of Snippets and granddam of Not A Single Doubt.     

“She is a lovely mare in foal to Wootton Bassett. We all saw the I Am Invincible filly top the sale here last week. She was a highly rated filly so you can bid on them with confidence knowing that you can produce commercial types in the sale ring,” Coolmore’s Tom Moore said.

“Obviously the fact that she is in-foal to Wootton Bassett is a big plus for us. We can take her home, foal her down and if she has a nice Wootton Bassett it is very easy to go back to him.”

“Or we can take her to Home Affairs and breed a three-quarter to the $800,000 filly that sold earlier in the week.”

Also selling for $1.2 million was Witherspoon, a stakes-placed Exceed And Excel mare who is a sister/half-sister to three stakes winners, among them Group 1 winner Manuel.

Widden’s Antony Thompson attempted to buy Witherspoon as a yearling when she cost $500,000. Seven years later, and carrying a pregnancy to I Am Invincible, she was more expensive this time around, but he and Qatar Racing got the deal done.

“It’s cost me twice as much to come back and buy her now but having seen the foals she’s throwing, I’ve got more belief in her now than then,” Thompson said.

“There is great cover inside her and hopefully she continues to throw those types. We bought her for the commercial mares venture so hopefully we can get a good return on the investment with the form she’s carrying.

“I bought her with David Redvers so she’ll go back to Zoustar and some clients from our mare partnership are involved as well.”

It’s cost me twice as much to come back and buy her now but having seen the foals she’s throwing, I’ve got more belief in her now than then,” – Antony Thompson

Redvers and Widden also combined to pay $600,000 for Whatafox, a Foxwedge half-sister to recent Group 1 Goodwood winner Benedetta. She is in foal to Blue Point.

Overall, the aggregate sale fell below the $100 million mark for just the second time since 2016. It sat on $97.4 million, down $10 million, with 29 fewer purchases. It is the fewest mares sold at this sale in the past 15 years, with the exception of the COVID-hit 2020 edition.

The average across the week finished on $206,801, it was $215,221 last year, while the median was $95,000, down from $100,000 last year.

The clearance rate of 83 per cent was a bright spot, up from 78 per cent,  and an indication of the vendors’ willingness to meet the market.

“We’re delighted with how it all went and can only consider it a fantastic success.” – Barry Bowditch

While the stats made for tough reading on comparison, Magic Millions Managing Director Barry Bowditch felt the sale had performed well in what has been a circumspect market throughout 2024.

“I think, all in all, it’s a confidence booster. I think it’s been a sensational week. I think from weanling sale through to an epic race filly section to a really solid and genuine broodmare trade over the last two days,” he said.

“We’re delighted with how it all went and can only consider it a fantastic success.”

“I think we had an unbelievable race filly section, but probably the mares in foal this year was not as strong as last year but in saying that it was still very, very competitive and very good and to clear well over 83 per cent of the stock and still averaged $206,000 and gross 97 million.”

Re-sale or retention – Foal market made for many purposes

The weanling market may be more speculative than buying yearlings or mares, but it is arguably the most commercially driven aspect of the bloodstock market.

The StraightBren O’Brien

He said the over $10 million fall on overall spend was predictable given that fewer horses were offered.

“It was never going to be close to last year given the fact we had less horses in our catalogue. Fundamentally I think the market stayed strong from day one through to day five,” he said.

The national sales series concludes next week with the National Yearling Sale on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Mariamia repays Newhaven with $1.8 million windfall

Group 1 winner Mariamia is the latest Group 1-winning mare to head to the Yulong broodmare band after The Galaxy winner was sold in foal to I Am Invincible for $1.8 million at the Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale.

The StraightBren O’Brien