Bowditch backing Magic Millions in its quest for breeze-up sale market share

As buyers converge on the Gold Coast for the Magic Millions’ Horses in Training Sale, the first of two breeze-up sales in Australia next week, the Queensland auction house’s managing director Barry Bowditch wasn’t going to fall into a leading question.

He’s too smart for that, adamant he wasn’t going to create ‘click-bait’ content and preferring to focus on what the Horses in Training Sale has to offer buyers and its place in the Australasian schedule.

It’s no secret that Magic Millions has ceded market share to arch-rival Inglis in this aspect of the sales space over the past six years, prompting questions about the sale format’s future on the Gold Coast.

But Bowditch reaffirmed Magic Millions’ commitment and belief in the concept. He is optimistic about Monday’s edition, which comes ahead of Inglis’ Ready2Race two-year-old sale on Thursday. 

Both companies are effectively pitching to the same buying bench, and an acknowledgement of that is the fact the two auction houses have cooperated when it comes to the logistics of flying in buyers, particularly from Asia, to both the Gold Coast and Sydney.

For all the dinners, stable visits and associated promotions the companies undertake to garner support, graduate success remains the biggest selling point.

Inglis has Tron Bolt, last year’s Ready2Race Sale-topper and the Group 1 JJ Atkins winner at Eagle Farm in June, as its banner horse but there was an important reminder at Warwick Farm on Wednesday when Crescent King made it back-to-back wins.

Trainer Peter Snowden immediately outlined stakes races for the lightly raced colt, a $300,000 purchase last October by Amy Feng.

“He’s a quality horse and there’s some good city class horses who have got very much solid upside; they’re coming out of sale year on year,” Bowditch told The Straight. 

Importantly, Bowditch says, this year’s catalogue of breeze-up horses stacks up comparatively well to previous editions of the Horses in Training Sale.

“We’ve got those consistently performing vendors back again this year, with the likes of Tal Nolen, Kenmore, Symphony and Newington,” he said.

“And then we have some exciting new drafts supporting the sale for the first time.”

So, just how should Monday’s Magic Millions sale be judged? Last year’s edition generated $6.895 million in turnover with 94 horses changing hands at an average of $73,351 during the one-day session.

Bowditch frames it this way.

“The intent from us is obviously to have a healthy (sale) option for the vendors who are supporting us,” Bowditch says. 

“We’re very happy with the quality of the horses … andI thought the breezes in particular at the Gold Coast went very, very well. 

“Having the opportunity to breeze the majority of the horses on the course proper has been really welcoming and the data and the times are very much in line with what it takes to sell horses of quality. 

“Bookings are good for the sale and, from my perspective … if we could sell a similar number of horses to last year, we would have increased our clearance rate and that would be very much an acceptable sale for our vendors and something we can work towards growing in future years.”

Bowditch addressed the competition between Magic Millions and Inglis – and New Zealand Bloodstock which has a two-day Ready to Run Sale in November.

“It’s a fierce market … (and an) important market,” Bowditch says. 

“Obviously, it helps a lot of yearlings (get sold) as the year goes on. The traders get involved and then to have this sale for those traders and for other (vendors) is a very important part of our market and you see the world over that it’s a market that continues to be supported – and we want to be an integral part of that.”

The Magic Millions Horses in Training Sale starts at 3.30pm (AEST) on Monday.