Harron heads up Magic Millions investment with dual strategy

Prominent Sydney agent James Harron is as emboldened as ever in search of his next Group 1-winning colt and top-flight filly.

His profile skyrocketed via 2016 Golden Slipper winner Capitalist a decade ago and, double-handed in this weekend’s $3 million Magic Millions 2YO Classic, he leads the   buyers’ leaderboard as he and his backers arm themselves with a portfolio for the 2026/27 season.

After adding two colts and a filly on day three of the year’s season opening Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale, the James Harron Bloodstock team is in front on the buyers’ leaderboard with a spend of $7.25 million on 10 horses.

Harron’s partnerships, the colts fund and his fillies syndicate, are represented in the rich juvenile race on the Gold Coast with Farnan colt Knightsbridge and Exceed And Excel filly Mystical, trained by Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott and Michael Freedman respectively.

The colt and filly are examples of the blueprint the agent has used to forge his reputation over the past 15 years as possessing an eye for quality bloodstock with clients prepared to spend up to acquire them.

During Thursday’s trade, Harron and partners including Tony Fung Investments paid $1.2 million for a Snitzel colt out of leading New Zealand two-year-old Play That Song and $1.1 million for a Frankel colt out of US stakes-winning mare Miss Alacrity.

The Snitzel colt, who was offered by Newgate Farm, was the Harron partnership’s third by the late champion sire purchased this week.

“I thought it was just an incredible line-up of Snitzels, to be honest. I was really pleasantly surprised that there were so many nice ones here,” Harron said.

“Every weekend he’s in the headlines as a stallion, so it’s a great loss to the industry that he’s not with us anymore but it’s brilliant that we’ve still got the opportunity to pick up these beautiful colts.”

It was the mix of stamina and speed in the pedigree of his new Frankel colt, the second by the champion British sire to sell for more than $1 million this week, that intrigued Harron.

“He is from a family that is one of the top leading stallions in America and we were really pleased to see that speed come through the dam side,” the agent said. 

“It is going to be interesting to see what sort of horse he shapes into but a beautiful athlete.”

He also paid $650,000 in tandem with TFI and Freedman for a filly by The Autumn Sun from the Tyreel Stud draft who is the first foal of New Zealand stakes-winning two-year-old Pacific Dragon.

Harron’s contribution to the buying bench this week, which has pushed the aggregate to more than $146 million so far this week, was acknowledged by Magic Millions managing director Barry Bowditch.

“Obviously, going back to when he first began (as an agent), it was Capitalist and onto King’s Legacy, and he’s got two in the race on Saturday, he’s got one of the favourites for the Slipper in Incognito, so he’s got a lot of confidence in the Magic Millions sale and he’s got a lot of confidence in the breeders that sell here,” Bowditch said.

“He’s a great supporter of the auction and he has continued to come back and do it in strong fashion this year with Tony Fung and his team.”  

Bowditch was particularly pleased with the depth of the market in the lower end on Thursday, a segment that some vendors held concerns about earlier in the week, with a $200,000 median remaining consistent for the third day in a row. The clearance rate is also at 85 per cent while the average is at $281,000.

“The auctioneers were of the opinion that it was really, really genuine and even in that $80,000 to $150,000 bracket there were plenty of bids coming and it was a good market to be auctioneering in which is fantastic,” Bowditch said.

“We’ve had 30 lots less at this point in time compared to last year but the gross is up around $1.7 million on last year so we are tracking along nicely and we have a similar day to last year coming up.”

Thursday’s session was topped by a $1.6 million Snitzel filly purchased by Hermitage Thoroughbreds.

Arrowfield is the leading vendor by aggregate, selling 35 yearlings at an average of $330,571 while Milburn Creek is the leading vendor by average, selling six lots at an average of $616,667.

Friday’s Super Session will start at 10am with 290 lots catalogued to bring the Book 1 sale to a close.

Sale statistics

(2024 – days 1 to 3 in brackets)

Lots Catalogued: 690 (720) 

Lots Sold: 520 (521)

Lots Passed In: 89 (133) 

Lots Withdrawn: 81 (66) 

Sale Gross: $146,142,500 ($144,500,000) 

Top Price: $2 million ($2,800,000)  

Average Price: $281,043 ($277,351) 

Median Price: $200,000 ($200,000) 

Sold %: 85 (80)