Magic Millions boss Barry Bowditch is optimistic that increased international activity at the Horses In Training Sale can offset any downturn in participation from domestic buyers.
Australian trainers and syndicators are said to be conscious of the fact that the 2026 yearling sales are around the corner and are likely to be conservative in their approach to this year’s two-year-old sales, which starts on the Gold Coast on Thursday.
While trainers such as Lindsay Park’s Hayes brothers, John McArdle, Tony Gollan, Chris Munce, Paul Shailer, and others have been inspecting horses, it will be overseas buyers that vendors are likely to rely on to sell a number of the horses in the 214-Lot catalogue.
“You can always do with more buyers, from Hong Kong or any jurisdiction like that. But we feel as if we've increased the number of buyers that are here from what we had last year, which is pleasing,” managing director Bowditch told The Straight.
“We’ve had good enough interest from a place like Hong Kong and I think we've got more horses in our catalogue this year that probably suit Hong Kong.
“So, you'd suspect our metrics from Hong Kong should be better than what they have been in the past. All in all, I think David Chester and his team … have done a fantastic job bringing a good group of buyers together.”
Queensland vendor Kenmore Lodge has a strong hand, with a colt by Pierata (Lot 108) providing popular as is a son of Spirit Of Boom (Lot 157) while earlier in the Silverstream Consignment has an impressive colt by rising Kia Ora stallion Farnan going under the hammer as Lot 11 and a daughter of The Autumn Sun as Lot 36.
Gerry Harvey’s Baramul Stud has a colt by I Am Invincible out of a sister to Russian Revolution (113) and a colt and a filly by Arrowfield’s late champion sire Snitzel to be offered on the Gold Coast.
Another vendor with a strong draft is Newington Farm after principal Julian Blaxland received a call out of the blue from Yulong several months ago about taking on horses for the Magic Millions sale on behalf of Zhang Yuesheng.
Blaxland and his wife Kacy have spent the past seven years developing their spelling, breaking and pre-training facility near Canungra in the Gold Coast hinterland, but to date had resisted entering the two-year-old sale space.
He has successfully had the Newington Consignment of broodmares at the Magic Millions National Sale on the Gold Coast each May in recent years, but the support of Yulong has provided another avenue for the Blaxlands’ business.
Young Victorian-based vendor Mitch Pearce, who operates Crossley Thoroughbreds near Avenel, is offering a draft of Yulong-owned two-year-olds at next week’s Inglis Ready2Race Sale.
Blaxland was grateful and humbled for the support offered by Mr Zhang.
“They’re a lovely bunch of horses that were educated and breezed up by Nathan Dunn. Nathan's based out of Cranbourne, a renowned breaker and trainer down there and an exceptional educator of horses,” Blaxland said.
“He's done a fabulous job with them, breezed up there at Seymour. There's sprinters, there's stayers, there's middle-distance horses and well, a nice representation of Yulong stallions, so I think there's something for everyone in this group of horses.”
Blaxland singled out a Maurice half-brother to Group 3 winner and Group 1-placed Yellow Brick (Lot 13), as well as a son of Written Tycoon out of the stakes-placed Heaven’s Gift (Lot 168) and three colts by second crop Yulong stallion Lucky Vega, the sire of last Saturday’s Flight Stakes runner-up Within The Law.
Vega For Luck, another first-crop three-year-old by Lucky Vega, contests this weekend’s Caulfield Guineas.
The Magic Millions sale will start at 12pm (AEST) on the Gold Coast.
