Archive for category: Industry News

Above: A view of the stables at Stockwell Thoroughbreds

For Stockwell Thoroughbreds, Melbourne Premier has long been a familiar sale for the team at Diggers Rest.  

Set on 800 acres, Mike and Brodie Becker are a well-equipped, experienced team who ensure that each of their yearlings gets an in-depth yearling preparation.   

The name Stockwell is a name known by all in the industry and they have had many great horses to grace their paddocks. Including the sire Showdown, who now has the VOBIS Sires Showdown named in his honour, which is held at Caulfield each year.  

This year, the team will take three colts to the Melbourne Premier sale. All three colts are Victorian-bred and are by sires such as Sun Stud’s Palentino, Chatswood’s Reward For Effort and Winning Rupert. 

When asked what the 2021, Melbourne Premier draft was like, Mike Becker commented, “The colts are three different types, and they couldn’t be any more different if you tried.” 

The first lot to head through the ring will be lot 600, a son of Winning Rupert and bred by Victoria’s Susan Zeitz.  

The colt is out of the Artie Schiller mare, Fair Hope. Fair Hope is an unraced mare who is the half-sister to Hearts and Arrows, who is the dam of Group 2 winner, Jonker.  

“The Winning Rupert’s have some flavour in the market at the moment. He isn’t a huge colt, but he is an athletic colt, and he has scoped and x-rayed up well,” Mike commented. 

“He is a nice correct colt who is neat and athletic and is quite typical of the Winning Rupert’s I have seen,” he said.   

“Susan has been breeding for quite a few years now and is starting to see her hard work pay off on the track,” he said.  

The next colt to go through for Stockwell, lot 676, is as Mike describes him, “an absolute standout”. 

The colt sired by Sun Stud’s Palentino is out of the Authorized mare Penryn Pearl, who was a four-time winner.  

“He is well grown, and he is a three-year-old type as his pedigree says he should be. Anyone who has come to inspect him loves him,” Mike said.  

“He is a loose limbed, smooth actioned colt, who wants to work with you and is just straight forward and no fuss about him,” he said.  

The final colt to go through at Oaklands Junction will be a son of Reward for Effort, lot 717, who is bred and owned by Stockwell Thoroughbreds.  

Out of unraced Artie Schiller mare, Spend A Penny. Spend A Penny already has a Puissance de Lune colt who was purchased by Hancox Thoroughbreds.  

“This horse is an outstanding type. He is a trainer’s colt and looks relatively early going. He is just strong in all the right areas and wants to be doing something all the time,” Mike said.  

The Reward for Effort colt is from the same family as Group 3 winner Golden Twig.  

There is no doubt that with the experience of the Stockwell team, that these three youngsters will highlight their athletic abilities once they make it to our tracks.  

To view the Stockwell draft in more detail, click here.  

Above: Lot 361 Street Boss x Spirit of Carbine colt

Rosemont stud is based on the beautiful Barwon river and the brand has quickly established itself as one of the premier studs in Victoria. With the well-known red and white ‘rampant lion’ colours that has frequently featured in the winner’s circle, Rosemont can take credit for some outstanding Group 1 success of horses they consigned at the yearling sales including Mr Quickie, Santa Ana Lane and Hey Doc to name a few. In addition, their stallions have been making headlines with Starspangledbanner claiming titles both in Australia and overseas. Ryan McEvoy Rosemont’s General Manager of bloodstock has highlighted a few yearlings going through the ring at Melbourne Premier that he believes could be future champions.   

Lot 61 is the first yearling through the ring for Rosemont Stud and one that has impressed the team. ‘We have a nice Deep Field filly out of a mare called Dineeta. She is a forward strong, mature filly with great athleticism. This filly has impressed us and has thrived in the preparation and we believe it won’t take long until she reached the track.’   

In terms of pedigree Lot 136 is of particular interest. ‘The Zoustar colt out of the mare Leica Forward has a lovely pedigree. He is bred on the same cross as Sunlight being a Zoustar out of a Charge Forward mare. He has a nice profile and will grow into a beautiful three-year-old.’  

A stand-out yearling from the Rosemont draft is Lot 361, a son of Street Boss out of the Danehill Dancer mare, Spirit of Carbine. The dam is half-sister to multiple Stakes winner Pampelonne which includes the Group 2 The Shorts to his credentials. ‘The Street Boss colt is a lovely horse. Really sharp with good substance to him and natural muscle. A quality horse. He’s out of a Danehill Dancer mare – the same cross as Rapper Dragon who has been a star in Hong Kong.’ 

Another yearling that Ryan has highlighted in the draft is Lot 460. A So You Think Colt out of the Danehill Dancer mare, Abyssinie. ‘The So You Think colt is a lovely athletic and mature horse. He has a great outlook and a lovely profile. He will be a well-found colt in the draft.’ 

Out of the sire who is close to Rosemont’s hearts is Lot 429, a son of Starspangledbanner out of Wangaala. ‘He is a lovely style of horse, very mature and intelligent. The colt moves very well with a good stride and good walk and everything you want to see. He looks like he won’t take long to get going ’ 

Ryan remarks the success that the Rosemont stallion has been having both in Australia and oversea. ‘Physically Starspangledbanner is a great looking stallion and one that is very close to our heart. He has been a popular stallion for a number of years and is of course the sire of two Group One winning 2-Year-Old’s in Europe. He has proved to be a great source of speed, precocity’   

Lot 577 is another highlight of the draft, a Hellbent colt who is the first foal out of the Stakes winning American mare, Debbie’s Tude. ‘He is a good style of horse, strong, mature and very typical of what you would expect of a Hellbent. We expect him to popular at the sale.’  

Rosemont Stud will be offering four lots from the in-demand sire, Toronado. The sire’s top lot at this year’s Magic Millions was knocked down for $220,000 and purchased by Alexander Racing. ‘We also have a good lot of Toronado colts in particular offered in the draft. He is a stallion that is going the right way and had a good results this month with two new Stakes winners.’ 

By the Rosemont’s popular stallion Starcraft, there are two colts on offer in the draft (Lot 378 and Lot 495). ‘We are also pleased with our Starcraft colts that are really nice, good strong forward yearlings and we expect them to be well found – particularly with an eye to Hong Kong given the sire’s success in that jurisdiction.’ 

Rosemont stud are delighted with the draft that they will be offering at Melbourne Premier and are looking forward to attending the sale with their impressive draft of twenty-six yearlings. ‘Overall, we have a very even, albeit strong draft which has a good depth to it. We feel we have selected the right style of horses to come to this particular sale.’   

The 2021 Magic Millions saw the launch of Victoria Alliance who were out in force to source high quality colts who will later become a great stallion prospect in Victoria. Ryan, who along with Rosemont principal Anthony Mithen developed the idea, explains that their presence will also be seen at Melbourne Premier and the Easter sale. ‘We have been excited to launch the Victoria Alliance. We have spent since midway through 2020 establishing the idea so it is great to see it materialised. It was always our plan to launch initially at Magic Millions followed by the Melbourne Premier and the Easter Sale.’  

Rosemont have long been supporters of the VOBIS scheme and have benefitted from the riches of the scheme. ‘We were recently talking to John McCardle who mentioned a race he received the VOBIS bonuses with over 100% increase in the initial prizemoney. It is unbelievable the benefits that VOBIS offers to the Victorian Thoroughbred Industry. From a Rosemont point of view, we can’t speak more highly of the VOBIS scheme.’ 

The strength of the market has been unbelievable following the turbulent year that 2020 threw at us. Ryan explains that there is confidence for Melbourne Premier as the Inglis Classic Sale where records were hit has so often been a benchmark for Premier. ‘We have seen the strength of the Gold Coast, Sydney Classic and New Zealand Bloodstock did an incredible job with their sale. Based on that you would expect that Melbourne Premier will be just as strong. Previously the sale has been a great source of high-class horses and expect this year will prove nothing less.’  

To view the full draft click here. 

Above: Lot 39 Footprint x Lonhro filly (image: Bronwen Healy)

Musk Creek Farm, a boutique farm operation on the Mornington Peninsula will be taking a small draft of four to Melbourne Premier. ‘We are a boutique farm who mainly focus on quality and making sure we can produce what the market wants. I am confident going to the sale that we have four very nice horses that will be well received.’ Remarked Scott from Musk Creek Farm.   

This year Musk Creek Farm has a strong focus on the quality of broodmares with all the dam’s having proven success on the track. ‘All the progeny of the dams in the draft that have reached the track have won, which as a statistic we are very proud of. It should give the buyers a lot of encouragement knowing that these mares are producing on the track and I feel we have the right type for the sale.’  

The first lot that will be going through the ring for Musk Creek Farm is Lot 39, a daughter of Lonhro out of the Redoute’s Choice mare, Footprint. The dam is half-sister to Marching and Gait and is from the family of Trapeze Artist. She has two foals to race who are both middle distance winners. ‘She is a really striking Lonhro filly, with nice strength, amazing walk and a very relaxed nature. The mare also has a nice 2YO by Sebring with Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott who is yet to race but they have high expectations of the horse.’ This filly is from a great broodmare sire and will maintain residual value from a high quality family.   

A highlight of the draft is Lot 204, a colt by Zoustar out of Mumtaazah. The dam is a half-sister to the Stakes 2YO winner Petits Filous and with one foal to race, a gelding by Dissident is a three-time winner over 1050m. ‘This colt looks more of a Sunlight type of Zoustar, he is a more compact type with a lovely over-step and walk. We have been impressed with his attitude during the preparation and he has done all that we have asked of him.’ This colt ticks all the boxes for buyer that would be looking for the stallion types.’ As a third-generation double cross of Redoute’s Choice this colt has lot of appeal.  

‘We do all our matings at Musk Creek on type, obviously taking the pedigree into account. We try and match up a mare with a stallion and vice versa so that we are producing the right type. We are delighted with the cross of this Zoustar colt.’ 

Lot 292 is the next yearling for Musk Creek, a Churchill colt out of Rock Princess. The colt is a half-brother to Rock Tycoon (Written Tycoon), a six-time winner with prize money of $160,965. More recently the half-sister, Jessica Rae trained by Graeme Begg put in a dominant performance at Kyneton winning by over 5 lengths. ‘The colt is a lovely big athletic horse with great conformation. He is a really nice horse, is a good size and I certainly think he will catch buyers attention at the sale.’   

The final yearling in the draft is in session two at Melbourne Premier, Lot 768. A daughter of Magnus out of Bianslick. The mare has three foals to race who are all winners including the filly by Squamosa, Rays Dream who has won four times with $174,050 in prizemoney and the recent impressive 2 year old winner on debut La Rocque who is likely to be aimed at Stakes races in the near future. The filly is also from the same family as Cliff’s Edge. ‘Despite the filly being in session two, there is a lot of upside for someone to buy this filly.’  

Musk Creek’s draft have something for everyone at the sale, those looking for a stallion type and fillies with broodmare residual value. ‘What I like about our draft this year is not only the mares are doing a good job, but they are also lovely proven families with black type on all of them and I certainly think the product is there to match it.’  

Scott believes that the Victorian trainers will be largely focused on the Premier sale in order to benefit from the VOBIS scheme. ‘The Victorian trainers and owners target the horses that are nominated for VOBIS. It is a great incentive for people wanting to race horses in Victoria and for owners, breeders and trainers to pin point those horses at the sale.’   

Ahead of the sale and Scott has a lot of confidence following the strong results received from Magic Millions and Inglis Classic sales. ‘It’s amazing how buoyant the market appears to be, and everyone is expecting the market from Magic Millions and the Classic sale to continue. Year on year Melbourne Premier seems to be raising the bar and I certainly think that we will do as good if not better than last year. The industry is thriving with people wanting to get involved which is encouraging going forward for everyone.’  

Above: Lot 344 Deep Field x Smart Miss Hill filly

For Michael and Siobhan Christian of Longwood Thoroughbred Farm (LTF), the 2021 Melbourne Premier Sale, marks the second time they will present a draft of yearlings for sale.  

While the pair may be relatively new to consigning drafts of horses, they are far from being new to the breeding game.   

In fact, their love affair with racehorses, started in the 90’s, after securing a share in a racehorse.  

 Since this initial first taste of the industry, Michael and Siobhan have gone on to breed some outstanding horses such as Eloping, Fuhryk, Of The Brave, Eloping, Hallowell Belle, Fuddle Dee Duddle, Bella Nipotina, Jesse’s Girl and Unpretentious. 

Longwood Thoroughbred Farm also had two outstanding results at last month’s Magic Millions Yearling sale, when two yearlings they bred sold extremely well.  

A filly owned in partnership with Segenhoe Stud sired by I Am Invincible and out of LTF bred Eloping was knocked down to Godolphin for $900,000.   

Not too much further into the sale, another LTF bred horse, a colt owned in partnership with Widden Stud, sired by Zoustar and out of LTF bred, Fuddlee Dee Duddle, was knocked down for $1 million dollars to the Victorian Alliance, Suman Hedge and David Redvers Bloodstock.   

The filly and the colt were two record results for the farm. The colt signifying Longwood Thoroughbred Farm’s first million-dollar lot and Michael Christian who was in attendance was ecstatic at the sale.   

“The farm is going extremely well and it was an absolute thrill to watch the two yearlings go through the ring and bring such great prices. We bred both the mares, Eloping and Fuddle Dee Duddle and to watch them both go on and become stakes winners and then produce quality foals is enormously gratifying.” Michael enthused. “Full credit to our partners in the mares, Segenhoe Stud and Widden Stud who consigned the yearlings. They did fantastic job presenting the yearlings.”  

“The Fuddle Dee Duddle colt we bred with Widden Stud, was purchased by the Victorian Alliance, which LTF is also part of, so I cannot wait to see how he goes when he hits the track,” Michael said. “And Eloping’s I Am Invincible filly will be given every possible chance to reach her full potential under the guidance of James Cummings and the team at Godolphin.”  

Ahead of the Melbourne Premier sale, Michael is positive and enthusiastic of what the sale should bring.   

“We are excited to be taking our second draft to Melbourne Premier for buyers to inspect and hopefully purchase. Our team, led by our Farm Manager, Lelaina have done an amazing job preparing the yearlings for sale. ” Michael said. 

“The yearling sales season has got off to a strong start so hopefully that will carry through to the Premier Sale”. Michael said.  

At this year’s sale, the farm will take nine yearlings to Oaklands Junction.  

“We have a lovely bunch of horses both in Premier 1 and the Showcase session. The yearlings are by a nice array of stallions including, Written Tycoon, Deep Field, Dundeel, Street Boss, Russian Revolution, Starspangledbanner, Spirit of Boom and Star Witness,” Michael Christian said.   

When asked for his highlights of his 2021 draft, it was tough for Michael to single them out.  

The first lot to go through the ring for the farm will be lot 32, a colt by Russian Revolution colt out of Testa Rossa mare, Fiery Jest.  

“This colt is a strong, powerful yearling, who looks like he might get up and run nice and early. His half-brother was purchased by Hawkes Racing at last year’s Melbourne Premier sale for $200,000 and is showing promise.” Michael said.  

The next lot to go through the ring, lot 191, is a son of Written Tycoon out of the Snitzel mare, Miss Tomb Raider.   

“He is the second foal from the mare and is a similar colour to his sire. The colt is beautifully balanced and athletic. One of the exciting things with this colt is how he has thrived through the preparation. He loves his work and has a great appetite.” Michael said.  

The next lot to go through the ring which Michael gives an insight to is lot 344, a Deep Field filly out of Smart Missile mare, Smart Miss Hill.  

“This filly is a mid-November foal but you would never know it. She’s a great size, moves well and has plenty of strength about her. But not only is she a wonderful physical specimen she is from the incredible Freedom Fields family, which continues to produce stakes winners. In recent times, the exploits of Away Game has continued to add to the family,” Michael said.  

The next filly which Michael gives insight on is lot 427, a daughter of Dundeel out of Fastnet Rock mare, Vinay.  

“She is a beautiful, bodied filly with a lovely action, she has thrived through her preparation and we are very excited to present her to buyers. We are really hopeful she will do extremely well in the sales ring,” Michael enthused.  

The final yearling which Michael mentions is lot 686, a daughter of Street Boss out of Quick Thinking.   

“She is an absolute powerhouse of a filly, an absolute tank. She is incredibly strong with an amazing hind quarter and girth. This filly will get up and go nice and early,” Michael said.  

Longwood Thoroughbred Farm will be at Oaklands parading from Tuesday at 8.30am and the entire draft can be viewed here. 

Above: Lot 48 Artie Schiller x Gaelic Queen colt

For Daniel Nevill and his team at Hollylodge, the last twelve months have been action packed. Khoekhoe, a graduate of his 2019 draft winning the VOBIS Sires Showdown, a new bub for himself and his partner Katie, and the everyday hustle and bustle of running a busy farm, Daniel will present 15 yearlings to Oaklands for the Melbourne Premier sale.   

While the draft is predominantly by Victorian sires, the horses sired by interstate stallions are mostly Victorian bred.  

“It is a very equal draft in terms of what is on offer. We worked with Simon Vivian and the Inglis team very closely to make sure that we were taking horses down there which would meet the market,” Daniel said.   

“We wanted to select the best type we could find rather than simply choosing a horse based on the appeal of a stallion.” 

Daniel believes that the yearlings in his draft truly will make good racehorses and there isn’t much that sets them apart from one another.  

“The horses in this draft are a great physical and not just a page. I have confidence that every horse going to the sale will make a racehorse,” he said.  

Daniel also believes that the riches of VOBIS which are on offer for buyers, is a massive incentive when purchasing Victorian yearlings. 

“Pretty much the entire draft is Super VOBIS with the exception of one. It’s a great scheme and with the money on offer, if you have a draft of Victorian horses, you will have every Victorian trainer come and seek out the horses,” Daniel commented.  

While Daniel didn’t want to pick out highlights from his draft, as he believes all his yearlings will make the track, Daniel highlighted the following yearlings and are in no particular order.  

Lot 48, which is sired by Stockwell sire, Artie Schiller, is a colt out of the ¾ sister to  Group 3 winner and Group 1 placed sprinter Vain Queen. The colt out of the unraced mare is nominated for Super VOBIS and the family includes Karuta Queen.   

“He is an exceptionally good moving horse with beautiful markings. I believe he will be able to run as a late 2YO and train on and furnish out into a lovely older horse, he is the ultimate Victorian Super Vobis horse,” Daniel said. 

Lot 180 is the Highland Reel out of Miracle Magic. The dam is a four-time winner with one of those wins, being at two-years-old and this filly is the half-sister to Group 3 winner, Greyworm. 

“Out of all the horses I have ever seen or prepared that have gone on to make good racehorses this filly moves like the good ones! She has such a great efficient action. Being the half to Greyworm, she has huge residual value aswell,” Daniel commented.  

Another horse which Daniel recommends all trainers get down and inspect is lot 270, a colt by Magnus and out of the two-time winner, Rada.  

Rada has had four foals to race all of which are winners, including Beau Rada and Group 3 Maribyrnong Plate winner Power Trip.  

“He is perfect for Victorian trainers. He has a good body, shape and size. You could feed him three times a day and he would work three times a day and wouldn’t blink an eye. If I were a trainer in Vic, he is the horse I would be looking at,” Daniel said.  

The next horse which Daniel rates, is lot 435 a colt by Deep Field out of the Charge Forward mare, Western Gem. A four-time winner including one win in her two-year-old career, she has had one foal to race that hoes now won 5 races and a city win since the catolog has been printed, her name is Chivargo. Chivargo is the full sister to the yearling heading through the ring at Oaklands.  

“He is strong with great bone and great physical substance and a great walk. It looks like you could break him in next week and target early races,” he is bred to go fast early and that’s what he looks like Daniel said.  

And after Khoekhoe’s success in the VOBIS Sires Showdown last year, Hollylodge will also present a ¾ colt to Khoekhoe for sale at Oaklands.  

Bred by Susan Keating, the colt is out of Miss Elsa who has had four wins, with two of those at two-years-old and has had one foal to race, who is a winner. 

“People say the Showdown is a restricted race, but Khoekhoe has gone on to win a stakes race on the last day of the spring carnival and was one inch off of being a Group 2 winner on Cox Plate day,” Daniel quipped.  

While Daniel listed a few top lots, he commented, “I could make a case for all of them as there wouldn’t be much which sets them apart.” 

Hollylodge will be parading their draft from 9am on Wednesday morning. To view their full draft, click here.  

Above: Lot 108 So You Think x Karata colt

Following on from a successful sale at Magic Millions Gold Coast yearling sale with six lots which sold for an average of $124,167, Daisy Hill will be heading to the Melbourne Premier with confidence with their draft of six. ‘We are coming off the back of a successful Magic Millions sale and we are really excited by our draft we are taking to Melbourne Premier.’ Shane from Daisy Hill commented.  

The headline of their draft is the first one through the ring for the farm, Lot 108 a son of So You Think by Karata. The dam is from a very prominent family as daughter of Australian Horse of the Year, Let’s Elope. In addition, Karata is sister to the Stakes winner Outback Joe and half-sister to Ustinov now standing at stud who has produced five Stakes winners. 

‘This colt is an absolute specimen of a horse when you see him in the flesh, by one of the hottest stallion’s in the Country in So You Think. He had three metropolitan winners last weekend and every crop by the sire has produced a Group 1 winner. The colt is a serious Derby contender and his two-year old sister by Pierro is working towards an Oaks campaign.’   

Another exciting yearling in the draft is Lot 189, a daughter of the first season sire Merchant Navy out of the Zabeel mare Miss Shamrock which is a really interesting cross. A stand-out from the pedigree is the dam being half-sister to the late Fighting Sun and has already produced a Stakes placing in Amerock who was ran second at Moonee Valley  on 12th February. ‘An exciting first season sire in Merchant Navy, as a sire of sire Fastnet Rock has produced seven sons who have won Group 1’s. We went heavily on the Merchant Navy/Zabeel cross and this same mating produced a Group 1 winner last weekend.’ 

Lot 455 is a son of Caravaggio out of the Keeper mare, Wyetta who is half-sister the Group 1 Thousand Guineas and Group 2 Moonee Valley vase winner Aloisia. ‘Another exciting first season sire, a Scat Daddy son experiment that worked in the Southern Hemisphere with No Nay Never having two Stakes winners. The colt is a well grown first foal for the mare, Wyetta who is half-sister to Group 1 winner Aloisia.’  

In the draft, Daisy hill are offering two yearlings by the impressive first season sire, Impending. Lot 499 a colt by the sire out of Balalaika, a winner over 1200m. The dam has five foals to race with four winners including Jabali, the Group 2 BRC Queensland Guineas winner.  

Lot 682 is a son of Victoria’s Champion second season sire, Fiorente out of the Encosta de Lago mare, Protracted. The dam is half-sister to Stakes winner Doubt I’m Dreaming with one foal to race, a gelding by Nostradamus who has won over 1600m. ‘According to the trainer he has been very unlucky not to have won another few races and there is also a Real Impact filly by the dam currently in work at Ballarat.’  

The other Impending yearling for Daisy Hill is the last lot through the sale for the farm, Lot 752 a daughter of the sire out of the Alamosa mare, Almost Grace. The dam is half-sister to the Stakes winner All in Black and this filly looks a lovely type.  

Shane remarks that he is confident ahead of the sale based on the number of buyers they have welcomed at their farm inspections. ‘We have been very busy with farm inspections and we are very excited for another successful sale. We have very motivated buyers and expect the market to be very strong at Melbourne Premier.’  

The VOBIS nominated horses not only creates interest in Melbourne, Shane remarks how Victorian trainers and owners were scouting out the Vobis horses at Magic Millions. ‘The VOBIS scheme is a major factor at the sales, even at the Gold Coast 90% of our inspections were by Victorians. It helps us have the edge over other horses in the sale if they are VOBIS nominated especially as our draft has many New South Wales sires with only a few of them being Vobis it is a big incentive for the Victorian trainers.’  

 To view the full draft click here 

Above: The team at Bucklee Farm with Leeanne Smith (second from right)

Bucklee Farm, a boutique broodmare, weanling and yearling farm in Victoria’s north-east, is the product of years of experience, hard work and passion from its principal Leeanne Smith.  

Leeanne and her team at Bucklee Farm will once again present a quality and professional suite of yearlings at this year’s Inglis Melbourne Premier Yearling Sale. This year marks the farm’s 15th year participating in this Sale.  

The 18-strong draft, made up of 13 colts and 5 fillies, offers a wide range of options to suit all buyers across both the Premier and Showcase Sessions of the Sale, with 15 of them eligible for the lucrative VOBIS bonus scheme.   

“I have a very exciting draft this year,” explained Leeanne.  

“We have yearlings from stallions that are fashionable, money-earning stallions and our horses match those reputations.  

“It’s been a challenging 12 months for everyone, especially with the staff shortages across the entire industry that are still continuing. But I can’t wait to get the horses there (to Inglis) and parade them for buyers.” 

The first of Leeanne’s to go through the ring will be Lot 60 – A Rubick filly who is the first foal from her dam Gracie (NZ).  

“This filly (Lot 60) is a cracking filly,” said Leeanne. “She’s colty-looking with a beautiful shoulder and is very balanced.” 

Lot 503, a filly by Brazen Beau out of Bel Esprit mare Belaura, is another well balanced offering with a lovely shoulder. This is the dam’s fifth living foal and her 3 foals to race have all been steady winners on the track.  

Swettenham Stud’s in-form sire Toronado (Ire) has 25 yearlings entered for Melbourne Premier and the Bucklee Farm will parade his first, which could be the value buy of his consignment. 

Lot 71 is a forward-moving colt out of Hai Lil, a mare who won three races at Moonee Valley plus another down the straight at Flemington. With a lovely strong end and a good girth, the colt looks to be an early runner. Hai Lil’s first foal Hai Sun (Fighting Sun) has been knocking on the door with placings at Kilmore and Geelong in January and her second Obfuscation (Holler) is an unraced 2yo with Mick Price & Michael Kent. 

Bucklee Farm have two lots by first seasons sires, who should draw the attention of buyers keen to see the look of their progeny. Lot 607, a Thronum colt out of Francesca Belle, is his dam’s third foal. A G2 Australia Stakes winner, Thronum stands at Sun Stud.  

“This colt has furnished out into a strong, scopey colt from his weanling days,” said Leeanne. “He has a great forearm and gaskin and is deep in the girth.”   

Above: Bucklee Farm Lot 607 – Thronum x Francesca Belle colt

The other, Lot 779, is by Woodside Park Stud’s Tosen Stardom. The colt is out of USA dam Casigris, who has had 5 of her 6 foals win on the racetrack, including results in Singapore and Hong Kong.  

Lot 624, Palentino x Hearts And Flowers colt, is one in the draft that has caught the attention of the his carers.  

“I try not to have favourites but I do like this colt,” said Leeanne.  

“He’s nice and neat and continues to improve throughout his preparation. Palentino has a way of putting size into his progeny and his second dam was a very good Melbourne mare. This one might just be one that flies under the radar.”  

Another one on offer by Sun Stud’s Palentino, Lot 749 is a half-sister to multiple provincial winners who are bringing their owners much joy.  

“She’s the nicest filly foal the mare has thrown,” said Leeanne.  

“She’s another one I have a little soft spot for. She has done everything we’ve asked of her during her preparation and always ends the day with her head in the feed bin. I have no doubt she’ll make a mark on the racetrack.”  

Above: Bucklee Farm Lot 749 – Palentino x Zeftabaa filly

Lot 642 is another Victorian-sired colt, from Chatswood Stud’s renowned winner-getter Reward For Effort. His dam, Lady Phoebe, is out of a NZ-bred mare who has a perfect record from three foals to the races. Her colt Celestial Sol (Fighting Sun) made $115,000 at the 2017 Inglis Premier and he debuted with a black-type placing in 2020 LR Redoute’s Choice Stakes at Caulfield before a strong victory in a 2yo contest at Moonee Valley. 

“He’s a lovely colt with a strong chest and backside. He’s tall, scopey and very balanced,” said Leeanne. 

Progeny of Flying Artie will no doubt be in high demand following the sire’s win in the G1 Blue Diamond Stakes with Artorius on Saturday. Bucklee Farm offer Lot 665, a lovely colt out of Fusaichi Pegasus (USA) mare, Montelimar, who will be deserved of the attention of buyers.  

Lot 669 Street Boss (USA) x My Option is another that has caught the eye of the Bucklee Farm staff.  

“This colt is lovely,” said Leeanne. “He is intelligent and has thrived through his preparation. He loves his work and I think he will make a beautiful 3-year-old.”  

A neat running type like her sire Cable Bay (IRE), Lot 718 is a half-sister to multiple Listed-place winner Mariah’s Magic. The G3 Light Fingers Stakes second-placed Never Talk has also provided recent pedigree updates.  

Lot 591, a Your Song x Early Awakening colt, is another in the draft with a black–type page. The Super-VOBIS nominated colt is a half-brother to G2 Australia Stakes winner Richie’s Vibe.  

Bucklee Farm offers two colts from Woodside Park’s Foxwedge. Out of the Desert Prince (IRE) mare Prayer, Lot 680 is a half-sister to Chris Waller’s Sydney city-placed runner Tight Ropes who looks to be knocking on the door of a win.  

Whilst Lot 740, out of Listed winner Vintner (Hennessey {USA}), may initially catch the eye of buyers due to his striking silver colourings. 

“Handsomeness aside, he is a well coupled and balanced horse,” said Leeanne. “Buyers will see he is strong through his hind quarters, with great forearms and a solid chest.” 

(Above: Bucklee Farm Lot 740 – Foxwedge x Vintner colt)

Magnus needs no introduction to Premier Sale regulars having sired 400 individual winners at a 68% strike-rate during his illustrious career. Bucklee Farm’s Magnus x No Vanity colt (Lot 217) is a half-brother to Clarice Cliffs who was placed in the G3 Frances Tressady Stakes at Flemington and won last year’s VOBIS Gold Distaff at Caulfield. Built like an early runner and out of a family of such, this colt is neat and balanced with a positive attitude.  

Lots 411 (All Too Hard x True Malt colt), Lot 629 (Territories {IRE} x Isabeau filly) and Lot 697 (Sidestep x Roseneath colt) are all bred by Victorian mares and Super-VOBIS nominated, and round out this excellently presented Bucklee Farm draft.  

The Bucklee Farm draft will be available for inspection at Inglis Oaklands from Tuesday 23rd February from Barn A, stables 1-18. Click here to view the catalogue.  

Above: Lot 511 So You Think x Big Spirit filly

West Gippsland’s Balius Farm at Darnum will head to the Melbourne Premier Yearling Sale with their third and best draft. 

 The boutique property is owned by specialist anaesthetist Jacqui Sushames, and her husband Dr Tam Dieu, a plastic surgeon, and they both have an intense passion for the breeding and racing industry. 

Jacqui admits they’ve learnt a lot in a short time on the requirements of selling at Melbourne Premier. 

“This is definitely a better draft than we sent last year and we’ve been working really hard on improving our pedigrees and type matching,” Jacqui said. 

“Certainly a mix of them are better quality than what we had last year.” 

Jacqui said the prices they achieved for their yearlings in 2020 was better than they got in 2019 and she expected those figures would be higher again to reflect a better quality of yearlings on offer by sires such as So You Think, Highland Reel and Vancouver. 

Of the 11 yearlings on offer, nine are fillies. 

The first yearling to go under the hammer for Balius Farm is Lot 333, a Lonhro filly out of Not a Single Doubt mare, Singled Out. This is her first living foal and Jacqui said she is nicely put together. 

“She has got a good brain about her as well and is just an easy horse to have around and isn’t too much drama,” she said. 

Jacqui said Lot 350, a brown filly by Vancouver, out of Socialize (Iffraaj x High Tea) will be interesting. Leading trainer Ciaron Maher had Socialize’s first foal, Tooradin, by Americain and the four-year-old gelding  been placed in town over 2000m. 

Socialize’s second foal, a colt by No Nay Never, trialled locally and went straight to Hong Kong. 

Jacqui is excited with their So You Think filly (Lot 511) out of Invincible Spirit mare Big Spirit, a winner of nine races. They have retained a Teofilo filly, named Twilight, out of the mare. 

“When we bought the mare she had four by Toorak Toff on the ground which wasn’t a lot of interest to me but I did like the mare,” she said. 

“So we kept the Teofilo for ourselves and are offering the So You Think and we have a Sioux Nation filly on the ground. The So You Think is one of the nicest foals the mare has had.” 

Another of  Balius Farm’s four yearlings in the Premier session is Lot 539, a Pride of Dubai filly out of Celtic Cutie (Teofilo x Tropical Lake). 

“She is another tall, strong filly and she has got a bit of spunk about her,” Jacqui said. 

“She is actually one of my favourites. She has got a good long walk about her and moves freely on the lunge.” 

Balius is offering a colt – Lot 663 – and a filly – Lot 766 – by Highland Reel (IRE) and being the first ones she has bred by the sire, Jacqui said she didn’t quite know what to expect but they are changing all the time. 

“But as they are coming through this prep they are really improving a lot and we have seen them grow a lot in their work as well,” she said. 

“The filly (out of Beautiful Buns) in particular has really grown through the work and enjoys her work and is very professional the way she goes about things. Hopefully being by a first season sire they’ll be well received.” 

Jacqui said that had retained a Manhattan filly out of Beautiful Buns to race but says they haven’t been to enough quality stallions to know where the mare sits. 

The Beautiful Buns filly for sale at Oaklands also has a half-brother by Real Impact, who made $300,000 at NZ Ready to Run, and was purchased at the sale to race in Hong Kong. 

And she said Lot 672, a filly by Flying Artie out of unraced mare On A Limb is as “solid as a rock.” 

“She looks like she is going to be a big strong filly and she just keeps improving all the time,” Jacqui said. 

Lot 685, a grey filly by Caravaggio (USA), out of Queen Hazel (USA), is being offered sold by Balius Farm for a client. 

“She is coming along nicely and is a really nice type,” Jacqui said. 

“And again she is a beautiful mover and actually works the house down on the lunge. She covers the ground beautifully.” 

A Palentino colt – Lot 743 – out of New Approach (IRE) mare Waterloo Bridge is a nice type and Jacqui says he looks a lot like his sire. She said while the mare is black, the colt is chestnut with four white socks and a big white blaze that almost covers one eye. 

Pakenham trainer Tim Hughes bought a Divine Prophet colt out of the mare at last year’s sale, and Jacqui said they had retained a share in him. 

Balance is the word Jacqui uses to describe their Press Statement filly out of Airways (General Nediym x These Days). 

The filly, Lot 751, was originally going to be sold as a weanling but the COVID-19 pandemic put an end to that plan but there was a lot of interest in her. 

“Everything is there ready to go with her,” Jacqui said. 

And Jacqui admits she had a change of heart about selling Lot 789 – a Puissance de Lune (IRE) filly out of Cloud Jumper (Street Boss x Luscious Lips). 

She says the broodmare is a bit of a pet. 

Jacqui said there had been plenty of interest in the Puissance de Lune progeny and they decided to give Cloud Jumper a chance in the market with her yearling. 

“It’s an interesting family and I’m absolutely amazed as the filly just loves her work and takes it all in her stride,” she said. 

“If you could pick one of the family that you didn’t  think mightn’t  cope so well working and prepping, she would have been the one at the start that I thought mightn’t go so well. 

“But she is as happy as a pig in mud and I’m so impressed with her. She is not the biggest filly, but she’ll make the grade at the end of the day.” 

Jacqui said they were genuine sellers with realistic reserves on their yearlings that would represent reasonable value and in turn they’d like to see their horses go to the right places to get a good opportunity. 

“Everything we take is with the intention of selling,” Jacqui said. 

“We have got some pretty exciting foals on the ground for next year and hopefully now we can really work well on upgrading our mare band. 

“We just want to breed horses that get their opportunity.” 

Jacqui said they have about 20 broodmares on their farm. 

To view the full draft click here.

Above: Lot 648 Rich Enuff x Little Things colt

For Paul and Sue of Ponderosa Park, the Melbourne Premier sale will mark the first time the pair have sold at the sale – as typically, they are weanling consignors.   

This has been their business model for years until COVID hit and they had to adapt to the changing environment.  

The draft which they present at Oaklands Junction is as Paul describes them as “the best of last year’s weanlings” and he didn’t want to sell them in the online world.  

He believed he would get a much better result if they were to go through the ring as opposed to the online world.   

The duo have been working tirelessly to make sure that all the boxes are ticked for their yearlings and have ensured that they have had an in-depth preparation. Paul and Sue have gone above and beyond to give their yearlings every chance on sale day.  

Another box which they have made sure that they have ticked, is ensuring their yearlings are all paid up for Super VOBIS. The pair have long been supporters of the lucrative scheme.  

This year seven yearlings will be presented by Ponderosa at Oaklands Junction. They are also all Victorian-bred.  

The first lot to go through the ring, is lot 76, a Merchant Navy filly out of a winning Sebring mare. 

“This filly is out of a black type family and she is a very well-muscled, good walking filly. She definitely looks like she is a ready-made two-year-old and if you bought her, she would be ready to go very quickly,” Paul Kelly commented. 

The next lot which will head through the ring is lot 214, a Pride of Dubai out of a Snitzel mare. The mare, Ninaenko is unraced however she is out of a four-time winning Argentinian mare in Equiparada, who is a Group 2 winner. 

“The mare is a big robust mare and this filly is a scopey type but she is from a very good family,” Paul commented. 

The next yearling to head through will be lot 425, a colt by More Than Ready out of Very Cherry.  

 Ponderosa have sold weanlings previously from Very Cherry, who is stakes placed and a two–time winner.  

“This mare is a good producing mare, she has had some nice winners including Pop and Schnapps, who ended up in Hong Kong. The colt which is for sale, is an outstanding type. Well matured and muscled – he is the kind of horse which you may catch a glimpse of from afar and heads will turn,” Paul said.  

The next lot to go through will be lot 506, a Deep Field, a colt out of Bella Francesa. Bella Francesa is the half-sister to Palentino and Junipal.  

“He was going to be sold as a weanling but COVID changed those plans. I didn’t want him to go online and potentially not be seen. He is a well matured colt from a Group 1 winning pedigree. In addition to this he is a great walker and has plenty of strength in front and behind the saddle,” Paul said.  

The next lot to head through is lot 557, who when asked what Paul thought of this yearling, Paul laughed and said, “We don’t have to say too much about Capitalist at the moment do we? You don’t need to know much about this one, just that’s he’s by Capitalist.” 

“He is from a black type mare, which is a winning combination. In the second dam there is speed, and he is a great walker, a well put together type and will be one buyers will really like when they see him,” Paul said.  

The next yearling is lot 648, a son of Rich Enuff and out of a High Chaparral mare in Little Things.  

Little Things is the half-sister to Group 2 Sandown Guineas winner Ringerdingding.  

“Rich Enuff is on fire at the minute and he only looks to get hotter. This colt is a really nice type, and he covers the ground when he walks. His pedigree as well compliments this,” Paul said.  

The final lot to go through the ring is lot 764, a son of Palentino and out of a winning Not a Single Doubt mare, Balloons.  

“His father has stamped him, and he would be up there with the best of our types. He is a blondie chestnut and is well matured and an excellent walker,” Paul said.  

“We are very happy with the way our first Premier draft has turned out. These horses are a serious bunch of horses and good first draft to enter the yearling market with. They are quality draft and we have held onto the very best and are offering them to buyers at Oaklands,” Paul commented. 

Ponderosa will be parading from Tuesday and to view their draft, click here.