Magic Millions

Selling 1062 Quality Yearlings

Over Five Sessions On The Gold Coast

January 10 --11 -- 12 --13 –14

Selling on the first three days, at 10am sharp, when756 lots will have been sold, fourth day is the $10 million dollar race day, with selling again, from 6.00 pm, with 96 lots to sell, and the following day, Sunday, the sales wind up at 11 am, with the final 208 to go under the hammer.

The best sons and daughters, of the best stallions and mares, are sold at the Magic Millions.

The Magic Millions have gone from strength to strength, this is the third year in succession the sale has catalogued over one thousand yearlings.

Last year was a stellar year for the Magic Millions with a record aggregate of $146,125,300, which is an increase of $17 million on the previous year.

The top colt changed hands at $1.3 million, and top priced filly sold for $1.2 million dollars, neither has raced as yet.

The sale is represented by the progeny of 104 sires, which includes 24 first season sires, with three standing in New Zealand.

Baramul Stud, where the great Star Kingdom stood for his entire stud life, has the largest draft with 92 lots by a variety of notable sires.

Aquis is selling 27 lots, with three nice youngsters by I Am Invincible, Arrowfield, with 52 lots, is a proven source of winners by the flagship Redoute’s Choice, a stallion who has stood the test of time, like few sires have.

As expected leading sire, Snitzel ,with winners last season of $16,220,135, is well clear on the sire’s list again this season with $13,554,456, he is well represented with 47 lots catalogued for the millions

Coolmore, with 45 lots, Kia Ora 16 lots, Musk Creek 14 lots, Newgate with 43 lots, is the sleeping giant of the future, with an excellent group of young sires such as Dissident, with his oldest progeny he has 42 lots, there is no doubt he has received every opportunity, it is reflected in the catalogue, he has covered a wide variety of very good mares.

 Newhaven, established all those years ago by John Kelly senior, when Wilkes reigned supreme in the early sixties, he was champion twice, the tradition is still there, a draft of 29 yearlings raised at Boorowa.

 Segenhoe, with 19 lots, and Sledmere, 30, are well established studs that seemed to have been there for generations, both studs have stood the test of time having bred a number of successful horses over several years.

 There are some nice horses in the draft from Vinery as always, overall All Too Hard has 32 lots, from various vendors.

 Villermont, by All Too Hard, is a highly promising colt after winning the Sandown Guineas Group 2, he is being set for the Australian Guineas, and the Australian Cup would not be beyond him.  

 More Than Ready deserves a good son at stud, and he may have him in the form of Better Than Ready, his weaners looked pretty good, they are all good types and have plenty of bone about them.

 Better Than Ready stands at Lyndhurst Stud at Warwick on the Darling Downs where The Buzzard saw service, the finest sire of stayers we have known.

 Eureka Stud struck a bonanza when Scott Mc Alpine discovered Spirit of Boom, he was a very good racehorse and as tough as old boots, there was no doubt he did have a busy racing career having had 11 starts as a two year old.

 Overall he had 52 starts, winning nine times and placed 20 times, he was a dual Group 1 success and was placed numerous times in Group races.

 Eureka Stud at Cambooya was founded by Andrew McAlpine nearly a hundred years ago, he handed the stud over to his son, Colin, with his best wishes, sometime in the forties.

 Colin was a popular figure, he did a lot for racing and breeding in Queensland, he stood a number of sires over those years, but just failed to get a precocious horse that can get those early two early two year old winners.

 Scott McAlpine has cracked it with the aid of his son Angus, a young man of 24, they have the horse, Spirit of Boom, the current leading sire of two year olds in Australasia by winners, he has 11 lots to be offered at the Magic Millions.

 Barry Bowditch, current Bloodstock Manager, will take over as Managing Director after the January Sales, replacing Vin Cox, who has taken a similar role in Sydney with Godolphin.

 Vin Cox has seen records tumble since he joined the Magic Millions, as the sales have gone from strength to strength, he leaves the company in good shape.  

 Barry comes from Wagga Wagga, the capitol of the rich Riverina of New South Wales, a very strong racing area.

 The name Bowditch is familiar in racing circles around Wagga; his father also christened Barry, was a leading jockey in Wagga and the southern districts of New South Wales.

 While Barry junior never rode in racing he was a keen student of breeding, he began work as a junior with a bloodstock company in Sydney.

 He studied pedigrees carefully, how certain matings worked and others didn’t, he rapidly became what is known as a breeding buff.

 When the racetrack closed for a time at Wagga, the family moved to the Gold Coast with their racing team, he became a Queenslander.

 He recently travelled with Vin Cox to America for the Breeder’s Cup, looking to buy mares for clients, and promoting the forthcoming January yearling catalogue.

 ‘’Asia is playing a major role in our bloodstock industry, they are constantly buying breeding stock, and are investing heavily in buying up land,” said Barry Bowditch

Barry Bowditch.