Tales Of The Past: Snippets About Sales

Cover photo: The 1926 Yearling Sales held outdoors at the Exhibition Grounds (Daily Mail, 16 March)

By Ross Stanley

With the ruby anniversary of the Magic Million’s first trading day just two years away, it is timely to explore the organisation’s connected wizardry.

SETTING THE STAGE 

Brisbane Show patrons, whilst being enchanted with Racing Queensland’s 2023 Horsing Around presentation, occupied a quaint little arena near the O’Connell Terrace entry point.

The precinct was Queensland’s significant thoroughbred market place up until 1980 when the Gold Coast was developed as an alternative.

Glimpses back over the past century ago reveal the early fabric of the sales.

More than 100 Queenslanders picked up yearlings at the William Inglis and Sons Sydney Easter Sale in 1914. Conversely, the New South Wales stud at Woodlands sent bloodstock up to the Brisbane sales.

In March 1920, L. E Walker and Company were selling the progeny of the likes of Syce and Seremond at Mary Street in Brisbane. 

The Chapman and Carrick’s catalogue of yearlings and other ages for the Exhibition Grounds’ sale ring on March 15, 1926, listed 121 lots with Martin Snelling and Company offering 53 lots the next day. The custom was to parade every lot on the Sunday.

In August, with visitors in the capital for the Show, thoroughbreds, cattle and pigs could be bought.

In more modern times, McTaggarts, Australian Estates, Primac and Elders were bloodstock selling agents.

EARLY PROSPECTING 

The aforementioned 1980 sale was associated with the Golden Nugget race, a series that was sales-related. 

In his memoir, From Rocking Horse to Rocking Chair Carl Waugh states that “in about 1978, I decided it was time to do something about the lot of the breeders. Anyone who wanted to be in it was invited to join and put their money up. It started out with nine Queensland Bloodhorse Breeders Association members as shareholders including myself and also Australian Estates.

“In addition to the poor performance of the QBBA, there was the problem of the stable facilities at the Brisbane Exhibition Grounds. They were abominable.”

After trials and tribulations, the undeveloped site of today’s MM complex was purchased from the Gold Coast Turf Club.

Sceptics and the critics of the proposed move out of Brisbane were plentiful. Six stakeholders withdrew.

The storm was weathered. Waugh, Merrell Kruger, Gordon McNicol and, for a while,  Bill Jones were breeders in the driving seat. The upshot was the unearthing of a new era. 

In 1979, the initial Golden Nugget sale was held in Brisbane. It was prescribed that the associated race at the Gold Coast in 1980 was to be worth at least $30,000 and that candidates for the race had to be in the catalogue or foaled in Queensland or sold privately. Later, Mini Nuggets were staged at other venues.

Definately Ours won the first of the dozen Golden Nuggets. Stylish Century, the 1989 winner, was the most outstanding performer with a compilation of eight black-type hits that included the 1989 Victoria Derby. Ken Russell’s tally was seven jockey trophies.

Although the scheme worked for the fraternity, it was not at all lucrative for the small set of investors. The upside was that the format played an obvious role in the emergence of the Magic Million sale in 1986 in Brisbane.

Carlton (Carl) Barnett Waugh (1924-1998) had been up a few dry gullies before embarking on his Golden Nugget and Magic Million missions.

Given that he had a rocking horse at two and a pony at four, the fate of the tough character who was born at Mosman in Sydney is no surprise. Although he attended King’s School at Parramatta, he was soon a jackeroo in western Queensland before he served in the Third Remounts Depot as an educator for horses needed for the war effort.

Next he was a stockman, an overseer in two states and then a dealer in cattle and sheep before having a shot at thoroughbred breeding at Torrington, Rushlands and Bellfields Studs on the Downs.

His main stallions were Rush and Rego Lad. The former sired Mister Hush (1967 Stradbroke Handicap, 1969 VRC Lightning). Waugh was bedridden for an extended period and his marriage ended.

With the support of Kruger, McNicol, Jones and his partner Jan Peacock, Waugh ran aspects of the Golden Nugget by phone from Bellfields.

While the Magic Millions notion was the brain child of Waugh, Peacock also assisted with the formulation. 

In his memoir, Waugh explained that “we hit on an idea, an incentive which saw the prices of yearlings increase from around $5,000 for a Queensland average to over $70,000 in 1989. When we first told Merrell and Gordon about it, we were met with stony silence. However, they took the punt and it paid off. It was a bonanza for many breeders, giving a lot of them the incentive to improve their stock so they could get into the ‘big’ sale.”

Of course there are many people who have had leadership roles after the embryonic phase. They include David Chester who has been there all the time, John Needham, Rob Ferguson, Don Hancock, John Singleton and the current sole owners Gerry Harvey and his wife, Katie Page.

Waugh sold his holding fairly early in the piece and for a while had consultancy-managerial tasks.

There certainly were turbulent times with financial crises including the appointment of a receiver in 1990. The fundamental framework has stood the tests and has been supplemented with additional initiatives over the duration.

THE RABBIT FROM THE HAT 

The inaugural 1986 Magic Million sale, that yielded $6.35 million with an average $22,000, also faced doubters and detractors. It did register a serious outlay of $210,000 by Bart Cummings for the brother to Roman Artist. It did put together the target of 200 lots and 20 reserves. Both of those figures doubled for the 1987 renewal.

The first racing card in January 1987 had just two restricted events. The Fosters MM for juveniles with a first prize of $500,000 went to Snippets, the Lunchtime colt that became a poster boy. The Osmunda filly Golden Adventure picked up $20,000, courtesy of the Consolation for aspirants that missed the main event.

The only female rider Michelle Overell booted home Ben Barnie in the opening race, the Logan Livestock Country Stakes. The future star Vo Rogue (10/1) was unplaced.

The Classic was swept up by Snippets. The Lunchtime colt annexed the AJC Sires Produce en route to developing into a Group 1 sprinter and a breeding barn success.

The $22,000 yearling had become a poster boy.

As it had been an unreserved sale, Snippets had been a “buy back” for his Victorian breeders John and Jane Augustine. 

All the connections were far away from the elite circle. Gold Coaster Sally Rogers, having been engaged for the sales preparation, was retained as the bay’s first trainer. She required emergency surgery for a collapsed lung in the lead up and so the local trainer Jim Griffiths lent a hand. Sally, with a sling and tube, was trackside for her glorious moment. Down the track, Snippets went to Max Less Newcastle establishment.

The winning jockey, the Kiwi Philip Smith, was also a battler. He did add a Golden Nugget notch his belt with Com On Eileen. 

As the Gold Coast set up was not fully finished, a massive Bullens Circus housed the crowd for the 1987 MM sale.

Although from a consumer perspective the Magic Millions proved popular, there was some firm opposition.

Hunter Valley interests triggered a one off counter Sale of the Sanctuary for yearlings in very temporary conditions at Sanctuary Cove. Danehill’s first crop was strongly showcased at that 1993 gathering. 

The Queensland Bloodhorse Breeders sale in Brisbane was a regular alternative opportunity to the Magic Millions.

HOME STATE’S MM SUCCESSES 

For a short while, the MM was run in gender divisions. Ken Russell grabbed a 1988 title on Sea Cabin, the Semipalatinsk filly from Eureka Stud that cost $40,000. She was prepared by Des Burns at Dalby in the same district that was home to Waugh’s nurseries. Russell repeated the dose the next year on Bart Cummings’ charge Malibu Magic. 

Prince Regent lost on protest to Molokai Prince in the 1988 MM. His conditioner, Kelso Wood and Peter Whitehead, gained partial compensation when the bay by Purple Patch garnered the $1m MM Southern Cross at three.

Sunblazer, victorious in 1989, was bred at John and Jan Dean’s Springfields Stud near Stanthorpe. The bay was by their stallion, the dual Stradbroke winner Daybreak Lover. Eric Kirwan and jockey Chris Munce combined to score with the $50,000 buy. 

The same unit would have encored with Brave Warrior in 1994 but Neil Williams had to replace Munce on the $22,000 purchase following his spill earlier in the program.

Bruce McLachlan was quite a conjuror with cheap ventures. His early pin-ups were the grand performer St Jude (1990 MM, $25,000) and Our Fiction (1993 MM, $10,000).

For the first 16 stagings of the MM Classic, only six on the honour board had six figure price tags. The dearest to date has been the 2019 winner Exhilarates. The James Cummings-trained cuddy set Godolphin back $600,000.

General Nediym was excellent in 1997. The potent colt was bred by Ron and Helen Ashdown at their Glengarry Stud at Harrisville. The chestnut was bandaged when the hammer came down at a mere $20,000. The Ashdowns offered the buyer Tosh Murphy a cooling off period. He was philosophical about having accepted the refund when The General, that was originally managed in Brisbane by Bill Mitchell’s foreman Peter Moody, proceeded to bank more than $2 million for the Glengarry team.

Eight of this century’s Classic winners had connections to Queensland. 

General Nediym’s daughter Regimental Gal, trained by Shaun Dwyer with Michael Rodd aboard, downed her 2003 MM foes. The $16,500 bargain emulated her sire by annexing the 2004 VRC Lightning Stakes. 

Bruce McLachlan, in 2009 with his son Jason as co-trainer, stunned punters with the maiden Phelan Ready ($51). The $150,000 purchase added more glitter with a Golden Slipper at 25/1. 

The year 2010 was the icebreaker edition for female conditioners. Military Rose, lodged locally with Gillian Heinrich, marched away in commanding style for Stathi Katsidis. 

Real Surreal (Michael Cahill) atoned for the Kelso Wood stable in 2013.

Two years later, apprentice Luke Tarrant and trainer Darryl Hansen were on top with Le Chef ($26 to $16), a $120,000 investment for Lenore Saunders. Reports suggest that the Mount Isa Coffee Club owner sold her business to fund the dream. She certainly did exceed and excel by adding the all-female-owner bonus of $325,000 to the core prize.

A spelling slip up led to Houtzen taking out the 2017 version. She was meant to be named for the Dutch model Doutzen Kroes. The former South African hoop Jeff Lloyd, on debut in the race at age 55, followed a strategy developed with trainer Toby Edmonds. Despite the extreme outside gate, they capitalised on the pace that was the I am Invincible filly’s natural asset.

The Chris Waller-prepared Shaquero (Hugh Bowman) ended a long quest to win the race for highly successful Queensland owners Neville Morgan and David Devine in 2021. The pair plus Mick Powers and Leigh Matthews had shares in Sizzling, Snippets’ great grandson. Although the $260,000 yearling shone brightly, he had a luckless run in MM competitions for the Kelso Wood yard.

Last year, Skirt The Law was a real Queensland affair. Victorian jockey Ryan Maloney, after a stint with Toby Edmonds in 2018, opted to make the Brisbane district his zone when riders had to settle in one area because of Covid restrictions. It worked out well as he chalked up the 2020-21 Brisbane Jockey’s Premiership.

GRADUATES WITH HONOURS

The following small sampling simply must begin with the mega-star Winx. For an outlay at the 2013 Gold Coast MM sale, the iconic mare earnt $26,421,176.

Another beloved celebrity was Subzero. The story goes that when Gold Coast car salesman Alan Brodribb was introduced to Lee Freedman on sale eve in 1989, he gave the Victorian his business card. He said: “If you find something decent, I’ll take a leg.”

The future Melbourne Cup hero was a $100,000 buy.

Down the track, Brodribb, in his capacity as a Gold Coast Turf Club committeeman, arranged for the eminently sociable grey to be a guest at a MM barrier Draw at Jupiters Casino.

Another astute pick-up was the 1999 MM winner Testa Rossa. $45,000 was turned into gross earnings of $3 million.

Gai Waterhouse has saddled up six MM horses that saluted in the Golden Slipper. They were the 2004 and 2012 Sydney Juvenile Triple Crown holders Dance Hero (cost $90,000) and Pierro ($230,000), Ha Ha ($300,000), Farnan ($550,000), Sebring ($130,000) and Vancouver ($185,000). All up, 12 MM products have scored in a Golden Slipper this century.

Sunlight, Santa Ana Lane, Hitotsu, Black Heart Bart, Redzel, Scenic Shot, Imperatiz and Mahogany are but a fraction of the all time principal winners.

The Tasmanian idol The Cleaner was acquired for $10,000. Karuta Queen ($30,000), Happy Trails ($11,000), Captain Sonador ($30,000) and Alligator Blood ($55,000) were other ultra-worthy projects.

Queenslanders Buffering, Jonker, Vega One, Apache Chase, Winning Ways, Temple of Boom, Spirit of Boom, Shoot Out, Gold Edition and Miss Cover Girl, the Kelly Schweida-trained female that initially missed her $20,000 reserve, were all Group 1 winners. 

The North Queenslander Laurence Eales shelled out $64,000 for Shocking, the Street Cry (Ire) entire that won the Melbourne and Australian Cups and sired two-milers that picked up two Adelaide Cups and a New Zealand Cup.

The name Surfers Paradise (1990 New Zealand Derby, 1991 W. S. Cox Plate) is not available until 2091. It would have been ideal for the daughter of Piping Hot, a term well known in the surfing world.

The choice of Coolangatta was a sensible one for the 2022 MM Classic victress that was was bred by Highclere Australia, an arm of the bloodstock business headed by the late Queen Elizabeth II’s racing manager John Warren and his son Jake. 

Segenhoe Stud, on behalf of breeder Sheikh Mohammed Bin Khalifa Al Maktoum, prepared the highest ever priced MM yearling, the I Am Invincible-Anaheed colt that was knocked down to Coolmore Stud’s Tom Magnier for $2.7 million in 2023.

The breadth of the MM races stretch far beyond Queensland with feature events at Ballarat, Wyong, Pinjarra, Murray Bridge and Launceston and in New Zealand with Karaka Millions for both freshmen and sophomores.

In the early 1990s, the potential of the Asian buying power was on the radar. For Singapore, there were $100,000 races in late 1991 and 1992 and a $1 million event in 1993 for any horse sold at the 1992 Gold Coast sale.

Joseph Lee, a Singaporean with Gold Coast business interest, was a positive role model. Kinjite, his $60,000 MM buy in 1990, was selected and trained by Noel Doyle for triple Group One success in 1991-92 and a victory in the 1991 MM Australasian Classic on home turf.

THE WIDELY WAVED WAND 

Although racing and selling is the nucleus of the internationally established Magic Millions week, the tradition of a multi-faceted backdrop has become a hallmark of the holiday season attraction. Financial backing has been secured from Tourism and Events Queensland, a State Government statutory body.

The ideal spin off is that new waves of potential buyers will be spawned.

The calendar has embraced Hats and High Teas and Women In Racing Luncheons, annual Sportman’s functions at the Northcliffe Surf Lifesaving Club, Carbine Club luncheons, Widden Stud Golf Days, a major Calcutta in support of the National Jockeys Trust, a Magic Millions Ocean Water Swim in 2004 and a Magic Millions Cinema On The Beach experience.

A popular contemporary event for the early risers is the official Barrier Draw at Surfers Paradise beach with an accompanying spectacle of horses galloping across the sand.

There are free educational sessions such as the New Ownership Forum, Horse Taxation Seminar and Racing Queensland’s Own The Morning, a brief informal interactive session with racing figures available on four days at the Magic Millions Sales Complex.

Doug Jennings Park at The Spit on the Sunday hosts the new Queensland Off The Track Cup, Junior Showjumping and the Showjumping for 12 teams that is supported by the likes of the Brisbane Racing Club, Washpool Lodge and Peachester Lodge. Polo matches top off an action-packed day. 

OTHER ROUTINES ARE ROUTINE

The breadth and scope of the Magic Millions’ operations trumps that of other mega-bloodstock businesses at home and abroad.

The line up of MM Sales per year caters for a range of categories from broodmares to breeze-ups, weanlings to tried horses and dispersals to single products. The spectrum also satisfies various levels of  buyer budgets.

America’s flagship sales at Keeneland and Tattersalls, the British counterpart, do not have a festival touch advertised for their sales scheduled for 2024. 

Goffs, Ireland's leading bloodstock sales company since 1866, however did adopt the MM sales-restricted race concept.

The Inglis undertakings in Sydney and Melbourne are essentially core business only. There is a division in in the time honoured company that trades in thoroughbred breeding, spelling and training properties. Tattersalls (UK) took up a 19 per cent stake in the William Inglis and Son business in 2008.

AN EXEMPLAR

Katie Page had the Midas touch when she set up the Women’s Bonus for MM Classic runners entirely owned or leased by females. 

Since 2013, the first four home share in the $500,000 pool. Thus far, the main slice has gone to five first prize winners, namely Real Surreal, Le Chef, Sunlight, Away Game and Skirt The Law.

Similarly, a $250,000 Bonus has applied to the MM Guineas and $75,000 for the MM WA 2YO Classic since 2020. 

While there are any number of examples of Magic Millions victories that encapsulate multiple interesting strands, the 2023 triumph by Skirt The Law definitely ticked many boxes. 

The filly, by Lyndhurst Stud’s Better Than Ready scooped up $1.16 million and the $333,334 Bonus.

The main players included trainer Tony Gollan, the head of Black Soil Bloodstock Brian Siemsen, the group’s breeding consultant John Foote and Eureka Stud’s Harry McAlpine who is BSB’s Principal Agent. 

When Gollan was sourcing shareholders for the sons of Eureka mare Temple Spirit, he contacted Siemsen, his old friend and Toowoomba Clydesdale Rugby League teammate.

The upshot was that Brian, after roping in some footballers, had an idyllic start because he opted to take up an unused 20 per cent interest in Temple of Boom and then a 35 per cent of Spirit of Boom.

Skirt The Law, aptly named by mixing femininity with the dam Outlaw Kate, has a number of owners from Queensland and interstate. An extra positive was the number of first timers.

The Black Soil livery, with its link to the fertility of Siemen’s beloved Darling Downs, is dominated by a white horse head on a black background. The mare Isotope sported those silks when she won the 2022 MM Sprint after losing her rider as a hot favourite in the 2021 MM Guineas.

However, for Skirt The Law, pink replaces black on the jacket and cap.

Foote has a slight link to Lyndhurst Stud. From 1977 to 1986, his father Loftus was chairman of the Ipswich Amateur Turf Club. Long service to the club’s committee was contributed by Lyndhurst’s earlier stalwarts Ted and Perc Kruger. The latter was the father of Merrell and grandfather of the stud’s current Manager-Directors Jeff and Griff Kruger.

TOWARDS 2025

The data from the 2023 January MM: Book One sale is phenomenal. Of the 979 lots catalogued, 790 were sold, 102 were withdrawn and 87 were passed by. The top price was $2,700,000, the average $291,343, the median $210,000 with the gross amounting to $230,161,000.

The MM card for January 2024, with a grand total of $14.5 million in purses, has been extended to 11 races with The Debut for unraced juveniles being decided in gender divisions. $1m MM The Syndicate will again be limited to horses with at least 20 registered owners while the Classic and the Guineas both carry $3 million in total prizemoney. The entree program at the Gold Coast a week before the main course boasts two $250,000 MM Maiden Plates.

Already innovations have been announced for the 2025 carnival. On the Friday night under lights, there will be five MM contests of $2.25 million in total value and a brand new $3m slot race for the three-year-old speedsters.

The fact that MM is now the centrepiece to a revamped Summer Carnival in the south east corner demonstrates the distance travelled since the pre-1986 drawing board work.

VIEWPOINT

Swedish economist Dag Hammarskjold, the United Nations Secretary General from 1953 to 1961, was a far-sighted, energetic achiever. 

He famously declared: “Never look down to test the ground before taking your step; only he who keeps his eye fixed on the far horizon will find his right road.”

At dusk on the MM Classic day on January 13, 2024, there will be a select number of players with the above outlook holding a pot they collected at the end of a rainbow.