Sledmere all set for the biggest sale harvest

Cover image courtesy of Bronwen Healy

That is not just a line he wants to roll out for another year, either, with Murphy predicting Sledmere will top its median prices for this 2022 Sale.

“This is, so they say, our harvest,’’ Murphy said. “At the moment I’m feeling pretty confident, as confident as you can be at a sale, a day out, but I think we’ve sort of got a horse for everyone.’’

A daily check of their data shows most of the Sledmere's 22 draft, which includes two Savabeels and a Tivaci from New Zealand’s Waikato Stud, has had its 30 or more parades each day at the Magic Millions complex, meeting Murphy’s aim for the draft.

“That’s what you aim to do at a sale like this, come with a nice mix of horses and horses that really should be here and deserve to be here,’’ Murphy said.

“Generally, as a draft, and I know this is a comment made by most people every year, we feel it’s our best. I actually feel this is our best as a whole group. We’ve got some horses that will sell really well and at good prices but I think across the board our median will be very high.’’

Highlights in the harvest

The Savabeel colt from across the ditch and out of Magic Dancer (NZ) (Rip Van Winkle {Ire}) is a standout highlight for Sledmere. Selling at Lot 237, he is a full-brother to Group 1-winning Noverre (NZ), a NZ$800,000 New Zealand Bloodstock Karaka National Yearling Sale purchase. Magic Dancer also was a Group 3 winner.

“He’s a beautiful colt who has been sent over,’’ Murphy said. “He’s probably one of the better Savabeels I’ve ever had and he obviously has had the pedigree up there recently with Noverre winning the Group 1… so that’s a great addition to the draft."

Justify (USA) also was creating plenty of buzz at Magic Millions, and while the Ferrari bonus helps, it’s not the only reason Sledmere had been parading its Lot 801 out of Bethsaida (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) a lot in recent days.

“Obviously, with all the talk for Justify, with the Ferrari and everything else, he’s got plenty of attention and plenty of talk,’’ Murphy said. “And we believe the colt we have is one of the nicer ones. The comments and feedback we’ve been getting from everybody is that he’s right up there with one of the nicest by Justify in the Sale.

“That gives us a bit of confidence and, with the Ferrari factor, well it’s great banter and good excitement around that to be involved in.’’

Faith in the Russian

Murphy said Russian Revolution was clearly a stallion who had put his hand up already. There are five in the Sledmere draft.

“We’ve always been a firm believer in Russian and we’ve produced a good few foals by him,’’ said Murphy. “In his first crop, we had over 25 foals on the property so we’ve got a good overview of what his stock were like and we’re always quite excited. A couple of fillies we sold here last year, one of them has already won and the other ran a great race last weekend for a second.

“It looks like she has a lot of ability for Triple Crown. So we're very confident and we do believe the five we have here this year are every bit as good, if not better, than last year.’’

Murphy said breeders were always going to take a while to work out what sort of mares suit what sort of stallions and the feedback on Russian Revolution this year is it's a good crop and it's a strong crop.

“I always felt he could throw really good stock and I think people are starting to see what we did see in that first year. I hope he’s a stallion that goes on and I’m sure he will continue to do good things,’’ Murphy added.

Gallery: Some of Sledmere's yearlings being offered at Magic Millions, images courtesy of Magic Millions

That is where things land with Hellbent also, of which Sledmere has one in its draft, out of Belscenica (Scenic {Ire}).

“It’s that time of year that we’re all trying to be the first one to pick the new big horse and I think Hellbent is a horse we really like too,’’ Murphy said. “We actually own a share in the horse and the guys at Yarraman do a great job in picking their stallions and the right stallions and it was good to see that filly (Miss Hellfire) run so well on the weekend.

“We’re very excited to see how he continues and he’s a horse I think will get better with time.’’

Murphy felt Hellbent and Russian Revolution yearlings would be strong sellers, adding they are horses that are definitely showing they’re going to get future winners and that’s always good to see that people can back their judgment from last year and continue on this year.

Something for all

For the rest of the Sledmere draft, Murphy said their Lonhro colt at Lot 340 is a very nice colt, while a Capitalist filly, Lot 218, also helped make for a draft that should suit everybody.

And a draft to suit all was a good thing, with people returning to the Sale in better numbers as travel restrictions were lifted.

“This year’s probably a little bit better because we are able to get to sales and people are able to travel a bit more. I think nowadays we are all mindful that it’s a worldwide operation now so most people’s media, they’re getting the horses photos and the videos, everything available for people to look at. We do feel the interest is all around the world again and it’s good to see a few of the internationals on the ground again.’’