Cover image courtesy of The Image Is Everything
It’s a sale that Spirit Of Boom transformed in 2021, helping to almost double turnover and put Queensland breeding in the spotlight for a little short while.
The Gold Coast March Yearling Sale might have come back a cog or two from those two memorable days in 2021, but Eureka Stud’s flagship stallion will ensure buyers still take a close look at this year’s catalogue, with the sale to be held on Monday 11 and Tuesday 12, March, 2024.
From a gross of just under $7.7 million in 2020, Magic Millions March Yearling Sale surged to $14.46 million in 2021 at an average of $44,776 (compared to just $28,000 the year before).
Spirit Of Boom's progeny sold up to $370,000 at that sale, as the stallion had 25 to sell for almost $3 million.
Spirit Of Boom | Standing at Eureka Stud
The March sale has come back the past two years - $12.3 million in 2022 and last year back to $10.02 million with an average of $36,000.
But the results continue to emanate from this sale with horses purchased for a relatively small price-tag. A statistic floated by Magic Millions’ Dane Robinson suggested buying every yearling in this catalogue from 2016 to 2021 would have returned 78 per cent in prizemoney earnings to aggregate spend. That’s a solid starting point!
Spirit Of Boom has been responsible for a big number of those success stories, with progeny including Prince Of Boom ($20,000 purchase, $1.2 million in earnings), Boomsara ($45,000 purchase, $1.7 million in earnings) and Boom Torque ($50,000 purchase, $700,000 in earnings).
Gallery: Some of the recent successful progeny by Spirit Of Boom sold at the Magic Millions March Yearling Sale
It should be noted here that Lyndhurst’s Better Than Ready has also been a key pillar of this sale in recent years, having 36 sell for $1.95 million last year to top the sire list by aggregate.
Together, the pair make a strong case for buyers to look closely at Magic Millions in March.
Spirit Of Boom has 22 yearlings catalogued next week, with 10 of them in the Eureka draft. In all, Eureka have a draft of 35, with progeny also by their other resident stallion Encryption, in addition to Rothesay, Dubious, Better Than Ready, Heroic Valour, Microphone, Lean Mean Machine, Zousain and Invader.
Eureka has spread their own Spirit Of Booms around this sales season, leaving room for clients that bred to Spirit Of Boom to have their chance at next week’s sale.
Scott McAlpine | Image courtesy of The Image Is Everything
“We have tried to reduce our numbers for (this sale), more so because we didn’t want to flood the market with Spirit Of Booms. We are trying to take a few to other sales, which makes less of ours for our clients to compete against,” Eureka’s Scott McAlpine said.
“A lot of clients use the QTIS Sale, that’s their sale to go to, and there are some lovely horses of clients that will be fashionable.”
Premier Success
McAlpine has just returned from a hit and run mission to Melbourne, where the select Eureka draft sold up to $240,000 during Book 1 of the Inglis Premier Yearling Sale.
The farm sold six yearlings (from seven offered) at a gross of $637,500.
“It was worth our while going down there. We picked what we thought was the right sort of horse and pedigree to go down there,” McAlpine said.
Lot 369 - Spirit Of Boom x Lucky Toss (colt) sold for $240,000 at the Inglis Premier Yearling Sale | Image courtesy of Inglis
“We produce a fair few winners down there but you have to be a bit careful with what you take.
“So we took seven and sold six and our top lot was a good result. He was a brother to Champagne Boom and the nicest foal that mare has had by Spirit Of Boom.”
Importance of the March Sale
While March is not the most important sale on the calendar for Eureka, it does form an important part of their yearling planning.
The farm sold 30 yearlings for $1.445 million at this sale last year, leaving it second only to Lyndhurst Stud Farm on the vendor list by aggregate.
The year before the Eureka draft grossed $1.217 million and in the ‘Boom’ year of 2021, it was $1.9 million.
“We have an amount of horses that need to be sold at that sale. We’re going there with 35,” McAlpine said.
“We have an amount of horses that need to be sold at that (Magic Millions Gold Coast March Yearling) sale. We’re going there with 35.” - Scott McAlpine
To put that into perspective, he said Eureka will sell 80 yearlings by the end of the sales season.
He concedes this sale will have a tail to it – much like most other auctions this year – but he’s hopeful the local trainers will have some bullets to fire given very few have really opened the shoulders yet this year.
“The sale will be strong enough. It will be the same old story. There will be horses there that nobody wants to buy, which is unfortunate,” he said.
“But there will still be a lot of nice horses and results from this sale show there’s good value to be had as well.
“But there will still be a lot of nice horses and results from this sale (Magic Millions Gold Coast March Yearling Sale) show there’s good value to be had as well.” - Scott McAlpine
“The Queenslanders haven’t bought a lot of horses so far, so they will have to target this sale to be able to fill their numbers to make their business run.”
Interstate stallions boost catalogue
McAlpine said with a shrinking number of farms in Queensland that are standing stallions commercially, sales like this one need to have progeny of interstate stallions.
Under the QTIS rules, a yearling by an interstate stallion can still be QTIS eligible provided the mare comes back to a Queensland-based stallion every second year.
McAlpine welcomes that diversity in the market.
“There’s 90 BOBS horses in this sale that are QTIS eligible, which is good,” he said.
“There’s 90 BOBS horses in this sale (Magic Millions Gold Coast March Yearling Sale) that are QTIS eligible, which is good.” - Scott McAlpine
“Queensland breeders are using the system to go south but then come back and use Queensland (stallions).
“We can’t breed the number QTIS requires to make it the standard it needs to be. We need those 90 horses to be in that sale.
“It works two ways. Yes, they’re using BOBS horses, but they’re coming back to Queensland to make them (QTIS). Every second year (Queensland stallion owners) are getting a crack at it.”
Gallery: Some of the New South Wales-based stallions represented in the Magic Millions Gold Coast March Yearling Sale
Despite new incentives added to VOBIS in Victoria, McAlpine maintains QTIS is the best incentive scheme in Australia.
“The amount of money being offered for QTIS graduates and the filly graduates is mighty strong,” he said.
“The amount of money being offered for QTIS graduates and the filly graduates is mighty strong.” - Scott McAlpine
“Between the breeders and Racing Queensland, they’ve put a bonus scheme together that is benefitting a lot of people.
“So the (local) trainers are going to have to buy out of this sale and why wouldn’t they?
“I think there’s a good cross section of breeds in this sale. Between Better Than Ready and Spirit Of Boom, there’s enough others, plus you have the BOBS horses.”
The Magic Millions Gold Coast March Yearling Sale will see a catalogue of 392 lots to sale over two days, Monday, March 11 and Tuesday, March 12.
