Cover image courtesy of Yulong

Highly accomplished Group-1 winner Pierata has commenced his stud career impressively, with nearly 30 per cent of his initial crop of runners achieving black-type status. This achievement has validated the decision to increase his stud fee from $44,000 (inc GST) to $66,000 (inc GST).

Among the Group-1 winning son of Pierro’s first-crop offspring are two notable Group 3-winning 2-year-olds, Tobeornottobe and Coleman, with the latter also securing a close second in the G1 Golden Slipper to be the first colt home in this year's edition.

Additionally, Pierata's reputation as a sire with remarkable potential is highlighted by G1 Manawatu Sires’ Produce S. runner-up Red Sea, along with stakes-performers Fearless and Wave Breaker.

Yulong's General Manager, Vin Cox, is particularly excited about the prospects of Yulong's well-credentialed young sires.

“Pierata and Alabama Express are among the top three stallions fighting out the Champion First-Season Sire honours.

“Pierata has sired five stakes performers in his first crop which is quite extraordinary and he has arguably the best 2-year-old colt in the country, in Coleman.”

Off the back of a solid start to stud, fellow first-season sire Alabama Express has earned a fee increase from $22,000 (inc GST) to $55,000 (inc GST).

Covering 78 mares in 2022, popularity for Alabama Express soared last season when covering almost three times as many mares (206). Cox credits this significant increase in demand to the stallion's reception at the previous year's yearling sales, which, bolstered by the performance of his first-crop of runners, is anticipated to rise even further.

“It started to get out that he was going somewhere and hence he got a big lift in support last season, which looks set only to improve again off the back of the season that he's had.”

During this year's sales season, Alabama Express’ second-crop yearlings continued to be popular, selling for up to $400,000 and averaging 10 times his service fee.

That trend is set to continue this season with the first-season sire represented by six black-type 2-year-olds and is currently sixth on the 2-year-old Sires Premiership by earnings and third by winners. The Group 1-winning son of Redoute’s Choice is represented by impressive $1 million Inglis Golden Gift victor Shangri La Express and G3 Ottawa S. winner Karavas.

Panthalassa adds new international flavour

The new addition to the Yulong banner is the two-time international Group 1 winner Panthalassa (Jpn) (Lord Kanaloa {Jpn}) who will join the team at an introductory fee of $16,500 (inc GST). With career earnings exceeding $21 million, the son of Lord Kanaloa (Jpn) holds the distinction of being the highest-earning horse ever to stand in Australia.

A seven-time winner across three countries, Panthalassa's career that spanned five seasons kicked off as a winner as a 2-year-old in Japan. Panthalassa took on the world when scoring the G1 Dubai Turf alongside Lord North (Dubawi), while beating global stars Saffron Beach (GB) (New Bay {GB), Colonel Liam (USA) (Liam’s Map {USA}), and Alfareeq (Dark Angel {Ire}). He backed that up with an impressive all-the-way victory in the US$20 million G1 Saudi Cup. In between these victories, the high-class son of Lord Kanaloa was runner-up in the 2022 G1 Tenno Sho, narrowly beaten by Japanese superstar Equinox (Jpn).

Shuttling from Arrow Stud in Japan where he served upwards of 100 mares in his debut season, Cox is particularly excited about the well-credential Japanese sire’s future at Yulong.

“He was an exciting racehorse with a dynamic racing style, something that we saw last Saturday with Pride Of Jenni dominatating from the front.

“The potency of the bloodlines from the Japanese Stud Book are hugely significant, we are very fond of the breed and we think he's got a lot of upside."

Grunt, Lucky Vega & Diatonic hold steady

Albeit represented by a maiden Group 1 winner, after 3-year-old son Veight scored a tenacious victory against older horses in the G1 George Ryder S., Grunt's (NZ) fee remains unchanged at $22,000 (inc GST).

Outside of Veight, Grunt is represented by Listed Twilight Glow S.-winning filly Miraval Rose and exciting 3-year-olds Rhythm Of Love and Siberian Siren. For a horse that offers over six per cent stakes horses to runners, Grunt offers breeders access to a Group 1-producing sire at exceptional value.

“I think he's huge value. A horse that’s sired a weight-for-age Group 1 winner in his first crop at three, would be the envy of a lot of stallion owners around the country.

“At the price he is, he gets lots of winners, he’s got a lot of good stakes performers and gets good looking, attractive sales horses.”

A Group 1-winning son of Champion sire O’Reilly (NZ), Grunt matured over the course of his racing career, winning the G1 Australian Guineas as a 3-year-old before taking out the G1 Makybe Diva S. at four, so the best appears yet to come.

Group 1-winning 2-year-old Lucky Vega (Ire) was represented by his first yearlings this season, with progeny commanding prices up to seven times his service fee and has subsequently seen his fee unchanged from $16,500 (inc GST).

Lucky Vega continues to stand out as the sole offspring of the renowned international stallion, Lope De Vega {Ire}, available for stud duties in Australia. With his first-crop of runners set to hit the track next season, Lucky Vega’s progeny will get every chance with the likes of Annabel Neasham, Tony Gollan and Bjorn Baker.

“We're very pleased with how the Lucky Vega’s were received in the market and we've got a good cross section through different trainers. We're racing a bunch ourselves and like Tagaloa and Diatonic he has had huge support from some of our very elite broodmares, so we are hoping to get their progeny on the track and in the thicker end of the black type races.”

The third son of Lord Kanaloa on the Yulong roster is the three-time G2 winner Diatonic (Jpn) who will remain at an unchanged fee of $13,750 (inc GST) for his second-season of covering at Yulong.

Serving an impressive book of 131 mares in his first-season at stud in the Southern Hemisphere, Diatonic has been heavily supported with some of Australia’s elite young mares including 13-time Group 1 winner Melody Belle (NZ) (Commands), and dual Group 1 winners In Her Time (Time Thief), Snapdancer (Choisir) and Viddora (I Am Invincible).

“If you go through the mares that he's covered, you'll see some of the most high profile race mares we’ve seen in the last decade race in this part of the world. So we've given him massive support and we look forward to what he can produce on the ground this year.”

Meeting the market

Tagaloa is another young sire on the Yulong roster whose first-crop of yearlings were well-received at yearling sales with his progeny fetching up to seven times his service fee. The G1 Blue Diamond S. winner has had his fee reduced slightly from $27,500 (inc GST) to $22,000 (inc GST).

With his first-crop of yearlings joining the stables of Chris Waller, Peter Moody & Catherine Coleman and his own-trainers Trent Busuttin and Natalie Young, the young sire is set to get every chance to make an impact on the track come next season.

While the son of Lord Kanaloa received a slight decrease from last season, Cox emphasised the importance of listening to the market around such decisions.

“He was an outstanding 2-year-old and probably the opposite of Lucky Vega, as in his first crop were a little harder to sell, so we acknowledged that and hope we’re going to get the commercial support going forward.”

Written Tycoon remains private

The esteemed 22-year-old Champion sire, Written Tycoon, will again be serving a private book this upcoming breeding season off the back of another year of remarkable results.

Headlined by a second G1 Golden Slipper winner in Lady Of Camelot, Written Tycoon is poised to take out another Australian 2-year-old Sire Premiership and add the New Zealand equivalent to his record thanks to boom filly Velocious taking out the G1 Sistema S. earlier in the year.

The veteran sire has not only dominated the 2-year-old ranks, he is also commanding attention by his 3-year-olds, headlined by G1 Australian Guineas winner Southport Tycoon who shoots for further top-flight success in this weekend’s G1 All Aged S. at Randwick.

While Written Tycoon’s services won’t be available to outside clients, Cox emphasised the remarkable feats as the Champion Sire enters the twilight years of his career.

“He's obviously had the most incredible season, and in the twilight of his career for a stallion to be doing what he's doing is quite astounding”.

Serving a reduced book of mares last season (88 down from 172 in 2022), Written Tycoon attracted some of the country’s most-highly credentialed mares including Away Game (Snitzel), Hungry Heart (Frankel) and Baggy Green (Galileo {Ire}).

Table: Yulong's stallion roster for 2024

Cover image courtesy of Magic Millions

377 weanlings by 94 different stallions will make their way through Magic Millions' Gold Coast sale ring on Sunday, May 26 and Monday, May 27.

The numbers are down (as are, according to current Stud Book returns foal numbers overall) from last year’s 478 which included the Edinburgh Park dispersal but down only slightly on 2022 which saw 399 entered.

Last year’s sale saw an average of $81,842 reached, a little lower than the previous year’s $89,178 which was down further from 2021’s $104,446. The medians have however been steady over those three years - between $50,000 and $54,500.

This is a sale which always sees a number of elite-level weanlings fetch big prices, last year’s sale topping Frankel (GB) colt of Upside (Ire) (Muhaarar {GB}) fetching $925,000, in 2022 a Zoustar filly out of Member’s Joy (Hussonet {USA}) selling for $750,000 (and for $1.1 million as a yearling) whilst in 2021 the recent Newcastle maiden winner Dagon (I Am Invincible) made $1 million.

Plenty of first-season sire action

Close attention will be paid to the progeny of fifteen first-season sires, the best represented by numbers being Coolmore Stud’s dual Group 1 winner Home Affairs with 20 whilst another three have 14 each - Newgate’s G1 Golden Slipper S. hero Stay Inside, Coolmore Stud’s European Horse Of The Year St Mark’s Basilica (Fr) and Newgate’s G1 Moir S. winner Wild Ruler.

Gallery: First-season sires who are well-represented in the Magic Millions National Weanling Sale

And others who breeders will be watching - Acrobat, Captivant, Extreme Warrior, Glenfiddich, Jonker, Palace Pier (GB), Pinatubo (Ire), Portland Sky, Profiteer, Tiger Of Malay and Victor Ludorum (GB).

Also nice are members of the second-crops of such well-credentialled horses as Anders, Bivouac, Farnan, Fierce Impact, Ghaiyyath (Ire), Hanseatic, King’s Legacy, Lucky Vega (Ire), North Pacific, Ole Kirk and Russian Camelot (Ire).

Stallions on the up with progeny on offer include Alabama Express, Brave Smash (Jpn), Castelvecchio, Cosmic Force, Harry Angel (Ire), I Am Immortal, Pierata, Tassort, Too Darn Hot (GB), The Autumn Sun, Written By, Yes Yes Yes and Zousain.

For those liking youngsters by those who already have their name in lights, there are also sons and daughters of several absolute high class stallions - namely Exceed And Excel, Fastnet Rock, Frankel (GB), I Am Invincible, Snitzel, So You Think (NZ), Written Tycoon and Zoustar.

Gallery: Some of the proven sires represented within the Magic Millions National Weanling Sale catalogue

As well as weanlings by such proven stallions as Better Than Ready, Capitalist, Dundeel (NZ), Extreme Choice, Maurice (Jpn), Nicconi, Night Of Thunder (Ire), Pierro, Pride Of Dubai, Russian Revolution, Shalaa (Ire), Shamus Award, Spirit Of Boom, Star Turn, Street Boss (USA), Toronado (Ire), Trapeze Artist and Wootton Bassett (GB).

All sections of the market

Quite the selection there with Magic Millions Managing Director Barry Bowditch noting that, “there are more horses across more levels than any sale of its type. All buyers will be able to participate on exceptional prospects across all sections of the market.”

As well as sire strength, these youngsters hail from strong families with Bowditch reporting that, “more than 25 per cent of Book One offerings are out of black type mares.”

Recent Group 1 winners Tropical Squall (Prized Icon) and Veight (Grunt {NZ}) are recent graduates of this sale, the former purchased by Gooree for just $16,000, the latter a pin-hooker secured for $100,000 and sold on for $220,000.

Gallery: Recent Group 1-winning graduates of the Magic Millions National Weanling Sale

“We are incredibly proud of the success of graduates of the sale,” Bowditch said, pointing out other topliners of recent times... such as Stay Inside ($60,000, as a yearling fetching $200,000), Pierro ($115,000 - onsold for $230,000) and Zoustar ($85,000 - $120,000).

“Whether prospective buyers are seeking a future star of the sales ring as a yearling or a life-changing galloper on the track this is the sale that delivers more success,” Bowditch enthused.

The progeny of high-class mares

Highlights of the catalogue include weanlings out of a number of high-class race mares such as the Group 1 winners Amicus (Fastnet Rock) - a colt by Frankel and Miss Mossman (NZ) (Mossman) - a colt by Shamus Award.

Other Group winners with foals on offer include Amelia’s Dream (Redoute’s Choice) - a So You Think filly, Atlantis Dream (NZ) (Elusive City {USA}) - a Russian Revolution colt, El Daana (Redoute’s Choice) - a Pinatubo colt, Fursa (Hard Spun {USA}) - a Dundeel filly, I’ll Have a Bit (Smart Missile) - a So You Think colt, Villa Verde (Not A Single Doubt) - a Pierro filly, Delectation Girl (GB) (Delegator {GB}) - a So You Think filly, Shared Reflections (Umatilla {NZ}) - a Stay Inside colt, Long Time Ago (Redoute’s Choice) - a So You Think colt, Shazee Lee (Ready’s Image {USA}) - a Stay Inside filly, Agent Pippa (Demerit) - an Ole Kirk colt, Te Akau Rose (NZ) (Thorn Park) - a Captivant filly, Wawail (Lonhro) - a Toronado colt, La Mexicana (I Am Invincible) - a Snitzel colt, Vergara (Snippetson) - a Zoustar filly, Vinicunca (I Am Invincible) - a So You Think colt and Vulpine (Snitzel) - a Zoustar colt.

As well as close relations to big race winners - a Written Tycoon half-brother to the four-time Group 1 winner Preferment (NZ), a Pinatubo half-brother to the South African-based dual Group 1 winner Al Muthana (Deep Field), a Fastnet Rock three-quarter brother to the G1 New Zealand Derby winner Sherwood Forest and a full sister to the G1 ATC Oaks winner El Patroness (Shamus Award).

Vendors from near and far

Vendors from around the country are supporting the sale, Coolmore Stud the biggest by numbers with 24 whilst Newgate have 18 - 14 of whom are the progeny of first season sires.

Newgate’s Bruce Slade is keen to show those youngsters off... “the proof is in the pudding in regards to the types stallions throw - and we are bringing the pudding to the sales!”

Selling weanlings at a high-profile sale is, he said, a great way to let people see what those at the farm are seeing at home.

“We are so very pleased with the sorts of foals our first season stallions are producing and taking some of them to market is a great way to promote them.”

“It is exciting times for us, the next step in the careers of Wild Ruler, Tiger Of Malay, Profiteer and Stay Inside.”

“They are all siring great looking foals, strong precocious types and we are looking forward to taking them to market.”

Warrandale Stud’s Di Hannel is excited by having her “biggest draft by a long way” - 18 and counting (more to come in the supplementary section) by “a really nice, broad range of stallions.”

Most of her draft are weanlings belong to clients but several are Warrandale bred, Hannel noting that the biggest factor when deciding to sell them at this stage rather than wait for the yearling sales is “the mitigation of risk.”

A selling extravaganza

To be followed by the Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale on May 28 and May 30 and by the yearlings on June 4 and 5, the Weanling sale is part of what the company describes as a “selling extravaganza.”

Buyers have ample opportunities to compete in a rich series of Magic Millions races including a new one - the $1 million Magic Millions National 2YO Classic to be run over 1000 metres under the new lights at the Gold Coast.

The catalogues for the National Broodmare and Yearling Sales will be released online over the coming days.

Cover image courtesy of Ashlea Brennan

From day one, feature races in Australia were named in honour of their English counterparts; little wonder considering the intrinsic Britishness of racing the world over.

The Champagne S. for 2-year-olds was first run at Doncaster in 1823 - originally open to both genders but now a Group 2 event for just the males.

Some of the stars of the turf have won the race - such as The Tetrarch (GB) and his famed daughter Mumtaz Mahal (GB) - as well as her grandsons Mahmoud (Fr) and Abernant (GB). And another breed-shaping matriarch in Pretty Polly (GB) (Gallinule {GB}).

Back in the 1860’s there were a couple of Champagne S. races run over different distances in Sydney. One of those was first run in 1861, just a year after the AJC had moved its headquarters from Hyde Park to Randwick... a 1000-metre contest for 2-year-olds.

Always run during the autumn carnival, it had a few distance changes in the early years though it was mostly conducted over 1200 metres until 1972 when the AJC decided that the current 1600 metres was a good fit following on from the Slipper and the G1 Sires Produce S.

Run as a “principal race” from 1864, it was granted Group 1 status as soon as The Pattern system came into play in the season of 1979/80.

Its first winner Exeter (who was exported to China) at first glance seems to be lost a little in history, listed by the Stud Book as NTB (non thoroughbred) with unidentified parents.

But newspapers at the time report him as being a son of Waverley and Lady Morgan; a mare who died shortly after foaling him - Exeter raised by hand. Also placed in a couple of nice races, he was sold for £100 to China - accompanied there by his strapper which must’ve been some adventure at that time!

It seems likely that the Etienne de Mestre-trained galloper was named after his breeders Exeter Farm from where de Mestre’s two-time (the first two runnings) G1 Melbourne Cup winner would Archer emerge.

The trainer was informed of his former charge’s deeds in China by mail; reports coming in that Exeter had taken on English imports in three races (possibly on the same day!) and beaten them, winning £10,000 for his new owners.

Which apparantly came as no surprise to Exeter Lodge’s Tom Roberts who claimed at the time that Exeter was the best horse he had bred.

So it was a most interesting start to the Champagne S., a race which quickly became Sydney’s premier juvenile event.

In its first decade it was won by a number of horses who would go on to enjoy influence at stud and who boast interesting stories.

Such as Fireworks, the only dual Victorian Derby winner... the season that the VRC decided on the Classic’s short-lived change of date to January 1. Also winner of the AJC Derby, he put on display his toughness and versatility by winning a couple of features over 24 furlongs.

He went on to a successful stud career as did Fishhook who was famed at the time for his battles with the the Australian Racing Hall Of Fame member The Barb.

Also making a great contribution at stud was Yattendon who was accomplished over sprinting and staying trips. He began serving mares whilst still racing and he made his mark, the Stud Book recording him as having sired 33 stakes winners.

Amongst that tally are two particularly notable horses - the only unbeaten Melbourne Cup winner Grand Flaneur and fellow Cup hero Chester who between 1887 and 1893 was four-time Champion Australian Sire.

The first Melbourne Cup winner to sire a Melbourne Cup winner (in fact he had two), Grand Flaneur was also successful at stud, earning the Championship title for season 1894/95.

Chester also won the Champagne S. (in 1877) as did his son Autonomy (1892). The year before Chester it was won by Robinson Crusoe (whose amazing story we told last spring), the 1887/87 Champion Sire whose son Navigator won the 1882 running of the Champagne.

The race continued to be won by high-class gallopers with the next stallion of note to claim victory being Bobadil in 1898. Accredited by the Stud Book with 39 stakes winners, he was also a broodmare sire of influence with the great Eurythmic being out of one of his daughters.

That era also saw the first stakes winning producing female Champagne S. winner - Wilga (Epigram {GB}) (1890) producing two stakes winners including the AJC Derby winner Belah (Havoc {NZ}).

The best winner of the early 1900s was Woorak (1914), the LKS Mackinnon-owned galloper who three years later took out the Oakleigh Plate under the considerable steadier of 65.5kg. His success at stud was highlighted by the wonderful horse Whittier who owns an interesting bit of history - the first of his two Caulfield Cup victories coming as the grandstand burned down!

The 1920s was a stellar decade for the Champagne S., in that decade won by four especially noteworthy gallopers - Furious (The Welkin {GB}) who has a race named in her honour, Mollison (Seremond {GB}) and two great sons of Valais (GB).

Those horses being the personality laden entires Heroic and Manfred who both enjoyed great success at stud; the former winning seven consecutive Champion Sire titles.

Gallery: Two sons of Valais (GB) who won the Champagne S., images courtesy of Wikipedia

Dual WS Cox Plate winner Young Idea was one of several classy Champagne winners of the 1930s, a decade which also saw it won by Heroic’s champion son Ajax, another successful stallion whose son Magnificent won the race in 1945.

Hall Mark won the race in 1933 and High Caste (NZ) in 1939. Both progressed to big careers on the track, also enjoying success as stallions.

The great mare Flight (Royal Step) took out the 1943 running and it was 14 years later that the Champagne had to give up its position as the premier 2-year-old race. For it was in that year that the inaugural Golden Slipper took place.

Gallery: several classy Champagne winners of the 1930s and 1940s, images courtesy of Wikipedia

And both races were won by the mighty Todman. And what a quinella the Champagne was, another star of the turf in second placing - Tulloch (NZ).

Two years later Todman’s brother Noholme won the Champagne, both horses well and truly proving their worth at stud; still featuring heavily in pedigrees with the latter siring Paris Review, second dam sire of Written Tycoon’s sire Iglesia.

The high-class Sky High was the first Champagne winner of the 1960s and the last year of that decade saw one of the race’s best ever winners - the superstar sprinter Vain.

He made history on several accounts that day, winning the race by 10 lengths in record time (in fact the fastest recorded 1200 metres by any 2-year-old in Australia at that time), becoming the country’s highest earning juvenile as well.

We could talk all day about Vain but it is worth noting that the 1983/84 Champion Sire is another Champagne winner to continue to prove influential. Black Caviar (Bel Esprit) is famously line-bred to him and he is the second dam sire of Written Tycoon.

The 1970s was another vintage era with the two winners - Baguette in 1970 and Luskin Star in 1977 (both successes at stud) becoming the first horses to take out all three feature juvenile events; the Slipper, the Sires' Produce and the Champagne.

Since then just four others have completed that feat - Tierce in 1991, Burst (Marauding {NZ}) in 1992, Dance Hero (Danzero) in 2004 and Pierro in 2012.

Two years after Baguette’s succes, Anjudy (Wilkes {Fr}) won the Champagne and the pair would meet at stud, producing Crown Jester - sire of one of the great early speed influences of recent times in Rory’s Jester.

Racegoers look back at the 1980s as one of the great eras of Australian racing and it was certainly a great time for the Champagne - won in that decade by Rose Of Kingston (Bletchingly) who would produce the record-breaking G1 Melbourne Cup winner Kingston Rule, Red Anchor (NZ), Bounding Away (Biscay) and Sky Chase (NZ) - sire of the champion Saintly (NZ).

One of the fifteen female Champagne winners to produce stakes winners, the 1990 winner Triscay (Marscay) established a nice dynasty with twelve of her descendants being stakes winners. And another eight stakes placegetters including Tassort whose G1 Sires' Produce S.-winning daughter Manaal is one of this Saturday’s leading contenders.

Tierce, Burst, Intergaze, Encounter and Dracula were also Champagne winners in the last decade of the 1900s whilst Assertive Lad took out the first of the new century. Viscount and Dance Hero were amongst that decades best winners of the race whilst 2012 saw the latest Triple Crown hero and now successful stallion Pierro in the winner’s circle.

Classy broodmare Guelph (Exceed And Excel) won the following year and since then five male Champagne winners have ended up at stud - Prized Icon, The Mission, Castelvecchio (the current record holder covering the mile in 1:33.31), King’s Legacy and Captivant with last year’s winner Militarize (NZ) looking that way bound.

So the Champagne has been some race, won by horses who have gone on to win all the great races from Classics to the big miles, the feature sprints and Melbourne Cups. It has been a breeding ground for successful stallions and broodmares.