Cover image courtesy of Magic Millions

A total of 380 lots - 181 colts, 198 fillies, and one gelding - have been catalogued to be offered by 41 vendors at the 2025 renewal of the Magic Millions Gold Coast March Yearling Sale, which kicks off on Monday morning. After ex-tropical Cyclone Alfred delayed the sale by two weeks, the Gold Coast complex has readied itself for two days of selling to cap off a busy month of sales across the nation.

Leading vendors return with big drafts in smaller book

Last year’s leading vendor by aggregate, Eureka Stud, ties with Lyndhurst Stud for largest number in the catalogue, both entering 38 yearlings each in the sale. Last year’s top lot, a full sister to Listed Helen Coughlan Stakes winner Chinny Boom (Spirit Of Boom) out of Imanoremiss (Made Of Gold {USA}), was also offered by Eureka Stud and was bought by Clinton Taylor Racing for $230,000. The top five vendors by catalogued draft size account for 37.9 per cent of the catalogue.

Table: Top 10 vendors by size of draft at the Gold Coast March Yearling Sale

The sale sees a large volume of buyers ringside; 178 individual buyers or partnerships purchased lots at last year’s sale, equating to 1.5 lots purchased per buyer. Taylor also spent the most by aggregate, outlaying $407,500 for five yearlings.

Table: Aggregate, average, and clearance rates across the last five editions of the Magic Millions Gold Coast March Yearling Sale

In recent years, the sale experienced its peak aggregate, average, and clearance rate in 2021, where the sale garnered a gross of over $14.4 million, almost double the aggregate of the previous edition of the sale. The third highest-priced lot in the sale’s history was sold in 2021; Morrisey Racing outlaid $370,000 for Tarps (Spirit Of Boom), who is now a four-time winner, from the draft of River Junction.

Clearance rates held steady for the two following sales after the peak of 2021, before dropping below 80 per cent in 2024, although clearance remained above the level of 2020. Despite selling seven less horses in 2024 than in 2020, the 2024 sale still had an aggregate increase of over $1.15 million, equating to a $5372 rise in the average between the two sales.

Chart: Average price per lot across the last five editions of the Magic Millions Gold Coast March Yearling Sale

The 2025 edition of the sale has the smallest catalogue in over 10 years before withdrawals, with 32 less lots than the 2020 edition, when clearance rates were at their lowest.

State champions rule the catalogue

There are 73 stables represented in the March sale, and the lion’s share of the catalogue goes to local stallions; Lyndhurst Stud’s Better Than Ready, who has been the Champion Queensland Sire for the last two seasons, leads with 30 of his progeny in the book. Last year, he was the highest sire by aggregate, with 34 of his offspring selling for a collective $1.287 million.

Table: Top 10 sires by number of offspring catalogued in the Gold Coast March Yearling Sale, before withdrawals

Lyndhurst Stud support their champion with six of his offspring, including Lot 198 out of Fillysophycal (Rothesay), a half-sister to 10-time winner and G3 Vo Rogue Plate victor Tiger Legend (Better Than Ready). Tiger Legend was also a graduate of this sale in 2020, when he was bought by Bevan Smith Bloodstock from Aquis Farm for $85,000.

Eureka Stud resident and four-time Champion Queensland Sire Spirit Of Boom is joint second in the sires table by number of offspring in the catalogue, with 27 on offer - the same amount as first season sires Barbaric and Jonker. Last year, he was the second highest sire by aggregate for his 15 offspring sold, and the highest sire by average (2 or more lots sold) with an average of $81,533 - off of a $30,000 service fee (exc GST for comparison), that is a 2.72 times return on investment. In the sale’s history, nine of the 10 most expensive lots have been by the champion.

Gallery: Queensland-based proven sires who are well-represented in the Gold Coast March Yearling Sale

Daandine Stud present Lot 281, his son out of Listed Gosford Guineas winner Lady Sniper (Snippetson). Eureka Stud support their champion with 12 of his offspring, including Lot 358, a colt out of Listed-winning Elusive Quality (USA) mare Pardon (USA), whose four winners include the stakes performers Excused (Medaglia d’Oro {USA}) and Show Me Mercy (Astern).

Of the top 10 most represented stallions, only three are no longer in Queensland; both Dubious and Pierata stood at Aquis Farm during the season of these yearlings’ conception, before being acquired by Kitchwin Hills and Yulong respectively. Aclaim (Ire) shuttled to Aquis for one season, and has 12 of his sole Southern Hemisphere crop on offer in the catalogue.

Gallery: Some of the progeny of Spirit Of Boom on offer at the Gold Coast March Yearling Sale, images courtesy of Magic Millions

Exciting offerings from local first season sires

Of the 13 first season sires represented in the catalogue, Aquis Farm’s Jonker and Lyndhurst Stud’s Barbaric profile impressively as stallions available in the sunshine state.

Table: First season sires with three or more offspring in the Gold Coast March Yearling Sale

Jonker in particular has the versatility to stamp himself as a top quality stallion. A debutante winner as a juvenile in the Max Lees Classic, who backed it up with victory in the R. Listed Magic Millions Wyong Classic and then was Group-placed multiple times as a 3-year-old, including running second to Everest winner Classique Legend (Not A Single Doubt) in the G2 Arrowfield 3YO Sprint, it is beyond impressive to see the same horse train on to win the G1 Manikato Stakes as a 6-year-old.

The son of Spirit Of Boom has been well patronised, and a third of his debut crop of foals have made the catalogue at the Gold Coast this March. A highlight of his crop is Lot 231, offered by Kenmore Lodge, which is a filly out of Medaglia d’Oro (USA) mare Heaven, whose half-sister Vellor (Sepoy) is the dam of leading Magic Millions juvenile O’ Ole (Ole Kirk). Heaven has already produced four winners from five to race, including Listed performer Destination (Exceed And Excel). Suman Hedge Bloodstock (FBAA) and Ciaron Maher Bloodstock paid the top price of $300,000 for a daughter of his at the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale earlier this year.

A $900,000 yearling selected by the partnership of China Horse Club, Newgate Bloodstock, and Winstar Farm, Barbaric brings another strain of I Am Invincible blood to Queensland. Precocious enough to kickstart his career in the G3 Breeders’ Plate, Barbaric broke his maiden at his second start, which he immediately backed up with a win in the G3 Black Opal Stakes. The best of him was not seen on the track, but his father’s biggest win was also in a Group 3 and is living proof that sometimes performance on the track can be beaten by performance in the breeding shed.

Gallery: Queensland-based first-season sires who are well-represented in the Gold Coast March Yearling Sale

Of his debut crop, 43.5 per cent of them are in the March catalogue. All six of his yearlings offered at the Gold Coast in January found buyers, and Lyndhurst Stud offer Lot 144, a half-brother to G2 Moreton Cup winner Brave Song (Your Song).

Jonker’s barnmate G2 Bill Stutt Stakes winner Glenfiddich is the third most represented first season sire, with 11 of his debut crop in the catalogue. Several of the country’s most exciting first season sires have representatives at the sale, including two lots catalogued by G1 Golden Slipper Stakes winner Stay Inside and Lot 368, a Profiteer-sired half-sister to January’s $500,000 Magic Millions The Debut winner Amosu (Invader).

The leading incentive sale

Every lot in the sale is eligible for over $20 million in prizemoney that is on offer in the lucrative Magic Millions Race Series, and, as an added bonus, horses bought through the March sale will benefit from a reduced Magic Millions Race Series Nomination fee of $4,752; a 28 per cent discount compared to graduates from other Magic Millions sales.

Three of the feature race winners on the Gold Coast Magic Millions raceday in January - Amosu, Encoder (Encryption), and Hidden Wealth (Better Than Ready) - were purchased for a cumulative $210,000 at the March sale, and between them amassed $2.5 million in prizemoney at the meet.

In addition, every lot in the catalogue is either QTIS Fully Paid or has had the first QTIS payment submitted, and is eligible to run for over $13 million in QTIS bonuses, as well as enter exclusive races such as the $1.5 million Magic Millions QTIS Open and the $500,000 QTIS Jewels for juveniles and 3-year-olds.