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42.
Whims and Fancies Of The Sale Ring
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11/05/2002 |
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Tara Madgwick reviews the top 10 lots from the Australian Broodmare Sale
The Top 10 Mares
The top ten mares represent an interesting cross section of what appeals to a discerning commercial market.
A mare like the Irish-bred Balletomane ($750,000) has all the elements required to top any broodmare sale in the world.
She's by champion sire Sadler's Wells, she's the dam of four raced all winners highlighted by the Breeders' Cup Mile winner Silic, and she's in foal to Kentucky Derby winner Fusaichi Pegasus in his first season at stud.
The only drawback to her obvious appeal is age. If she were 10 instead of 14, there is little doubt she would have topped $1million.
Fly the Flag ($750,000) sold well in excess of her reserve, due largely to a strong bidding duel between South African studmaster Lionel Cohen and her eventual new owner Gerry Harvey.
The mare is a winning sister to Melbourne Cup winner Brew, from the champion galloper Horlicks. She began her stud career in England where she produced two foals (yet to race) and missed twice before being repatriated to Australia following Brew's Melbourne Cup win.
A positive service to Danehill proved the magic ingredient in transforming a nice mare into a saletopper.
Group One winning mares in their first season at stud, particularly those that can claim the scalp of Sunline, are a rarity in the sale ring.
A mare such as Piavonic ($660,000) was always going to be a candidate to top the sale, being by Scenic from a good solid family and boasting a positive test to Fusaichi Pegasus.
She is at the very height of her commercial appeal. The market loves young mares, but with every foal they have, their value decreases, unless they produce a stakes horse and then it's onwards and upwards.
North Bell is undoubtedly one of the best broodmares in the country. She has produced three Group winners, highlighted by Cox Plate winner Northerly.
So why did she only make $550,000?
The answer is in her produce record. Since North Boy in 1998, North Bell has failed to produce a foal and it seems not long ago that it was widely reported that she was not a viable breeding proposition.
But there she was, sporting the blue cross that signifies a positive test, in this case to Flying Spur.
A $500,000 bid seemed like a lot of money for Veronical but she comes from a great international Black Type family and has already produced a Group Three winner in Lan Kwai Fong, who is now residing in America.
Outstanding racemares Dynamic Love and Dottoressa fetched sensational money on the strength of their racetrack ability and obvious good looks.
Neither have anything startling on the pedigree page to recommend them and they will need to produce a stakes horses within their first three or four foals to retain anything close to this sort of value.
One of the great mysteries of the broodmare sale is how the full sisters Skates and Zali could both make $400,000.
Apart from their identical bloodlines, being by Danehill from champion mare Skating, they have little in common.
Skates had plenty of ability, winning once, placing seven times from 10 starts and running three seconds in Listed company. Her first foal is a Peintre Celebre colt and she came with a positive test to Fusaichi Pegasus who stood at a fee of $110,000.
Zali, on the other hand, struggled into second place at Canterbury, after being beaten at Goulburn and Hawkesbury and was offered in foal to successful sire Octagonal, who stood for $55,000.
Figure that one out!
Sneaking into the top ten, by virtue of her status as a daughter of the legendary Eight Carat, was La Brillante .
The rising sixteen year old has had plenty of chances at stud, and her days as a premium mare are certainly numbered.
But she's got the Eight Carat look – quality, athleticism and that signature clear, bold eye – and she also carried a positive to Thunder Gulch, who boosted his popularity by producing Group One winner Tully Thunder on the eve of the sale.
The Hot Sires
Danehill is now 16 and the influence of his all conquering dynasty will increasingly be felt in the broodmare sphere.
His daughters accounted for $2,763,500 of the overall gross, with nine of them fetching $100,000 or more.
The only two mares that came to the sale with a positive test to Danehill were equal saletopper Fly the Flag and the beautifully bred US mare Doe, who was initially passed in, but later sold for $300,000.
Coolmore freshman Fusaichi Pegasus was the talking horse among the covering sires, with four mares in foal to him selling at an average price of $533,750.
A number of stallions were in strong demand as covering sires, with End Sweep servicing six mares that fetched $100,000 or more, Flying Spur five mares for $100,000 or more, Octagonal, four mares for $100,00 or more, and Snippets, four mares for $100,000 or more.
Bluebird is emerging as a very popular and successful broodmare sire.
He was represented by 11 mares and all were sold, including four for $100,000 or more, highlighted by VATC 1000 Guineas heroine Azzurro for $200,000.
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