Sledmere Stud’s prolonged 2020 Bloodstock Sales season came to a close on the Gold Coast last week when Magic Millions Sales P/L conducted their National Weanling Sale over July 30-31.
Staged during very uncertain times with interstate boarders closed due to Covid-19, and under a shroud of uncertainty in the thoroughbred industry because of the worldwide pandemic, the stud’s sales team again managed to meet all challenges head-on and leave a very favourable mark on proceedings.
After the final Lot had been put through the Bundall sales ring late on Friday afternooon, Sledmere Stud was recognised as the auction’s third-leading vendor — both by gross and average. Two days of trading witnessed our team sell 11 youngsters for an aggregate of $824,000 and an average of $74,909, the latter in comparison to a $40,808 general sales average.
Speaking volumes for the quality of the Sledmere draft is the fact that no fewer than four members of the consignment fetched six-figure sums — Lot 908 ($160,000), Lot 841 ($150,000), Lot 901 ($130,000) and Lot 934 ($100,000). To put this into context, 20 Lots brought $100,00-plus in the entire sale and Sledmere was responsible for 20 percent of them.
Top-price of the Sledmere contingent was a first-crop son of Hellbent from the winning Magic Albert mare Queen of Kandy. The August foal was secured for $160,000 by Darby Racing, the hugely successful syndication company which this year branched into purchasing weanlings.
In addition to the Hellbent-Queen of Kandy colt, a son of Lonhro from La Parisienne (by Commands) also sold out of our National Weanling Sale draft figured in the top-10 prices realised at the sale by fetching $150,000. Suman Hedge Bloodstock (FBAA) and Grant Bloodstock proved to be the successful bidders in this instance.
Last week’s Magic Millions National Weanling Sale brought down the curtain on a bloodstock sales series which saw our sales team consign its first draft of the year in January and was still presenting livestock for inspection — both at sales venues and at home in Scone — until the final day of July.
Needless this say, we’ve never seen the like of 2020 before and we greatly appreciate the co-operation of all and sundry during this unique period of our collective life.