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The Goldin Farms-consigned brother to Sneaky Five sells for $525,000

It was a record breaking day in Adelaide on Tuesday with a South Australian record set when Tony Fung Investments and Annabel Neasham Racing went to $525,000 to secure the brother to talented stakes winner Sneaky Five (Fastnet Rock) on day one of the Magic Millions Adelaide Yearling Sale. 

Sold by Goldin Farms as Lot 22, the colt is the fifth living foal out of 2010 Schweppes Oaks (Gr 1, 2000m) winner Small Minds (Canny Lad) who has produced three winners from as many foals to race headed by Listed scorer Beautiful Mind (So You Think) and this season’s Inglis Banner (RL, 1100m) winner Sneaky Five. 

Annabel Neasham’s bloodstock manager Brian McGuire told Racing & Sports Bloodstock that the son of Fastnet Rock (Danehill), the only lot by the sire in the sale, would have stood out in any yearling sale in Australasia and noted how well the Coolmore Australia-based sire was going this season. 

“He’s a lovely colt. He’s obviously by Fastnet, a champion sire, who has sired four Group 1 winners already this season,” said McGuire. 

“He’s a full to a very smart two-year-old, one of the better two-year-olds that we’ve had in Australasia this year in Sneaky Five. 

“Physically he was a lovely horse; flawless. He was sold by Goldin Farms, who are based in South Australia and they are supporting the sale here in Adelaide but, given his pedigree and his physical, he would have stood out in any sale in Australasia. 

“We were delighted to get him. Mr Fung was pretty determined to get him and he’ll go to Annabel Neasham to be trained in Sydney.” 

McGuire said that Magic Millions had done a good job in getting buyers to the sale and that the horses in Adelaide exceeded his expectations having not attended the sale for a number of years. 

“To be fair to Magic Millions they’ve done a great job getting people to the sale. There are plenty of buyers on the ground. I’ve been speaking to a few other buyers around the place and they’ve found the market strong,” he said. 

“Vendors have also supported the sale and to be quite honest the horses have exceeded my expectations. I think the calibre of horses is pretty good and there are a lot of nice horses here to be found. I was even surprised myself coming over here, I didn’t expect it to be as strong, but I think the calibre of horses has gone up a gear and Magics have done a good job.”

Neasham trained her first stakes winner on Monday when Equation (Press Statement) won the Canberra Guineas (Listed, 1400m) and had narrowly been denied a Group 1 winner on Saturday when Mo’unga (Savabeel) finished second in the Randwick Guineas (Gr 1, 1600m). 

“She’s flying it - she’s in great form,” McGuire said. 

“She’s gone from strength to strength having gone out on her own last August at the start of the season. She almost got her first stakes winner on Saturday when Mo’unga was just touched off in the Randwick Guineas but she didn’t have to wait too long and Equation knocked off that tag in the Canterbury Guineas. 

“The horses are flying. They are going really, really well and Mo’unga is an exciting horse going forward into the Rosehill Guineas as is a horse like Prague, who ran fourth in the Newmarket and Equation will go on to bigger and better things as well. It’s great. She’s fresh and she’s a new face in racing in Australia and she’s enthusiastic and is determined to make it.” 

The colt was the only lot bought by Tony Fung Investments and Annabel Neasham Racing who finished the day as the leading buyer by aggregate. 

Fastnet Rock has been enjoying a good season in both Australia and New Zealand, siring 14 stakes winners and his son Rocket Spade became his fourth Group 1 for the season when he took out the New Zealand Derby (Gr 1, 2400m) on Sunday. Avantage, Personal and One Master have all scored at Group 1 level for the sire since August. 

Neasham and McGuire secured one further lot on Tuesday, going to $95,000 for a son of Pariah (Redoute’s Choice) out of placed mare Swiss Franks (Swiss Ace). The colt, who is from the family of Vancouver (Medaglia d’Oro), Murtajill (Rock Of Gibraltar) and Bradbury’s Luck (Redoute’s Choice), was offered as Lot 40 from the draft of Baramul Stud.  

Goldin Farms meanwhile finished the day as the leading vendor by both aggregate and average (with three or more lots sold) having sold seven yearlings for $1,199,000 at an average of $171,286. 

Jeff Gordon, representing Pan Sutong and the team from Goldin Farms, was delighted with the result and said the colt could have been missed at a bigger sale. 

“He could have been swallowed up in a bigger market,” Gordon said. “Sometimes they can get overlooked in a big sale.

 “At this sale they came from all around to look at him, so it does make a bit of sense.

“The sister did a great job, winning nearly a million dollars in two starts, and I think it is a fantastic result.”

The farm sold two of the top five lots on Tuesday including a filly from the first crop of Coolmore-based sire Merchant Navy (Fastnet Rock) who was bought by Boomer Bloodstock and breeder Peter Murray’s Murray Thoroughbreds for $360,000. 

Sold as Lot 110, the filly is the sixth living foal out of Listed winning mare Bacchanal Woman (Encosta De Lago) who has produced three winners including the Chris Waller-trained Sweet Scandal (Sepoy), winner of the Hawkesbury Crown (Gr 3, 1300m).