FRESH from achieving its first million-dollar live-auction seller at the Inglis Australian Broodmare Sale, Holbrook Thoroughbreds principal Julie Harris, is thinking about her second when Arcadia Queen steps into the Magic Millions National Broodmare sale-ring at the Gold Coast next Tuesday.
Holbrook's first grand-seller was Melbourne Group 1 winner Celebrity Queen which topped the recent Inglis The Chairman's Sale at $2.5m and sold to Coolmore Stud.
According to Julie, while excited about her million-dollar seller, she said that there are two ways to look it.
"I was over the moon and so excited and that she (Celebrity Queen) also went over the reserve," Julie said.
"However, while I am excited about the price, in another way I am disappointed as we (Holbrook Thoroughbreds) have lost her as a broodmare."
"Arcadia Queen will have a reserve on her, but I won't know until at the sale."
By Redoute's Choice, Celebrity Queen, and Pierro mare Arcadia Queen - a triple Group 1 winner of $3.9m, both landed back at Holbrook two months ago after their Western Australian breeders and owners Sandra and Bob Peters decided to retire them following their successful racing careers.
Both were born on the Gundy Road, Scone, located Harris family farm, and which were raised to weanling age before transported to Western Australia to be raced by their owners, an association with the Peters' family - and with a number of other horses, for about 15 years.
"I thank (Western Australian based) Paul Ramsey Horse Transport for our (Peters) association who had delivered horses to us here, and I think he also recalled our family from the Widden Valley days previously."
While the Peters' may be selling Arcadia Queen, the breeders still have the champion mare's yearling full-sister for future racing and breeding.
Other star females among about 790 Magic Millions broodmare lots includes champion New Zealand racemare and $4m earner Melody Belle, Group 1 winners Nettoyer, Tofane and Bella Vella, and New Zealand Oaks heroine Miss Sentimental.
Meanwhile the two-day Magic Millions National Weanling Sale starts today, prior to its National Broodmare Sale from next Tuesday for three days, before the four-day (about 600 lots) National Yearling Sale which commences on June 1.
Way Ahead
THREE-year-old gelding, Ahead Start won the ATC Vale Neville Layt TAB Highway Handicap at Randwick recently a race which honoured the late well-known Queanbeyan conditioner, Neville Layt, who passed-away following illness at age 76.
A popular character throughout the racing industry, Mr Layt was a hard-working trainer and fittingly won the inaugural TAB Highway race with Grand Proposal at Randwick in October 2015.
Mr Layt's most successful galloper was the Magic Millions Yearling Sale graduating filly Karuta Queen whom he labelled the "once in a lifetime horse".
Bred by Stuart Ramsey at Turangga Stud, Scone, the flashy chestnut daughter of hot Australian sire Not A Single Doubt had 15 starts for the Layt stable winning six races (and having four placings) and which included her first four starts two at Rosehill.
Her biggest victories included the 2011 Magic Millions Gold Coast Two-Year-Old Classic, the ATC Heritage Stakes-LR, and later the MVRC Red Anchor Stakes-G3.
Training a total of 256 winners, Mr Layt's final victor was Propose A Toast which was recorded at Canberra earlier this year. Kenquest is an early example of a memorable Layt galloper, the Twig Moss horse winning 15 races.
Pfieffer double
A huge crowd landed at Scone last Friday to see Warwick Farm conditioner David Pfieffer win two of the $200,000 events following wins by Artero in the Inglis restricted Inglis Two-Year-Old Challenge, and Laure Me In taking the Darley Scone Cup-LR.
By recently deceased Danzig sire Ad Valorem, Laure Me In was a $70,000 Inglis Premier Melbourne Yearling Sale graduate.
Costing Darby Thoroughbreds and Will Johnson Bloodstock $26,000 at the Inglis Classic Yearling Sale, Artero becomes the seventh winner by Flying Artie, the Artie Schiller sire standing at Newgate Farm, Aberdeen.