Racehorse TALK

Gold Coast Bulletin Article


"BIG WIN FOR MAGIC MILLIONS BUYERS

A STRONG Australian dollar will give local buyers a fighting chance to pick up a well-bred yearling at the Magic Millions sales.

MM managing director Vin Cox, who started with the company in May, said quality of the high-priced horseflesh would be just as good as last year.

However, he said an improved stallion pool has resulted in more Queensland breeders entering the sales, that start next Wednesday.

Almost 900 horses have been entered into the sales this year, with 650 in the premium categories that will draw the fiercest bidding.

Mr Cox said there would be fewer international buyers because of the worldwide economic crisis and high Australian dollar, but this would present solid opportunities for local buyers to rein in a well-bred yearling.
 
"It is an opportunity for people to buy a lot of well bred horses."

Mr Cox said he hoped plenty of locals would attend both the sales and the races.

"What I would like to see is an engagement of the Gold Coast community for locals to come out and see what we do."

Mr Cox said an MM barrier draw on the Surfers Paradise beach on Tuesday, January 10, would be "something really special".

One industry expert, Greg Irvine, said the sales were not just for Australia's racing royalty or big spenders, with some premium sale lots likely to go for as little as $15,000.

"It is a great time to be buying a horse," he said.

"There are some lovely Queensland-bred horses in the sale this year and there will be some really good bargains among them."

More details at www.magicmillions.com.au

They will get a lot of speedy squibs(what they are famous for and what their objective is) their famous "staying" race is 1800 metres on a turning Goat track(the Gold Coast) what a Joke!! people will pay huge money with very little chance for most of getting a profit, they have a very limited opportunity, they can't give them the time they may need as they are bred to be 2 year olds, they cost a squillion so they have to push as hard as they can to get a result, the whole premise of the sale is totally against the best interests of racing but hey that's just my opinion!!

Jim Pike

I used to think similarly, but success is hard to dismiss.  Every stable of importance now plays the MM game.  The Gold Coast circuit, whilst tight and similar to Doomben, Moonee Valley, Canterbury and probably another dozen racetracks in Australia is no goat track. 

Suggest you move with the times mate.  It's 2012, not 1965.

I am not just talking about the circumference, it IS a goat track!! Of Course every trainer will go there, they are chasing the bonus money, that doesn't make it right for racings over all good does it??

Racing was a lot healthier back in 1965 but the Golden Slipper was no where near as "important" as it is now, there were no Magic Million races, no Inglis bonus races and racing was booming, can you see the connection???

have to agree with Jim. You get horses that are not ready to race but could be champions running just to try make them a stallion. Also breeding from young horses that arent fully developed  and so on deprives the racing public of champions. I know its all big money now but its all too soon for some horses. Look at Mustard, still racing in Metro syd company at 14. Yet we have stallions younger then him with sons at stud! If we breed horses to be more durable, to have longetivity and to be able to develop naturally, then we can improve our bloodlines. at the moment everyone just wants that tag of "2 year old/3 year old group 1 winner", when some horses may not be naturally ready. They may be 'classy' enough to win but it 'stunts' their growth.

On the otherhand some horses are naturally early. Its not an exact science but I predict in 5/10 years time, when we get some quality staying stallions (Americain, So you think, frankel) to service our fast broodmares (black caviar etc) Australia should be at the pinnicle of racing. As long as we dont keep trying to breed them faster.

I think they cant go much faster, but they can go faster for longer.

Jim Pike

When were you last at the Bundall racetrack?  A decade ago perhaps? Longer?

It was in damn fine condition last Saturday, times were fast, no safety issues for horses or jocks, the grass cover was lush and even, no throwback, no bias obvious.  It raced as well an any major metro surface in the country, even better than some have been lately.  I don't think your billie goats have been munching on it for quite a while. 

Feel free to show us those faults you know so much about in this pic.

You'r right I haven't been to the track for quite a few years and it may have been upgraded considerably so I will bow to your more current knowledge, it is still not a track that should host big races(Neither should Mooney Valley or Canterbury) but I don't believe anything run as a Magic Millions race could be termed a "big" race anyway  

Tell me how what they are doing is actually helping Racing in the long term??
They are encouraging the already out of control mad chase for 2 year old $$$$$$'s Their "Staying" race is almost still a sprint in every other part of the world(1800 metres) we will finish up the laughing stock of the world who could care less really if we have the best sprinters in the world, they are happy with having the best stayers, it would be funny if it wasn't such a tragedy for racing(sorry for calling it a Tragedy as I can't think of another word and  a form of "entertainment" really cannot be termed Tragic no matter what state it is in  

P.S. I am not just blaming Magic Millions, bloody Inglis is just as bad!! racing in general(administrators) as well,  Owners/Trainers are far too obsessed with an early return but how can they resist when the Carrots dangling in front of them are so big and Juicy?
it is the whole mindset of the "today" generation which is by far the most selfish on record in every sense of the world, we want it and we want it NOW attitude!!

Did they even have colour TV then?  comparing by gone eras like that with todays conditions is ludicrous 

Jim Pike

Cultures, needs, wants do change with the generations.  It is normal for change to occur. Pick any thread in history you like.  Nothing ever stays the same.  If you go to my Blog (Ascot argues) take a read of the medical review I posted there today.  In short you will note that 200 years ago the medical specialty of Cardiology was far different to what it is today.  Even since the 1970's Cardiology has radically changed, and it continues to do so.

Take the 20th century wars...WW1 was fought in trenches with rifles; WW2 with tanks, aircraft and armoured divisions; if there is to be another it will be with nuclear weapons. 

Take television in Australia...in the 1960's we watched variety shows with generational stars like Graham Kennedy.  In 2012 we watch reality shows like Big Brother and Master Chef with a total absence of feature star performers.  And when the networks try to revive the past with shows like Hey Hey they flop.

Each set of norms were right for its era, but not necessarily right for the next.

Why should racing be any different in this context?   I am just bloody glad we have it.  Who gives a fig what the Brits do with sprinters?

GOLD COAST BULLETIN ARTICLE TODAY
"GAI Waterhouse has declared the Magic Millions one of the few "sexy" horse sales in the world, comparing it to famed horse auctions in France.

The first lady of Australian racing, who will arrive on the Gold Coast today, last night said the Magic Millions reminded her of the prestigious seaside sales at Deauville in France and the world famous Saratoga sales in the US.

"There's few really sexy places in the world where people have sales. There's Deauville in France, where the surf hits the turf, hugely successful. You have Saratoga and, of course, you have the Gold Coast," she said.

Ms Waterhouse said she was pleased this would be the first sale where the future of the event would not be debated, with the event having been locked in to the Gold Coast until at least 2017.

"Magic Millions is where the surf hits the turf. The racing people come to buy precocious horses, they go play golf, they go shopping, you can't do that in Brisbane; it's just another city."

She welcomed the company's controversial race of female-owned horses within the $2 million feature.

"It's very sexist, but it's great," she said.

"I think any initiative that gets people involved in racing is wonderful. There is a lot of competition to get bums on seats and if it gets young ladies in racing it is fine by me."

The record-breaking trainer will inspect every yearling at the Bundall complex before the first horse goes under the hammer next week.

She will be joined by high-flying real estate brothers David and Luke Henderson, who are now among her biggest owners following Golden Slipper and Caulfield Cup success.

Ms Waterhouse adds glamour to racing.

That's something not lost on local Gold Coast jockey Laura Cheshire.

Cheshire spends most of her time in her training gear but that doesn't mean she's forgotten how to frock up.                    PHOTO

"I am definitely a girly girl," she said.

"Generally I don't wear a fascinator but the races are a day when you do get a bit glamorous."

Cheshire said, however, that the Magic Millions event brought far more than glitz and glamour to the Gold Coast.

"It would be one of the biggest events on the Gold Coast every year in terms of bringing in crowds," she said.

The missing pic from the Bulletin.

Gin as usual your analogy is irrelevant

I know generations change and I am more than happy to take advantage of the younger generations lack of experience in this fascinating game

I wasn't actually talking about the younger generation alone, I mean in every aspect of life today there is no waiting, it is an immediate generation, Governments are selling all our assets that were passed down by previous generations( lucky they didn't need to sell the farm or we would have had no assets to sell) but that's another story,
 The fact that things change doesn't mean that change is always good, the ideology generated by Companies like Magic Millions/Inglis ie, Bonus races/ races like Golden Slippers/ Blue Diamonds have given no thought about whether it was good for racing as a whole, it is about appealing to peoples natural greed

I am not against Change, most of it ie Colour TV    TVN/Sky Channel are great
Racing like every other sport needs Heroes, 2 year old racing does not create heroes and ruins a lot of horses careers that may have developed into heroes,
 I know I am speaking from experience, I was party to ruining the best horse I ever owned before it ever raced by my own greed when my trainer told me it was Golden Slipper material( he was a top trainer and previous Golden Slipper winning trainer too) the horse bowed both front tendons, his legs were far from perfect but he was a terrific "body type" he needed time, if his legs had been perfect I would never have been able to afford him
I made a mistake but how do you resist that Carrot?? You can't blame owners or trainers, it is the mindset  that is being created, take the carrot away!! I can resist everything but temptation  

Don't worry about avoiding "temptation".  As you grow older, temptation will avoid you. (Winston Churchill)