DUNGOG racing enthusiasts James and Katrina Lovegrove added another winner to their record of successful Scone Yearling Sale purchases over recent years when juvenile filly Star Alibi impressively won on debut at Muswellbrook last month.
A $24,500 graduate, Star Alibi is well on the way to repaying the pair, along with a group of part-owners that share the spoils in the filly's success.
Duporth mare and $100,000 earner, No Effort Needed (cost $5500), High Chaparral mare High Rush (earned $70,000, and cost $7700), and Testa Rossa gelding Testaview (cost $15,400, and returned $28,000) also rate as other purchases via Scone for the happy owners.
Star Alibi is prepared at Newcastle by former successful hoop but continuing track-rider Jason Deamer, his father John also lending his time by doubling as a horse-truck driver and strapper for the stable.
By the same sire as dual Group 1 winner Global Glamour (who sold for $1.55 million at the recent Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale), Star Alibi is by Widden Stud's Star Witness who is by Nureyev grandson Starcraft.
This season, Star Witness enjoys being in the top 20 leading Australian sires for earnings, and in the top 10 for winners and wins and topping $6m.
Zoustar features at Melbourne sale
AUCTION ring sale action moved to Melbourne recently with the Inglis Great Southern Sale. Held at Oaklands Junction, equal top at its weanling section were two colts each fetching $250,000.
One of these was by Arrowfield Stud's Dundeel, and produced from Choisir mare Impossibly, selling from Scone's Glastonbury Stud to New Zealand bloodstock agent Alan Fu.
Widden Stud's hot young sire Zoustar was represented with the other equal top price. Offered via Merrivale Farm, Gooram, Victoria, the Zoustar colt (from Morwell) sold to John Wheeler.
Denman located Fernrigg Farm went to $225,000 for a Not A Single Doubt colt from Vicennalia. Gross sales over two days of select weanlings amounted to $11.185m which saw 353 sold lots for a $32,4388 average. A total of 22 weanlings fetched $100,000 or more.
Top of the broodmares was Queen Of The World, an unraced GB bred mare in foal to a leading French sire Siyouni. The four-year-old daughter of outstanding England based sire Sea The Stars sold via Cornerstone Stud, Angaston, South Australia, for $360,000.
Zoustar was again in sale's news with two mares carrying foals to the outstanding young Northern Meteor sire, each sold for $250,000. One was winning four-year-old mare Peninsula Miss, which sold to Yulong Investments, while the other was New Zealand bred stakes winner She Goes To Rio which sold via Merricks Station, to Bill Wong's Hall Of Fame Bloodstock, Queensland.
The 204 sold broodmares averaged $25,036, and grossed $5.107m. The racing stock proved a popular section with 89 per cent selling.
Of the 59 sold lots from 66 offered, New Zealand bred mare Swampland fetched top at $125,000. A daughter of New Zealand based Great Britain-bred shuttler Redwood (by High Chaparral), five-year-old Swampland won four races and was twice Melbourne Group placed.
Real Impact in Japan
JAPANESE bred Real Impact - a Group 1 winner in Australia as well as his home country, is off the mark as a sire when his first crop Japanese bred juvenile colt Try For Real won on debut over 1400 metres in Tokyo last month.
Shuttling to Arrowfield Stud, Scone, for the previous three seasons, Real Impact - a son of champion Japan sire Deep Impact (by Japanese legendary but US bred sire Sunday Silence) won the ATC George Ryder Stakes-G1.
Everest slot on the table
AN exclusive opportunity has emerged via Racing NSW of an available "slot" in the $14m The Everest, on October 19 at Randwick. The slot - for sale via tender (which closes on July 12) will be sold to a person or organisation that brings benefit and adds to the promotion and appeal of the race.
In accordance with the Slot License Agreement, the winning bid will receive the right to nominate a horse in the event and share in the prizemoney of that horse.
