Victorians find the horse they’ve been looking for at Yearling sales

A Victorian couple’s nationwide search for that “one horse” finally came to an end in Tasmania after landing what they believe to be a “lovely type”.

They came, they saw and they conquered is the only way to describe what Victorian based trainer Luke Oliver and his wife Georgie did at the Tasmanian Magic Millions Yearling sale at Quercus Park at Carrick on Monday.

The Olivers had travelled the length of the eastern seaboard in search of a Puissance de Lune yearling and after missing out at the Gold Coast they were starting to despair but when advised of a colt in the Tasmanian catalogue they made a beeline for the Apple Isle.

When Lot 45 strolled into the ring the bidding began with a flurry, but when bidding froze at $85,000 the auctioneer thumped his gavel onto the wooden block and declared the Victorian trainer as the winning bidder.

“When you go to a yearling sale with only one horse marked in your catalogue and you get to take it home, there is no better feeling,” Luke Oliver said.

“We were keen to take this one home and had the bidding gone to six figures we would still have been fighting for him, but as it turned out we didn’t have to go that high.

“I think he is a lovely type with loads of black type on his page on the dam’s side, so when we get home we will set about filling the book with good owners and start work on preparing him for his racing life.”

Lot 45 a colt by Puissance de Lune sold for $85,000 at Monday's Tasmanian Magic Millions Yearling sale. Picture: Peter Staples

Like all yearling sales around Australia this season, figures were down on last year with this year’s gross turnover of $3.79 million down about 12% on last year’s figures ($4.32 million), but other sales around the country have suffered greater decreases.

Graeme and Bart McCulloch’s Grenville Stud provided the top three sale toppers with their Capitalist-Sunrise Yellow filly (Lot 131) bringing $115,000 and a Stratosphere-Ehor filly, a half-sister to Turk Warrior, was knocked down to Star Thoroughbreds via a phone link up for $105,000.

Grenville’s Stratosphere-In Harmony colt sold for $100,000 and will head interstate to Peter Morgan’s stables and the Capitalist filly was purchased by interstate buyer John Foote Bloodstock who will race the filly interstate.

The Stratosphere-Ehor filly will remain in Tasmania and be trained at Spreyton by Barry Campbell.

Originally published as Victorians find the horse they’ve been looking for at Yearling sales