Magic Millions: Horses hit the sand as bidders seek auction action
Surfers Paradise beach is accustomed to plenty of foot traffic over the summer, but in the second week in January, the footfall is heavier than usual.
Surfers Paradise beach is accustomed to plenty of foot traffic over the summer, but in the second week in January, the footfall is heavier than usual.
So was the case on Tuesday when dozens of thoroughbreds took the annual dash down the sand as part of the Magic Millions carnival.
In footage beamed around the world, the horses lit up the foreshore, with jockeys and celebrity guests in the saddle and thousands of tourists and Gold Coast locals watching the spectacle from the beach.
“It was low tide, perfect summer day, thousands on the beach – it doesn’t get any better than that,” Magic Millions co-owner Katie Page-Harvey said.
Magic Millions ambassador Zara Tindall finds herself in a tight spot on the sands of Surfers Paradise on Tuesday
The aim of the beach race, as ever, was to draw attention to the Magic Millions yearling auction taking place throughout the week and the $14.5m race day ahead.
The beach was also the site of the barrier draw for Saturday’s top races – the $3m 2YO Classic and 3YO Guineas.
If all goes to plan, the emergency works carried out at the Gold Coast Turf Club on Tuesday will mean the races can be run there as planned. A large section of the track was found to be poisoned ahead of last week’s race meet, which had to be relocated to the Sunshine Coast. “I’ve been over and had a look at the work and I’m positive that it will be right for Saturday,” Ms Page-Harvey said.
The Surfers Paradise sand had barely been raked clean when the bidding began around the auction ring at Bundall, a few blocks back from the beach.
It took until 3pm for the coveted million-dollar mark to be broken, but within an hour it had been eclipsed four times.
The biggest sale of the day went to Lot 185, a filly sold by Yulong Investments, sired by superstar stallion Written Tycoon and out of champion mare Away Game, herself a Magic Millions success story.
Auctioneer Steve Davis opened the bidding at $500,000 and the going price quickly rose in $100,000 increments. Before Davis had taken a breath, the bid was at $1.1m.
Calls from the buyer-filled tables scattered before the auction ring competed with a little green light on the broadcast screen above the pacing filly, indicating an online bid had come in.
“They may construe hesitation to be a weakness, just bid up and buy,” Davis warned the in-room bidder.
“One million six-fifty, you got the seven? The next one could be the one. Don’t run second. It’s not a race you want to be second in.”
The hammer came down at $1.8m, with the online bidder, Kentucky-based John Stewart from Resolute Bloodstock, prevailing.
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