Classic winners have Magic Millions links

Having won English and Irish Derbies in 2001, Galileo (Ire) has now sired four English Derby winners (New Approach, Ruler Of The World, Australia, Anthony Van Dyck) while Queensland Oaks winner Winning Ways is from Skip Along (GB) - an English-bred daughter of Galileo. In addition, English Oaks winner Anapurna is by Frankel - the unbeaten son of Galileo.

Magic Millions also played a major role in the success of both Classic winners. Anthony Van Dyck is from Australian-bred mare Believe'n'succeed sold twice through the Magic Millions God Coast sale ring as a yearling in 2007 and a broodmare in 2014 while Winning Ways was sold at the 2017 Magic Millions yearling sale at the same venue.

EMOTIONS flowed at Doomben on Saturday when 3YO filly Winning Ways scored an impressive win in the Group 1 Queensland Oaks (2200m).

It was mixed emotions for connections with the win the first at Group 1 level for young local jockey Matthew McGillivray, while the win came just a week after her owner Paul Makin sadly passed away.

Carrying the Paulyn Investments colours, made famous by stars including Starcraft, Winning Ways emerged as one of Australia's new rising staying prospects with an exciting victory. Gold Coast trainer Garry Newham was able to deliver on a long time promise to the Makin family - telling them Winning Ways would win the Oaks early in her racing career.

Gary Newham guided Starcraft from a maiden win at Doomben to be a triple Group 1 winner in Australia and New Zealand before he was sent to race overseas where he won a further three Group 1 races for trainer Luca Cumani in England and France including the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Newmarket to earn his world's best older miler on turf status.

Winning Ways boasts an imposing record for a lightly raced staying prospect. She's won seven of her 13 starts. Two starts back she won the listed Bracelet at her home track of the Gold Coast.

A half-sister by Declaration of War to Perth-based stakes winner Dreamtime Dancer, Winning Ways was a $110,000 purchase for leading international bloodstock agent Dermot Farrington from the Coolmore Stud draft at the 2017 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale. Winning Ways and Dreamtime Dancer are both from the Galileo mare Skip Along.

Daytime Dreamer was the result of an overseas covering of Skip Along to Danehill Dancer prior to her arrival in Australia in January 2012. Unfortunately, Winning Ways was her third and final foal as she died three weeks after foaling. Her second foal Cosmologist, a rising 6YO gelding by dual Group 1 winner Uncle Mo (USA), has also been a consistent performer for Sydney trainer Joseph Pride with seven wins and a placing from 16 starts to bank more than $323,000.

Farrington was a long-time friend and bloodstock adviser and buyer for Makin and welcomed the emotional result with great pride. As Farrington put it succinctly after the win: "He always had the last say!"

TWO wins, two seconds and two thirds from 11 starts are the emotionless statistics associated with 3YO filly Dawson Diva trained by Sunshine Coast-based Garnett Taylor.

But there is a plethora of emotion, excitement and patience attached for central Queensland cattlemen Callide Valley's John Howard and Stewart Nobbs, Moura's Clive Long and Ron Byriel from Bauhinia Downs when the filly's last start second is being a photo-finish runner-up in last Saturday's 2200m Group 1 Queensland Oaks at Doomben jumping her earnings from almost $129,000 to more than $218,000.

That excitement was clearly on display in a post-race interview on Sky Racing Central's Greg Radley where the 'boys from the bush' - all with broad-brimmed hats that almost filled up the TV screen - related how their bush filly almost got there at rank outsider odds of 150-1. In fact, some of the owners got 250-1.

"When the winner Winning Ways returned to scale, we wondered why there were no jubilant owners. Then we learnt that the owner Paul Makin had died the previous week. Consequently, we decided to take over celebrations for them," Clive Long explained.

The emotion occurs through the ownership, breeding and naming the filly. Having bought the filly's dam Gold Coast Girl for $6000 at the 2009 Magic Millions National yearling sale and winning six races with her including the Rockhampton Tattersall's Cup when trained by Matthew Tremble at Rockhampton, the quartette decided to mate the mare to dual Group 1 Doomben Ten Thousand winner Falvelon. Having missed in her first mating, Gold Coast Girl was re-mated to Falvelon with a filly foal the result. Then with all four owners living in the Callide/Dawson Rivers catchment the name Dawson Diva was a natural fit. They've now continued the Dawson prefix with her unraced 2YO sister Dawson Delight (Real Saga) and yearling sister Dawson Diamond (Rich Enuff) - all currently at Garnett Taylor's stables. In fact there were five owners in Gold Coast Girl - the other owner being Stewart Nobbs' father Eric Nobbs who died in May 2015 aged 97.

Next is the patience associated with trainer Garnett Taylor telling connections Dawson Diva - after made her racing debut as a 2YO at Rockhampton on March 3, 2018 finishing

4.25 lengths third in an 1100m maiden behind Gypsy Toff - needed more ground and time. The stamina factor comes the filly's maternal grandsire Arena who won the VRC Derby (2500m) and STC Canterbury Guineas (1800).

Having spelled for about six months, Dawson Diva won a 1400m maiden at Caloundra in December and in a steady progression of distances won a metropolitan 3YO open 1600m race at Caloundra on January 26 followed by a subsequent third in a 1840m 3YO race at Eagle Farm in March and finally runner-up in in the 2200m Group 1 Queensland Oaks.

MT Isa galloper Deadly Choices has atoned for his second placing behind Split The Atom in the recent Mt Isa Battle of the Bush heat on May 11 by winning a subsequent 1000m Open Plate heat at Cloncurry on Saturday.

By four times Group 1 winning Golden Snake (USA) from the winning Rubiton mare Magic Idol, Deadly Choices now has six wins and seven placings for Mt Isa trainer Damien Finter. Originally trained in Victoria where he won at Sandown Lakeside, Deadly Choices made an immediate impact when he arrived in Queensland where he won a Class 1 handicap at Townsville in August 2018 followed by a Class 3 Plate at Birdsville in August.

STELLAR Knight joins Kakakenny and Fab's Cowboy as dual qualifiers for this year's Battle of the Bush final having won the qualifying heat at Home Hill at his previous start.

Trained by Mackay-based Olivia Cairns, 6YO gelding Stellar Knight now has 12 wins and 10 placings from 52 starts. His first three wins came at Toowoomba where he was trained by Ben Currie before he moved north to Mackay.

By Chosir's stakes winning son Choistar, Stellar Knight is from the Kaapstad (NZ) mare Intangible (NZ) which makes him a half-brother to four other winners.

THE Mareeba Turf Club non-TAB race meeting scheduled for Saturday June 1 has been rescheduled to Cairns on Monday, June 10.

Mareeba racecourse received about 10mm of rainfall on Friday night, May 31, and a subsequent stewards inspection deemed the track unsuitable for racing.

The Battle of the Bush Mareeba Qualifier race scheduled has now been added to the Cairns Jockey Club TAB meeting on Monday June 10. The distance of the race will be amended to 1250m with prizemoney and race conditions remaining as was scheduled for Mareeba.

PROLIFIC Dalby trainer/jockey duo of Dave Reynolds and Leanne McCoy are on their way to Eagle Farm on June 22 to contest the Battle of the Bush final after the win of Music Scene in the Inglewood Cup/Battle of the Bush qualifying race held at Goondiwindi on Saturday, June 1.

And Racing Minister Stirling Hinchliffe who attended the meeting gained friends with the announcement that Goondiwindi Race Club would receive a grant of $115,000 to refurbish the dilapidated tie-up stalls while Talwood and Texas Race Clubs would receive $20,000 each to refurbish their starting stalls.

The Goondiwindi Club hosted members of all adjoining race clubs due to the Minister's attendance with Stanthorpe, Texas, Talwood, Dalby and the Macintyre Picnic Race Club attending.

The 1200m Inglewood Cup, which doubled as a Battle of the Bush qualifying heat, was won by Dalby-based sprinter Music Scene. Runner-up was veteran galloper Fab's Cowboy competing in his fourth qualifying heat having already won heats at Gladstone and Cunnamulla while Bundaberg heat winner Marksfield was third.

A 6YO gelding by Kaphero from the Monde Bleu (GB) mare Smytzer's Magic, Music Scene has raced 68 times for seven wins and 28 placings - his most recent placing being third behind Fab's Cowboy in the Cunnamulla BOB heat held eight days earlier on Friday, May 24.

MORE than $104 million was spent on 707 lots across the four days of the Book One broodmare sale held by Magic Millions at the Gold Coast from May from May 28 to 31.

"We've had 11 mares sell for $1 million or more, which is up from nine last year. We're thrilled with that," Magic Millions managing director Barry Bowditch said.

"The overall result from the sale is fantastic. The clearance rate was 79 per cent and we had an impressive average price of $147,136," he said.

Top sale price was $2.3 million for Fastnet Rock's Group 3 winning daughter Missrock who will head to England. The buyers were John and Jake Warren who were bidding via telephone from England. John Warren is known around the world as the Racing Manager for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and in recent years has teamed up with his son Jake to be leading buyers around the world.

The Warrens spent recent days on the Gold Coast and were struck with Missrock when they inspected her on the grounds. Presented at the auction by Kingstar Farm for an ownership group headed by Ray and Susie Montague, Missrock made her last major Australian appearance at the same place she made her first - she was a $500,000 Gold Coast Yearling Sale buy for her former trainer Robbie Laing.

Second top sale price paid on the final day was $1.75 million for Erato - dam of this year's Group 1 Blue Diamond Stakes winner Lyre. Presented at the sale by Yarraman Park Stud, as agent, Erato was bought by Yu Long Investments - pushing them to a clear lead on the leading buyers table for total spend with $6,895,000 for 28 lots.

Outstanding producer Lipari was also in demand selling for $1.6 million to Gerry Harvey's Baramul Stud. Lipari was presented at the auction by Twin Hills Stud in foal to leading sire I Am Invincible and is due to foal in early August. The foal will be a sibling to Group 1 Australian Derby winner Levendi and Group 3 winning juvenile Marcel From Madrid.

Former star race mare Global Glamour who sold for $1.55 million capped a remarkable journey for her large group of local and international female owners - a number of who were at the complex for the occasion. Coolmore's Tom Magnier teamed up with Baramul Stud's Gerry Harvey and Bester to buy the mare after she was presented unreserved by Widden Stud in foal to their leading young sire Zoustar.

Originally a $65,000 Gold Coast Yearling Sale buy for the syndicate by leading bloodstock agent James Bester, Global Glamour raced to stardom on the track with two Group 1 wins within a week. She won a number of other feature races under the training of Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott and retired with earnings of $1.56 million. With today's $1.55 million sale price - it was a $3.1 million result for the It's All About the Girls syndicate.