Lot 332 Snitzel x Vaujany (Image: Magic Millions / Blue Gum Farm)
With their first Magic Millions draft since assuming control of the historic Blue Gum Farm, Sean Dingwall and his fellow owners have certainly made their mark with their stunning Snitzel colt (Lot 332) selling to Te Akau Racing supremo David Ellis for a cool $1.3 million.
Since setting up their stables at Cranbourne, Te Akau have been keen to expand their footprint in Victoria and the new team at Blue Gum have been the beneficiaries with an outstanding result which even surpassed their lofty expectations of the beautiful bay colt, the second foal produced by the Lonhro mare Vaujany.
Having focused primarily on the Melbourne Inglis Premier Yearling Sale under the four decades-long stewardship of Philip and Patti Campbell, before the couple sold their Euroa farm last year to Trilogy Rural Investments, Blue Gum entered a new era this week with Dingwall and his fellow investors (wife Cathy and business partners Jason and Mel Stenning) at the helm.
And the quartet couldn’t have got off to a better start on their first foray to the Gold Coast, with Ellis outlasting his rival bidders in a feverish sales ring to ensure the Blue Gum name was put up in lights on the Glitter Strip.
“We knew this boy was pretty special, right from the start,” Dingwall told TBV.
“He’s always been a great type, and he had all the usual hallmarks of a Snitzel colt. The mare also comes from a fabulous family and she’s a great match for Snitzel, so we’re obviously all thrilled with the result.
“Because of his looks and his type we were always confident that he would sell well, but at the same time it’s hard to put a price on any horse because you’re never sure how well the market is going to hold up. He had been very well inspected in the lead-up so we thought he’d be popular when he went through the ring, but to get $1.3 million for him has certainly exceeded our expectations.
“We’ve got a Deep Field colt we think will also sell really well, as well as a lovely Maurice filly that we’re hoping will prove just as popular. We’ve got a wonderful draft of horses that we’re very proud of, so whilst we’ll enjoy today’s result there’s still a lot of hard work to go.”
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