Bargain buy Behemoth led home a clean sweep for Gold Coast sold runners in today's Group One Memsie Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield in the first year the time honoured feature was sponsored by Magic Millions.
In a fairytale result, the $6,000 National Yearling Sale buy for Grand Syndicates cruised home to win Melbourne's first Group One of the new season in emphatic style.
And to top the brilliant result for Australia's leading thoroughbred auctioneer, the second and third placegetters were also purchased by connections through the famous Gold Coast sale ring.
In the end it was Behemoth's day as the David Jolly trained South Australian galloper proved too strong and sent his earnings smashing over $1.3 million.
"That was just brilliant," Jolly told Racing.com. "When he landed in the right spot, I thought he'd be hard to beat."
"When we drew wide, some people thought that wasn’t a good thing, but I was happy. He was able to take a spot and stretch out.
"I said to Craig to use him from the gate, be a little aggressive. It worked out so well. I would have loved to have been there.
"We'll bring him home and talk about where we go. He does have an entry for the Cox Plate but we're not sure whether to take a handicap or weight-for-age path with him."
"It's been a long time since my last Group One win - The Goodwood - but I've had a few near misses in Adelaide and Melbourne," Jolly added.
Syndicator Sam Lyons of Grand Syndicates was not surprisingly overjoyed with the outstanding result. Lyons and Team Grand secured him for just $6,000 from the Riversdale draft at the 2017 Magic Millions National Yearling Sale at the Gold Coast.
"I’m so excited for all the owners in the horse,” Lyons said. "To have bought into him so cheap and to have this fairy tale beginning, and to do it so dominantly."
"He’s just hitting the peak of his powers in his prep. If he was to do that again next start, who knows where we'll go from there."
Behemoth was sent out the favourite in the Magic Millions Memsie after a dominant first up win in the Group Three Spring Stakes at Morphettville a fortnight ago.
The win was the 60th at racing's elite level for champion Melbourne jockey Craig Williams.
"He was quite dominant," Williams said. "He's done a really good job off a pretty hot speed today."
"The management from his ownership group - Grand Syndicates and Sam Lyons and (trainer) David Jolly who have got this horse to being a Group One horse - you can see his form and his record."
"He only had two runs in the autumn and the whole idea was to build up to the spring and I was delighted with his first up performance. Todd Pannell gave a really good report about how he felt he was from a jockey's perspective."
The second Group One winner for All Too Hard, Behemoth is from the stakes winning Zedrich mare Penny Banger - a listed winner as a juvenile at Flemington before being retired to stud.
Penny Banger is the dam of two winners and three placegetters and Behemoth is her clear pin up performer.
Runner-up Mr Quickie, a Queensland Derby winner at three, impressed in his first up effort with an eye catching late finish for trainer Phillip Stokes. The Gold Coast Yearling Sale buy is likely to head next to the Makybe Diva Stakes at Flemington.
Three-year-old Glenfiddich was tough in his third placing against older and more seasoned rivals for new trainer Peter Moody. Another Gold Coast buy, he was runner-up in the Group One Champagne Stakes at his previous run before a spell.
Winner: Behemoth
Breeding: All Too Hard-Penny Banger (Zedrich)
Race: MRC Magic Millions Memsie Stakes G1 (1400m)
Sold for: $6,000
Sale: 2017 Magic Millions National Yearling Sale
Vendor: Riversdale (As Agent)
Buyer: Grand Syndications
Earnings: $1,322,810
Owner(s): BL Hannon, AJ Devine, CJ Downie, V Francesca, BM McGilvray, T Fletcher, P Neuberger, MJ Smith, TJ Thompson, Ms LM Woodroffe, 21st Century Racing Pty Ltd (Mgr: E Savaglia), The Grand (Mgr: PV Morley), Samui Racing (Mgr: PM Hogan) & The Quine Boys Inc (Mgr: CRT Quine)
Trainer: David Jolly (Goolwa)
