In the lead up to the 2026 Magic Millions Yearling Sale we’re going back to the beginning of one of the great stories of bloodstock and how a bargain yearling changed the face of the Australasian racing and breeding industry forever.
They've always been a bit different up there in Queensland.
They wear some crazy big hats.
They're obsessed with constructing big replicas of things - a Brachiosaurus - sized pineapple here, a building-sized mango there.
It's all about bigness in the second largest state in Australia - which is two and a half times the size of Texas, another home of big hats!
When The Big Wet comes the world's largest living reptile is freed from where it lurks in billabongs to ride the rivers and terrorize at will.
Right off the coast is the world's most ginormous coral reef. In Queensland the trees are huge, the flowers are the size of dinner plates - and half the wildlife species look like something you’d see in a 1950s horror flick.
Queensland doesn't really do things low key.
So no surprise that It was one of those iconic, big-hatted, fly swatting Queenslanders - a cattle dealer and horse breeder from Roma - who came up with an idea that started off large enough, but soon became audaciously enormous.
The late Carl Waugh was somewhat peeved that Queensland, a proud racing and breeding state with a long history of producing champions, didn’t have a thoroughbred yearling sale of its own to rival those of the prestigious auction houses down south.
That just didn’t sit right.
Over time, Waugh formulated a sale concept that would be completely unique to his beloved state, indeed to the nation, possibly the world.
He pitched it to a couple of entrepreneurial mates - Gainsborough Lodge owner Gordon McNicol, and Lyndhurst Stud’s Merrell “Mick” Kruger.
Both gentlemen instantly saw the (big!) possibilities, and agreed to bankroll Waugh’s ambitious scheme.
David Chester (amazingly, still with the company as Sales Director and principal auctioneer! ) was brought on board and it was all systems go.
Waugh’s grand vision was an annual yearling sale at a new Gold Coast based complex, and a juvenile sprint race worth a million dollars which would be held at the Coast racetrack the following year restricted to sale purchases only.
It was 1985, and a million bucks was big bickies back then.
There was no black type on offer to the winner, just cold hard cash.
In order to fund the “jackpot” race, breeders had to fork out ten grand to have their yearling accepted into that historic first catalogue, and not everyone was on board.
Years later, David Chester reminisced about the challenges the pioneering foursome faced.
“We had to beg, borrow and steal to get horses for that Sale,” he recalled.
“There were a lot of people that just didn’t want to do it.”
The inaugural MM catalogue was a far cry from the seamless collection of blue-blooded youngstock from big name breeding operations and respected boutique nurseries which we take as a given today.
Certainly there were babies of fine pedigree - sired by the likes of Sir Tristram, Luskin Star and Bletchingly, they would have attracted keen bidding anywhere. They were consigned by high profile studs like Mike Willessee’s showpiece property Trans-Media Park (now Twin Hills), Middlebrook Park, Milburn Creek and Newhaven Park.
John Messara was keen to get involved, Gainsborough Park sent a few, as did Gerry Harvey.
There was also a sizable contingent of yearlings from small and hobby breeders up and down the east coast, keen to have a crack at the pot of gold on offer!
“To make it work, to get the million dollars for the race, we had to sell 200 horses,” Chester reminisced.
“No more, no less, and it was done that way to give buyers a 200-1 chance to win a million-dollar race. And there were no better odds anywhere.”
Elders Pastoral hosted that fateful first auction and on the day 10,000 people were packed into the complex. The joint was rocking.
Industry big hitters like Bart Cummings, John Messara and Mike Willesee were there and a buzz was in the air.
Just 65 minutes and 30 Lots in, and the $1 million for the race was in the bag!
The inaugural Magic Millions sale would eventually gross more than $6 million, double the figure Waugh and Co had hoped for.
Right from the start, the concept was a rip-roaring success!
Lot 170 entered the ring in the second half of proceedings, an attractive bay colt by Widden Stud’s Lunchtime from the Grand Chaudiere mare Easy Date.
He had been consigned from John Augustine’s Gregadoo Stud in Victoria.
The colt was the fourth foal from his dam - his grand dam Scampering had produced no stakes winners from her twelve progeny.
Easy Date was Scampering’s only foal by the Canadian-bred son of Northern Dancer, Grand Chaudiere.
Her little colt by Lunchtime was a late foal in 1984, born on November 1.
His sire, the 1972 Dewhurst Stakes winner Lunchtime, had been covering mares at Widden Stud since 1974 - and was at the stage of a stallion’s career where the dreaded "unfashionable" tag overtakes his actual merit.
A bright chestnut son of the British champion sprinter miler Silly Season and grandson of the legendary US two year old Tom Fool, Lunchtime was a magnificent type.
Not only a highly successful sire of racehorses, for many years Lunchtime was the stallion of choice for the “showies” around the nation looking for that elusive Royal Show quality hack.
The Lunchtimes were beautiful, poised, elegant, exceptionally fluent movers and very sweet natured. A showies dream!
On the track they were talented, precocious and versatile.
Among his best juveniles were the fillies Fickle Hostess and Food For Love and star colts Snippets (his masterpiece), Pre Catalan and Street Cafe.
Sons Bold Invader, Integra (sire of champion Intergaze) and Breakfast Creek also did well at stud.
Lunchtime sired 31 stakes winners in all.
While carrying the unborn Snippets, Easy Date hadn’t had the pampered, relaxed pregnancy she no doubt would have preferred.
The mare had been sold and shipped around three times that year - for $5000 at a small sale in Scone, and then again by breeder Barry Gamer to John Augustine.
Bred by Mrs ET Hobson in South Australia, Easy Date would produce sixteen foals over the course of her long life - once her astonishing gifts as a broodmare had become evident, the majority of them would be for the old Segenhoe Stud.
Besides Snippets and his stakes placed half sister Singles Bar (Rory's Jester) who was to become the dam of champion and emerging breedshaper Not A Single Doubt, Easy Date's progeny included the G1 winner Quick Score (Pag-Asa) who was a decent sire, and fillies Asawir (Last Tycoon) and True Blonde (Naturalism) who both bred on very successfully!
When Easy Date's colt arrived at the Gold Coast complex after his long trip from Victoria, the welcome mat was not forthcoming.
“I distinctly remember him arriving on the complex, and Carl Waugh took one look at him and said, get this horse off the grounds and send him to someone that can clean him up,” David Chester recalled.
The “someone” was champion local trainer Sally Rogers.
Thanks to the efforts of Sally the colt entered the sale ring looking the part!
He was knocked down for $22,000 to Dalgety Bloodstock, who purchased him as a buy-back for his breeder.
“About half of the vendors put the horses in because they wanted to win the race,” Chester said.
“John Augustine bought the horse back at the auction, and because Sally had done such a good job with him for a week or so, they left him with her to train.”
The sale-topper at that historic first “Magic Million” sale was a colt by the American stakes winner Roman Prince (Cornish Prince) x Ovaltina, a full brother to G1 winner Roman Artist, who made $210,000 - a huge price at the time.
Four Gold Coast nightclub owners were riding the vibe and lashed out to secure the glamour youngster, which they named Roman General and sent to Bart.
Here the air of success that surrounded everything about the Magic Millions concept transcended even two notorious curses - the “curse of the sale-topper”, and the “curse of the talented full brother”!
Roman General actually won a good race, the Peter Pan Stakes (now the Golden Rose)
After the celebrations around the sale had died down, it was the moment of truth for Waugh and his associates.
The average price at the sale had been $31,000, far above the $5,000 average for a Queensland yearling at the time.
Would these youngsters deliver?
Or would all the hype implode and turn the Magic Millions dream to dust?
