You didn't need to be born of the purest blood or sold for a seven figure sum to make headlines in 2005. God’s Own, Railings and Pendragon could have been collectively purchased for less than $1,000,000, this in a year when bids at the premier sales appeared to go up by as much.
Whilst some of the million dollar sales graduates lived up to their hype (Darci Brahma one example), there were a few awkward moments when the regally-bred 2YO colt Hachiman (Fusaichi Pegasus-Danelagh, by Danehill) finished an inglorious last in a field of 6 juveniles at Flemington earlier this year. It would be fair to say that another million dollar baby - Overlord (Coolmore's $2.2 million Danehill-Prawn Cocktail colt purchased by Lee Freedman at the 2004 Australian Easter Yearling Sale) also looked anything but dominant in his 'just there' win at the Sunshine Coast on debut. He has since shown up in America - where he won his first start.
One can't mention the Sunshine Coast without mentioning the streaker who showed his wares during 2005; whilst in keeping with the "beach theme" (but at a different track) in a bizarre incident a flock of seagulls caused a 5 horse fall - and no end of debate - earlier in the year.
Makybe Diva is perhaps the best example of an "unwanted" yearling who went on to earn zillions, but there were copious examples of others with working class pedigrees and/or low price tags who achieved great things in 2005: Portland Singa (earnings to date $1,016,550) cost NZ$6,500 and won the G1 Brisbane Cup; Demerger (earnings to date of $768,000) cost $20,000 and won the G1 Adelaide Cup; Mahtoum (earnings to date $822,2310) was pinhooked for $19,000 as a weanling, re-sold for $80,000 as a yearling and won the G1 Sydney Cup; Lachlan River (earnings to date $619,000) cost NZ$40,000 and has gone on to win The G1 BMW Queensland Derby, ran 3rd in the G1 McKinnon Stakes and 5th in Melbourne Cup; Creil is said to have cost $500 (bought out of the paddock as a weanling) and won this year's G1 Avondale Cup; Patezza (earnings to date $1,676,860) didn't reach his $30,000 reserve as a yearling yet won the G1 Doncaster Handicap (ran 2nd in the Satellite Stakes (listed), 3rd in the G3 Frank Clissold Stakes, 3rd in the G3 Liverpool Cup, won the G3 Newmarket Handicap, and ran 2nd in the G1 George Ryder Stakes); and Spark of Life who ran 3rd in the G1 Australia Stakes, 2nd in the G1 Galaxy, won the G2 BTC Cup, ran 3rd in the G3 Missile Stakes, the G2 Premiere Stakes and the G3 Concorde Stakes, won the G1 Manikato Stakes, and who has current earnings of $1,366,650 cost $30,000.
The moral of this story? Whilst the egos continue to rub shoulders at the higher end of the market, many others have laughed right back at them in 2005 by paying not one tenth of those puchase prices for their Group 1 winners.
