Written Tycoon Syndicate swoops for Tofane's dam at NZ$1.75 million

Valachi Downs general manager Gareth Downey was left delighted but emotional when Baggy Green - dam of four-time Group 1 winner Tofane - was purchased for NZ$1.75 million (£900,000/€1.05m) as the Valachi Downs mares’ dispersal sale concluded on Gavelhouse Plus.

The purchase of Baggy Green was completed on behalf of Yulong’s Written Tycoon Syndicate,by a New Zealand Bloodstock agent.

The Victorian-based farm splashed out A$29.275m at last month’s Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale, a spending spree that included Tofane herself at A$3.1m as well as sale-topper Away Game for A$4m.

The dispersal sale of Valachi Downs’ broodmares was the latest step in the exit from the market of the Kevin and Jo Hickman-owned Matamata stud.

While Baggy Green was the solitary lot of 51 mares to break seven figures, Group 2 winner Bohemian Lily sold for NZ$680,000, also to Yulong, while her stakes placed daughter Lily’s Lady reached NZ$502,500.

Downey told ANZ Bloodstock News: “The sale has gone very well and Kevin’s broodmare band has been appreciated like it deserved to be. It’s great to see the net result of all his passion and commitment and input into the industry over the years be honoured with a wonderful dispersal result at the end of it.

“It has been an emotional time for the team. We’re very emotionally attached to Valachi and we’re very emotionally attached to the mares. It’s been an emotional process and it will be more so when it’s time to load them on the truck.

“But there’s a sense of satisfaction and relief that it’s gone so well after all the effort. Valachi is coming to an end, there’s no stopping that. It’s great for the horses that they have been appreciated like this and hopefully they now go to good homes and we’ll be able to watch them continue through their broodmare careers, albeit not with Valachi.”

Baggy Green, who was sold in foal carrying a full-sibling to Tofane, has also produced the Sydney Group 3 winner No Compromise and Benaud, who at his last start finished second in the Australian Derby at Randwick to Hitotsu.

From five named foals she has four winners, as well as a rising two-year-old sister to Tofane.

Out of Danehill mare Starspangled, Baggy Green is a half-sister to Group 1 winners Funstar and Youngstar.

Downey said: “I think the reality is that mares like that are just impossible to value. They really are a collectors’ item, being so rare that they come to the market and how rare they are full stop.

“We would all love to own her, it just comes down to who was strongest at the end of the bidding. At NZ$1.75 million, that probably exceeded our expectations, but we also expected our expectations to be exceeded!”

Yulong were also the purchasers of The Roses winner Bohemian Lily, whose weanling filly by Savabeel topped last week’s New Zealand Bloodstock National Weanling Sale, while Lily’s Lady, runner-up in the Royal Stakes at Ellerslie in January, was purchased by Ian Moses from the Laguna Partnership in Australia.

Honfleur, a half-sister to Bohemian Lily as well as dual Group 1 winner Shamrocker, Auckland Cup winner Rock Diva and Group 3 winner Vernanme, made NZ$350,000 in foal to Savabeel.

Downey said: “I think there are a few lovely mares from that family. Honfleur is perhaps the one we thought might make a bit more than that, but Bohemian Lily certainly deserved her price, as did Lily’s Lady, she’s a stunning mare. But all those three mares, it’s an amazing family, and they’re all beautiful broodmares.

“Bohemian Lily is a lovely Group-winning mare, who's already left a stakes placed horse. Her weanling sold last week for NZ$360,000 and she’s in foal to Savabeel again. She’s a wonderful mare and whoever has managed to buy her and Baggy Green, they’ve got themselves some wonderful investments.”

Kia Ora Stud added to their broodmare band with the Hunter Valley Farm purchasing last season’s Royal Stakes winner Needle And Thread for NZ$410,000.

The dispersal of Valachi Downs’ assets continues on Saturday, with the opening of the auction for racing and young stock set to go live on Gavelhouse Plus at 12pm (NZST), with bidding closing on Friday night.

Downey added: “It’s been wonderful to work with Gavelhouse. We get to benefit from the NZB network and the team at Gavelhouse, led by Haylie [Martin] and Patrick [Cunningham], have put in tireless work and we really appreciate it."

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