THE Tasmanian racing industry has come to the aid of victims of the bushfires that have ravaged the state in the past month.
The directors of Aceland Stud at Whitemore, Alwyn and Judy Shaw, offered to donate half the proceeds of the sale of a colt they put through the Tasmanian Magic Millions Yearling sale in Launceston yesterday.
The colt, by popular sire All American from the well-performed mare Whitemore Dynasty, sold for $45,000 and the winning bidder was Denise Martin from Star Thoroughbreds in Sydney.
The $22,500 will be handed over to the Salvation Army Bushfire Appeal and on hand to witness the sale was Salvation Army Lieutenant Glenn Smith.
“This is an extremely generous offer from Aceland Stud and I am sure the money will be much appreciated by all those who have been affected by the recent bushfires,” Lt Smith said.
There was spirited bidding as the colt was considered one of the best lots in the catalogue and definitely the pick of the Aceland draft.
“I was more than happy to offer this colt at the sale and give half the proceeds to the Salvation Army,” Mr Shaw said.
Ms Martin said she was impressed by the colt but when she realised Aceland had offered him as a part charity lot she was unable to stop bidding until she owned him.
“First and foremost I liked the horse and when the bids slowed a bit at $37,000 I decided then that this colt deserved to be bought for more so I kept going until he was knocked down to me,” Ms Martin said.
Martin said the colt would most likely race in Tasmania and would be trained by her brother-in-law Barry Campbell at Spreyton.
Listen to what Denise Martin had to say about the Aceland colt – CLICK HERE.
The sale has been hailed a success as the gross of $1,140,750 was up significantly on last year with the individual average up $800.
Of the 126 lots offered 93 were sold for a 74% clearance rate with 33 lots passed in.
Former Tasmanian trainer John Blacker purchased the top-priced yearling spending $55,000 on a filly by Snitzel from Butzie offered by Armidale Stud.
“I really liked this filly and I was attracted to her not because she was out of a mare I used to train and had success with, but because she was by a sire I like (Snitzel) and at the end of the day I thought she was a lovely type,” he said.
Another yearling that created spirited bidding was a filly by Hard Spun from Short ‘N’ Sweep that was purchased by Tasmanian Leigh Winwood for $50,000 and another that went for $50,000 was a filly by Tale of The Cat from former star sprinter Ehor that was offered by Grenville Stud and purchased by Denise Martin.
Tasmania’s leading training partnership of David and Scott Brunton bought five yearlings for a total spend of $66,000 with a colt by Haradasun from Real Spur that they purchased for $17,000 considered by many as one of the best buys of the sale.
Spreyton trainer Adam Trinder also spent up buying five lots for a total of $58,000 while Victorian trainer Heath Connors spent $59,000 on three youngsters including a striking Bushranger colt that he bought for $27,000.