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The well-loved stud manager has worked her way upwards at leading Glen Burrows’ leading boutique broodmare farm for close to two decades. Rossington speaks to The Impact about their extraordinary sales numbers and the smiles across the board. She also shares stories about their top graduates.
Q: You sold 35 mares for about A$6.9. Is this an annual trend to turn around and optimize your broodmare band each year? If not, what was special about this year?
A: 40 of our 42 mares sold (95%:, at an average of A$173,938 and an aggregate of just over A$6.9mil, putting Willow Park sixth on the leading vendor's list by aggregate.
Annually we take to the sale a number of young commercial mares off the track, carrying their first foal, we have several clients who focus on this trade. This year, however, we had the addition of a number of well-bred Aquis mares, making up nearly 40% of our draft.
Q: You sold Bonham (AUS: to Sheamus Mills Bloodstock for A$1,600,000. Could you tell us the story of the sale of this Group 1 winning filly previously owned by Gary Harding? Where is she now? Do you know who she will be/ is mated to?
A: Our relationship with Gary Harding started 9 years ago when he purchased a Lonhro filly off us - Bounding, who went on to be a Gr1 winner & champion NZ sprinting filly. We then sold her for him at this same sale for A$1.9mil a few years later.
Gary approached Willow Park’s owner Glenn Burrows a couple of months ago about putting his star filly, Bonham up for sale. We were very excited by the opportunity to sell a filly of her calibre; she is an outstanding type, and only being a lightly raced filly of 6 starts (4wins inc the Gr1 Levin S.:, she has the world ahead of her. Bonham's price tag of A$1.6mil made her the 10th highest price of the entire sale. She will continue her racing career with Tony Gollan in QLD, and then be mated to champion sire I Am Invincible. We wish Sheamus & his clients every bit of success with her.
Ironically, we sold Bonham’s dam, Fortunes Choice at this sale a few years ago!
https://www.pedigreequery.com/fortunes+choice
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Q: Similarly, what was special about the Snitzel x Exclusive Lass colt, who was sold to Tony Fung Investments for A$750,000. And could you also tell us the story of his sale?
A: The colt is by champion sire Snitzel, the second foal of resident Willow Park mare, Exclusive Lass. Exclusive Lass is a very fast, stakes-winning daughter of Nicconi, whom we sold off the track carrying her first foal at the 2018 Magic Millions Broodmare Sale. James Harron purchased her for A$480,000 for Irish client, Fergus Doyle. The foal she was carrying sold for A$600,000 and won at Randwick recently.
Her second foal is the Snitzel colt mentioned that Tony Fung Investments purchased, he is a stunning individual with an exceptional attitude.
Q: Please tell us about Willow Park’s top graduates.
A: Aside from the already mentioned Bounding, another star filly the farm has produced is a three-time Group 1 winner of over A$1.7million, Samantha Miss. More recently, Gr.1 Sangster Stakes winner, Bella Vella has been in the headlines, she sold for a A$1.9million at last week’s sale.
Q: Could you tell us more about how you get involved with horses? And how you joined Willow Park.
A: I have been involved with thoroughbreds all of my life, my parents owned a smaller stud in the Lower Hunter, which I helped on from a very young age. After working overseas on a couple of studs in America and England, I made the move to Willow Park 17 years ago. I started there as a stud hand and worked my way to stud manager. Myself and my husband own a couple of horses, we have a lovely So You Think colt out of Gemini Miss, which we are very excited to be taking to the yearling sales next year.
Q: Where do you see Willow Park over the next 5 years?
A: We have a great team of people on the farm, and we are continually improving the farm’s infrastructure, I look forward to seeing the outcome in a couple of years. And of course, we’ll continue to breed and raise well-educated horses that perform on the track.