THE 30 owners of Precious Gem hit paydirt on Wednesday, selling their $15,000 Group 1-winning mare for $825,000 at the Magic Millions sales.
The group, predominantly from Shepparton and the Goulburn Valley region, raced Precious Gem 35 times for eight wins and $660,000 in prizemoney.
New owners the China Horse Club will leave the six-year-old mare with Caulfield trainer Henry Dwyer for Saturday week’s Stradbroke Handicap and the Group 1 Tatts Tiara before she is retired to stud.
“I approached them after the sale and offered my services as a trainer going forward and they were happy to do that,” Dwyer said from the Gold Coast. “Hopefully she can run well for them and I’ll have a good result and it will be a nice little package all round, everyone wins.”
Precious Gem was bred near Nagambie by Millford Thoroughbreds owners Richard Kerry and Jarrod Byers, in conjunction with Lauriston Park’s Chris Bakker.
They bought dam Gem Of Gems while she was in foal and then syndicated the filly to a group of their friends for $15,000, plus a $3000 breaking-in fee — the ownership ranging from 1 per cent to 10 per cent shares.
After racing with Gwenda Johnstone at Echuca, Precious Gem was transferred to Dwyer in November last year in search of a stakes race victory.
“We won the Anniversary Vase at Caulfield and then threw her into a Group 1, hoping that she might run well,” Dwyer said.
Precious Gem not only won the Group 1 Sangster Stakes at Morphettville last month at 20-1, but more than tripled her $250,000 price tag ahead of the Magic Million sales.
Dwyer said the group set a reserve of $400,000 and were hopeful of selling for about $600,000 before the final bid hit $825,000.
He said they had always planned to sell out before Precious Gem began her breeding career.
“You can’t really go into a breeding venture with 30 people,” the trainer said. “It’s unfortunate for the owners that they had to sell before the Stradbroke and the Tatts Tiara, but so be it.”
Dwyer said Precious Gem was in terrific condition heading into the Stradbroke with 52.5kg.
“I wasn’t overly confident of winning the Sangster Stakes the other day, but I was confident she would run right up to her best, which she did,” Dwyer said.
“I’m in the same frame of mind with her here.”
He is yet to name a jockey.
Dwyer also has Tavi Bay running in Saturday’s Group 1 Queensland Oaks.
“She galloped on the course proper this morning and got around that way really well,” he said. “The only downside is that she’s drawn barrier 16, but there’s an absolute truckload of rain forecast up here for Friday and Saturday on that new track and if it does chop up, it might not be the worst place to be.”
QUEENSLAND OAKS
Eagle Farm, Saturday, Race 7, 4pm
1 AMBIENCE J O’Shea J McDonald (21)
2 CHABAUD R Smerdon J Orman (14)
3 KEBEDE M Dunn J Byrne (5)
4 IMPOSING LASS B Baker J Collett (10)
5 BELUGA BLUE L Macdonald & A Gluyas G Colless (7)
6 SEBRING SALLY C Waller H Bowman (19)
7 SELF ESTEEM P & P Snowden T Clark (4)
8 ALASKAN ROSE M Moroney R Fradd (12)
9 QUEEN OF WANDS C Conners M Cahill (8)
10 DAWNIE PERFECT C Conners K McEvoy (22)
11 ASHLEE MARIE R Laming D Gauci (1)
12 FALKENBERG P & P Snowden B Shinn (3)
13 TAP THIS P & P Snowden C Reith (13)
14 TAVI BAY H Dwyer D Browne (16)
15 ROMANTIC MAID R James S Clipperton (15)
16 DULVERTON R Smerdon M Zahra (2)
17 ZASORCERESS J Warren D Griffin (17)
18 MOUNT OMEI C Waller C Symons (11)
19e PROVOCATIVE T Pike L Innes (20)
20e SAHARA SIREN A L Jones B Pengelly (18)
21e MERU P Carey — (9)
22e ZAFIKI R Smerdon — (6)
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