Million Dollar Fillies Making Sense

Tara Madgwick - Wednesday April 30

He’s the guy whose name has become synonymous with the purchase of expensive fillies in Australia in recent years and if you’ve ever wondered about the end game for Sheamus Mills and his investors read on.

Back in 2022 when Victorian bloodstock agent Sheamus Mills purchased Charm Stone as a yearling for $1.55million he said in an interview - “We firmly believe that over the next five to 10 years we’ll have a program in place that makes all these things make sense."

With Charm Stone winning the Group I SAJC Robert Sangster Stakes on Saturday we thought now was a good time to have Sheamus Mills as our guest this week on the Tara Talks Racing podcast as we check in on how that ‘program’ is progressing in a wide ranging chat that covers plenty of ground.

Barry Bowditch and Sheamus Mills at Magic Millions .

Sheamus talked about his early days in racing and breeding before deciding to have a crack as a bloodstock agent.

“I did a bit of everything I managed jockeys, did journalism, worked on stud farms, worked in racing stables and learned so much in my time working with Mick Price,” he said.

“I thought I had a pretty a pretty good grounding as far as my education went, but unfortunately for me, I was ahead of my time and the first thing I did after I left Mick was move to England with the idea to buy tried horses to sell back to Australia.

“I was terribly unsuccessful at it because nobody wanted to buy, would you believe? I know it sounds ridiculous given the enormous influx of these horses nowadays, but when I went up there it was like I was like selling ice to the Eskimos.

“It didn't work, so I switched to fillies and mares and trying to sell breeding prospects back to Australia.

Advertisement

“That was a bit more successful and the first horse I sold was actually Gaudeamus, who ended up being the dam of Golden Sixty.”

Odeum won the G1 MRC Thousand Guineas - image Racing Photos

Fast forward to now and Sheamus is managing and part-owning an elite portfolio of fillies and mares with some of the earlier acquisitions such as Group I MRC Thousand Guineas winner Odeum moving into the next stage of their life as broodmares.

These mares are kept at Yarraman Park and they consigned the first foal of Odeum, a colt by I Am Invincible to Inglis Easter this year where he sold for $700,000 to Waller Racing/ Mulcaster Bloodstock.

Odeum has had a textbook start to her stud career and had another colt last year by I Am Invincible and is now in foal to Extreme Choice, a fact that has made Sheamus pretty happy to say the least!

Do yourself a favour as they say and have a listen to this week’s podcast!

Advertisment
More Reading...
Evaporate Caps Off Great Week for Per Incanto
Evaporate crowned a stellar period for his sire across the Tasman when he produced a gallant performance to land the thick end of the stake in Saturday’s Gr.3 Sandown Stakes (1500m).
New Stakes-Winner for Star Aussie Mare Sea Siren
Aussie bred Fastnet Rock mare Sea Siren has certainly made her mark both on the racetrack where she was a triple Group I winner and at stud with her produce record is headed by triple Group I winner Warm Heart and over the weekend she produced another stakes-winner and he won the richest race in Poland.
Pedigree Watch – G1 European 2YO
Juveniles took centre stage overnight in the UK and Ireland with a pair of Group I races decided at Newmarket in the Middle Park Stakes (6f) for the colts and Cheveley Park Stakes (6f) for the fillies, while at The Curragh a field of 30 lined up in the Goffs Million, the richest 2YO race in Europe.
Bred to Win a Caulfield Guineas?
It’s been a good weekend for Yarraman Park's champion sire I Am Invincible with a G1 winner and a colt soon to roll the dice in a G1 of his own.
30 Runners in Goffs Million!
The stage is set for Europe’s richest two-year-old race, the Goffs Million (7f), which has attracted a maximum field of 30 runners at the Curragh this Saturday and the €1 million contest, with prize money down to 10th, is only open to graduates of last year’s Goffs Orby Sale.
Record-Breaking Weetwood Win To Dundeel’s Tavs
Having not raced since fourth in the Listed BRC Spear Chief Handicap (1500m) during the Brisbane Winter Carnival, the Mark Currie trained Tavs (Dundeel) resumed from a spell to record his first black type victory, winning the Listed Weetwood (1200m) at Toowoomba on Saturday in track record time.
Golden Rose Brings Second Season Shake Up
We are two months into a new racing season and the second season sires table was given a good shake up over the weekend with the $1million Group I Golden Rose and $300,000 Group II Stutt Stakes both producing a quinella for sires in this cohort.
Sires With Winners - Friday September 26
Here is the full list of 60 stallions which had winners throughout Australasia today with winners and result details.
Sires With Winners - Sunday September 28
Here is the full list of 73 stallions which had winners throughout Australasia today with winners and result details.
Manhattan Rain Gold Rush in WA
Geisel Park won’t be the only WA breeder on board when the first locally-conceived 2yo crop of its Group 1 sire Manhattan Rain get mobile this season.