Hobby breeder Christine Charles joked that she’d be able to buy some new lino for her Euroa house after a mare she bought for $800 produced a $100,000 colt on the final day of the Melbourne Premier Yearling Sale.
Christine sent her bargain priced mare, Bon Vacance, to Victorian stallion Holler whose service fee was advertised at $16,500.
The colt was knocked down to Flemington trainer Mike Moroney when he pushed the winning bid to six figures.
The last time Christine was at Melbourne Premier in 2018, she sold a Danerich/Chichino colt for $35,000.
And she was rapt that Moroney will train the Holler colt who she prepared, with the help of a friend up the road and a 12 year-old gelding, by lunging and walking.
Holler x Bon Vacance colt
“He’s got a wonderful trainer and I wanted him to go to a racehorse trainer rather than a trader,” Christine said.
“I would love to see him race here. He’s a really genuine colt who has never put a foot wrong and he’s just been a lovely horse to handle. So thrilled to have him in a good stable.
“I really try hard to mate my mares up with stallions who suit on type and temperament and I got what I wanted. He’s been a little gem all the way through.”
Christine said she bought Bon Vacance (Good Journey) a few years ago for $800 when the mare was in foal to Von Costa De Hero.
“Every foal she’s had has been a really good type,” she said. “She just needs a bit of luck to get one on the track and get going.”
Christine said she loved Holler as a racehorse and was always going to send one of her five broodmares to him and instantly knew which one as soon as she saw the stallion.
“I have got five but I usually breed four,” she said.
“This is the third yearling I’ve sold – and my best result obviously. Usually I sell them as weanlings as we’re only a small farm and we can’t really deal with colts but he’s been good, so it was easy to keep him.”
Christine said it was a big deal for her to prepare one yearling for the sale, but has had her friend “from up the road Anne Richardson” to help her most days.
Not only has Anne been of help to Christine but she has also had help from a 12 year-old gelding on the farm.
“The old 12-year-old gelding’s had a yearling prep with him, so he had a mate,” Christine said.
“We’ve just hand walked and lunged him.
“We had 87 parades and he never once missed a beat. He never stopped or jacked up. He got very colty but he’s as honest as the day is long.”
Christine said she had a reserve of $60,000 on the colt after there had been a lot of interest shown in him.
“I put a minimum $60,000 on him because I thought, ‘if I’m going to go home broke I may as well take my horse home with me’,” she said.
“You get a bit sick of doing it just for the cost of production – you actually have to make some money at some stage.
“I thought he could bring more with that interest. That’s a new lino on the kitchen floor, anyway.”
Christine said Bon Vacance has a magnificent Danerich colt at foot but the mare is not in foal.
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