Marsh mares add further quality to Gavelhouse Plus auction
An upcoming Gavelhouse Plus auction that was already confirmed to contain Haunui Farm-Frantic Bloodstock mares Rondinella, Sudbina and Tinelly has been further boosted by the addition of two stakes winning members of Stephen Marsh’s Cambridge stable.
Stephen Marsh Racing will offer Group Two winner Hitabell (NZ) (Embellish) and dual Listed winner Glamour Tycoon (Written Tycoon) in a high-quality online offering.
“They’ve been two standout mares for us and it’s now at the stage of their careers where it’s time to offer them to the market as breeding prospects,” Marsh said. “I’m sure they’ll all have their share of admirers on Gavelhouse Plus and will be quality additions to anyone’s broodmare band.”
This will be the second time Hitabell has been auctioned on Gavelhouse Plus. The daughter of Embellish was offered by Henley Park during the 2023 National Online Yearling Sale, where Stephen Marsh Racing and Dylan Johnson Bloodstock bought her for $9,500.
Hitabell has turned that small purchase price into more than $233,000 in stakes from an eight-race career. She won three times as a three-year-old last season including the Gr.2 Eight Carat Classic (1600m) and the Listed O’Learys Fillies’ Stakes (1340m).
Her three appearances as a four-year-old this season included a close second behind the quality sprinter Master Fay in a 1200m open handicap at Ellerslie, followed by a sixth, only three lengths from the winner Ardalio, in the Gr.3 Counties Bowl (1100m) at Pukekohe.
“She’s been a very classy mare who was really fast over the sprint distances but also showed that she could run out a strong mile,” Marsh said. “She was a very good winner of the Listed race at Wanganui, then stepped up and beat a strong field in the Eight Carat at Ellerslie on Boxing Day, one of our premier fillies races.
“She’s a high-class mare, beautifully put together and should be highly sought after.”
Stephen Marsh Racing secured Glamour Tycoon from Book 1 of Karaka 2022, where she was a member of the Highline Thoroughbreds draft and cost $220,000. She has had 21 starts for five wins, 10 placings and $315,710 in prize-money.
Like Hitabell, Glamour Tycoon won the O’Learys Fillies’ Stakes at Wanganui as a spring three-year-old. She went on to add the Listed Lightning Handicap (1200m) at Trentham last season, and she also placed in the Gr.3 Sweynesse Stakes (1215m) as well as the Listed Flying Handicap (1400m) and Waikato Equine Veterinary Centre 2YO Stakes (1200m).
“She’s beautifully bred, being by Written Tycoon, and mares by him are absolute gold,” Marsh said. “She won twice at stakes level and recorded multiple other black-type placings, from her two-year-old season right through to as an older horse. I feel like we never really saw the absolute best of her, in my opinion she was a genuine Group 1 sprinter. She’s a cracking mare who should have a lot to offer in the broodmare paddock.”
Offered through New Zealand Bloodstock’s proven Gavelhouse Plus platform these mares represent a rare opportunity for commercial breeders.
“Stakes winning off the track fillies and mares have been highly sought after in recent years and these two present a great opportunity for breeders here in NZ and Australia. Both are well performed, lightly raced and having offered both as yearlings, it is a pleasure to reoffer them to the broodmare market,” commented Andrew Seabrook, Managing Director of New Zealand Bloodstock.
The auction of Hitabell and Glamour Tycoon, along with the previously announced Rondinella, Sudbina and Tinnelly, will run from May 13 to 20 on Gavelhouse Plus.
Hitabell and Glamour Tycoon are available for inspection by appointment at Henley Park in Cambridge. Contact Sarah Devich to arrange: 027 268 2141.
