It will be with mixed emotions that Prime Thoroughbreds will farewell Rubisaki on Tuesday’s opening day of the Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale.
They can look forward to it as they know a big payday is looming, but the downside of that is that it will end their association with her.
The daughter of Rubick won eight of 20 starts and $1,2600,000 after being bought for $85,000 by Joe O’Neill out of Book 2 at the Inglis Classic Sale.
The purchase was an endorsement for the measures O’Neill undertook the daughter of Danehill Dancer mare Senro Kisaki, who had another Prime Thoroughbreds-raced, Patrick Payne-trained horse, Zizzis, the year before Rubisaki.
“Zizzis was unraced at the time but Paddy rang me up before that sale and said, ‘Zizzis goes really good, you know’,” O’Neill recalled.
“I said, ‘that’s good, don’t do anything with her because she’s got a sister that I think is pretty good in the sale coming up in Sydney next week’.”
O’Neill then undertook a covert operation aimed at securing Rubisaki, who was part of the Edinburgh Park draft, as cheaply as possible.
He paid little attention to her at the inspections stage, engaged a different vet to who he normally uses to go over her and made sure he wasn’t on the sale grounds when she went through the ring.
“Ian Smith from Edinburgh Park rang me after the sale and said, ‘that other one (Zizzis) must go alright’,” O’Neill said.
“I said, ‘I didn’t say she didn’t’, but told him to keep an eye on her.”
Two weeks after the Classic Sale Zizzis, who is by Sizzling, won on debut at Bendigo before claiming the Adelaide Magic Millions 2YO Classic at Morphettvile.
Rubisaki narrowly missed out on emulating her older half-sister and winning on debut, edged out in a 2YO Handicap at the Warrnambool May Racing Carnival before winning at Seymour and Flemington.
She did not finish further back than second in 10 starts as a two and three-year-old, including six consecutive wins at three.
Among them were the Group 2 Kewney Stakes (1400m) at Flemington, PJ Bell Stakes and James Carr Stakes – both 1200m Group 3 events at Randwick – at the $1 million Inglis 3YO Sprint (1200m).
Million-dollar mares have become commonplace at the National Sale – last year’s offering produced 25 – and O’Neill is confident she could sell for seven figures.
“She’s such a good sort; she’s lightly-raced, she’s won 3 Stakes races, was placed at Group 1 level and won a $1 million race. She’s a very good mare,” O’Neill said.
Rubisaki is part of the race fillies and mares section that takes up Tuesday’s first day of selling and includes elite-level performers including four-time Group 1 winer Tofane, this year’s Coolmore Classic winner Lighthouse and Golden Slipper runner-up Away Game.
The sale continues with the broodmare section on Wednesday and Thursday.