APG Sales graduate Lumineer
WATCHING boom youngster Lumineer race is exhilarating to say the least.
Unbeaten from eight starts, the son of Sportswriter is blessed with equal proportions of speed and stamina.
Pre-draw favourite for Saturday night’s Victoria Derby, Lumineer was purchased at the 2016 Ladbrokes Australian Pacing Gold Sale.
During his debut season Lumineer captured the Group One APG Final on his way to being crowned Australian Two-Year-Old of the Year.
As great as it is watching the colt race, it would be even better to own a star just like him.
With that in mind, trainer Ange McDowall has given an insight into the process which led to her buying the nation’s most exciting three-year-old.
“I looked right through the catalogue and picked him out on pedigree,” McDowall said. “He has a pretty nice American-bred dam side.”
Unable to inspect the youngster before APG Sales day, McDowall headed straight to the yearling’s stall to undergo the next stage of selection.
“I jumped in box with him to have a look…I always look in box before they get them out,” McDowall explained.
“He seemed really alert and was paying attention to what I was doing, which I like.
“Once out of the box he was really correct, really straight and had good temperament.
“He ticked all my boxes.”
Then came the all-important bidding war, with McDowall pleased when the hammer dropped in her favour at $30,000.
“The sale was in the price range we had and luckily he was ours,” McDowall said.
“I will be going back this year, but to be honest still haven’t had a good look at the catalogue yet, but it is something I will be doing in the next couple of weeks.”
