South Australian Derby winner Femminile will go under the hammer at the Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale on the Gold Coast on May 27 but could still run in the Queensland Derby four days later.
Femminile was among 77 entries on Tuesday for the Group 1 feature and Henderson said she will take her place for OTI Racing on May 31 if she fails to meet her sales reserve.
“We’ve still keep her in the sale at Magic Millions and the Derby is four days after the sale,” Henderson explained. “We will look to see how we go at the sale, but she will be ready to go on the Saturday. “She will be either racing for us or racing for the new buyer in the Derby.”
A $150,000 Inglis Easter Yearling purchase, the daughter of Dundeel also won the Listed Oaklands Plate (1400m) in her juvenile season and was placed in the G3 Ethereal Stakes last spring.
“She was already a Listed winner and black-type-placed and her spring wasn’t overly impressive,” Henderson said of the decision to put the filly up for auction.
“We thought she had done enough to attract a good figure for what she’d done before the Derby.
“It is obviously the right time of year to sell these fillies and we race her with a commercial breeder so a combination of what some partners wanted to do.
“But to be honest we put her in the Derby because all the ducks lined up and she ran well in the previous race, so we thought there was no harm going to the race.
“OTI’s business is to race horses, so we will be quite happy either way.”
Henderson also provided an update on Mark Twain, who hasn’t raced since his Roy Higgins win last year after suffering a tendon injury but it is hoped will return in the spring.
“He is now in full work with Matt Williams and will stay down there until early June and he will go back to Roger James from there,” he reported.
“I don’t think we will need to trial him here, we’ve got so much time up our sleeve.
“He looks great.”
Bendigo Cup winner Sea King also injured his tendon and is currently rehabilitating but won’t race until next autumn.
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