THE Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale ushered in the new year’s sale season with the first of five sessions of Book 1 beginning last Tuesday. Saturday night’s final session of 92 lots, following the Magic Millions Raceday, will close out Book 1 at a hefty 933 catalogued lots.

With three sessions complete, the sale got off to a cracking pace with the average, median price and clearance rate all substantially up on 2021’s results, as well as matching 2021’s tally of 12 seven-figures sales. With two sessions remaining the sale is running at an average of A$299,090, a median of $230,000 with the clearance rate at an impressive 94% from 516 yearlings sold.

Three sires dominate the Magic Millions gross of $154,112,500 to date, with Zoustar, 33 sold for $14,480,000; I Am Invincible, 29 sold for a total of $17,025,000; and Snitzel, 28 sold for $13,865,000, contributing almost 30% of the sale’s gross.

Equalling last year’s top price, also recorded by Tom Magnier, was the A$1.9 million needed for the I Am Invincible colt out of the French-bred Elusive City mare Suspicieuse, a half-brother to Aquis Farm stallion Dubious. “He’s got the pedigree that everyone understands. Chris (Waller) will have to work his magic now and listen hopefully we’ll find the next Home Affairs,” said Magnier

The colt was the third million dollar buy for Magnier, with the Coolmore team outlaying $1.1 each for two colts by sons of Redoute’s Choice, in Snitzel and Not A Single Doubt.

Heavy sales were going the way of Ciaron Maher Bloodstock and the team of Gai Waterhouse, Adrian Bott and Kestrel Thoroughbreds. Maher Bloodstock had 25 yearlings squared away for $9.79 million and the Waterhouse team secured 20 for $8.495 at the end of play on Thursday.

Magic Millions managing director Barry Bowditch was delighted: “For Queensland and the Gold Coast this is a huge part of the events calendar up here,” he said. “This sets the tone for the rest of the year, this is the economic barometer for 2022 in the racing, breeding and selling industry.”

Ebullient

By the end of day three Bowditch was positively ebullient. “It was a boomer, it was one of the best day’s trade we’ve ever had here at the Magic Millions,” said Bowditch. “These colt fund buyers are really stepping in, they have a lot of faith in this sale and this is where you do buy your next colt that can step out and win you a Group 1.”

For up-to-date results check out

magicmillions.com.au.

“THERE is a Ferrari there for whoever gets the first Group 1 and I tell you one thing I will be a very happy man to hand over the keys to that Ferrari,” said Tom Magnier on launching the novel approach to selling the progeny of Coolmore’s first season sire Justify.

“The Magic Millions 2YO race is included so if any of these horses come back here next year and if they run in the race, they can pick up a few million in prize money and drive across the road in their brand new Ferrari.”

With 24 of Justify’s progeny on offer at the Magic Millions, the promotion got off to a good start with the Lot 1 colt, the first foal out of the Group 3 winner Eckstein selling for A$450,000. This was subsequently eclipsed twice over the first three sessions with Gai Waterhouse, Adrian Bott and Kestrel Thoroughbreds going to $900,000 to land a filly out of their 2016 1000 Guineas winner Global Glamour.

Prize money

“There is nowhere in the world I would rather be selling Justifys than here in Australia because the prize money is through the roof,” added Magnier, having declared they had bought a lot of mares to support Justify. “The industry in Australia is the healthiest of anywhere in the world; it’s a credit to all the team getting this ready because it is hard to make a stallion.”

MELBOURNE Cup winner Verry Elleegant remains on-course to compete in Europe according to part-owner Brae Sokolski who revealed how buoyant Chris Waller was on her return to the stable and that “everything following the Queen Elizabeth (April 9th) is going to be about getting her to the Arc in the best possible condition.”

Sokolski added that Verry Elleegant will follow a similar path to her past two autumn campaigns, racing in Sydney, before a final decision is made on international travel. “We will not take her to Europe unless we are convinced she’s in her prime, we have to do her justice. I think you’ll find she won’t just have one run (in Europe), we’re looking at a two or three-run campaign.

“We don’t want to go first-up into an Arc, she’s never raced first-up at any distance beyond 1,400 metres, while we’re not going to run her over 1,400 metres in Europe, but look to programme I’d say one or two runs prior to the Arc.”