IT was a day to remember for Harry McCalmont and Matt Gilsenan of Norelands Stud; Wednesday October 9th. Less than an hour into the day’s trade, their first lot in a three-horse consignment strode into the ring, a son of Siyouni out of a group-winning daughter of Galileo. Significantly, he is a half-brother to this year’s Group 1 2000 Guineas winner Magna Grecia, and unsurprisingly he fell to M.V. Magnier’s winning bid of 1,300,000gns.

McCalmont was hoping for seven figures, but the final price delighted him. “I am quite emotional,” he said in the immediate aftermath. “He was bred by Robert Scarborough, who also bred Magna Grecia whom we sold here as a foal for 340,000gns. This horse, just like his brother, has a good temperament which is so hugely important. He behaved all the way through. He is also an exceptional athlete, a very good walker.”