Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale: six things we learned on Day 1

Cover image courtesy of Magic Millions

At A Glance

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Four horses fetched seven-figure sums on Day 1, one more than last year’s opening session, with last year’s leading vendor, Newgate Farm, top of the vendors' standings by gross after selling nine horses for a total of $4,205,000.

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The opening session recorded a best Day 1 average on record of $281,767, up marginally from last year’s average of $271,343 for the corresponding session, while the median held steady at $210,000.

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The total gross of $45,928,000 was up markedly from last year’s Day 1 figure of $36,360,000, much of which can be accounted for by the additional 30 lots offered through the ring during this year’s opening session.

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In a positive early indication of the strength of the middle market, Tuesday’s clearance rate sat at a healthy 84.9 per cent, up from last year’s opening session clearance rate of 82.72 per cent.

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The top lot was secured by Te Akau Racing’s David Ellis in conjunction with Coolmore’s Tom Magnier, with the duo going to $1.3 million to secure the I Am Invincible colt out of the blue hen mare Palace Talk (Street Cry), who was offered by Yarraman Park Stud.

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The highest-priced filly of the opening session, and the second-most expensive of all the offerings on Day 1, was the Snitzel filly out of Serena Bay (Sebring), who went the way of Sheamus Mills Bloodstock (FBAA) for a cool $1.25 million.

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Last year’s overall leading buyers by gross, the Newgate-China Horse Club colts partnership, were once again to the fore signing for five lots at a total spend of $2,670,000. Only Te Akau’s David Ellis spent more when taking into account the colt he purchased in conjunction with Coolmore, taking his total spend to $3.59 million.

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Snitzel, I Am Invincible and Zoustar lead the way as the leading sires by gross, with the former coming out on top with 11 lots sold for a total of $5,205,000, while first-season sires Farnan and Bivouac made it into the top 10 sires by gross with totals of $2,035,000 and $1,785,000 respectively.

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Coolmore’s King’s Legacy was the first-season sire to record the biggest individual windfall of the opening day, however, when the James Harron Bloodstock Colt Partnership parted with $775,000 to secure Lot 164 from the draft of Bhima Thoroughbreds.

#1. Record Day 1 spend for Ellis

Te Akau Racing enjoyed a landmark year in 2023 with the multiple Group 1-winning deeds of stable star Imperatriz (I Am Invincible) and the opening of their Cranbourne stable in Australia. The leading syndicator’s principal David Ellis CNZM (BANZ) was busy splashing the cash on Day 1, signing for five horses, including one in conjunction with industry giants Coolmore, for a total spend of $3.59 million.

That figure dwarfs any previous Day 1 spend at the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale by Ellis, who has purchased no less than eight stakes winners from this auction house since 2015 at a staggering stakes winners to purchases strike rate of 16 per cent. In total, 15 from 50 Magic Millions yearling purchases have earned black type with Imperatriz being joined by Sword Of State.

His second largest spend on Day 1 of Magic Millions’ flagship auction came in 2021 and was over $1.5 million less than Tuesday’s figure.

While he may have opened the pockets on Day 1, signing for two seven-figure sums, those eight stakes winners have been reasonably priced with Ellis’ average spend at the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale sitting at $257,790 prior to this year’s edition.

Table: David Ellis' top 10 Magic Millions purchases since 2015

Table: David Ellis' Magic Millions buying record since 2015

Lot 84, the $1.1 million Zoustar colt out of a sister to G1 Queensland Derby winner Eagle Way (More Than Ready {USA}), is likely to head back over the Tasman to New Zealand along with the majority of Te Akau’s other purchases, but Ellis revealed that the session-topping $1.3 million I Am Invincible colt will remain in Australia to be trained at the operation’s Cranbourne base.

Ellis signed for the colt in conjunction with Coolmore’s Tom Magnier, whose relationship with the Te Akau supremo goes back many years.

“I think he (Tom Magnier) has just been impressed with the results Te Akau Racing has had and wants to be involved in supporting us at Cranbourne,” Ellis said.

“Tom, M.V. (Magnier) and their father (John Magnier) have been supporting us for a long time, and they want to take that to the next level that now we are here full-time.

“I’d say he’ll race in the Coolmore colours.”

Ellis' three other purchases were a $450,000 Zoustar filly, a $440,000 Snitzel filly and a $300,000 Savabeel colt, the latter of which is a half-brother to multiple Group winner and Group 1 placegetter Revolutionary Miss (Russian Revolution), who could line-up in either the Magic Millions Fillies and Mares or the R. Listed Magic Millions Cup at the Gold Coast on Saturday.

#2. Fastest start in history

It didn’t take long for the 2024 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale to etch its name into the record books, with the explosive early sales of Lot 16 and Lot 19 ensuring it was the very first time the January auction has returned two seven figure sums within the first 20 lots.

The first seven-figure yearling of this year’s sale came in the shape of the first foal out of multiple stakes-winning mare Outback Barbie (Spirit Of Boom), whose trainer Tony Gollan signed the docket at $1.2 million in conjunction with Jennifer Acton for the daughter of reigning Champion Sire I Am Invincible.

The second seven-figure lot came moments later, when another I Am Invincible out of the blue hen mare Palace Talk (NZ) (Street Cry {Ire}) sold to Te Akau Racing’s David Ellis CNZM (BANZ) and Coolmore’s Tom Magnier for a session-topping $1.3 million.

Gallery: The two seven-figure lots which sold within the first 20 lots, images courtesy of Magic Millions

It was the explosive start that Magic Millions’ Managing Director Barry Bowditch had predicted in the Tuesday’s edition of The Thoroughbred Report, and Bowditch could not have been happier with how with how the opening day panned out from a statistical point of view.

“We were very confident in our first 30 lots and to start with a very healthy clearance rate, and then the two million-dollar horses set the tone of the day,” he said.

“Having a median of $210,000, a record Day 1 average and a clearance rate of 84 per cent, it was a solid day, and if you’d have sat me down this morning and said what’s a reasonable outcome for today, I’d have taken these and run.”

#3. First-season sires in hot demand

There was a near insatiable demand for the progeny of first-season sires on Day 1, with eight freshman stallions selling at least one lot for $300,000 or more.

Coming out on top of the first-season sires during the opening session was Coolmore’s King’s Legacy, whose colt out of the multiple stakes placegetter Serenade (Star Witness) sold for $775,000 to the James Harron Bloodstock Colt Partnership, the very same man who purchased King’s Legacy for $1.4 million at this very same auction five years ago.

The colt is a half-brother to Wolfgang (Exceed And Excel), who is a live chance for Saturday’s $3 million R. Listed Magic Millions 2YO Classic having won his past two starts in impressive fashion.

Darley stallion Bivouac was another to record a terrific result on Day 1, with Lot 154 selling to Ciaron Maher Bloodstock for $675,000. His purchaser’s head of bloodstock Will Bourne was rapt to secure the filly but was taken aback when a rival stable came up and asked to take a share in the granddaughter of G1 SA Oaks heroine Maybe Discreet (Shamardal {USA}).

“I’ve never had a trainer come up to me and take 10 per cent, but Gerald Ryan has come up and taken 10 per cent of her, so that’s been a first for me,” Bourne said.

Coolmore’s Wootton Bassett (GB) and Kia Ora Stud’s G1 Golden Slipper-winning stallion Farnan both had horses make $500,000 during the opening session, while the latter’s barnmate Prague was another to post a good result courtesy of Lot 122, who sold to a new partnership of Annabel Neasham Racing and William Johnson Bloodstock (FBAA) for $375,000.

Graff, Hello Youmzain (Fr) and Ole Kirk were the other first-season sires who had at least one yearling sell for $300,000 or more.

#4. Busuttin and Young continue love affair with Japanese stallions

The sole offering by Group 1-producing Japanese sire Kizuna (Jpn) was an intriguing addition to this year’s catalogue and his buyers, Trent Busuttin and Natalie Young, will be hoping lightning can strike twice for the Victorian-based training partnership after going to $380,000 to secure the Arrowfield Stud-bred colt.

Busuttin and Young purchased a yearling by another previously unheard of Japanese stallion on these shores, Lord Kanaloa (Jpn), for $300,000 back in 2019, and that colt transpired to be G1 Blue Diamond S. hero Tagaloa, who now stands at Yulong Stud and saw his first few yearlings sell for up to $240,000 on the opening day.

The similarities don’t end there, with Lot 102 being secured from the draft of Arrowfield Stud, the very same draft out of which Tagaloa was purchased by his astute trainers.

That gave his purchases the confidence to return to the well once more, and Young feels that the Kizuna colt is more physically developed than their former Group 1-wininng stable star was at the same age.

“We liked his pedigree and we are always looking for those horses that can turn into a Guineas or a Derby prospect,” she said. “He sort of fitted the mould, he just had a really lovely great presence about himself and moved really nicely.

“This horse is a lot stronger than what Tagaloa was. We bought Tagaloa thinking he was going to be a Guineas type of horse and he ended up winning a Group 1 six months prior in the Blue Diamond.

“We have a Derby eyed for this colt and hopefully he's delivering six months sooner like Tagaloa and winning us a Guineas.”

#5. Syndicators set out their stalls early

Syndicators are certainly no strangers to stocking their ranks with graduates from this sale and they exploded out of the blocks on Day 1, accounting for five of the first 10 lots through the ring.

Many of Australasia’s leading syndication companies managed to get on the board during the opening session, including Te Akau, Triple Crown, Prime Thoroughbreds, Dynamic Syndications, Proven Thoroughbreds, Tricolours, Star Thoroughbreds and Darby Racing.

The latter signed for six lots during the opening session, including three of the first 10 and the very first lot through the ring, a Deep Field colt described by Scott Darby as “lovely, neat, sharp 2-year-old type of colt from a great farm”.

Speaking to The Thoroughbred Report, Darby revealed that he and his team were planning to come away with around six or seven yearlings, but could end up purchasing anything up to a dozen if the cards continue to fall their way.

“Day 1 for us was always going to be busy, we had plenty on the list and we dived in early,” he said.

“It’s a great sale, but it’s a really tough sale price-wise because everyone here is buying up to get those better type of colts. You’ve got to be patient and you’ve got to do a lot of homework to get the rewards at this sale.

“We really pulled back on the yearling market in 2023 believing that we would struggle a bit, but we had such a successful year. We were able to buy tried horses like Caballus and a number of European horses, so it ended up one of our bigger years. Obviously two Group 1 winners helped that.

“We’re going into 2024 pretty optimistic, even though there’s still some stops on the economy.”

One of Darby’s purchases of note during the opening session came in the shape of Lot 5, a Tassort colt out of the winning Encosta De Lago mare Olympic Dream who fetched $260,000.

Darby Racing bought the colt’s full brother at last year’s Magic Millions Gold Coast 2YO In Training Sale for $160,000, and given the opinion his trainer Michael Freedman has of him, Darby was delighted to have come out on top for his Emirates Park-consigned sibling.

“He was a really, really nice colt with a great attitude and we are rapt to get him,” he said. “We paid a little bit more than we thought we had to, but I think everyone could see how nice he was.

“We bought the full brother at the breeze-up sale here at Magic Millions, he was the fastest colt of the whole sale.

“He went to Michael Freedman, he was going to trial this morning (Tuesday), but timely we held him back, he just wasn’t quite ready.

“Michael absolutely loves him.”

At the end of play on Day 1, syndicators signed for a total of 32 lots, up five from from 27 on last year’s opening session.

#6. Waterhouse-Bott secure half-brother to Storm Boy

Given the way Saturday’s $3 million R. Listed Magic Millions 2YO Classic favourite Storm Boy (Justify {USA}) burst onto the scene with a pair of dominant victories last month, it was hardly a surprise to see his trainers Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott team up with Bruce Slade’s Kestrel Thoroughbreds to secure his half-brother, Lot 33, by Pierro for $375,000.

Bott, however, was quick to insist that the Coolmore Stud-consigned colt had been bought because of his own set of credentials, not solely because his half-brother is shaping up to be a leading contender for this year’s top juvenile honours.

“We always try to buy them on their own individual merit and we’ve bought him irrespective of Storm Boy, who is a different style of horse to him,” Bott said.

“He was purchased and selected in his own right and is very athletic, he just has a lovely way about him. For a colt with that potential upside there, he could look a great value play in another week’s time.”

The Waterhouse-Bott and Kestrel Thoroughbreds combination secured five yearlings on Day 1 and the trainers were involved in the purchase of three further yearlings in partnership, helping them to sit fourth on the leading buyers standings.

There were other trainers keeping it in the family with their purchases on Day 1, spearheaded by Tony Gollan’s $1.2 million purchase of the I Am Invincible first foal out of his former stable star Outback Barbie. The Yarraman Park consigned filly was purchased in conjunction with Outback Barbie’s owner Jennifer Acton.

The final word

Tuesday’s final word goes to Newgate Farm’s Stud Manager Jim Carey, who pulled off yet another stunning pinhooking result when the Snitzel filly out of G2 Percy Sykes S. placegetter Serena Bay (Sebring) sold to another great judge in Sheamus Mills Bloodstock (FBAA) for $1.25 million to become the highest-priced filly of the opening session.

Carey, who has earned himself a reputation as one of the finest pinhookers in the industry, purchased the filly for $480,000 at last year’s Magic Millions National Weanling Sale. The filly was sold on Tuesday by Newgate as Lot 163.

Top buyers

Vendors by aggregate

Vendors by average (3 or more sold)

Sires by aggregate

Sires by average (3 or more sold)