Sale toppers: 14 yearlings sell for over one million on record-breaking day

Lot 391 - Pierro x Winx (Street Cry {Ire}), filly, $10,000,000

Drama. Emotion. History. Arguably the most highly anticipated offering ever seen at public auction delivered all that and more as the Pierro filly out of wondermare Winx (Street Cry {Ire}) brought a jaw-dropping $10million in front of a packed Inglis auditorium.

There had been much speculation about how much the blue-blooded, Coolmore-consigned youngster would make, and an opening bid of $2million duly foretold an utterly unprecedented price. The bid board struggled to keep pace with the scale and speed with which the increases came in. The bidding leapt from $3million to $5million in one fell swoop and continued to bound upward in seven-figure increments as an offer of $6million was superseded by a play of $7.5million.

As proceedings reached the business end Inglis’s managing director Mark Webster, taking instructions on the phone from ebullient American owner John Stewart, signalled a bid of $9million. However, within mere seconds that hand was gazumped when the Woppitt Bloodstock team around Debbie Kepitis, one of Winx’s co-owners, delivered the $10million knockout blow.

“These opportunities do not come along very often,” said auctioneer Jonathan D'Arcy as he tried to coax another increase from the assembled crowd. “Once in a lifetime.” But with no further bids forthcoming, a visibly emotional Kepitis had seized the moment.

Kepitis raced Winx in partnership with Peter and Patty Tighe's Magic Bloodstock and the late Richard Treweeke. In continuing her association with the star mare by buying out her partners in the filly, Coolmore's Tom Magnier said Kepitis had helped to write “the perfect story”.

Kepitis explained that she had not set out to secure the filly when the decision was made to bring her to market, but said she had a change of heart as the date with destiny neared.

“I didn’t come here to buy this horse originally,” she said. “We put her up for auction and then in the last few weeks, all of the family, we started to miss our daughter, granddaughter, so we just decided as best we could, if we could get her we would. I’m privileged to be able to secure this filly on behalf of my family to be able to see if she can get to the racetrack. If she can’t get to the racetrack she’ll be an amazing mum.

“She’s Australian forever. She’s going to be just fabulous. Hopefully she’ll do a Winx, but it doesn’t matter if she doesn’t. Thank you to everybody around the world who has taken this on board. It’s been thrilling to watch it and we’re lucky enough that we came out winners.”

Kepitis confirmed that Winx’s trainer Chris Waller would oversee the racing career of her daughter.

She also expanded on the rationale behind bringing the filly to the Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale, saying: “Inglis were amazing. Along with Magic Millions, they are two amazing companies that do a fabulous job of presenting horses for sale in the Australian market. The ownership group had a big decision to decide when and where to sell her. She was always going to be a little bit of a later horse so leaving her until the April sale was really the major thing in our consideration.”

Winx rates as arguably the greatest racehorse to grace the Australian turf. Her completely unparalleled race record features no less than 37 victories, the last 33 of which were gained in consecutive fashion. Those successes include a world record tally of 25 Group 1s and saw her career earnings exceed $26million in prize-money.

She is perhaps best remembered for being the only horse in history to win four runnings of the prestigious Cox Plate, while she also claimed the Horse of The Year title on four occasions.

Unsurprisingly the filly’s price totally eclipsed the sum her celebrity dam fetched when she came under the hammer, as Winx was signed for by Guy Mulcaster at ‘just’ $230,000 at the 2013 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale.

Winx has endured a challenging start to her breeding career having lost her first foal, by I Am Invincible, in October 2020. Magnier not only heaped praise on those who helped nurse Winx back to full health, but reiterated how close the story came to ending in complete tragedy.

“It’s no secret that Winx lost her first foal and she nearly died,” he said. “To be fair to Paddy Sheehan (foaling manager) and all the team at Scone Equine (Hospital) they did an unbelievable job in saving the mare. To think that we have this mare today, who’s had a foal, now a yearling, by Pierro, and such a good-looking filly, the behind the scenes of what we went through to get here today, it couldn’t happen without the most understanding owners. They’ve been so patient and so understanding and the team at the farm have done an unbelievable job.”

Reflecting on the pressure of selling such a high-profile yearling, a relieved-looking Magnier said: “I think I have a little bit of an idea about the pressure Chris might’ve felt in some of those races!”

He continued: “The Kepitis family grew up beside us because our farms are next to each other in the Hunter Valley so I’ve known Debbie since I was young. They’ve been so good to us and they keep their horses at Coolmore. They won the Derby last week and I thought ‘God, how do we beat that?!’ and then we’ve come here today and done this. It’s really fitting that this filly is going to the Kepitis family and it’s just the perfect story. That was the most important result for me today so I’m just thrilled. I just want to say thanks to Paddy Sheehan and all the staff at Coolmore. To save the mare and get the foal, it’s just a dream story.”

When asked whether the record-breaking price matched his expectations, Magnier said: “John Stewart was in Australia a couple of weeks ago and he was very confident of getting the filly, but when you come up against Debbie you want to have will and determination! I knew she was going to make a very high figure because someone is buying history. This is like a classic and a collector’s item.

“There’s only one person who deserved today and that was Debbie and Paul and the whole family. I don’t think you can put a value on a filly like that, especially to someone like Debbie who really wanted this filly. We’ve been through so much on this journey to get here today. It’s just incredible.”

The filly’s price was exactly double the previous record for an Australian yearling, with BC3 Thoroughbreds giving $5m for the ill-fated Redoute's Choice half-brother to Black Caviar (Bel Esprit) at the 2013 Easter Sale.

Among those on hand to witness the record-breaking transaction was another of Winx’s co-owners, Peter Tighe.

“It was pretty exciting for everybody, not just me!” he said. “It’s good for racing, good for breeding, there’s no losers here. It’s something you couldn’t imagine. People want something and they’re prepared to pay for it. If they can afford it, then good luck to them. It’s great for Debbie Kepitis and great for the ownership group who’ll benefit from the sale, we’re really happy.”

He continued: “Winx is pregnant again so we’re keen to get a nice healthy foal at the end of the year and see where that takes us. There’s no guarantees that we’ll sell or keep (that foal), we’ll just take it as it comes. We do it because we love the sport and we love our horses. It’s a funny thing to say but we didn’t come here today for the money, we came here for a purpose and I think we’ve achieved that with getting the horse out into the breeding world. I’m looking forward to many more years of great stories that all stem from Winx.”

Inglis’s CEO Sebastian Hutch also shared the sales company’s view on proceedings, saying: “It’s fantastic and a real privilege for our company to have the opportunity to offer a horse of this magnitude. Obviously Winx is an iconic figure in Australian sport, not just in racing. To have had the opportunity to bring her daughter to market was fantastic. For it to play out the way it has, and to facilitate the scale of interest we’ve had, has been incredible.”

Winx was bred by John Camilleri under the banner of Fairway Thoroughbreds from the Listed-winning Al Akbar mare Vegas Showgirl. This makes the mighty mare a half-sister to El Divino (Snitzel), who did his bit to uphold family honour by dead-heating with Astern in the Group 3 Kindergarten S.

The presence of Winx’s daughter wasn’t Camilleri’s only involvement in the Easter Sale as he was the client behind James Harron when the agent secured day one’s top lot, the Zoustar filly out of Prompt Response, at $2.2million. Sunday’s session-topper held the record of most expensive yearling filly sold at Inglis for less than 24 hours.

The Winx filly becomes Pierro’s most expensive yearling to date by some margin. The stallion’s previous best came at last year’s Easter Sale when Mick Wallace and Gandharvi signed at $1.75million for the half-sister to Learning To Fly (Justify {USA}).

Pierro, who was crowned leading first- and second-season sire during the 2016-17 and 2017-18 campaigns, stood the most recent breeding season at a fee of $82,500 (inc GST). The son of Lonhro is the sire of six Group 1 winners.

Lot 443 - I Am Invincible x Booker (Written Tycoon), filly, $3,000,000

Owner John Stewart may have filled the role of underbidder on the filly out of Winx but the man behind the up-and-coming Resolute Racing operation wasn’t to be denied when he went to $3million for the daughter of I Am Invincible and Booker (Written Tycoon) later in the session.

Another from the Coolmore draft, the filly is the second foal out of the Group 1 winner, whose finest hour came when landing the 2019 Oakleigh Plate. The full-sister to the Listed-winning Banquo also won the Group 2 Thousand Guineas Prelude and Group 3 Kevin Hayes S.

“She’s absolutely stunning and a big thanks goes to John Stewart,” said Magnier. “He came to the farm two weeks ago and looked at the yearlings. He loved the Winx filly and loved this filly as well so I’m delighted that he’s got her. What’s going on here this week shows the strength of the Australian sport at the moment. It’s a bit like Keeneland back in the ‘80s. The team back at the farm have these horses looking unbelievable.”

Booker joined the Coolmore broodmare band at a cost of $1.6million at the 2020 Chairman’s Sale. She has more than repaid connections for their investment as her first foal, a colt by I Am Invincible, sold to Ciaron Maher Bloodstock for $2.5million at last year’s Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale.

The $3million price tag would have been an Australian record for a yearling filly prior to the high drama that preceded around 50 lots earlier, with the previous high mark set at $2.6m. That figure has been reached twice, first by Black Caviar’s half-sister Belle Couture (Redoute’s Choice) then by Clean Energy (Zoustar), a full-sister to Sunlight who changed hands 12 months ago.

Lot 328 - Zoustar x Summer Sham (Not A Single Doubt), colt, $1,550,000

Another day, another seven-figure yearling for Zoustar as the partnership of China Horse Club, Newgate Farm, Go Bloodstock and Trilogy combined at $1.55million for the full-brother to the stakes-winning Schwarz.

The Widden-consigned colt is the third foal out of Summer Sham (Not A Single Doubt) who won the Group 2 Angus Armanasco S. during her time on the track. The colt boasts a genuine stallion’s pedigree as the breed-shaping Redoute’s Choice and his half-brother Manhattan Rain appear beneath the fourth dam, Shantha’s Choice (Canny Lad).

“He was a very special colt, very fast and by Zoustar, who’s flying,” said Newgate’s managing director Henry Field. “His full-brother is a good horse and he’s a beautiful colt. If he can run, he’ll make a beautiful stallion, so I’m really pleased to get that horse.

“He’s come off a great farm at Widden and the partnership, China Horse Club, Trilogy, Go Bloodstock and the team, are excited. I love being part of the Inglis Easter Sale. It’s the best of the best blue-chip stock, and it’s great when we can participate and buy the horses we want to buy.”

The partnership of China Horse Club, Newgate, Go Bloodstock and Trilogy signed for 11 lots over the two days of the Easter Sale. Their haul on Monday also included Lot 346, the $1.35million Written Tycoon half-brother to the top-class Shoals (Fastnet Rock) offered by Arrowfield Stud, and Lot 418, an I Am Invincible colt out of the triple Group 2 winner Anaheed (Fastnet Rock), who brought $1.2million when presented by Segenhoe Stud.

Lot 349 - Dundeel x Tides (Fastnet Rock), colt, $1,500,000

Agent Dean Hawthorne and the Alpha Syndicate secured the second-most expensive colt of the day when going to $1.5million for this son of Dundeel (NZ) from the Arrowfield draft. The youngster is the third foal out of Tides (Fastnet Rock), a winning half-sister to Lot 346 who made $1.35million.

This means Tides is sister to the three-time Group 1 winner Shoals and the Listed-winning Groundswell, while the siblings are out of a half-sister to Redoute’s Choice and his illustrious relations.

When reflecting on his purchase, Hawthorne highlighted the competition at the top of the market by saying: “We didn’t think we would have to go that high. Quality, quality, quality horse. The best Dundeel on the ground with a pedigree. Just moves so well, just an athlete. The Dundeel sireline is going along alright at the moment. He was our target colt.

“The Dundeels have a lot of elegance and movement and they get on with the business. This horse will be an autumn 2-year-old and do hopefully what Militarize did through those 1400 metres, 1600 metres Group 1s and then hopefully go on as a 3-year-old.”

The colt is the second most expensive yearling by Dundeel, with his price beaten only by the filly out of Thousand Guineas winner Stay With Me (Street Cry {Ire}) bought by Hawkes Racing for $1.7million at Easter in 2022.

Lot 329 - Wootton Bassett x Sunlight (Zoustar), colt, $1,400,000

Paul Moroney and Catheryne Bruggerman stepped up to the mark at $1.4million to secure the second foal out of the champion filly Sunlight (Zoustar). The Coolmore-consigned colt is from the debut southern hemisphere crop of Wootton Bassett, a group that has already yielded two other seven-figure yearlings this Australian sales season.

Sunlight joined the Coolmore broodmare band at a Magic Millions record of $4.2million during the 2020 National Broodmare Sale after a remarkable racing career that included three Group 1 scores.

She headed up a Zoustar trifecta in the 2018 Coolmore Stud S. with Zousain and Lean Mean Machine in behind, before she claimed the Newmarket H. and William Reid S.

“It’s one of the best-bred colts in the sale and it’s a fantastic family,” said Moroney. “Everyone wants it. The sire is proven in Europe and is doing well down here already. I bought it for a stud, they want to remain undisclosed at this stage but they will obviously be looking at it as a stallion prospect.

“If he can get out there and compete like the rest of the family has, well, he has a great chance. If he can become a Group 1-winning racehorse, he’s very well bought at $1.4m. It’s speed on speed and he’s got every chance to be back here doing it for the people involved.”

Moroney was unable to confirm training plans but indicated it was unlikely to be his brother, Mike, taking charge of the colt as the client involved already has an existing roster of trainers.

Wootton Bassett once stood for as little as €4000 (inc GST) during his early years at Haras d'Etreham in France but, thanks in no small part to siring nine Group/Grade 1 winners, is standing the current northern hemisphere season at Coolmore at a career high of €200,000 (inc GST). The sire of 66 stakes performers was available to Australian breeders at a fee of $93,500 (inc GST) in 2023.

Sunlight is out of the two-time Group 3 winner Solar Charged (Charge Forward) and Widden Stud sold the mare’s latest yearling, a colt by Sunlight’s sire Zoustar, to the China Horse Club, Newgate, Go Bloodstock and Trilogy partnership for $850,000 as Lot 304.

Earlier in the day the siblings' 2-year-old sister, the $2.6million buy Clean Energy, registered an impressive trial at Randwick in the colours of Yulong Investments for Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott.

Lot 343 - Extreme Choice x Tempt Me Not (Strategic Maneuver), colt, $1,400,000

Sir Owen Glenn’s Go Bloodstock tasted Golden Slipper glory courtesy of Lady Of Camelot (Written Tycoon) and the operation was already thinking ahead to next year’s Group 1 prize having purchased this Extreme Colt choice for $1.4million.

The ticket was signed in conjunction with Lady Of Camelot’s trainers Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott, and Kestrel Thoroughbreds.

The dam’s three wins on the track include the Group 3 PJ Bell S. and she is already passing on her talent to the next generation having bred two winners from as many runners. The seven-figure colt, a great grandson of the Australasian Oaks winner Tempest Morn (Thunder Gulch), was offered by Newgate Farm.

“Sir Owen is travelling back from the States at the moment and he said go get this colt today because he was the standout on physical after our first inspections,” said Go Bloodstock director Steve O'Connor. “Lady Of Camelot, who won the Slipper, was raised at Newgate so we have the utmost confidence in the job that Jim (Carey, stud manager) and Henry (Field) do. He’s by a stallion we’re a shareholder in and we raced Stay Inside. He’s from a really fast family so we thought he was a horse who might take us back to the Slipper next year, touch wood.

“Gai even has a barn named after the great granddam so it’s a family she was extremely keen on and she also identified this colt early on in the inspection phase. Her and Adrian do a remarkable job with their 2-year-olds so we’re happy to support them for many years. Lady Of Camelot has given us a fantastic ride with them and hopefully that’s only just the beginning and this colt will be the next chapter.”

The Go Bloodstock operation turned seller later in the session when an Exceed And Excel filly out of Group 2 winner Dame Giselle (I Am Invincible) went the way of Kia Ora, Waterhouse and Bott at $1million. The seven-figure youngster was consigned by The Chase.

“We’re really proud of the foals that we’re breeding,” added O’Connor. “We balance it between buying some colts and selling some fillies each year and she’s a lovely filly. Dame Giselle was a beautiful yearling we bought here at Inglis. Sir Owen’s good friends with Mark Webster and the Inglis family and he loves coming here each year and looking at the big pedigrees and the physicals, so we have a lot of confidence buying here.”

Go Bloodstock was among the busiest buyers at the Easter Sale having also signed alongside China Horse Club, Newgate and Trilogy for 11 lots secured by their colts partnership. O’Connor said:

“Henry’s track record with the colt partnership speaks for itself. He’s bought In The Congo here and Wild Ruler and stallions that are standing on his roster. We have the utmost confidence in Henry when he’s buying these colts and I’m glad to see him buying several today.”