Cover image courtesy of Inglis
The $3 million number still carries weight. It hangs there, even now - less shock, more substance - as the reality of what Pretty Brazen's Extreme Choice colt achieved begins to settle in.
The ring ignited early at Riverside.
It didn’t take long for the tempo to lift on Day 1 of the 2026 Inglis Easter Yearling Sale, when Tom Magnier struck decisively to secure Lot 26 - the Extreme Choice colt out of Pretty Brazen (Brazen Beau) - for $3 million from the draft of Lime Country Thoroughbreds.
A spirited duel unfolded with Yulong, pushing the price to $2.9 million, before Magnier ultimately prevailed.
Lot 26 - Extreme Choice x Pretty Brazen colt | Image courtesy of Inglis
The colt’s $3 million price tag set a new benchmark for an Extreme Choice yearling. It was theatre, pressure, and high-end bloodstock at its absolute peak.
But ten days on, the noise has softened.
For breeder Linda Huddy, the moment has shifted into something more reflective.
Finally coming down from the clouds
When asked how she was feeling more than a week on, Huddy’s perspective is still settling.
“I'm probably down four clouds and slowly getting down to earth slowly but surely, it still takes a bit to actually feel real. It was such an amazing result,” Huddy said.
“I'm probably down four clouds and slowly getting down to earth slowly but surely, it still takes a bit to actually feel real, it was such an amazing result.” - Linda Huddy
“The sale was not for unheard of type money, but definitely unheard of type money for us as sellers.”
There’s a pause in that reflection - not disbelief, but recalibration.
“We only had 13 colts that year, so to get that from one of 13 at that price, was pretty incredible, wasn't it, really.”
The magnitude of the result isn’t lost on her. But neither is the process that led there, as expectation and reality rarely align neatly in an auction ring and even with a colt of obvious quality, Huddy never allowed herself to anchor to a number.
Linda Huddy | Image courtesy of The Image Is Everything
“You just don't know what the bidders are going to go to, it's just part of the auction process isn't it. But he was such a little trooper, he just walked around that ring while a couple of them had a good bid.”
What stood out wasn’t just the price - but the colt’s temperament throughout.
“In the ring it was a prolonged bidding process, but the whole week he obviously just took everything in his stride. I know the guys from Coolmore saw him numerous times and even on the morning of the sale, he was out over 200 times. So you wonder what they think, poor little things, do they think this this my life now?
“They are in the stable, go out, walk up and down, stand up, go back, do it all again. It's such a repeated process, isn't it? They get used to it obviously, but that is why they do their prep, otherwise they're out in the paddock and doing what they like. So when they handle it all it shows what a good job Lime Country did with him.”
The mare behind it all
Behind every headline colt sits a deeper story - and in this case, it begins with Pretty Brazen.
Purchased for $700,000 by McEvoy Mitchell Racing Pty Ltd at the 2018 Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale on behalf of Huddy's Peachester Lodge, she quickly justified that investment on the track.
“She was a lovely yearling who ended up being a really good race mare for us winning at Group level.”
“She (Pretty Brazen) was a lovely yearling who ended up being a really good race mare for us winning at Group level.” - Linda Huddy
A dual Group winner of the G2 Let’s Elope Stakes and G2 Sandown Guineas, Pretty Brazen carries the influence of an elite female family.
Out of Pretty Penny (Encosta De Lago), a six-time winner and Group 3 placegetter, the page is as strong as it is productive - nine winners from nine to race, including five individual Group winners by five different stallions including Sertorius (Galileo {Ire}), Clifton Red (Sebring), Dollar For Dollar (High Chaparral {Ire}), Pretty Amazing (American Pharoah {USA}) and obviously Pretty Brazen.
Pretty Brazen | Image courtesy of The Image Is Everything
Commercially, her start at stud had been modest with her first two yearlings selling for a combined $260,000, but patience, as it so often does, paid off, her third foal changed everything.
Calculated risk, major reward
The decision to send Pretty Brazen to Extreme Choice was far from conservative. It was, by Huddy’s own admission, a calculated gamble.
“People were saying at the time that she's one of the better mares that went to him that season because people don't like taking too much risk with their good mares and we all know what it's like when a stallion has some issues with fertility.
“But I suppose we're in the position that we can make our own decision, do what we like and can deal with the fact if she missed. So we wanted probably our best mare to go to him because he's the best stallion we could go to.”
“I suppose we're in the position that we can make our own decision, do what we like and can deal with the fact if she (Pretty Brazen) missed.” - Linda Huddy
That willingness to take on risk proved pivotal.
“So that was the calculated risk, isn't it? We could afford to take that risk and obviously it's paid off big spades. But she's from such a good family.
“We could afford to take that risk and obviously it's paid off big spades. But she's from such a good family.” - Lind Huddy
“If you owned Pretty Penny you would be out there every day giving her carrots. She's been amazing, I mean, the page is just crazy.”
There was logic behind the gamble, too.
“Another line of reasoning was that Pretty Brazen had two foals prior and only been served the two times, so she's pretty fertile and that's another consideration that we put into play.”
Trust in the process, people and good farms
The colt’s journey wasn’t confined to one farm.
Like many in Peachester Lodge’s system, he moved between operations - each step guided by trust.
“Pretty Brazen was at Torryburn that year. We split our mares between Torryburn and Lime Country, so she was at Torryburn, and then she came home here in foal, but she gets the itch really bad in Queensland and gets affected by the insect bites.”
A decision, initially logistical, ultimately shaped the result.
Melissa Copelin | Image courtesy of Torryburn Stud
“We were going to send her back to Mel at Torryburn, and Mel advised us to send her further into the Hunter, further away from the coast so she went off to Lime Country. So if it wasn't for that, he probably would have been in Torryburn's draft.”
That advice left an impression.
“When Mel said that, I thought, well, you know, that's obviously she's thinking of the horse more than themselves, the trust element is there and we know that these farms are always doing their best for the individual horses which means a lot.”
The result, in many ways, was shared.
Warren Sutton | Image courtesy of Peachester Lodge
“This colt has spent most of his life here in Queensland. We brought him up when he was weaned, and then I'd just like to acknowledge my manager here, Warren Sutton, what he did with him and the other colt that went to Easter.
“We sent him to Lime Country for the polish and what a great job they did with him as well as our Per Incanto colt out of Chaquinta that sold for $400,000.
“It was a great result for Lime Country, I wouldn't say it put them on the map at all as they are clearly on the map already. But we were just as excited for them and most probably it will never happen to us again.”
Jo Griffin | Image courtesy of Inglis
When everything aligns
For all the planning, pedigree work and preparation, Huddy is quick to acknowledge the role of timing - and luck.
“We are so grateful that the colt was so good looking and healthy but also good X-rays. straight legs, good scope and good head, everything lined up perfect and we got some luck.”
“We are so grateful that the colt was so good looking and healthy but also good X-rays. straight legs, good scope and good head, everything lined up perfect.” - Linda Huddy
Even within a boutique-style operation, results like this carry weight.
“He was one of 13 that year, We had 10 colts and 3 fillies that year. We’ve got 14 on the ground and next year we'll probably have, well, hopefully 20-ish.”
Stallions, science and risk
Huddy’s reflections also stretch more broadly - into how breeding itself continues to evolve.
“When they look good and the page looks good, you get those results, I guess, the stallions (Extreme Choice) figures are amazing. So it'd be interesting to see if he can even do better now with better mares.”
“Who knows he could keep on improving. Vinnie kept on improving and upgraded everything, so there is no reason Extreme Choice can't as he is being bred so well now.”
Extreme Choice | Standing at Newgate Farm
Yet even with improved data and tools, uncertainty remains.
“It doesn't mean automatic success with the improved, but for a stallion, like, Extreme Choice where, yeah, the breeders are looking for the best and if you can go to the best it can be worth it.
“Like I said earlier, the calculated gamble, it's worth that risk with these kind of results.”
“Like I said earlier, the calculated gamble, it's worth that risk with these kind of results.” - Linda Huddy
“These days with all the software you can get to analyse the pedigrees, people are doing that a lot more, So hopefully the matings might produce better horses and Newgate Farm and breeders can keep getting the success from an unbelievable stallion.
A clear business model
For Peachester Lodge, the strategy remains disciplined.
Sell the colts, retain the fillies.
“The business models sell all the colts. So that year, as I say, we had 10 colts. There's one didn't make it to a sale, but we sold all the others and we kept the three fillies because they were good ones to keep.”
Peachester Lodge team | Image courtesy of Peachester Lodge
Cashflow matters - and so does long-term sustainability.
“This year, the ones on the ground will sell a couple of fillies that we've either still got the mothers or still got the families. You've got to get the money in.
“If one you sell goes out and becomes a star it doesn’t kill you as it helps the ones at home, so we like that model.” - Linda Huddy
“If one you sell goes out and becomes a star it doesn’t kill you as it helps the ones at home, so we like that model.
“You can't keep them all, although it would be nice to.”
Playing the market both ways
The Inglis Easter Sale wasn’t just about selling. It was also about reinvesting and thinking of the future, something eachester Lodge has always done.
Huddy secured a Maurice (Jpn) filly out of April Rain (Pierro) for $200,000 - a filly closely related to stakes performers including So Si Bon (So You Think {NZ}) and Black Minx (Lonhro).
“We thought it might be a good year to try a Maurice, we've got one that we've bred, one of the three we're keeping her.
Lot 219 - Maurice (Jpn) x April Rain filly | Image courtesy of Inglis
“We liked her, the mother was probably more talented than her record shows and Chris Waller has got the full sister that Hermitage retained, and it had a trial before the sale, which I watched and it was a nice quiet trial in Waller style.
“Yeah, and we saw her a couple of times and she was happy to come out and parade, and I was quite happy with that price. So ask me in a couple more years!”
The balance sheet, for once, told a different story.
“This time we ended up well in the black, often we end up on the side of having to pay the sales company so the sale was nice.” - Linda Huddy
“This time we ended up well in the black, often we end up on the side of having to pay the sales company so the sale was nice. We weren't going to spend $3 million, so a $200,000 buy was nice, that will keep things ticking.”
When racing and breeding goes full circle
Perhaps the most fitting layer to the story is where it all circles back.
“I was really happy that Coolmore got the colt and Tom has given us the opportunity to keep a little bit. So, I’m very excited to continue on the journey with him.
“We've just got to hope he can gallop now.”
Tom Magnier | Image courtesy of Inglis
There’s a symmetry to it.
“Dennis O'Brien bred Pretty Brazen at Coolmore and she has the C brand so it’s a bit of full circle with the colt.
“Dennis O'Brien bred Pretty Brazen at Coolmore and she has the C brand so it’s a bit of full circle with the colt.” - Linda Huddy
“Hopefully he can gallop and end up at Coolmore one day would be the dream. Let's hope it can happen.”
Ten days on, the number still resonates. But for Linda Huddy, it’s no longer just about $3 million. It’s about the decisions, the people, the risks - and the rare moment when it all comes together.
