Cover image courtesy of Magic Millions
At A Glance
Godolphin-offered Zebra Finch (Exceed And Excel) made $165,000 to Darby Racing.
Arrowfield Stud’s draft of nine empty mares produced good value results for buyers.
The 10% share in Private Eye sold on Monday for $22,500 and his ownership has since been updated ahead of Saturday’s G2 Tramway Stakes.
Zebra Finch goes to digital specialists
Darby Racing have a growing reputation for picking up tried horses in the digital market and improving them. They bought Caballus (I Am Invincible) for $315,000 in October 2023 as a city winner with $120,000 in earnings, and he’s since won six more races and over $2.2 million in additional earnings with his best win coming in the G1 Newmarket Handicap.
Robusto (Churchill {Ire}) cost $160,000 in September 2024 and has since added $2 million in earnings including the G2 The Ingham.
On Wednesday, the syndicators went to a sale-topping $165,000 for Zebra Finch (Exceed And Excel). The 4-year-old gelding has won three of his 14 starts, but importantly has won two of his last three starts.
Zebra Finch | Image courtesy of Magic Millions
“I was very happy when he (Zebra Finch) was at $90,000 but that didn’t last long and we had to extend to secure him,” Scott Darby said.
“Zebra Finch will go to Bjorn Baker and Matima (Lot 3 purchase) will go to Luke Pepper which will be the first horse we have syndicated with him. We are excited to see where both horses can take us.”
Matima (Lonhro) cost $9500 and the 4-year-old gelding was a winner on debut at three but hasn’t saluted in eight starts since although he ran second at Kembla Grange two starts ago.
Matima | Image courtesy of Georgia Young Photography
Arrowfield draft sells well
Arrowfield Stud offered nine empty broodmares and the highlight among them was Rainbow Song (Jpn) (Zenno Rob Roy {Jpn}) who made $32,500 to the bid of MP Racing. She is the dam of four winners including Vivid Sun (The Autumn Sun) who ran fourth in the G3 Typhoon Tracy Stakes last season.
Rainbow Song (Jpn) | Image courtesy of Magic Millions
G1 Myer Classic winner Politeness (Street Sense {USA}), who is now a 16-year-old mare and the dam of stakes placed Politely Dun (Dundeel {NZ}) sold to Conghua Bloodstock for $25,000 and juvenile winner Iskander (I Am Invincible) was bought by Figtree Thoroughbreds for $18,000.
Listed winner Kneeling (Encosta De Lago), who is the dam of Snitzel’s stakes winners Bend The Knee and Dashing Legend, sold for $12,000 to C Smith. The 18-year-old mare had a C-Section in 2025 for her filly by Maurice (Jpn).
Jon Freyer | Image courtesy of Inglis
“We have sold through Magic Millions Digital previously but this was the first time we have offered a significant draft,” Arrowfield's Bloodstock Manager Jon Freyer said.
“Our team is very happy with the results and were impressed by Magic Millions marketing efforts over the last week.”
“Our team is very happy with the results and were impressed by Magic Millions marketing efforts over the last week.” - Jon Freyer
Private Eye’s share goes to new investor
Adam Reilly who bought the 10% share in Group 1 winner Private Eye (Al Maher) on Monday for $22,500 is new to racehorse ownership. He bought the share with his brother and their syndicate ‘Reilly Brothers’ has been added to Private Eye’s official ownership. The purchase values the gelding at $225,000.
“My brother and I have been thinking about purchasing a share for a while and this share in Private Eye felt like a good starting point," Adam Reilly said.
Private Eye | Image courtesy of The Image Is Everything
“Hopefully we can have some fun with him this Spring and beyond.” The $13 million earner is nominated for Saturday’s $300,000 G2 Tramway Stakes. Their $17,000 share of the $170,000 for winning the race will go a long way to recouping their expenditure if the in-form galloper can win for the 15th time in his career on Saturday.
Godolphin’s draft spread out wide
Buyers from across Australia placed bids on the seven-strong Godolphin draft with Zebra Finch topping both the sale and the draft. Zebra Finch attracted 54 bids to get up to $165,000. The next most popular horse was 3-year-old gelding Zensen (Exceed And Excel) who was bid on 44 times to reach a final figure of $30,000 with Luke Berger Racing / Danny Bourke Bloodstock victorious.
Zensen debuted in the G2 Skyline Stakes, running mid-field, and since then hasn’t troubled the judge in four more starts. His dam, Sakura (Sepoy), won five races including two in Sydney and one in Melbourne and didn’t win until she was a late 3-year-old, so Zensen has plenty of time to improve.
Zensen | Image courtesy of Magic Millions
Finishing on $40,000 after 44 bids was 5-year-old gelding Steel Move (Blue Point {Ire}) who went to Pride Racing. The winner of three races and over $380,000 had four starts over winter but all his wins have come on a Good surface.
All up, the sale had a clearance rate of 77%. Entries are now open for the next Magic Millions Digital Sale will close at midnight on Wednesday, September 9. The sale runs from Friday, September 11 to Wednesday, September 16.
