A blue-blooded Frankel colt became the first seven-figure headline act of this year’s Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale, reaching $2 million before Coolmore’s Tom Magnier won the battle for him.
Raised at Segenhoe Stud, the colt is out of Lonhro mare Antibes, a sibling to talented three-year-old Chateau Eze from the Mark Walker yard.
The youngster was offered by breeder John Camilleri, and Segenhoe general manager Peter O’Brien said it was fitting to see the man behind Winx’s lineage receive such a return.
“John Camilleri sends those mares over there – it’s a big risk to send them up there, travel them, bring them back (and) foal them – so he deserves all the credit,” O’Brien said.
“The mother had a ton of ability but it doesn’t read it in the book, so John backed his knowledge of her ability and had a big swing with her and he’s got the just rewards.”
The colt also boasts a strong maternal page, being from the family of dual Group 3 winner A Time For Julia and closely related to Personal, the VRC Oaks heroine for Coolmore.
Magnier confirmed the new purchase will join Chris Waller’s stable and said it was a colt the team had been unified on.
“We’ve had a lot of Frankels in the northern hemisphere, (more) than in the southern hemisphere, so we know them well, (and) we’ve had a lot of luck with the grand dam,” Magnier said.
“All the team really liked him. He’s a lovely fluid-actioned horse and he ticks all the boxes.
“Chris really liked the horse all week. I suppose there’s a couple of horses that you don’t agree on, but when everybody agrees on a horse, it gives you the confidence to go a little bit further.”
The result makes him the priciest Frankel yearling ever sold in Australia and just the fifth colt to make $2m at Magic Millions.
Only 30 minutes later, the sale’s first seven-figure filly appeared when a daughter of I Am Invincible—bred by Coolmore—was sold for $1,050,000 to Glentree Thoroughbreds and Badger’s Bloodstock.
Glentree’s Luke Simpson said the filly, from nine-time Group 1 winner Avantage, had impressed throughout inspections.
“She’s a lovely filly that we saw earlier on in the week and we kept our eye on her and every time we saw her she just kept improving,” Simpson said.
“We’ve seen her other siblings and I think she was equally as good as them, so she had all the attributes that we were after.”