It might be Magic Millions by name but in a frantic 10 minutes on the Gold Coast on Thursday it was Magic Millions by nature as the board filled with million-dollar buys.
Four yearlings walked out of the ring with the hammer dropping at $1.4million. $1.1million, $1.2million and $1million, something which has never happened before at a yearling sale in anywhere in the world.
The Magic Millions board tells the story as a Extreme Choice colt walks out of the ring for $1 million to complete a remarkable 10 minutes of selling on ThursdayCredit:Magic Millions
“The impossible happens at Magic Millions,” Magic Millions owner Katie Page said. “Just when you think the sale can’t get it gets bigger, it gets bigger with the Harveys.”
Sales catalogues around the world are set up by alphabetical order of the mares, so there was a randomness to this event. But Sunlight, whose sister sold for $2.6 million on Wednesday, was followed by Super Cash, Super Oasis, Super Too and Sweet Bouquet.
The Magic Millions Sale had been solid until Thursday, but when a fifth million-dollar lot – bought by James Harron – came in 23 minutes, the average had jumped more than $18,000.
It was the most remarkable half-hour of yearling sales in Australian history.
“It’s so tough and strong. I can’t remember seeing anything like that anywhere in the world,” Coolmore Australia boss Tom Magnier said.
Magnier later signed for a Magic Millions record of $2.7 million for an I Am Invincible colt out of brilliant racemare Anaheed, the eighth million-dollar lot of the day and 13th of the sale.
The Coolmore-bred Justify colt, lot 445, out of Sunlight, had started the history-making run earlier when it fell to Gai Waterhouse for $1.4 million.
“That’s why you come to Magic Millions,” Waterhouse said. “We come here to try and buy the horse that will be racing here next year and then hopefully go onto the Golden Slipper and then hopefully become a stallion in Australia.
“He’s a very handsome, very sexy horse.”
It was a case of one walking out and another walking in with leading Hong Kong trainer Douglas Whyte buying the Snitzel colt for $1.1 million.
“When he stepped out of the box he just had presence about him. A lovely pedigree and from the minute we saw him we fell in love with him,” Whyte said.
Next a Deep Field filly sold for $230,000 to Mitchell Bloodstock, which is the most famous price in Magic Millions history being the price of Winx.
A couple of minutes later it was the American couple behind the Fireball brand, Richard and Tammy Rigney, who race 60 horses in the United States, paying $1.2 million for an I Am Invincible filly out of Super Too.
“It’s the first time we’ve been here, but we’ll be back,” said Richard Rigney, who confirmed the colt would be trained by Peter and Paul Snowden.
Singapore-based Aramco Racing joined with Extreme Choice’s trainer Mick Price and Rick Connelly to buy one of his son’s out of Sweet Bouquet.
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