Invincible colt sets new sale record on Gold Coast

By Magic Millions Media

For the second day running, the all-time record price at the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale has been broken.

A colt by I Am Invincible has shot to the top of the leaderboard on the Gold Coast after proving the star act on a historic day of selling.

Presented as Lot 606 by Segenhoe Stud, the first foal of Group winner Anaheed was knocked down for $2.7 million – just surpassing yesterday’s record setting $2.6 million Zoustar sister to Sunlight.

The colt was one of eight individual lots to sell for seven figure amounts as spirited bidding pushed prices to record levels.

Tom Magnier from Coolmore Stud secured the I Am Invincible colt after a pulsating bidding battle before a large and hushed audience.

“A lovely colt,” a delighted Tom Magnier said.

“We’re delighted to get him. Fairness to Segenhoe. They’ve done a great job with their colts.

“Again, we’ve got a great colts syndicate. I’d be a brave man to call him the best horse in the sale. For us, trying to find the next Home Affairs and I Am Invincible, he looked a lot like Home Affairs walking around the ring there so it is really exciting to get him and we’ll take him home and work out what we’re doing.

“He’s a lovely horse, he’s quality, he’s an athlete and he’s up there with the best horses in the sale.
 
“There’s loads of quality and if he can do anything like we think he can then he could be a very good horse to have in the stallion barn at Coolmore.

“You walk around the sales complex and some horses just stand out.

“You didn’t have to open the catalogue page when you saw this fellow.”

Segenhoe’s Peter O’Brien, who presented the colt for sale for breeder Sheikh Mohammed Bin Khalifa Al Maktoum, was thrilled with the record breaking result. 

“You never expect to get that amount, but he’s as good a horse as we’ve ever had,” O’Brien said.

“He was unbelievably popular and all the big buyers were on him.

“We thought we’d let the market decide, so we put a very low reserve on him, which always helps.

“It’s just been an incredible day’s selling today. Everything we’ve had in has been off the charts.

"He was obviously the big one for today and it will be hard to eclipse.”

The second highest-priced seller on the day was another colt by Yarraman Park Stud’s I Am Invincible – this one from the Fastnet Rock mare Tumooh.

The colt offered by Emirates Park is a three quarter brother to the Mossfun yearling which sold for $1.65 million on day one from the same draft.

“We’re delighted to get him,” buyer James Harron said.

“He’s the horse that when we first saw him here we just really wanted to get him.

“He was, on type, our number one seed, so it’s a nice relief to get him in the green and gold for the following season.

“He just had an amazing physique. He had a lot of presence about him, he came out of the box and he really walked really well.

“He had a great, purposeful action and he just had that air of Alpha Male, that strength, that imposing attribute which you see in good stallions."

Earlier in the day, there were unprecedented scenes when a run of five yearlings in eight lots sold for $1 million or more.

It started with Lot 445 – the Justify colt from Sunlight who sold for $1.4 million to Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott Racing in conjunction with Kestrel Thoroughbreds.

The next lot, a colt by Snitzel from Super Cash, went for $1.1 million to Michael Hickmott and Douglas Whyte.

Moments later, American-based Tammy Rigney went to $1.2 million to secure the I Am Invincible-Super Too filly from Glenlogan Park.

And then very next lot, the Extreme Choice colt from Sweet Bouquet offered by Kingstar Farm was sold to Aramco Racing, Mick Price and Rick Connolly Bloodstock for an even $1 million.

At the close of day three, the sale gross has soared over $154 million with an outstanding average price of $306,240 and clearance rate of 87 per cent.

“Five million dollar lots within eight lots of each other,” Magic Millions Managing Director Barry Bowditch said.

“It was fever pitch and that was pretty early in the day, so it set a strong and buoyant tone for the rest of the day in what I believe is a record day’s selling at a Magic Millions yearling sale.

“It’s fantastic to see it being spread (amongst the vendors). There’s plenty of vendors winning in the marketplace, not just the same old names.

"It is just as refreshing to see new buyers on the results sheet.

“On the back of today, when you look at the numbers, we’re ahead of last year’s gross, we’re ahead of last year’s average, the median is strong, the clearance rate is at 87 per cent and tomorrow is really, really solid with what I regard is probably the best colt I’ve seen walk onto a sales complex.”

Click here to view the results of the sale so far or to make an offer on a passed in lot.

Day four of the 2023 Gold Coast Yearling Sale commences at 10am local time Friday.

SALE STATISTICS
(2022 in brackets)

• Lots Catalogued: 655 (620)
• Lots Sold: 504 (516)
• Lots Passed In: 75 (34)
• Lots Withdrawn: 76 (67)
• Sale Gross: $154,345,000 ($154,112,500)
• Top Price; $2,700,000 ($1,900,000)
• Average Price: $306,240 ($298,668)
• Median Price: $230,000 ($230,000)
• Sold %: 87 (94)

DAY THREE TOP SELLERS

• $2,700,000 – I Am Invincible-Anaheed colt (Lot 606) Vendor: Segenhoe Stud (as agent) / Buyer: Tom Magnier 
• $1,600,000 – I Am Invincible-Tumooh colt (Lot 504) Emirates Park / James Harron B’stock Colts Partnership
• $1,400,000 – Justify-Sunlight colt (Lot 445) Coolmore Stud (as agent) / Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott Racing/Kestrel T’breds
• $1,200,000 – I Am Invincible-Super Too filly (Lot 448) Glenlogan Park / Tammy Rigney
• $1,150,000 – Zoustar-Alter Call filly (Lot 600) Newgate Farm (as agent) / McEvoy Mitchell Racing/Belmont Bloodstock
• $1,100,000 – Snitzel-Super Cash colt (Lot 446) Arrowfield Stud (as agent) / Michael Hickmott B’stock/Douglas Whyte Racing
• $1,100,000 – Exceed and Excel-Sweet Sherry filly (Lot 452) Silverdale Farm (as agent) / Kia Ora Stud/TFI 
• $1,000,000 – Extreme Choice-Sweet Bouquet colt (Lot 449) Kingstar Farm / Aramco Racing/Mick Price Racing & Breeding/Rick Connolly B’stock

LEADING BUYERS
(ranked by total spend)

• $6,400,000 – China Horse Club/Newgate/Go/Trilogy – 11 lots
• $5,805,000 – Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott Racing/Kestrel T’breds – 13 lots
• $5,220,000 – Yu Long Investments (Australia) Pty Ltd – seven lots
• $4,950,000 – Tom Magnier – three lots
• $4,460,000 – Ciaron Maher B’stock – 10 lots

LEADING VENDORS
(ranked by gross)

• $11,625,000 – Newgate Farm – 31 sold
• $11,510,000 – Arrowfield Stud – 32 sold
• $8,450,000 – Segenhoe Stud – 14 sold
• $8,350,000 – Widden Stud – 25 sold
• $6,885,000 – Coolmore Stud – 23 sold

LEADING VENDORS
(ranked by average – three or more sold)

• $603,571 – Segenhoe Stud – 14 sold
• $591,429 – Emirates Park – seve sold
• $540,000 – Silverdale Farm – five sold
• $480,000 – Musk Creek Farm – three sold
• $472,000 – Cressfield – five sold

LEADING SIRES
(ranked by average – three or more sold)

• $660,429 – I Am Invincible – 35 sold
• $632,381 – Zoustar – 21 sold
• $578,333 – Extreme Choice – six sold
• $540,000 – Exceed and Excel – eight sold
• $480,600 – Snitzel – 25 sold

LEADING FIRST SEASON SIRES
(ranked by average – three or more sold)

• $332,727 – Blue Point – 11 sold
• $321,000 – Pierata – 15 sold
• $280,000 – Super Seth – four sold
• $250,417 – Microphone – 12 sold
• $227,500 – Dubious – four sold