AFTER the first two sessions of Book 1 of the Gold Coast Magic Millions yearling sale, nine yearlings have sold for seven figures or greater, with just one breaking through the A$2 million barrier, the I Am Invincible filly out of Eloping, a full-sister to the Champion three-year-old filly of 2022/’23, In Secret. The Eloping filly sold for A$2.3 million to Ian Moses and John Sargent.

“She was the dominant filly. Great temperament. I realised that if you want to be in this business at the top end, you’ve got to put in the investment,” said Ian Moses, who has been a long-term client of trainer John Sargeant, who will train the filly. “The long-term strategy is to have at least 10 high quality broodmares stationed at Coolmore and I’m almost up to 10 now on the track and at the stud farm,” added Moses.

At the halfway point of the sale, the average and median, at $280,156 and $200,000 respectively, are tracking very closely to last year’s results, though the clearance rate will need to recover from its current 81 percent to match last year’s 88 percent. At present, the aggregate for the sale is $89,650,000 from 320 lots sold of the 434 lots offered.

Aside from the top lot, I Am Invincible has had two further yearlings make a million, a filly out of Avantage, and a colt out of Fiera Vista. The latter being one of two big buys for Tom Magnier, who also outlaid $1.7 million for the Snitzel colt out of Fashion Faux Pas. Snitzel had a second colt make a million, whilst colts by Wootton Bassett and Stay Inside also hit that mark. For the fillies Written Tycoon and Home Affairs also broke through seven figures.

Kentucky outfit Resolute Bloodstock is the current leading buyer, spending $4,245,000 on 10 yearlings, whilst Newgate Farm is leading the vendors with their 23 yearlings grossing $9,015,000. From 14 sold, I Am Invincible just shades Snitzel with his 23 yearlings sold to date grossing $10,835,000 at an average of $773,929.

THE Harry Angel colt Private Harry has maintained his unbeaten run at his fourth start to claim the inaugural running of the Sunline Plate over 1,100 metres for three-year-olds at set-weights. The A$3 million slot race, the highlight of the first day of the revamped Magic Millions’s Summer Carnival, had to be switched to the Sunshine Coast after a section of the Gold Coast track was poisoned, the cause of which is unknown at present. In the firing line at the top of the straight, Private Harry’s burst gave little chance to his 11 rivals. Kicking clear from the 300-metre mark, Private Harry raced to a three-length win, ahead of the Golden Slipper winner Lady Of Camelot, by Written Tycoon with the Too Darn Hot filly Arabian Summer in third.

Bought for $115,000 from the Inglis Classic sale, Private Harry is trained by the Newcastle-based Nathan Doyle, who has only held a trainer’s licence for a few years. “It means so much,” said Doyle. “When we first went out training, I had three horses that we owned ourselves, you have to prove yourself and it takes time. It has been so hard to get here, taking our time, proving ourselves, getting the staff and the horses. He is such a beautiful horse, and what about Ash [Morgan]? They ask why do you stick with him? He is a mate, he rides work and he hasn’t done anything wrong. I met him in Scone when he was first starting out in Australia, he had to go to the non-TAB’s to get a ride - now look at him.”

’Incredible feeling’

Taking the mount was the 34-year-old Welsh-born jockey Ashley Morgan, who began his apprenticeship with Mark Tompkins at Newmarket before restarting his career in Australia in 2018. “I started at the non-Tabs and every year it’s got better and better,” said Morgan. “I had my first Stakes winner here on Wednesday [Iowna Merc in the Listed Canterbury Stakes at Warwick Farm] and I don’t really get that animated, but I lost it over the line today, it was an incredible feeling. He’s an incredible horse. The whole race we ran along and all I was doing was asking him to come back and we got the 600m and I couldn’t hold him any longer. I let him go through his gears, presented him, but didn’t go and he was electric.”

TAB Telegraph (Group 1)

THE Iffraaj filly Grail Seeker has bookended the new year with back-to-back Group 1 wins.

A comfortable winner of the Tarzino Trophy in September over 1,400 metres at Hastings, Grail Seeker, unraced for the subsequent 118 days, was sent out a $4.40 favourite despite coming back to 1,200 metres for the Group 1 Telegraph at Trentham.

On board the Lance O’Sullivan and Andrew Scott-trained filly was British jockey Kevin Stott, who has been in New Zealand since mid-October, with this, his first Group 1 in the ‘Shaky Isles’.

Kept away from the early speed in the field of 10, Stott angled the filly clear on rounding the Trentham bend.

Let loose, she swept to the lead to stamp her authority in a fashion which suggests better spoils await.

Winning by three lengths, Grail Seeker defeated the Satono Aladdin horse Sacred Satono, with the El Roca gelding Navigator third.

“She was pretty electric, it was push-button stuff for me on top,” said Stott.

“We went at a nice enough speed, and she was comfortable in the soft ground today. The team had her spot on for this. She felt really good when I rode her in a trial the other day.”

Bought for NZ$130,000 at New Zealand Bloodstock’s 2022 Book 1 of Karaka, Grail Seeker has now won four from 11.

“After she won the [Group 1] Tarzino in the spring, it was Andrew’s [Scott] idea to give her a quiet time and set her up to try to win one of the big sprints over the summer.

“It’s always good when a plan comes off. I’m delighted for the team and delighted for the horse,” said Lance O’Sullivan.

LAST week’s Group 2 Sir Patrick Hogan Stakes winner Real Class has been sold to Australian Bloodstock.

“She appealed to us as one of the better fillies over in New Zealand this year, and she has a bit of size and quality in her physique as well, which always helps with a staying type of three-year-old,” said Australian Bloodstock’s Luke Murrell.

“Melissa Robinson helps us with all the horses we purchase from New Zealand. We’ve used her for a few years now and had a bit of success together, and hopefully this filly will be more of the same.”

Trained by Jenna Mahoney, the Vadamos filly has won two from four, having debuted in November.

“She’ll come across to Chris Waller’s stable in time, but we’ll just need to work out a plan around what our next step is going to be,” Murrell said.

“We could bring her across to Australia early, or she could stay in New Zealand for a campaign centred around an Oaks.”

Worth NZ$1 million this year, the Oaks will be run on March 22nd, the same day as the Golden Slipper in Sydney.