FROM an opening gambit of A$1.5 million the Snitzel filly Away Game became the top lot at the Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale, the gavel halting proceedings at $4 million.

“She’s obviously a fantastic racemare,” said Yulong’s Sam Fairgray who signed on behalf of the Written Tycoon Syndicate having outlasted Coolmore. “She’s a beautiful looking specimen.

“We are really pleased to take her home. She’ll have a couple more starts and then have a date with Written Tycoon.”

The result made her the fourth highest broodmare to sell at auction in Australia, besting the session’s earlier top the $3.1 million also paid by Yulong Stud, for Tofane, the four-time Group 1 winner by Ocean Park.

Yulong’s four syndicates representing their stallions Written Tycoon, Lucky Vega, Tagaloa and Alabama Express, bought 63 fillies and mares for a total of $29.275 million. Yulong Stud, owned by Chinese billionaire Yuesheng Zhang, is Gerry Ryan’s former property Limerick Lane, situated near Nagambie in Victoria.

Over the course of the sale’s three days, receipts for the 549 fillies and mares to sell tallied $123,794,500.

Their average was $225,491 and the sale’s median reached $140,000 with the clearance rate at 70 percent. Eighteen lots broke through seven figures.

Major players

Irish agent Dermot Farrington was one of the sales major players signing for nine yearlings to the tune of $4.91 million with his highest purchase the $1.7 million outlayed for the American-bred Group 1 Coolmore Classic winner Lighthouse by Mizzen Mast, the fourth top of the sale.

“These mares are relatively cheap compared to the rest of the world,” said Farrington. “The model down here is as near as you want to get to perfect as far as prize money is concerned. Stallions make a lot of money off the track and you can get a lot of money for a good racehorse to go to stud.

“So, the mares, they’re still good value here and I think in the future there’s probably room for mares to get more expensive in this country.”