WHILE the Saturday’s Magic Millions raceday was washed out, their Gold Coast Magic Millions Yearling sale continued with new records set in Book 1.

Across the four sessions, 926 yearlings were offered with 766 yearlings selling at an average of A$269,745 off a clearance rate of 82.7%.

The median was $200,000 with the overall gross for Book 1 at $206,625,000. The highest price for a yearling ever sold at the Magic Millions was first broken in session three as the hammer fell at $2.8 million for the Snitzel colt out of Humma Humma, before that the record was broken again in the final session when the Home Affairs filly out of Sunlight sold for $3.2 million.

Overall, 13 yearlings sold for seven figures, a number lower than in recent years where yearlings numbering 23, 20 and 19 have made over a million from 2024 to 2022 respectively.

“A gross of $205 million exceeded our expectations. A clearance of 81% is healthy and acceptable.

“We’ve had some very high clearance rates here in the past few years,” said Magic Million’s general manager Barry Bowditch.

Exceptional average

“An average of $270,000 is fantastic. We would have taken that and ran at the start of the week. It is an exceptional average which includes 13 one million dollar horses.”

The leading sire of the sale was Snitzel whose 27 yearlings to sell averaged $765,556. Just shading Snitzel’s gross of $20.67 million though was I Am Invincible whose 38 yearlings to sell grossed $22.05 million.

The leading first season sire was Home Affairs, who was also the best represented in that category. His 45 yearlings to sell averaged $396,333 for a gross of $17,835,000 which is buoyed somewhat by the sale of his record breaking $3.2 million Sunlight filly.

The leading buyer, both in terms of gross and volume was the triumvirate of Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott Racing, and Kestrel Thoroughbreds. That combination secured 24 yearlings for just over $9 million at an average of $375,208.

On the other side of the fence, Newgate Farm were the leading vendor selling 53 yearlings for an aggregate of $18.575 million which averaged $350,472.

Record-priced yearling goes to Japan

JAPANESE trainer Mitsu Nakauchida set a new Magic Millions yearling record when he went to $3.2 to stave off an international buying bench and secure the Coolmore-bred and consigned Home Affairs filly out of the Zoustar mare Sunlight.

“Mainly I came here for this filly and I just arrived yesterday,” said Nakauchida. “I was just lucky to secure the filly. Physically she is good and you cannot fault the pedigree. I’m very happy.

“I expected to pay a high price and it is a little bit more than the budget but I hope the filly is worth it. She will go back to Japan and be trained with me. Hopefully she will make a nice racehorse.

“Australian mares do quite well in Japan at the moment. They go well with Japanese stallions. We will give her all the time she wants and hopefully she has the chance to mature herself in time,” Nakauchida added.

$6 million

Tom Magnier purchased Sunlight in 2020 as a three-time Group 1 winner for $4.2 million after she initially made $300,000 at the 2017 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale. Her three foals have been offered and sold as yearlings, grossing $6 million in total.

“That is what you dream of,” said a delighted Magnier. “Home Affairs, it is great for him, but we can’t do this without our partners. We’re so excited.

“When you have a mare like that and a filly like that, she has been the talking point of the sales all week, really you can’t pinpoint the exact figure you’d get but Mitsu is one of the great trainers around the world. He’s a great judge and I really wish him all the best with her. She’s fantastic.”

Magic Millions Raceday rescheduled due to rain

THE Magic Millions Raceday was abandoned after three races after 41mm of rain fell on Saturday’s raceday.

The widespread heavy rain wiped out most racing across Queensland and New South Wales. With lights now installed at the Gold Coast after a $62 million redevelopment, the meeting was run under lights last night, Friday the 17th.

“I think the Magic Millions under lights will be a great spectacle for everybody,” said Gold Coast Turf Club chief executive Steve Lines leading into the meeting.

“We want to get people back here through the gates on Friday night, it will be the first Magic Millions under lights, there we go.

“We are just working through things, we will probably open up the gates to free entry, that’s where my headspace is at the moment.”

Foley in the winner’s circle

SHANE Foley landed his first winner in Australia at Pakenham last Friday, guiding the Ciaron Maher-trained Sacred Rocks to a narrow victory.

It was his eighth race start in Australia. The following day Foley had four at Flemington, his best a pair of fourth places.

“We came over here with no promises really, it’s just kind of quiet at home,” said Foley post-race at Pakenham. “I’ve been riding out for Ciaron, doing a bit of work for the Freedmans as well.

“I’ve been here about a week. I’ve had a couple of seconds, so it was nice to get one on the board. It’s quiet at home at the moment, and we have no horses travelling – I ride for Mrs (Jessica) Harrington.

“The Yulong crowd were always onto me to chance my arm over here, just during winter for the off-season. A good friend of mine works for Ciaron as well in Adrian Joyce, so he’s been hounding me to come over for a while, too. It’s great to be here – it’s minus four (degrees) at home.”

Osborne back in saddle

HAVING endured a bumpy start in Melbourne with a couple of suspensions, Saffie Osborne was back in the winners’ circle landing her fifth winner from 62 starts when she was a comfortable winner on Picture Perfect for trainer Graham Begg at Pakenham last Friday.

Consistent in the saddle, over 40% of Osborne’s mounts have finished top three with her best effort a listed win at Geelong on January 4th in the A$300,000 Coastal Classic over 1,700 metres aboard the Almanzor gelding Holymanz for trainer Ciaron Maher.

“I luckily got on the back of the right horse turning in, and he is extremely uncomplicated,” remarked Osborne at the time of Holymanz. “He’s extremely tough, he’s got a great attitude, and as I said, a jockey’s dream.

“It’s been a turbulent run so far, but hopefully today can set things on the right track. It’s been great, and I love being here.”

Thorndon Mile (Group 1)

SAM Spratt put on a riding masterclass to win the Group 1 Thorndon Mile at Trentham last Saturday.

Riding the Stephen Marsh-trained Provence, the 40-year-old, third on the New Zealand Jockeys Premiership at present, jumped cleanly from the barriers in the 15-horse field to take up a rails’ run on the back of the race favourite Qali Al Farrasha in fifth position.

Biding her time, she angled off the fence approaching the bend giving Provence every chance to have a clean sight down the straight.

Into the clear with 300 metres remaining, the Savabeel mare stuck to her task wearing down her rivals to land the win in the final stride as the first eight across the line finished within a length of each other.

The win brought up a blacktype treble for Spratt who had already won the Listed Wellesley Stakes on To Cap It All, also for Stephen Marsh, as well as the Group 2 Levin Classic on Savaglee for Pam Gerard.

Extra special

“It’s been a huge day,” said Spratt. “Coming into today, I knew I had three decent rides in those big races. It’s great that it all panned out. It’s extra special because I was born just a couple of kilometres down the road from here. I think I even went for a bolt around this track on a pony when I was a kid.”

With Marsh on the Gold Coast for the Magic Millions sale, it was foreman Dylan Johnson representing the stable.

“These Group 1 wins are why you do it,” said Johnson. “She’s a quality mare. I remember Stephen saying to me after a gallop in the early stages of this preparation, ‘She’ll win a Group 1 this season.’ She’s proved him right. She’s all class.

Unlucky

“She’s continued to come through the grades. She was unlucky in the (Group 2) Rich Hill (Mile). She’s just kept progressing and is such a tough, genuine racehorse.”

A home-bred by her part-owner Tony Rider, Provence has won five from 14 and becomes the 35th Group I winner for Waikato Stud’s nine-time Champion Stallion Savabeel, who also sired Saturday’s Group 2 winner Savaglee.