IRISH eyes are smiling after a team with deep and lasting links to the emerald isle set a Magic Millions yearling sales record on January 12.
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Less than 24 hours after Victoria-based Yulong Investments broke a 14-year-old record with a bid of $2.6 million for a Zoustar sister to Sunlight, Coolmore, Ireland's racing and breeding giant, bought a colt for a jaw-dropping $2.7mil.
Presented for sale by Segenhoe Stud, the record-breaking colt is another high priced son of I Am Invincible from Anaheed.
Coolmore's Tom Magnier said he was delighted to acquire the colt.
"Fairness to Segenhoe, they've done a great job with their colts," Magnier said, adding the new buy reminded him of Home Affairs, a previous Group 1 winner for Coolmore now at stud.
"He looked a lot like Home Affairs walking around the ring, so it is really exciting to get him and we'll take him home and work out what we're doing.
"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.
"He's a lovely horse 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."
Segenhoe's Peter O'Brien was thrilled with the unexpected result.
"He's as good a horse as we've ever had (and) was unbelievably popular and all the big buyers were on him," O'Brien said.
Trainer Mick Price won a tense bidding duel with Newgate Farm to snare a son of Extreme Choice, which Price prepared to win twice at G1 level.
"We want a good son of Extreme Choice and I thought he was a good son," Price said, after parting with $1mil.
"We had Henry Field (Newgate) sitting a half-length off us for the whole bidding which makes them dearer but in Henry's opinion and in our opinion he was the best Extreme Choice colt on the grounds."
At the close of day three of yearling sales, the gross stands at $154mil with an average of $306,240 and a clearance rate of 87 per cent.
The sale continues today and over the weekend.
Alan Welburn
Lover of sport, particularly horse racing and all things Olympic. Have spent my entire working life in journalism, mostly with News Corp on its major metro mastheads. Done plenty of things but the best by far is having a teenage son who calls me dad.
Lover of sport, particularly horse racing and all things Olympic. Have spent my entire working life in journalism, mostly with News Corp on its major metro mastheads. Done plenty of things but the best by far is having a teenage son who calls me dad.
