A beautifully presented filly by champion sire I Am Invincible made history when she sold for A$400,000 to top Day One of the 2024 Magic Millions Adelaide Yearling Sale on Monday.
The I Am Invincible Team enjoys a top sales day! (Pic – Magic Millions)
Presented by breeder Baramul Stud, the filly broke the previous record set by a daughter of Dundeel two years ago who sold for A$375,000.
Today’s top seller is the first foal of a winning and Sydney placed Redoute’s Choice half-sister to Sambro.
When the gavel fell at A$400,000 the successful buyer of the filly was Kennewell Racing in partnership with Group 1 Bloodstock and Ridgeport Holdings.
“She was a bloody good filly and I thought she probably could’ve been at the Gold Coast or even Easter,” buyer Lloyd Kennewell said.
“She’s one of the best ‘Vinnies’ I’ve seen all year and that says something because we see a lot of them and there are some million-dollar Vinnie fillies around.”
“She looks like a filly that will be perfect for the race (Magic Millions 2YO Classic) next year.”
“I knew she’d be expensive, but I didn’t know where that would be, so it was tricky.”
“I had Santo Guagliardo, my client on the phone from Ridgeport Holdings in WA, and I didn’t quote him that much money for her and we didn’t start bidding or talking until she got to A$340,000.
“I told him this was the one I really wanted, so we had two bids on her, and we were lucky to secure her,” Kennewell added.
Late in the afternoon co-trainers Anthony and Sam Freedman, bidding via phone, went to A$300,000 to secure a Justify colt from the draft of Rushton Park.
The colt, bred by the Huddy family’s Peachester Lodge, attracted strong interest when he entered the ring and Freedman’s final offer was too much for a string of underbidders including the McEvoy Mitchell and Belmont Bloodstock partnership.
“We are thrilled with the result,” breeder Linda Huddy said. “The colt had developed nicely leading into the sale and was beautifully presented.”
“He’s from one of our nice young stakes placed mares – the sort you love to breed with. It was a great result being her first foal.”
The Justify colt’s dam, the Savabeel mare Shop Til I Drop, was a four-time winner and ran second in a Group Two Queen of the South Stakes before retiring to stud.
Earlier in the day Shane Grath, buying for Hong Kong clients, went to A$225,000 to secure a Toronado colt from the draft of Balcrest Stud.
“I thought he was a lovely colt,” McGrath said. “Toronado is a very good sire, here and in Hong Kong.”
“He’s a good moving horse who was lovely and clean.”
“We’ll take him home and put him into the system at Cranbourne with Clinton McDonald, get him rolling and work out if he races in Australia or he heads to Hong Kong.”
“He is a lovely colt and there’s some nice horses here at the Adelaide Sale,” McGrath added.
Across the day over A$7.4 million was traded on 146 lots sold at an average price of A$51,208 and clearance rate of 74 per cent.
“I think the way we closed off today, we’re pleased with how the day went,” Magic Millions Managing Director Barry Bowditch said. “To have a clearance rate of 74 per cent and an average of A$51,000, they’re healthy numbers to finish Day One with.”
“It started pretty harshly. It was tough for the first two to three hours, clearing only half of what we were offering, but once the sale wound up, buyers got confidence to bid in the market and vendors may well have adjusted their reserves at some point.”
“All in all, we found a good median and it got healthier as the day went on. It puts us in good shape to end with what, this year, is seen as an acceptable clearance rate at the end of tomorrow,” Bowditch added.
Sale Statistics (2023 in brackets)
- Lots Catalogued: 226 (234)
- Lots Sold: 146 (155)
- Lots Passed In: 52 (46)
- Lots Withdrawn: 28 (33)
- Sale Gross: A$7,476,500 (A$8,351,000)
- Top Price: A$400,000 (A$230,000)
- Average Price: A$51,208 (A$53,877)
- Median Price: A$35,000 (A$40,000)
- Sold %: 74 (77)
Top Sellers
- A$400,000 – I Am Invincible-Les Amoureux filly (Lot 63). Vendor: Baramul Stud / Buyer: Kennewell Racing/Group 1 B’stock/Ridgeport Holdings (Vic)
- A$300,000 – Justify-Shop Til I Drop colt (Lot 210). Rushton Park (As Agent for Peachester Lodge) / Anthony Freedman Racing (Vic)
- A$225,000 – Toronado-Kabini colt (Lot 35). Balcrest Stud / Shane McGrath (Hong Kong)
- A$200,000 – The Autumn Sun-Le Societe coilt (Lot 61). Cornerstone Stud (As Agent) / Ballymore Stables/Catheryne Bruggeman/Paul Moroney B’stock (Vic)
- A$180,000 – Too Darn Hot-Just Discreet colt (Lot 34). Mill Park Stud (As Agent) / John O’Neill/Punt Road Racing/Michael Hickmott (SA)
- A$180,000 – Russian Camelot-Shakespearean Lass filly (Lot 201). Widden Stud (As Agent) / Griffiths De Kock Racing
To view the results of the sale or to make an offer on a passed in lot click here.
Day Two of the 2024 Adelaide Yearling Sale commences at 10h00 on Tuesday.
