The record books were rewritten again on Friday on the Gold Coast when the Home Affairs filly from former superstar racemare Sunlight sold for A$3.2 million.
The international significance and appeal of the pin-up Gold Coast auction hit fever pitch late in the Howden Super Session when top class Japanese trainer Mitsu Nakauchida outlasted an international bidding battle to secure the prized filly.
The Home Affairs filly sold for a staggering A$3.2 mil on the Gold Coast (Pic – Magic Millions)
Her price of A$3.2 million eclipsed the all-time Gold Coast Yearling Sale record price of A$2.8 million set on Thursday by the Snitzel colt from Humma Humma.
“Mainly I came here for this filly and I just arrived yesterday,” a delighted Nakauchida said. “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 trained with me. Hopefully she will make a nice racehorse.”
The leading Japanese trainer has tasted great success with Australian bloodlines over recent years and is hoping the Sunlight filly continues this trend.
“I’ve been lucky to have had success with Australian mares. I have Liberty Island out of Yankee Rose. I have another very good three-year-old called Eri King out of Youngstar. So 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.
Coolmore’s Tom Magnier, who purchased Sunlight as a broodmare prospect at the Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale, was thrilled with the result – a new record price for a first season sire.
“Very much so,” he beamed. “That is what you dream of. 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. I think that she is the best foal that the mare has had. She has been a cracker since day one. She is a lovely mare and we are delighted.”
“It is a great thrill for all the team at the farm,” Magnier added.
The sale’s leading buyers Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott Racing and Kestrel Thoroughbreds teamed up with American John Stewart’s Resolute Bloodstock to secure the second top seller of the day for A$1.6 million not long after the Sunlight record breaker.
That quartet outlasted spirited opposition to secure Eneeza’s half-sister, the Snitzel filly from Sweet Sherry from the draft of Silverdale Farm.
“We had to be patient all sale, but we were keen to secure her,” Bott said. “We saw the relation go through the sale a few years back and we were very keen to follow her through and we missed. We weren’t going to miss this one. We organised a group together which includes John Stewart from Resolute Racing who has obviously made an impression at this sale as well.”
“This is the first horse we were able to partner with him and we feel it was the right fit with the quality filly at the sale to put up to him and race with him. I think it will be a great fit with some local partners. She’s a quality filly off a great farm and just looked the ultimate professional all sale and Snitzel obviously a champion stallion. She just looked a real classy, quality filly,” Bott added.
The top five sellers on Day Four, the Howden Super Session, were all fillies.
The Book One section of the 2025 Gold Coast Yearling Sale rounded out with a gross of over A$205.4 million with an average price of A$272,507 and clearance rate of over 81 per cent.
“I was thrilled months ago when I looked at the way the catalogue was lotted. We had a great ending to the sale and our vendors knew that before they supported the sale. We felt as if vendors bought into the Friday night.”
“A gross of A$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. 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.”
Bowditch was delighted to see the Sunlight filly set a new Magic Millions record.
“It’s fantastic to have a buyer that hasn’t spent a lot of time in Australia or Magic Millions to attend the sale and take home the highest priced of all time here at Magic Millions. We’ve got to thank Coolmore Stud for supporting the sale with great horses. Obviously, it was some bidding duel and two big international players paired off which was outstanding.”
“That is our mandate to get them into the Gold Coast. To have them doing what they’ve done is outstanding. A couple of weeks ago Mitsu contacted us and showed interest in the sale. He showed interest in horses in the back part of the book which is great.”
“He obviously liked the filly on pedigree, and he had seen photos and got her and fell in love with her. We look forward to following her progress in Japan.”
Newgate Farm (A$18.475 million) was the leading vendor by gross, while Segenhoe Stud (A$459,063) was on top for vendor by average.
Former Gold Coast Yearling Sale purchase Snitzel notched his best ever sale average – he led all comers at A$765,556 for 27 sold – edging international champion Frankel.
The immediate focus now switches to tomorrow’s A$14.5 million The Star Gold Coast Magic Millions Raceday at the Gold Coast Turf Club with an exciting 10 race card to be decided.
Selling will return to the Magic Millions complex with the Book Two section of the Gold Coast Yearling Sale commencing on Sunday and continuing on Monday.
SALE STATISTICS (2024 in brackets)
- Lots Catalogued: 1021 (1020)
- Lots Sold: 754 (800)
- Lots Passed In: 172 (132)
- Lots Withdrawn: 95 (88)
- Top Price: A$3,200,000 (A$2,100,000)
- Sale Gross: A$205,470,000 (A$223,475,500)
- Average Price: A$272,507 (A$279,344)
- Median Price: A$200,000 (A$200,000)
- Sold %: 81.4 (86)
DAY FOUR TOP SELLERS
A$3,200,000 – Home Affairs-Sunlight filly (Lot 1007)
- Vendor: Coolmore Stud (As Agent)
- Buyer: Mitsu Nakauchida (Japan)
A$1,600,000 – Snitzel-Sweet Sherry filly (Lot 1017)
- Vendor: Silverdale Farm
- Buyer: Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott Racing/Kestrel T’breds/Resolute B’stock (NSW)
A$900,000 – Frankel-Of Good Cheer filly (Lot 742)
- Vendor: Yulong (As Agent)
- Buyer: Ciaron Maher B’stock/Belmont B’stock (Vic)
A$900,000 – I Am Invincible-Saas Fee filly (Lot 867)
- Vendor: Vinery Stud (As Agent)
- Buyer: Waller Racing/Mulcaster B’stock (NSW)
A$800,000 – Extreme Choice-Speak Fondly filly (Lot 975)
- Vendor: Newgate Farm (As Agent)
- Buyer: Michael Freedman Racing/Michael Waller/Emirates Park (NSW)
OVERALL BOOK ONE TOP SELLERS
A$3,200,000 – Home Affairs-Sunlight filly (Lot 1007)
- Vendor: Coolmore Stud (As Agent)
- Buyer: Mitsu Nakauchida (Japan)
A$2,800,000 – Snitzel-Humma Humma colt (Lot 489)
- Vendor: Widden Stud (As Agent)
- Buyer: Ciaron Maher B’stock (Vic)
A$2,300,000 – I Am Invincible-Eloping filly (Lot 353)
- Vendor: Segenhoe Stud (As Agent)
- Buyer: Laguna Partnership/John Sargent Racing (NSW)
A$1,800,000 – Written Tycoon-In Her Time colt (Lot 505)
- Vendor: Yulong (As Agent)
- Buyer: Tom Magnier (NSW)
A$1,800,000 – Written Tycoon-Away Game filly (Lot 185)
- Vendor: Yulong (As Agent)
- Buyer: Resolute B’stock/Ciaron Maher B’stock(USA)
A$1,700,000 – Snitzel-Fashion Faux Pas colt (Lot 387)
- Vendor: Newgate Farm (As Agent)
- Buyer: Tom Magnier (NSW)
A$1,700,000 – Wootton Bassett-Battleofwinterfell colt (Lot 196)
- Vendor: Milburn Creek
- Buyer: Dean Hawthorne B’stock (NZ)
A$1,600,000 – Snitzel-Sweet Sherry filly (Lot 1017)
- Vendor: Silverdale Farm
- Buyer: Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott Racing/Kestrel T’breds/Resolute B’stock (NSW)
A$1,600,000 – I Am Invincible-Avantage filly (Lot 182)
- Vendor: Coolmore Stud (As Agent)
- Buyer: Resolute B’stock (USA)
A$1,150,000 – I Am Invincible-Fiera Vista colt (Lot 396)
- Vendor: Segenhoe Stud (As Agent for Fairway T’breds)
- Buyer: Tom Magnier (NSW)
LEADING BUYERS (ranked by total spend)
- A$9,005,000 – Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott/Kestrel T’breds – 24 lots
- A$7,430,000 – Waller Racing/Mulcaster B’stock – 17 lots
- A$6,630,000 – Ciaron Maher B’stock – 18 lots
- A$6,385,000 – David Ellis/Te Akau Racing – 20 lots
- A$6,000,000 – Tom Magnier – 5 lots
LEADING VENDORS (ranked by gross)
- A$18,475,000 – Newgate Farm – 52 sold
- A$14,690,000 – Segenhoe Stud – 32 sold
- A$13,540,000 – Coolmore Stud – 33 sold
- A$12,925,000 – Arrowfield Stud – 44 sold
- A$11,865,000 – Widden Stud – 33 sold
LEADING VENDORS (ranked by average – 3 or more sold)
- A$459,063 – Segenhoe Stud – 32 sold
- A$447,083 – Silverdale Farm – 12 sold
- A$444,286 – Milburn Creek – 7 sold
- A$410,435 – Yulong – 23 sold
- A$410,303 – Coolmore Stud – 33 sold
LEADING SIRES (ranked by average – 3 or more sold)
- A$765,556 – Snitzel – 27 sold
- A$762,500 – Frankel – 4 sold
- A$580,395 – I Am Invincible – 38 sold
- A$538,214 – Written Tycoon – 14 sold
- A$478,333 – Extreme Choice – 12 sold
