Fillies May Star at Magic Millions Weanling Sale

Headline fillies could hold their own at the top end of the market at this week's Magic Millions National Weanling Sale, which gets underway at 10 a.m. local time June 1 on the Gold Coast.

Colts are often seen as the most sought-after commodities at foal sales due to their broad appeal upon the likely return to a yearling auction the following year, but such is the lure of the numerous well-bred fillies by prominent sires on offer, this year's sale could buck that trend.

Some vendors with quality select sale fillies have chosen to chance their arm in the Gold Coast marketplace during a period of immense demand for bloodstock. It could pay off handsomely as pinhookers, owners, trainers, and breeders enjoy the added option of being able to take a long-term view with their prospective purchases.

Newhaven Park has five among the 188 fillies cataloged across the 423-lot, two-day sale, including the half-sister to this season's Golden Rose Stakes (G1, 1,400m) winner In The Congo (Snitzel) from the second crop of Arrowfield Stud stallion The Autumn Sun (Redoute's Choice).

Catalogued as Lot 107, the impressive The Autumn Sun filly is the fourth foal out of three-time Grade 1-winning South African mare Via Africa (Var), a champion sprinter in 2013-14, who will appeal to buyers of many persuasions, in part due to the deeds of her 3-year-old half-brother, a colt who is likely to join the Newgate Farm stallion roster in 2023.

Newhaven Park's John Kelly said the standout filly was one of four weanlings being offered on behalf of clients who had chosen to sell their foals now rather than wait until the yearling sales next year.

"The first foal (Pleasant Endeavour) has won a couple of races in Hong Kong, and the next one is In The Congo, so she's got a magnificent pedigree and she's a special-looking filly," Kelly said.

"She's a bit unique, you don't get many weanlings offered like her. I don't think I'd be selling her if I owned her. She's a beautiful filly, and from what I've heard, she's been very well admired. 

"I would think she'll be purchased by an end user, but we may be wrong. She would be as good a weanling we'd have at Newhaven Park, so to get the opportunity to buy her as a weanling is something a little bit different."

Kelly will also offer a Capitalist (Written Tycoon) daughter of the unraced Enuff Effort (Reward For Effort), herself a half-sister to Group 2-winning stallion Rich Enuff (Written Tycoon), while a Segenhoe Stud-consigned Zoustar  (Northern Meteor) half-sister to dual Group 2 winner Pure Elation (I Am Invincible), the sixth foal out of stakes winner Members Joy (Hussonet), is also tipped to be highly sought after by the end user market given her credentials and residual value.

A Pierro (Lonhro) filly, the half-sister to Group 2 winner Fiesta (I Am Invincible), sold for $400,000 nearly a fortnight ago at the Inglis Australian Weanling Sale to top the two-session auction, while a $250,000 Deep Field (Northern Meteor) filly rounded out the top five lots in Sydney.

On the Gold Coast, Taghadoe Stud, on behalf of burgeoning Riverina breeder Doug Walker, will also offer a select sale quality filly by last season's champion first-season stallion Extreme Choice (Not A Single Doubt) as Lot 322.

She is the third foal out of Walker's mare Majestueux (Snitzel), whose yearling filly by Xtravagant (Pentire) Walker elected to retain after passing her in at the Inglis HTBA May Yearling Sale earlier this month. 

"The Extreme Choice is obviously the pin-up girl of our draft," Taghadoe Stud's Peter Burke said yesterday.

"She possesses a two-year-old (physique). She's well put together, she's strong, good bone, good head and she has good, wide nostrils on her, so she just looks very precocious at this stage.

"She is a filly that you would be happy to pay a bit of money for and bring her back in six or seven months' time to the Gold Coast. Her breeders, Doug and Lucy Walker, we hope are going to be pretty happy with the outcome, and we're privileged to be selling her for them."

Taghadoe Stud has a draft of seven weanlings on offer, including sons of Toronado  (High Chaparral), Harry Angel  (Dark Angel) and Yes Yes Yes  (Rubick), and Burke hopes buyers will strongly consider the Scone farm's horses. 

"We don't have any culls as we really wanted to bring a nice horse here that we believe will sell strongly enough, but we're not going to be too greedy," he said.