Yulong Signs the Ticket on Tofane Full Sister

After three weeks of back-to-back sales, the Valachi Downs dispersal on Gavelhouse Plus concluded with total turnover nearing NZ$10 million (US$6,202,700).

Yulong's Written Tycoon syndicate were once again to the fore of the buyers' list, purchasing the yearling sister to four-time group 1 winner Tofane for NZ$460,000 ($285,112), having last week added their dam, Baggy Green, for NZ$1.75 million ($1,085,035).

At the Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale in May, Yulong purchased Tofane herself for AU$3.1 million ($2,203,771) to add further to their formidable broodmare band.

"We've made a big investment this year in a family that we think is only going to continue to improve," Yulong's chief operating officer Sam Fairgray said.

"Having already added Baggy Green to our broodmare band, it's great to also pick up a lovely young filly like this. She's obviously got great residual value, being a full sister to Tofane, so she's a fantastic asset to have."

Catalogued as Lot 18, the Ocean Park filly was one of 24 yearlings to sell, in addition to 14 2-year-olds, five unraced older horses, and nine horses in training.

Yulong also went to NZ$115,000 ($71,349) to purchase a yearling filly by Zoustar , who is a three-quarter sister to three-time group 1 runner-up Zousain. The filly is the first foal out of unraced mare Dark Hedges.

"This is a gorgeous-looking filly," Fairgray said. "We just thought she was a lovely yearling at a good price, so we'll take her back to Australia and see how we go with her.

"To come away with two really nice fillies, including a full sister to Tofane, is a very pleasing result."

In the horses-in-training section, stakes place-getter Glory Bound sold for NZ$430,000 ($266,613).

The rising 4-year-old finished second in the Sir Tristram Fillies' Classic (G2) in February.

Cataloged as Lot 52, Glory Bound is out of the stakes-placed mare The Tidy Express and from the family of January's Karaka Million 2YO winner Dynastic.

The completion of the latest dispersal of yearlings and young racing stock brings to a close a series of dispersal sales of Valachi Downs' bloodstock on Gavelhouse Plus, which achieved turnover of NZ$92,655,510 ($57,462,167) from 137 horses sold.

"It's enormously satisfying," Valachi Downs general manager Gareth Downey said. "There's a bit of a sense of relief now that we've made it to the end of three weeks of very demanding work for the team.

"We've had three very significant sales in consecutive weeks, with the weanlings, the broodmares, and now the racing stock.

"It's been a massive and quite exhausting team effort, and I take my hat off to the whole team for the way they've continued to front up. They've poured in endless energy to look after the horses, look after the buyers, and make sure the whole process runs as smoothly as possible.

"The way that they've all done that has been so admirable, and they're a fantastic team that I'm very fortunate to be a part of. Now we all have the chance to draw a bit of a breath.

"For us, the main measure of success with these sales was finding new homes for all of the horses, and I'm delighted that's been achieved."

The last of any remaining Valachi Downs stock will be offered in the next general gavelhouse.com fortnightly mixed bloodstock auctions this month.