A Kingman (GB) filly sold for $650,000 to top Vinery Stud’s Day 1 draft at the Gold Coast Magic Millions and Ole Kirk is part of a crowded field for first-season honours after an opening average of $267,000.
Vinery was a Top 10 vendor with $1.53million turnover at a $306,000 average for five of six sold. The first-season stats suggest a close finish to Book 1 averages by Saturday evening with tight margins between Farnan ($290k), King’s Legacy ($282k), Wootton Bassett ($280k) and Ole Kirk ($267k).
$650,000 – Lot 78 Filly Kingman – Rainbow Falls (Dubawi) Vinery Stud
Yulong Investments was the industry’s leading buyer by a wide margin at the 2023 majors and its first yearling buy this year was Vinery Stud’s $650,000 filly by Kingman (GB) at the Gold Coast Magic Millions.
“Kingman is a pre-imminent international sire and her dam is an Irish-bred daughter of Dubawi from a successful domestic family,” Yulong Investments General Manager Vin Cox said. “It’s a commercial pedigree and we will knock her into shape and then she will join our 2yo team for next season.”
The filly’s second-dam Colour (More Than Ready) won a Group 3 SAJC Breeders Stakes (1200m) and her third and fourth dams – Regrowth (Unbridled’s Song) and True Blonde (Naturalism) – were Listed winners at Flemington.
In addition to his huge spend at the Yearling Sales last year, Yulong Investments founder Zhang Yuesheng also parted with seven-figure sums for Jamaea (Headwater) and Macroura (Snitzel) when they were offered off the track by Vinery as prospective broodmares.
$330,000 – Lot 120 Colt Exceedance – Runway Star (Northern Meteor) Vinery Stud
Champion trainer Chris Waller and his bloodstock advisor Guy Mulcaster weighed in with $330,000 for the second-crop Exceedance colt from Vinery on Tuesday. “We inspected him here four days ago and he presented as a very strong type,” Mulcaster said. “The price was within our budget and Chris liked him, too.”
Exceedance sired him from a Group 3 Proud Miss Stakes winner in Adelaide and will join an Exceedance – Pussycat Willow 2yo filly that is pleasing the stable early doors. She was a $250,000 buy for Waller and Magic Bloodstock from Vinery at last year’s Gold Coast Magic Millions.
$300,000 – Lot 121 Filly Ole Kirk – Saas Fee (All Too Hard) Vinery Stud
Darby Racing is flying this season with Group 1 winners the calibre of Ozzmosis (VRC Coolmore Stud Stakes) and Overpass (WA Winterbottom Stakes) but it hasn’t always been smooth sailing for founder Scott Darby.
The popular syndicator recalled some sombre days after paying $300,000 for Vinery Stud’s Ole Kirk filly out of Saas Fee. Her second-dam Snitzerland (Snitzel) was initially purchased by Darby for $125,000 as a yearling in 2011 but he sold her on in a costly decision before she had even raced.
“It was the most I had ever paid for a horse and the knockers were saying she was off-set in the knees. I had blown the budget so I rang Gerald (Ryan) and said we’ve overpaid! She ended up winning a Lightning Stakes at Flemington and I thought I had blown my only chance of winning at Group 1.
“That decision made me all the more determined,” Darby continued. “I really rate this Ole Kirk filly. She has a lovely action and the right attitude. As a matter of fact, she passed all our parameters.”
$300,000 – Lot 18 Colt Ole Kirk – Oxford Angel (Nicconi) Widden Stud
Leading agent Damon Gabbedy struck early on Tuesday morning for the first Ole Kirk when paying $300,000 for the chestnut colt on behalf of Ben Willis (MyRacehorse Australia). He will be trained by Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott.
“I’m very keen on Ole Kirk. He’s a proper Group 1 sire,” Gabbedy declared. “He was an outstanding racehorse with a proven pedigree and this colt is a real athlete.”
Gabbedy had purchased Dublin Down for Tony and Calvin McEvoy from the first-crop of Vinery sire Exceedance at last year’s Magic Millions. He won the VRC Maribyrnong Plate (Gr.3, 1000m) in November and is targeting the MRC Blue Diamond Stakes (Gr.1, 1200m) at Caulfield next month.
Widden sold the Ole Kirk colt as agent for Redwall Bloodstock’s David Redvers and Hannah Wall. They had pinhooked him from Rosari Farm for $200,000 at last year’s Magic Millions National Foal Sale. His dam Oxford Angel (Nicconi) is the from the ‘Oxford’ family of stakes winners led by ATC Winter Stakes winner Oxford Poet (LR, 1200m).
$200,000 – Lot 48 Colt Ole Kirk – Pop Girl (Snitzel) North Bloodstock
A dead-ringer for Ole Kirk and the first yearling to go under the hammer at public auction for North Bloodstock’s Mick Malone after many years managing Kitchwin Hills.
Bevan Smith Bloodstock and Andrew Williams Bloodstock combined to buy him for $200,000. “I’ve been very impressed with the quality of the Ole Kirk yearlings,” Smith said. “I saw this colt at the farm and I liked his attitude here on the sale-grounds. He’s a lovely mover with the speed to be an ideal early 2yo next season.”
Vinery kicks off Wednesday’s session with the first to parade as Lot 211. The Castelvecchio – So Magic (Magic Albert) filly is being offered as agent for the Esplin Family.
