Vinery Stud’s consignment to the Magic Millions continued to trend upwards on Day 3 when its I Am Invincible – Mousai colt sold for $700,000 to agent Mark Player.
The colt with a stallion’s pedigree topped the Vinery leaders from Day 1 ($525,000) and Day 2 ($600,000) when parading as Lot 577 on Thursday. He’s the first foal from a winning half-sister to Group 1 racehorse and sire Starspangledbanner.
“He was impressive when I inspected him for the first time at Vinery,” Player recalled. “That was during our Hunter Valley tour in December and he just stuck in my mind.
“It was obvious he had kept progressing through the whole prep when I saw him again on the sale grounds last week. He’s a terrific type with a deep girth, strong hindquarter and a lovely temperament. He uses himself so well and there’s stallion potential with I Am Invincible over that page.”
Vinery partner Steve McCann bred him from Mousai (Fastnet Rock) who had won on debut for Lindsay Park at Pakenham in April 2017. Second-dam Gold Anthem (Made Of Gold) has a half-dozen black-type performers in addition to Starspangledbanner under her name in the catalogue.
“He will be syndicated among some well-known Australian-based owners,” Player revealed. “They’re all great supporters of racing here and hopefully they will enjoy racing this colt. He’s all quality and I think he’s got a future.”
Player has built a strong clientele through stints in Hong Kong, Australia & New Zealand and buys under International Thoroughbred Solutions. He also purchased Ole Kirk as a yearling and watched him develop into a Group 1 winner of the 2020 Caulfield Guineas which put the wheels in motion for a future stud career at Vinery.
Earlier on Thursday, McCann sold an All Too Hard – Kachiko colt (Lot 430) through Vinery for $230,000. He’s from a half-sister to Group 1 miler Rock Kingdom and was knocked down to Mystery Downs owner Frank Cook and trainer Lee Curtis.
Queensland agent Jim Clarke bought his second More Than Ready (USA) yearling in as many days when paying $120,000 for the colt from Lasoron (Lot 464). He had weighed in with $200,000 for the Vinery legend’s filly out of Fill Me Up (Lot 304) on Wednesday.
Magic Millions reported turnover had soared to over $134 million by the end of Day 3. The average price of $257,471 and clearance rate of 88% are tracking ahead of last year’s record-breaking figures at the same stage.
