| A colt by champion international sire Frankel topped Day One of the 2026 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale on Tuesday when selling for $2 million. |
| The colt, presented by Segenhoe Stud for Fairway Thoroughbreds, attracted a flurry of bids when presented as Lot 59 and in the end it was Coolmore Stud’s Tom Magnier who held the bid when auctioneer Grant Burns brought down the gavel. “He was one of the standouts,” Magnier reported. “We’ve had a lot of luck with Segenhoe.” “We’ve had a lot (more) of Frankels in the Northern Hemisphere than in the Southern Hemisphere so we know them well. We’ve had a lot of luck with the grand dam.” “All the team really liked him. He’s a lovely fluid action horse and he ticks all the boxes.” “We’ve bought him in a syndicate with Chris (Waller) so he’ll go straight in with him.” “Fair play to Peter O’Brien and John Camilleri. They breed good horses and we’re just delighted to be a part of it. We’ve got a great syndicate.” The colt is a brother to the lightly raced and stakes placed filly Chateau Eze and is from an unraced Lonhro daughter of multiple Group winner A Time for Julia. “There’s some lovely horses here this week and we’re hoping that we can get some nice horses to go home,” Magnier continued. “Chris really liked the horse all week. I suppose there’s a couple of horses that you don’t agree on but when everybody agrees on a horse, it gives you the confidence to go a little bit further.” The result delighted the team from Segenhoe Stud who presented the colt on behalf of the Camilleri family’s Fairway Thoroughbreds. “Yes,” Peter O’Brien exclaimed when asked if the result exceeded expectations. “We knew he’d sell well, a lot of the right people were on him, but you never expect that number.” “Beautiful colt, precocious, fast, the sister (Chateau Eze) we think is going to be a Group winner in the autumn. (She) jumped out really well yesterday.” “John Camilleri sends those mares over there (to be mated in the UK). It’s a big risk to send them up there, travel them, bring them back, foal them, etcetera, so he deserves all the credit.” “The main thing for us is he’s gone to Chris Waller and Coolmore. They’ve been great supporters of ours.” “The mother had a tonne of ability but it doesn’t read it in the book, so John backed his knowledge of her ability and had a big swing with her and he’s got the just rewards,” O’Brien added. The second top seller on the day came late in the afternoon when the Extreme Choice colt from Dame Giselle sold for $1.2 million to Chris Waller and Guy Mulcaster. He is the third foal of Dame Giselle, a four time Group Two winning I Am Invincible daughter of Ballet Society. He was a member of The Chase draft, a homebred for China Horse Club. “We’re pretty happy with that colt,” Mulcaster said. “He looked sharp and he’s got a beautiful family.” “We looked at him two days ago with Chris and he said they all run out of that family and that was good enough for me.” “I thought we’d be hard enough to beat and we didn’t let on too much what we were up to, so we probably got him at the right odds.” “He looks a beautiful horse and let’s hope he’s back here next year.” “He doesn’t get many in-foal,” Mulcaster noted of the colt’s sire Extreme Choice. “The less there are the harder they are to buy, so we’re pretty happy to have got him and we got one with one of the best pedigrees, so fingers crossed.” The third of the yearlings to sell for over $1 million was the I Am Invincible filly from Avantage who sold for $1.05 million to Glentree Thoroughbreds and Badgers Bloodstock. The filly is the third foal of the nine time Group One winning Fastnet Rock mare Avantage and she was presented for sale by Coolmore Stud.“She did everything we look for in a filly,” Glentree’s Stud Manager Luke Simpson said. “She’s a really good physical, beautiful mover and out of a multiple stakes winner – a phenomenal racehorse.” “She ticks a lot of boxes for our program going forward.”“We’re looking to get a racing career out of her and hopefully she can step up to some of mum’s form and to join our broodmare band going forward.”“There are a couple of other fillies who we have our eye on but this was our main target so we’re delighted to secure her,” Simpson added. Across the Day One action some 145 lots sold at an average price of $284,724 and clearance rate of over 78 per cent – both up on last year’s corresponding opening session. “It has been a really pleasing day,” Magic Millions Managing Director Barry Bowditch said. “The vibe when I came back from the barrier draw when I walked in, the stand was already full and it had a good feel about it.” “The sale had a really solid start. I think it is a really genuine market. The vendors are very motivated to meet the market and get their horses sold.” “I was talking to the auctioneers through the day and they were commenting on the number of horses that were reaching reserve that they were going on and making reserve plus prices.” “That’s always a great sign that there’s genuine competition out there. The statistics themselves, to be sitting at 78% on day one, a median of $200,000, an average of $285,000 are all numbers that were within my expectation.” “I thought today’s sale was something we’d build upon. I feel as if the lists out there from the market are longer over the next couple of days and I think the market found its feet today.” “There’s good confidence out there.” Bowditch was delighted to see today’s top seller, the Frankel colt from Segenhoe, sell for an even $2 million. “I thought from the time I saw him in August he was a seven-figure horse,” he noted. “He’s always been an outstanding animal with a good pedigree off a great farm, bred by an unbelievable breeder and a great supporter of the sale.” “I thought $2 million was a great result for him but, in saying that, he’s an unbelievable-looking Frankel with a great pedigree.” “If he wins the right races, he’s priceless, whether it be here or back up north,” Bowditch added. To view the results of the sale so far or to make an offer on a passed in lot click here. Day Two of the 2026 Gold Coast Yearling Sale will commence at 10am (Qld time) on Wednesday. SALE STATISTICS (2025 Day One in brackets) Lots Catalogued: 210 (240) Lots Sold: 145 (162) Lots Passed In: 40 (55) Lots Withdrawn: 24 (22) Sale Gross: $41,285,000 ($45,125,000) Top Price: $2,000,000 ($1,800,000) Average Price: $284,724 ($278,549) Median Price: $200,000 ($200,000) Sold %: 78 (75) DAY ONE TOP SELLERS $2,000,000 – Frankel-Antibes bay colt (Lot 59) Vendor: Segenhoe Stud (As Agent for Fairway T’breds) / Buyer: Tom Magnier (NSW) $1,200,000 – Extreme Choice-Dame Giselle colt (Lot 201) The Chase (As Agent) / Waller Racing/Mulcaster B’stock (NSW) $1,050,000 – I Am Invincible-Avantage filly (Lot 75) Coolmore Stud (As Agent) / Glentree T’breds/Badgers B’stock (Vic) $950,000 – I Am Invincible-Alassio colt (Lot 35) Silverdale Farm / Ciaron Maher B’stock/David Redvers B’stock (Vic) $875,000 – I Am Invincible-Calaverite colt (Lot 137) Emirates Park (As Agent for Merricks Station) / PR Thoroughbreds (Vic) |
