| A cracking son of classy international sire Lope de Vega topped Day One of the Magic Millions National Yearling Sale on the Gold Coast. |
| Bred by one of Ireland’s most successful stud farms and the home of his sire, the Lope de Vega colt attracted intense interest when offered as Lot 913. When the gavel fell it was KPW Bloodstock, bidding on behalf of leading owners Ron and Judi Wanless, who secured the youngster for $600,000. “He’s the sort of horse – when he walked out of the box – you hope he can meet our criteria,” KPW Bloodstock’s Kevin “Millie” Walls said. “Once he did (meet the criteria) he was always on our radar.” “Ron said buy him – so we bought him. He’s a beautiful colt.” The colt, who will race in the famous tartan colours, is the first foal of the unraced Siyouni mare Palme d’Or, a half sister to Moonee Valley Gold Cup winner Francesco Guardi. Palme d’Or herself is from a stakes performed half sister to former champion European mare Treve – a six time Group One winner and twice winner of the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe. “It’s a great result,” Glenbeigh Farm’s Denis Griffin said. “He’s a beautiful horse and he was very busy all week.” “I’d like to thank Ballylinch Stud in Ireland, the breeders of the colt, for entrusting me in selling him for them.” “All in all it’s a great result,” Griffin added. “We’re very happy!” Late in the day an Extreme Choice filly (Lot 1002) from the Newgate Farm draft sold for $580,000 to trainer Michael Freedman in partnership with bloodstock agent Andrew Williams. The filly is the third foal of the Group Three winning Volksraad mare Volks Lightning and Freedman said he was impressed with her strength despite being a December foal. “These Extreme Choice’s are going gangbusters,” Freedman said. “The stallion couldn’t be going any better.” “On the back of having another (Group Two) winner with him on Saturday I thought it would be worth coming up and having a look at this filly.” “When I saw her this morning I thought she was a gorgeous type. When you got her out of the box she didn’t look like a December foal – there was plenty of strength.” Three colts by Extreme Choice will be offered tomorrow on Day Two of the National Yearling Sale. Earlier an I Am Invincible filly from the stakes winner and top producer Loveyamadly sold for $500,000 to Gall Bloodstock and Mitchell Bloodstock to be the third top seller of the day. Across the day almost $7.4 million was traded on 122 lots sold at an average price of $60,578 (up from $44,961 on last year) and clearance rate of 76 per cent. “It was a really strong market here today,” Magic Millions Managing Director Barry Bowditch said. “It’s great to see such a diverse buying bench with good local and interstate participation which has been complemented by the international market – Hong Kong, Philippines, China, New Zealand and others.” “Whether it was a colt or a filly of quality that entered the ring there was good participation and great competition.” “Looking at the figures from previous years it’s hard not to be pleased with the increases across the board in today’s sale.” “Vendors are very willing to meet the market – those who got their horses on the market received good competition and it was a solid and genuine day in the sales ring.” “There’s plenty to look forward to tomorrow,” Bowditch added. “It will bring down the curtain on what’s been a massive couple of weeks on the Gold Coast.” To view the results of the sale or to make an offer on a passed in lot click here. Day Two of the 2026 Gold Coast National Yearling Sale will commence at 11am (QLD time) tomorrow (Tuesday). SALE STATISTICS (2025 Day 1 in brackets) Lots Catalogued: 180 (210) Lots Sold: 122 (129) Lots Withdrawn: 19 (24) Lots Passed In: 39 (55) Top Price: $600,000 ($850,000) Average Price: $60,578 ($44,961) Median Price: $30,000 ($28,000) Sale Gross: $7,390,500 ($5,800,000) Sold %: 76 (70) TOP SELLERS $600,000 – Lope de Vega-Palme d’Or colt (Lot 913) Vendor: Glenbeigh Farm (As Agent) / Buyer: KPW Bloodstock (Qld) $580,000 – Extreme Choice-Volks Lightning filly (Lot 1002) Newgate Farm (As Agent) / Michael Freedman Racing/Andrew Williams B’stock (NSW) $500,000 – I Am Invincible-Loveyamadly filly (Lot 872) Newhaven Park (As Agent) / Gall Bloodstock/Mitchell Bloodstock (NSW) $380,000 – Zoustar-Mnemonic colt (Lot 897) Baramul Stud / Macedon Lodge Pty Ltd (Vic) $180,000 – Toronado-Only Words colt (Lot 908) Infinity Thoroughbreds (As Agent) / Philip Yu (Hong Kong) |
