From Devil Night to $2 million delight: Yulong targets another Extreme colt

Yulong will be hoping lightning can strike twice after buying an Extreme Choice colt at the Magic Millions sale two years after landing subsequent Blue Diamond winner Devil Night from the same Gold Coast auction for seven figures.

Both colts were bred and sold by Matthew Sandblom’s Kingstar Farm, with Wednesday’s $2 million session-topper a brother to the Group 3-winning mare Wollombi, one of eight seven-figure yearlings sold so far this week.

Devil Night was bought for $1.4 million with further omens for Yulong owner Zhang Yuesheng being that he was seated at the same table to the right of the auctioneer on that occasion as he was on Wednesday.

“He’s a very special colt, he was our only target that we definitely needed to buy,” Yulong general manager Jun Zhang said.

“We can see some stallion potential with him and also we own the sister ($500,000 purchase Wollombi) as well, she is in-foal to Diatonic, so we try and create our own families so that is another reason why we had to get him.

“Extreme Choice is a very successful stallion and could be a history (making) stallion in the future, so this is why Mr Zhang is trying to get every Extreme Choice he can.”

James Harron’s colts fund went toe-to-toe with Zhang, but came off second best when the figure reached $2 million, which was a new milestone for the Newgate Farm-based sire with the price eclipsing his previous best of $1.7 million set at Inglis Easter last year.

Soon after, Sandblom sold an Extreme Choice filly for $575,000 to Shane Nichols, the man who trains her two years old sister Esha, a talented three-year-old, and who prepared their Group 1-winning dam I Am A Star.

While the colt was offered through Sandblom’s Kingstar Farm, the filly was consigned by Newgate Farm, as has been the case with her first four foals to go through a sales ring.

“I got some photos of I Am A Star as a yearling who was sold a month later and a month older and they are very similar,” Nichols said.

“She is slightly built, but a good running type.” 

Arrowfield Stud also sold a seven-figure colt by its late, great stallion Snitzel during the second session, with Coolmore going to $1.5 million to buy the brother to the Group-winning colt Beadman.

Arrowfield’s Paul Messara was torn about selling the colt, just as they had with Coolmore’s Group 1-winning stallion Switzerland.

“It was a hard one to sell because I don’t think we’ve produced many horses as good as that in the past,” Messara said.

“He’s a full-brother to Beadman and we’re looking for another one. It’ll be a long time before we breed a horse as nice as that.” 

Magnier quipped that Darren Beadman, a key part of the colt’s soon-to-be trainer Chris Waller’s personnel since the start of the season, needed to play his part in ensuring the valuable horse’s on-track success.

“He’ll go to Chris, so Mr Beadman better make sure this one’s a good one as well,” Magnier said.

As a stallion farm, Arrowfield’s legacy has been built on the back of the sireline that started with Danehill and his champion son Redoute’s Choice, which has led to Snitzel and now The Autumn Sun.

But commercial realities means that the John Messara-led stud must sell the vast majority of their horses including prospects such as the $1.5 million colt to keep the wheel turning.

“The top lots are where you make all your money. It makes up for a lot of the stuff at the bottom that doesn’t really pay its way,” Messara said.

“So, we’re not really in a position whereby we can hold a lot of those horses. I’d certainly love to, and I think that would be the best end-game you could have, where you’ve got to keep a few of those colts that you really wanted to. 

“At the moment, we’re obviously not in a position to do that, but he’s a great prospect, the colt we sold today.

“I think he’s as good as we’ve sold for a long time.”

Magnier’s haul of five also includes a $2 million son of Frankel sold on Tuesday.

Henry Field’s Newgate Farm and China Horse Club colts syndicate, which races Beadman, earlier stumped up the same figure as Magnier for a Milburn Creek-offered Snitzel colt out of Embrace Me, a Group 3-winning Shamexpress mare.

It’s a formula that has worked for the group, which has been in existence for a decade and produced 15 stallions.

“We loved the horse and we’ve had so much success with the likes of Invader, Russian Revolution and In The Congo. We’ve had five Group 1 winners just by Snitzel himself,” Field said.

“He is very much in the mold of some of those horses. He’s neat and he’s sharp, strong and he’s got a great attitude.

“The partnership has been a great partnership.”

After two days of trade, almost $94 million worth of yearlings have been sold at an average of $288,267, up $10,000 on the corresponding day last year, while the median is unchanged at $200,000, the same as 2025.

Magic Millions managing director Barry Bowditch thought Wednesday’s session was a “very, very strong day’s trade”.

“I felt it was really deep and genuine and diverse and fun and it had a lot of vibe to it,” Bowditch said.

“It was what we liked to create here at Magic Millions. It was a busy day. All-in-all we’re delighted with how today went.

“We had a clearance rate of 83 per cent, so the market is holding together really well. It had increased 5 per cent from this time (on Tuesday). That’s fantastic.”

Amid suggestions from some vendors that the below $200,000 mark was difficult to facilitate sale, Bowditch thought the middle end of the market was holding up well.

“I think there is enough trade and solid trade under the median given that the median is holding pretty solidly at $200,000. That seems to be the number here,” he said.

“We’re thinking that we’re tracking well from that middle end.”

Sale statistics – days 1 and 2

(2025 in brackets)

Lots Catalogued: 450 (480) 

Lots Sold: 326 (352) 

Lots Passed In: 67 (81) 

Lots Withdrawn: 57 (46) 

Sale Gross: $93,975,000 ($97,555,000)  

Top Price: $2 million ($2,300,000) 

Average Price: $288,267 ($277,145) 

Median Price: $200,000 ($200,000) 

Sold %: 83 (81)