Easter opener belongs to Zoustar and fillies

Widden Stud’s Zoustar enjoyed a marquee first day at the Inglis Easter Yearling Sale, with four of the top six lots, including a filly and a colt which sold for $2.2 million and $1.9 million respectively.

Zoustar averaged $753,461 across 13 lots sold on the first day, with James Harron seeing off Gai Waterhouse to secure the much-sought after Lot 227, the filly out of the Group 1 winner Prompt Response.

It followed a strong fillies’ theme at the top end, with just one colt among the top six-priced lots. That was Lot 42, the Zoustar colt which was sold to Tom Magnier of Coolmore for $1.9 million earlier in the day.  

Zoustar also had two fillies sell for $950,000 apiece, Lot 37 to Sheamus Mills/James Bester and Lot 82 to Andrew Williams Bloodstock.

The other two seven-figure lots were fillies by champion stallion I Am Invincible (Lot 186) and Snitzel which went to Hilldene Farm and Kia Ora/TFI respectively for $1.8 million and $1.1 million.

At the end of trade, the average ($390,091) and median ($300,000) were both higher than the first day, but with the clearance rate at 74 per cent – it was 85 per cent last year – overall first day aggregate was down around $5 million.

In a remarkable split, the average price for a filly was $440,132, while the average price for a colt was $346,875.     

The highlight of evening session saw heated competition between Harron, buying on behalf of John Camilleri, and a suite of underbidders, with the bloodstock agent winning the day for Lot 227.

“She’s a great type. She’s got fantastic depth, and a really lovely action, she is just a lovely filly,” Harron said.

“The family has been bred up really nicely and I think it’s one of those families we may look back on in 10-12 years and see it has thickened right out from what was a really tough, high-end race mare in Prompt Response.”

The filly is the third from Prompt Response with her I Am Invincible three-year-old Big Demeanour a winner and her I Am invincible two-year-old Sister Cynane, who cost $1.3 million at this sale last year, yet to be raced.

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The StraightBren O’Brien

Widden principal Antony Thompson was delighted with the result as well as the great day for Zoustar.

“We took a big position with him and have always had enormous belief so it’s very satisfying to see him doing what he’s doing and the way he’s sold today has been phenomenal,” he said.

The Zoustar theme began very early in the day when Magnier went $1.9 million to secure Lot 42, the colt out of Fundamentalist offered by Segenhoe Stud.

The purchase, inside the first 90 minutes of trade, surpassed last year’s top price, and was the second highest price ever for a Zoustar yearling colt, behind only the $3 million paid at this sale two years ago by Magnier for Sunlight’s brother. (Sunlight’s sister fetched $2.6 million).

It is also the third million-dollar Zoustar purchased by Coolmore, with Magnier clearly a fan of the progeny of the Widden Stud stallion.

“He floated around the sales complex, he’s obviously a big, strong horse with loads of quality,” Magnier said.

“He’s a lovely colt, a great mover and it’s a family that we all know.

“Chris (Waller) will train and everybody just really liked him. He was one of the stars of the week, so fingers crossed.”

Fundamentalist was a multiple Group 1 placegetter for Aquis, who was purchased by Segenhoe and Wes Heritage’s Teahouse Syndicate after her racing career.  She has two older progeny than the Zoustar yearling but both are as yet unraced.

Nick Wakim has spent over $100 million on real estate in 2023, including several thoroughbred properties, so while the $1.8 million he forked out for Lot 186, an I Am Invincible filly out of the extended family of Redoute’s Choice, was more than he would have liked, it was well within his means.

Wakim has made a considerable fortune on lithium Investment and has been involved in Australian bloodstock and racing through his Hilldene operation in Victoria for some years.

One of the stars in his lilac and blue colours was the stakes winner Meuse, who he sold for $1.2 million in 2021. The I Am Invincible yearling is out of the same family of Meuse, being out of Pierro mare Notting Hill, a one-time $1.4 million yearling.

“I do know the family well. Meuse was my filly and I raced her. I sold her and she is probably the only one I sold which I wondered if I made the right decision. This was an opportunity to get back into the family,” Wakim said.

“She is one of the best fillies I have seen ever. Right family, right cross, a little but more than we’d like to spend, but she was such a lovely filly.”

The filly, who featured Shantha’s Choice as her third dam, was consigned by Yarraman Park and head to Ciaron Maher’s stables.

“She is one of the best fillies I have seen ever. Right family, right cross, a little but more than we’d like to spend, but she was such a lovely filly.” – Shane Wright

Coolmore was the vendor not the buyer for the first million-dollar filly of the sale. Lot 68, a filly by Snitzel out of Hips Don’t Lie, who was purchased by Kia Ora/TFI for $1.1 million.

The filly is from a famous Coolmore family, which includes Learning To Fly, the multiple stakes winning Justify filly which Kia Ora paid $900,000 for at this sale in 2022.       

Kia Ora’s Shane Wright said to get access to a family which had produced Ennis Hill, Lake Geneva and Acrobat as well G1 Coolmore Stud stakes winner Ozzmosis, was too good to miss.

“It’s the most amazing family. She’s a beautiful filly herself, obviously by Snitzel, he’s a champion sire and will be a very, very good broodmare sire as well,” Wright said.

“We loved the filly on type. She was one we marked in the catalogue from the start. We bought Learning to Fly a couple of years ago and she has been very good for us. It’s a family we know and a family we love.”

Wright said a decision on the trainer was yet to be determined.

While there were four million-dollar lots on day one this year compared to 14 in 2023, Inglis Bloodstock CEO Sebastian Hutch said that lack of firepower at the very pointy end was anticipated.

“It’s ebbs and flows a bit. I look at it see if the median holds up to be a good figure, if the average holds up to be a good figure. The clearance will be consistent with what it was at the end of the day 12 months ago,” he said.

Monday’s action will be highlighted by the much-anticipated sale of Winx’s yearling filly by Pierro, which is tipped to break the Australian sale record of $5 million.

EASTER SALE DAY 1 TOP LOTS

$2,200,000 – Zoustar x Prompt Response filly. Bought by James Harron
$1,900,000 – Zoustar x Fundamentalist colt. Bought by Tom Magnier
$1,800,000 – I Am Invincible x Notting Hill filly. Bought by Hilldene Farm
$1,100,000 – Snitzel x Hips Don’t Lie filly.  Bought by Kia Ora Stud/TFI
$950,000 – Zoustar x Formality filly. Bought by Sheamus Mills/James Bester
$950,000 – Zoustar x Invictus Salute filly. Bought by Andrew Williams
$875,000 – Snitzel x Omei Sword colt. Bought by Rosemont/Chris Waller/Suman Hedge

Easter’s guessing game – where will the bidding stop for Winx’s daughter?

Records are tipped to fall but putting a ballpark figure on the first foal from the legendary Winx remains an exercise in supposition.

The StraightWarwick Barr