Elite mares, elite matings: Camilleri’s model delivers again in record for Frankel

A long time ago, prominent breeder John Camilleri resolved to play at the top end of the global bloodstock market, concentrating on quality over quantity.

One of the multiple chicken kings who have indulged their passion for racing and breeding, the man who bred Winx has never been afraid to send members of his high-end, but boutique broodmare band overseas to the world’s best-credentialed stallions.

He did it with Vegas Showgirl, the dam of Chris Waller’s imperious Winx, and he has also supported Britain’s champion sire Frankel.

That risk, as Segenhoe Stud general manager Peter O’Brien described it, paid off on day one of the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale when a colt by Frankel out of the unraced Lonhro mare Antibes sold for $2 million, a new southern hemisphere record for the sire.

One of the two million-dollar lots sold early on Tuesday, the son of Frankel was bought by Coolmore’s Tom Magnier, with Waller to train. 

A brother to the Mark Walker-trained Chateau Eze, a stakes-placed filly in the spring who is raced by Camilleri’s Fairway Thoroughbreds, his pedigree could gain an upgrade in the coming months.

“We knew he’d sell well, a lot of the right people were on him, but you never expect that number,” O’Brien said. 

“(He is a) 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 on Monday.”

Magnier, who heads up Coolmore Australia, has had limited exposure to Frankel in the southern hemisphere but he is a stallion the Ireland arm is well versed with.

“We’ve had a lot (more) of the Frankels in the northern hemisphere than in the southern hemisphere, so we know them well, and we’ve had a lot of luck with the grand dam (Group 3 winner A Time For Julia).

“All the team really liked him. He’s a lovely fluid action horse and he ticks all the boxes.”

Antibes did not race for trainer Anthony Freedman, but it was his opinion of her that saw Camilleri add her to his broodmare band.

“I’m only interested in having a small broodmare band and breeding elite horses, I don’t want hundreds and thousands of animals, so if I think there’s something available, like a Deep Impact or a Frankel, and you’ve got the right mare for them, I simply don’t hesitate,” he said. 

“Costs become secondary. She had a great pedigree, she was a beautiful type, she had a lot of ability, but she suffered an injury, so we didn’t race her.” 

Camilleri compares his investment in breeding horses to that of buying property.

“It appears to be getting tougher and tougher below that, but a long time ago, I thought, I just want to, it’s a bit like waterfront land, it’s always in demand, it tends to stay up, it doesn’t go through the troughs,” said Camilleri, having nursed his grandson Harry as the colt’s price moved through seven figures. 

“I’ll only have a small broodmare band, because there aren’t that many elite mares you can have at that level, and that’s where I want to play, and look, others have been very successful playing at different levels, and it’s a matter of choice.”

The previous highest-priced yearling sold in Australia by Frankel was the stakes-placed Merovee, who made $1.6 million at the 2016 Inglis Easter sale.

Meanwhile, experienced international bloodstock identity David Redvers believes that the Australian thoroughbred industry offers significant value to overseas investors compared to the market dynamics at play in the northern hemisphere.

Acting for Sheikh Fahad Al Thani’s Qatar Bloodstock in tandem with trainer Ciaron Maher, the duo went to $950,000 for son of champion sire I Am Invincible just as the clock ticked past midday.

The UK-based Redvers and Hannah Wall were ringside, seated on the Ciaron Maher Racing table, when successfully bidding for the Silverdale Farm-consigned colt out of Group 2 winner Alassio, a mare trained by Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott.

Fahad scaled back his European racing interests in recent years, but Redvers says the Qatar Bloodstock owner, a key shareholder in Zoustar, remains enamoured with Australian racing.

“He loves it down here. He’s been down here for nearly a month. He loves the racing out here. He’s had a lot of fun and success with Ciaron and Chris (Waller),” Redvers said.

“We’ve had a lot of fun recently with the Roaring Lions. We’ve bred and sold shares in (Melbourne Cup runner Valiant King) down here. 

“We’ve got some nice horses with Ciaron to look forward to, two and three-year-olds.”

It also made commercial sense to continue to invest in Australia, Redvers says.

“It really does, particularly when you consider that a larger percentage of the top horses that come to auction here (compared to what) happens in the UK and Europe and even America,” he said.

“The Aussie dollar is weak, comparatively speaking. We’re also very lucky that we’ve got a phenomenal stallion down here in Zoustar who helps fund it. It’s great to be here.”

The Newgate Farm-China Horse Club syndicate, which also raced I Am Invincible’s Roman Consul-winning and Golden Slipper-placed colt King’s Gambit, was the under bidder.

Later, the second foal out of champion Fastnet Rock mare Avantage by I Am Invincible was sold for $1.05 million to Bruce Wilson’s Glentree Thoroughbreds.