Where are 2024’s million-dollar yearlings?

Before Gai Waterhouse claimed a record-extending eighth Golden Slipper success with Lady Of Camelot, plans for what would be a ninth win in the world’s richest two-year-old race were already well advanced.

As her stable’s early-season juvenile star Storm Boy carried all before him with a sequence of wins that included the Magic Millions 2YO Classic, Waterhouse parlayed that on-track success into a high-end buying spree at the corresponding yearling sales.

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Under the Tulloch Lodge banner, Waterhouse and Bott signed for five yearlings auctioned for more than $1 million at the Gold Coast sale.

But more was to come for the partnership, which involved a further six $1 million-plus purchases at Inglis’ Australian Easter Yearling Sale not long after Lady Of Camelot defeated Coleman and Storm Boy in the Slipper.

With 11 million-dollar horses on their books, Waterhouse and Bott led the way at the top end of the yearling sales spectrum across Australasia in 2024.

The most expensive of their purchases was a $1.7 million I Am Invincible filly which is the first foal from the multiple stakes-winning mare Madam Rouge.

She has been named Rosie Rouge and her ownership group includes Noel Greenhalgh who raced Madam Rouge out of the Chris Waller stable.

So far, only three out of the 42 yearlings to make $1 million or more in 2024 have raced.

Two of them have come out of Tulloch Lodge – both for colts syndicates put together by Newgate Farm.

Tuscany, a $1.55 million youngster by Zoustar from Summer Sham finished midfield in the Breeders’ Plate while Chicama, a $1.35 million colt by Written Tycoon from The Broken Shore, ran unplaced in the Golden Gift.

List of 2024 yearlings (now 2YOs) trained by Waterhouse-Bott

After he was selected to train 10 $1 million yearlings in 2023, Chris Waller has nine from this year’s sales.

Three of the five top-priced Lots sold in 2024 have made their way into his all-conquering stable.

Winx’s $10 million foal, a filly by Pierro, remains unnamed. As does the $3 million filly from the Group 1-winning mare Booker.

Kepitis keeps ‘collector’s item’ Winx filly in the family for $10 million

The daughter of 25-time Group 1 winner Winx has been sold to one of the champion mare’s part-owners with Debbie Kepitis paying an Australian record $10 million.

The StraightWarwick Barr

American owner John Stewart purchased the filly by I Am Invincible as part of a high-profile introduction to the Australian yearling sales scene that saw him underbid on Winx’s yearling.

At $1.9 million, a Zoustar yearling from Fundamentalist, was the equal highest-priced colt in 2024 and he will race as Fermoy from the Waller stable for a Coolmore-led syndicate. He is down to debut at Rosehill on Saturday.

New Zealand’s Te Akau Racing emerged as the third biggest buyer of million-dollar yearlings this year with four acquisitions – all from the Gold Coast.

Te Akau’s most expensive purchase at $2.1 million has been named Avantaggia as a daughter of Wootton Bassett and the syndicator’s outstanding sprinting mare Avantage. She is set to jump out in New Zealand in early December.

Sydney metropolitan stables remained the most favoured destination for Australia’s most expensive yearling despite one telling statistic.

Peter Snowden shared the most number of $1 million horses with Waller from the class of 2023 but only one member of the 2024 club is under his guidance.

Snowden, who trained alongside his son Paul until the partnership was dissolved at the start of the 2024/25 season, has the $2.2 million Zoustar-Prompt Response filly in his yard.

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The filly has been named Plaintiff but she has yet to be seen at the barrier trials in the colours of John Camilleri’s Fairway Thoroughbreds.

There are 26 millIon-dollar yearlings prepared out of Sydney stables while Victorian trainers account for nine.

Peter Moody and Katherine Coleman have three in their Pakenham stable headed by the $1.6 million Karaka sales-topper named Seychelles, who is a sister to former New Zealand star Prowess. She had a jump-out on Tuesday in the Fairway Thoroughbreds colours. 

The dearest yearling to be trained in Victoria is the $1.8 million filly by I Am Invincible from Notting Hill.

Purchased by Nick Wakim’s Hilldene Farm from the Yarraman Park Easter draft, the filly has been named Thalestris and will be trained by Anthony and Sam Freedman.

Ciaron Maher will train two Gold Coast graduates after matching Waller in paying $1.9 million for the top-priced colt.

By Australia’s leading first-season sire Too Darn Hot from A Time For Julia, the colt is unnamed.

Maher will also prepare a $1.15 million filly by I Am Invincible from Eloping who has been named Kerber but has yet to be seen in public.

Among the auction houses, Magic Millions sold 23 million-dollar yearlings at its January Gold Coast sale with Inglis selling 18 at Easter and New Zealand Bloodstock having one at Karaka.

Full list of $1 million-plus yearlings in 2024