First Light Racing is hoping to jump on board the bandwagon of Queensland sire Spirit Of Boom after buying a filly by the stallion for $170,000 during Sunday’s opening Magic Millions Yearling Sale Book 2 session on the Gold Coast.
The $170,000 filly, the most expensive yearling to go through the ring on Sunday, will join the stable of premier Queensland trainer Tony Gollan, the man who trained Spirit Of Boom and has enjoyed sustained success with the sire’s progeny.
Gollan trains Spirit Of Boom fillies Formula Rossa and La Bella Boom who will be racing in Friday night’s delayed $3 million Magic Millions 2YO Classic on the Gold Coast.
First Light Racing’s Tim Wilson, whose syndication company went to $900,000 for a Frankel colt in Book 1, was delighted to get his pick of the secondary book.
“I am surprised she's in book two, to be fair to her. She’s a gorgeous filly, strong and very correct,” Wilson said.
“I've noted down that she was ‘sexy’, so she's obviously going to be a very attractive filly for her owners.”
First Light Racing has Magic Millions 3YO Guineas winner Abounding in training with Rob Heathcote, who prepares the filly’s elder half-brother, Celestial Blaze, so Wilson is aware of the pedigree upside the filly possesses.
Celestial Blaze, by Husson, won at Doomben in December at his second race start.
“Our Queensland stable's absolutely flying at the moment with the horses we've got up here,” Wilson said.
“We’ve gone to the absolute top of our budget, but hopefully she's worth it.”
Bred by Bridget Kirkwood, her sister Maria and brother-in-law Rod Harms at Yeppoon in Central Queensland, the session-topping Spirit Of Boom filly is out of the three-time winning Snitzel mare Argie Bargie, who was gifted to the Kirkwood sisters by their father Paul Kirkwood.
Argie Bargie was born and raised at Eureka Stud as was the session-topping filly who was offered by the McAlpine family on her breeders’ behalf, continuing the two families’ long association with each other.
Adrenaline Thoroughbreds’ Paul Bita, who races Celestial Blaze as well as the Heathcote-trained Spirit Of Boom sprinter Prince Of Boom, was the under bidder. Bita paid $40,000 for Argie Bargie’s first foal out of the Magic Millions March Sale two years ago.
Meanwhile, Paul Snowden’s newly formed Red Crown Racing bought a colt for $140,000 on Sunday by Cosmic Force, the Group 2-winning stallion he trained alongside his father Peter.
The father-and-son partnership was dissolved last year with Paul Snowden relocating to a farm near Port Macquarie on the New South Wales Mid North Coast where he will open his own stable.
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The colt, who was sold by Fernrigg Farm, is out of sprinter Typecast whose family includes a Magic Millions 2YO Classic winner in Real Surreal.
Two thirds of the yearlings offered during the three hour afternoon session sold for an average of $47,900 at a median of $38,000 as vendors found it tough going.
Magic Millions managing director Barry Bowditch suggested Sunday’s trade was to be expected in a buyers’ market, imploring owners and trainers to take advantage of what was to come on the second and final Book 2 session on Monday.
“I don’t think there's a lot of difference between the lower market of Book 1, which was quite selective and what this market is. It's very, very similar,” Bowditch said.
“The Magic Millions Race Series is worth a lot of money, so, I urge buyers to pay attention because there's a lot of nice horses to go through the ring and there's plenty of quality that was passed in.”
The final day of selling starts at 10am on Monday.
