Coolmore join the action
After drawing a blank on the first day of the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale, Coolmore got their name on the buyers sheet when they forked out $2.85 million on a pair of colts by Snitzel (Redoute’s Choice) and I Am Invincible during Wednesday’s second session.
Tom Magnier, standing at the back of the ring, made his first purchase of the week when he paid Newgate Farm $1.7 million for a colt out of the dual US Listed winner Fashion Faux Pas (Flatter), who was bought by James Harron and Byron Rogers on behalf of Belinda Bateman for US$310,000 at the Keeneland Breeding Stock Sale in 2020.
The mare’s first foal, a colt by King’s Legacy (Redoute’s Choice), fetched $110,000 when he sold to Peachester Lodge in the same ring 12 months ago.
Snitzel has proved time and time again to match up well with US-bred mares, with Group 1 winners turned Newgate Farm residents Wild Ruler and Russian Revolution both being out of mares bred in America.
Coolmore knows how well the stallion matches up with mares bred in the US, with their Group 1-winning colts Shinzo and Switzerland being out of mares imported from America. The former, winner of the Golden Slipper (Gr 1, 1200m), stands at Coolmore, while this season’s Coolmore Stud Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m) winner Switzerland is destined to stand alongside him at Jerry’s Plains at the conclusion of his racing career. Meanwhile, Home Affairs, another of their Group 1-winning sires, is also out of a US-bred mare.
Both Shinzo and Switzerland were trained by Chris Waller and Magnier confirmed that Wednesday’s buy would also head to the champion trainer’s stable.
“Very happy to get that horse. Snitzels work very well for us with an American mare and Switzerland was a very nice horse,” said Magnier.
“All the team liked it and we’re very lucky that the people who have raced the colts with us in the past – Home Affairs, Shinzo and those kinds of horses – are all going well. There’s Switzerland and Private Life – they want to keep going. This horse will be trained by Chris Waller.
“Chris thought that he could be a horse along the lines of Switzerland. Very athletic with plenty of scope.”
Jim Carey, stud manager at Newgate, told ANZ Bloodstock News that the sale signalled a brilliant result for some great clients of the farm.
“It is a fantastic result for some clients of the farm that went to America and bought a beautiful mare in the shape of Fashion Faux Pas. He has always been a beautiful colt from day one. He has a great temperament and great quality,” he said.
“I know what great judges Coolmore are and the underbidders [Michael King and James Harron] aren’t bad judges either. It is a fantastic result for the farm and fantastic results for the clients, who have a fantastic broodmare band and they are delighted to have them as clients at Newgate and it’s just a fantastic result all round.”
At the same sale 12 months ago, Magnier purchased a colt by Wootton Bassett (Iffraaj) out of the Listed-winning Exceed And Excel (Danehill) mare Fiera Vista for $1.6 million and on Wednesday the Coolmore team went to $1.15 million to secure his I Am Invincible half-brother.
That Wootton Bassett colt is now named Wodeton and is in training with Chris Waller. The colt, who sits on the third line of betting for the Golden Slipper, has finished second in his two trials to date, including behind the Team Hawkes-trained current Slipper second-favourite West Of Swindon (Wootton Bassett).
Magnier said the I Am Invincible colt would join his half-brother and Snitzel colt at Waller’s stable.
“Very happy to get that horse from Segenhoe. They do a great job,” said Magnier. “They had an opinion of the brother by Wootton Bassett and this is a lovely horse.”
The colt was offered by Segenhoe on behalf of John Camilleri’s Fairway Thoroughbreds, who also bred Fiera Vista.