Sunlight’s daughter shatters Magic Millions record at $3.2 million
Coolmore Stud-consigned daughter of Home Affairs tops trade as the curtain comes down on Book 1
Sunlight (Zoustar) created a slice of history when she made $4.2 million at the Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale in 2020 and on Friday evening her third foal delivered the mare, her first-season sire Home Affairs (I Am Invincible) and breeder Coolmore, a dream result when she sold to Japanese-based trainer Mitsu Nakauchida for an auction record of $3.2 million during the inaugural ‘Super Session’ on the final day of Book 1 at the Gold Coast yearling sale.
Nakauchida traded blows with a number of players and, as the bidding entered the business end, he had to fend off the advances from Resolute Racing’s John Stewart. But the trainer was able to stand steady and land the final blow and secure the prized filly.
It was the second time the sale record has tumbled this week, with the $2.8 million for a Snitzel (Redoute’s Choice) colt achieved on Thursday standing for just over 24 hours.
Nakauchida, who attended the Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale last year but left the sale empty handed, came in search of antipodean bloodlines having enjoyed enormous success training horses out of Australian mares.
Physically she is good and you cannot fault the pedigree, I’m very happy
His stable includes four-time Grade 1 winner Liberty Island (Duramente), a daughter of dual Australian elite-level scorer Yankee Rose (All American), and unbeaten three-year-old Eri King (Kizuna), a daughter of Queensland Oaks (Gr 1, 2200m) winner Youngstar (High Chaparral), who was last seen winning a Grade 3 over 2000 metres.
Nakauchida said: “I came here for this filly and I just arrived yesterday. I was just lucky to secure the filly. Physically she is good and you cannot fault the pedigree, I’m very happy,”
Nakauchida showed his firepower last year when he was the underbidder on the sale-topping Frankel (Galileo) filly out of Aljazzi (Shamardal) at Book 1 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale last year, beaten to the punch that day by Amo Racing’s Kia Joorabchian.
“I expected to pay a high price and it is a little bit more than the budget but I hope the filly is worth it. She will go back to Japan and be trained by me. Hopefully she will make a nice racehorse.
“I’ve been lucky to have had success with Australian mares. I have Liberty Island out of Yankee Rose. I have another very good three-year-old called Eri King out of Youngstar. So Australian mares do quite well in Japan at the moment. They go well with Japanese stallions.”
Being born in the southern hemisphere, the filly will be younger than all her peers when she makes it on to a racecourse, but Nakauchida didn’t seem phased and said his new buy would be given all the time to mature.
“We will give her all the time she wants and hopefully she has the chance to mature herself in time.”
Three-time Group 1 winner Sunlight has already proved herself a competent broodmare, with her first foal, Dawn Service (Justify), a $1.4 million Magic Millions buy for Gai Waterhouse, Adrian Bott and Kestral Thoroughbreds, already a stakes winner, while her second foal, a colt by Wootton Bassett (Iffraaj) also made $1.4 million when he was bought by Paul Moroney and Catheryne Bruggeman at last year’s Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale.
With Friday’s record sale, Sunlight’s progeny has now brought in $6 million and Coolmore’s Tom Magnier said the results more than justified the figure they paid, $4.4 million, which at the time was a record and was only bettered last year by Imperatriz (I Am Invincible), who fetched $6.6 million.
The result also topped off a brilliant week for Coolmore’s dual Group 1-winning first-season sire Home Affairs (I Am Invincible), handing him his second seven-figure lot with the first coming when a filly out of Group 2-winning Champagne Cuddles (Not A Single Doubt) sold to Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott Racing and Kestrel Thoroughbreds for $1.05 million on Tuesday.
During Book 1, Home Affairs had 45 yearlings sell for an aggregate of $17,835,000, bringing an average of $396,333, numbers that more than justify his debut fee of $110,000 (inc GST). Friday’s price also means the filly becomes the most expensive yearling sold from the first-crop of stallion in the southern hemisphere.
In terms of stallions with their first crop, Frankel’s best result was a filly out of Alexander Goldrun (Gold Away), who was bought by the China Horse Club for €1.7 million at the Goffs Orby Yearling Sale in 2015, which is the equivalent of around $2.8 million.
But Japanese buyers are not shy when it comes to putting their faith in a stallion’s first produce, exemplified when a foal from the first crop of Contrail (Deep Impact) made ¥520,000,000 (approx. $5,323,240) at the JRHA Sale last year.
Magnier said Friday’s sale topper had been a stand-out from day one and was over the moon with the result.
“That is what you dream of,” he said. “Home Affairs, it is great for him, but we can’t do this without our partners. We’re so excited.
“When you have a mare like that and a filly like that, she has been the talking point of the sales all week, really you can’t pinpoint the exact figure you’d get but Mitsu is one of the great trainers around the world.
“He’s a great judge and I really wish him all the best with her. She’s fantastic.
“I think that is the best foal that the mare has had. It has been a cracker since day one. She is a lovely mare and we are delighted. It is a great thrill for all the team at the farm.”
Magic Millions managing director Barry Bowditch said the new record price was a brilliant result for the sales company.
“Fantastic to have a buyer that hasn’t spent a lot of time in Australia or Magic Millions to attend the sale and take home the highest priced off all–time here at Magic Millions is a great achievement,” he said.
“We’ve got to thank Coolmore Stud for supporting the sale with great horses. It was some bidding duel and two big international players paired off which was outstanding.
“That is our mandate to get them into the Gold Coast. To have them doing what they’ve done is outstanding.”
Bowditch said Nakauchida expressed an interest in the sale a few weeks ago.
“A couple of weeks ago he contacted us and showed interest in the sale. He showed interest in horses in the back part of the book which is great,” he said.
“He obviously liked the filly on pedigree and he had seen photos and got her and fell in love with her. We look forward to following her progress in Japan.
After coming out second best for the top seller, Stewart got compensation a few lots later, when he teamed up with Gai Waterhouse, Adrian Bott and Kestrel Thoroughbreds to buy a filly by Snitzel (Redoute’s Choice) for $1.6 million.
Offered by Silverdale, the filly is out of Group 2 winner Sweet Sherry (Bel Esprit), making her a half-sister to $1.1 million Magic Millions graduate, Eneeza (Exceed And Excel), whose three wins are headed by her victory in last season’s Percy Sykes Stakes (Gr 2, 1200m).
“We had to be patient all sale but we were keen to secure her. We saw the relation go through the sale a few years back and we were very keen to follow her through and we missed,” said Bott.
“We weren’t going to miss this one. We organised a group together which includes John Stewart from Resolute Racing who has obviously made an impression on this sale as well.
“This is the first horse we were able to partner with him and we feel it was the right fit with the quality filly at the sale to put up to him and race with him. I think it will be a great fit with some local partners.
“She’s a quality filly off a great farm and just looked the ultimate professional all sale and Snitzel is obviously a champion stallion. She just looked like a real classy, quality filly.”
Over the four days of trade, Waterhouse and Bott combined with various partners to purchase 38 yearlings for an aggregate of $17,045,000.
“Just the usual numbers that we try and target and get out of this sale. I think we’re taking home some quality horses to represent us over the next couple of years and we can get back to this race series again next year which no doubt continues to grow in strength,” said Bott.