The Hong Kong Jockey Club came away from the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale last week with five colts purchased for a combined outlay of A$850,000 (approximately HK$5.39 million).
Australia’s first premier yearling sale of 2015 witnessed strong trade as many of the world’s leading buyers vied for choice lots, and the Jockey Club was among them.
A Smart Missile colt (Lot 228) was the highest-priced of the Jockey Club quintet, knocked down for A$280,000. The bay youngster, whose sire was a high-class and precocious sprinter Down Under, is out of Eyelean, a Galileo half-sister to the G2-winning sprinter Super Profit.
That purchase came on day two of the sale (Thursday, 8 January) and followed the acquisition earlier in the same session of Lot 228, a full-brother to triple Sha Tin 1400m scorer G-one Winning (Magic Albert ex Judicial Queen), for A$110,000.
The first day (Wednesday, 7 January) had seen another youngster with a Hong Kong connection snapped up, as Lot 110 sold to the Club for A$60,000. The Starcraft colt’s winning dam is a half-sister to the dam of none other than former Hong Kong champion Fairy King Prawn.
The Club also secured Lot 175 on day one for A$240,000. The colt is by Not A Single Doubt, a son of the in-demand stallion Redoute’s Choice, from a prolific stakes-winning family. And the Club’s interest was wrapped up on the Friday (9 January) when Lot 479 was added to the basket - an Exceed And Excel colt out of the dual G1-winning South African champion Mythical Play.
“The sale was very strong this year, and that was obvious just by looking at the increases in the average price and the overall turnover, so given the competition on the ground I’m pleased to have come away with five really nice individuals. They were all good value and we’re especially lucky we got the Exceed And Excel before that sire’s son Le Chef won the Magic Millions 2yo Classic on Saturday - that would have certainly pushed the price up!” said Mark Richards, the Hong Kong Jockey Club’s Executive Manager, International Sale.
“They’re a good bunch,” he continued. “They’re athletic types with plenty of speed in their pedigrees and they each have enough about them to suggest that they can do well in Hong Kong.”
Purchase Details:
Lot 110 b c Starcraft ex Biancalaura (Belong To Me) A$60,000 (approx. HK$381,168)
Lot 175 b or br c Not A Single Doubt ex County Mayo (Grand Slam) A$240,000 (approx. HK$1.52 million)
Lot 228 b c Smart Missile ex Eyelean (Galileo) – A$280,000 (approx. HK$1.77 million)
Lot 347 b c Magic Albert ex Judicial Queen (Unbridled’s Song) – A$110,000 (approx. HK$698,808)
Lot 479 b c Exceed And Excel ex Mythical Play (Defensive Play) – A$160,000 (approx. HK$1.01 million)
