Three Lots Hit Seven Figures Day 2 at Magic Millions

From the time Mariamia (AUS) was a yearling, everyone closely involved in the group 1-winning sprinter's career has won. On May 29, Newhaven Park's John Kelly cashed in again when he sold the Galaxy (G1) winner for AU$1.8 million (US$1,190,664, AU$1=US$0.66) to Zhijun Zhao, an associate of Australia's largest breeder Yulong, late in the second session of the Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale. She was the highest-priced of three seven-figure mares traded Wednesday, taking the tally to 12 after two days of breeding stock offering on the Gold Coast. Mariamia was sold in foal to I Am Invincible (AUS)—as a covering sire, the champion stallion's three lots sold averaging AU$1,316,667—and Kelly had no regrets about selling the daughter of Toronado (IRE). "We got lucky. We bought her to go to Xtravagant and when we put her in work to race, she proved to be a lot better than that and she improved into the autumn and won a group 1," Kelly said. "It is a wonderful price and it has probably exceeded our expectations. When you get up to that level, how do you know what horses are worth? It is a matter of who wants to win." Kelly bought Mariamia in March 2022 through Inglis Digital for AU$335,000 as then group 3 placed out of the stable of Victorian trainer Shane Stockdale. Transferred to Sydney trainer Joe Pride, Mariamia won four races including a career-defining performance in the Galaxy in March 2023. She also landed the 2023 edition of the Expressway Stakes (G2) and ran third in the 2022 Bletchingly Stakes (G3) to bank a touch over AU$1 million during the Kellys' ownership. They sent Mariamia, who is out of the Encosta de Lago mare Quinta Lago, to Yarraman Park's twice reigning champion sire I Am Invincible with a Sept. 3 service date as her maiden mating. "Those mares, you've got to keep fronting up every year to a stallion with the quality of I Am Invincible and Zoustar and we'd probably like three or four different mares to have three or four different chances," Kelly said. "Our objective is to bring quality to the ring. Whether it is a yearling or whether it was a mare, she was quality and we thought it was a good time to sell her. "We're always buying mares, yearlings, and racing horses. You try and have a win and we had a win today." Imperatriz (AUS) and Chain Of Lightning (AUS) were bought at session one by Zhang Yuesheng's friend Zhijun Zhao and at the close of trade Wednesday he had purchased eight lots for a total of AU$13,125,000. McClure Invests in Top-End Stock For Victorian breeder Robert McClure, this year's Magic Millions sale is about chasing ultimate success, be it on the racetrack or in the sales ring. Morning Rise Stud's McClure, who co-bred this season's Magic Millions 2-Year-Old Classic winner Storm Boy (AUS), has had a long and successful career in the breeding and racing game and he's craving more and in order to chase that next adrenaline rush he's stumping up his money. On Wednesday, he and agent James Bester paid AU$1.2 million for Grande Dame (GB), a European listed winner and group 1-placed Lope de Vega (IRE) mare, who was trained by John and Thady Gosden for a Coolmore partnership. She was offered in foal to champion European stallion Frankel (GB) on an early September cover. They also teamed up with Coolmore to buy Rosemont's AU$1.4 million stakes-winning filly Legacies (AUS). The Justify filly will race on for another season with trainers Peter Moody and Katherine Coleman. "He doesn't want to buy green bananas anymore. This is a very all-or-nothing market, and if you're not playing at the top level you might as well not be playing," Bester said of McClure's ramped up investment. "The thought of having a Frankel out of such a good mare and such a good type of mare was very enticing." The influence of Juddmonte's superstar Frankel in the Southern Hemisphere could gather pace given the amount of progeny by the stallion bred on Southern Hemisphere time over the past few years. Bester said: "Frankel from his Southern Hemisphere progeny alone has 15% group winners. Most world-class stallions have 10% stakes winners. "So, Frankel's record in the Southern Hemisphere is outstanding and there are more coming through. He is the world's best stallion, if Justify isn't, so to me it's the high-end play with a lot of safety nets underneath it." After two days of selling, almost AU$76 million (US$50,251,256) has changed hands at an average of AU$234,735 (US$155,207), which is a half percent more on 2023, while the median was AU$100,000 (US$66,120), down AU$10,000 on last year. The clearance sat at 81%. The third and final day of the National Broodmare Sale is May 30.