A Bel Espirt – Jazeera colt topped the fifth session of the Magic Millions Gold Coast yearling sale, bringing Aust$225,000 ($232,213 in U.S. funds) Jan. 15 in Australia. Trainer Rick Hore-Lacy purchased him from Eliza Park, agent.
The results for the session, which followed the premier portion of the auction, included a gross of Aust$6,967,500 ($7,190,880) for the 176 horses that were sold. The average price was Aust$39,588 ($40,857) and the median price was Aust$32,250 ($33,284).
Compared to last year, the number sold and median rose 12.1% and 17.3%, respectively. The gross and average fell 5.3% and 15.5%, respectively.
The clearance rate was 77.5%, .
A large crowd was on hand for the session, which saw yearlings sold to buyers from most Australian states as well as overseas locations such as Macau, Malaysia, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Korea, Ireland, and Japan.
"It's been a solid day's selling," said Magic Millions managing director Vin Cox. "Like was the case with the first four sessions, it is great to see the clearance rate strong. The quality lots attracted strong interest with canny buyers chasing their next racetrack star."