A Blackfriars half-brother to group I winner Scenic Shot topped the third session of the Magic Millions Perth yearling sale Jan. 29 in Australia, bringing Aust$180,000 ($161,750 in U.S. funds). The three-day main portion of the auction ended with increases of 13.1% in gross revenue and 7.8% in average price from a year ago. A fourth session will be conducted Jan. 31.
Damon Gabbedy, buying under his Belmont Bloodstock Agency banner, purchased the colt from Gray and Jan Williamson’s Mungrup Stud.
"I thought he was the colt of the sale," Gabbedy said, "and at the price I thought he was good value. He's a half-brother to a horse who's won 15 races and Aust$2.5 million; you don't often get the chance to buy half relations to champions."
The bay yearling is out of the winning Dr Grace mare Sweepshot, who finished third in the 2000 Hyperion Stakes (Aust-III). Scenic Shot (by Scenic), the best of her offspring so far, scored in last year’s Mackinnon Stakes (Aust-I) and XXXX Gold Doomben Cup (Aust-I).
The auction’s three sessions combined generated a gross of Aust$13,512,000 ($11,818,500) for the 319 horses that sold. The average was $41,229 ($37,049), and the clearance rate was 77.8%. Last year, the comparable figures included a gross of Aust$11,630,000 for the 304 horses that sold. The average was Aust$38,257, and the clearance rate was 73.8%.