It is the same this time around as pretty much it always is. Once a Redoute’s Choice yearling enters the ring, people start bidding and on day 1 of the Adelaide Magic Millions Yearling Sale, a filly by Australia's champion sire Redoute's Choice took center stage earning top priced honors.
A member of the Grange Thoroughbreds draft, the filly attracted plenty of interest when she entered the ring and she was eventually knocked down to leading English international bloodstock agent Grant Pritchard-Gordon for Aus$280,000 (U.S.$220,000).
Pritchard-Gordon said he hoped the attractive filly would continue his good run with buying youngsters by Arrowfield Stud's sire sensation Redoute's Choice.
"I've had luck with his yearlings – multiple group I winner Miss Finland and group II winner Get Square, being two," Pritchard-Gordon boasted. I found this filly very attractive, quite athletic, and I purchased her for an existing client. She will join the Lee Freedman stable. Although at this stage she isn't very big, I'm confident she will develop into a lovely horse."
The BOBS eligible filly is the first foal from the Volksraad winning mare Tully Lass and a half sister to three stakes winners --Sir Alberton, Alberton Star and Strassbridge.
Pritchard-Gordon purchased two other yearlings during the opening session -- a colt by Octagonal for $30,000 and a Centre Stalls colt for $20,000.
The Tully Lass filly was one of two Redoute's Choice yearlings to be sold, the other a colt from No Limit purchased by Mark Kavanagh for Aus$150,000.
Local Morphettville (Sth Australia) father-son training team Gary and Lloyd Kennewell paid Aus$230,000 (U.S.$181,000) the second highest price of the session for a filly by Coolmore sire Choisir (the seventh foal out of dual-winning Amen Brother mare Shabet) consigned by Kambula Stud. The filly’s dam Shabet has had five foals to race (all winners) including group III winner & group I-placed Shablec, triple winner Blevic’s Pride, six-time winner Kenshou, nine-time winner Border multiple winner Blevic’s Jewel. Lloyd Kennewell declared: "She was the best filly in the sale in my opinion. She had muscle on muscle: an awesome filly.”
Leading NZ bloodstock agent Dean Hawthorne paid Aus$200,000 for a colt by Coolmore sire Encosta de Lago (the 3rd foal out of multiple group II-winning and group I-placed Umatilla mare Umaline) consigned by Kambula Stud. The colt’s dam Umaline boasts five wins (from 1200-1600m) including three stakes-victories and five stakes-placings for Aus$696,095 earnings; she is also a half-sister to five-time winner (& dual Gr3-placed) Royal Line.
Overall on Day-1 at the Magic Millions Adelaide Sale, 99 yearlings sold for Aus$4,642,500 (U.S.$3,651,000) at an average $46,894.