A grey filly by Desert Sun brought the top price of $175,000 (. She initially failed to make her reserve at $145,000 ($89,723), but was later sold privately by Eliza Park to Frank Tagg. Produced from the unraced Vain mare Song of Norway, the filly is a half-sister to three stakes winners, including 1998 Quantas VTC Cup (Aus-II) winner Scandinavia (by Snippets). Scandinavia also captured the 1997 Mercedes Benz Blue Diamond Preview (Aus-III).
The San Miguel premier yearling sale in Australia closed out its two-day run on Monday with increases in gross revenue and average price. Thirteen horses sold for six-figure prices."Victorian breeders are to be congratulated," said Reg Inglis, the managing director of William Inglis & Son, which conducted the auction. "They have a great product, and this sale just goes to show what we can do if we all work together. This is the only yearling sale to go ahead this year, and that is a fine achievement in itself."The 311 yearlings sold grossed $11,460,000 (approximately $5,875,798 in U.S. funds), which was up 16% from a year ago. The average price of $36,850 ($18,893) was up by 8%. The buy-back rate was 17.5%.