‘When Everyone Agrees, It Gives You Confidence’: Coolmore Land A$2m Frankel Colt At Magics

[Wandering Eyes]

Day 1 of the 2026 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale got off to a strong start, with top lots by I Am Invincible, Snitzel, Frankel, Zoustar and Extreme Choice all drawing keen interest.

It didn't take long for the session to produce a seven-figure result, with Lot 59, a striking Frankel colt, selling to Coolmore for a$2 million, as buyers including Ciaron Maher Bloodstock, Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott, Glentree Thoroughbreds, and Mark Player quickly made their presence felt.

At A Glance

• Three horses fetched seven-figure sums on Day 1, compared to four in last year's opening session, with Segenhoe Stud on top of the vendors' standings by gross after selling nine horses for a total of A$5,540,000.

 

• The average of A$284,724 was up slightly from last year's Day 1 record of A$278,549. The median, at A$200,000, remained the same as Day 1 in 2025.

 

• The gross of A$41,285,000 from 145 lots was down slightly on A$45,125,000, however last year 162 lots sold.

 

• The clearance rate at the end of the day was 78.38% – an improvement of last year's end of day clearance rate of 74.65% – and likely to grow as passed in lots are sold.

 

• The A$2 million top lot (59), a Frankel colt out of Lonhro mare Antibes, was purchased by Tom Magnier and offered by Segenhoe Stud.

 

• Ciaron Maher Bloodstock and David Redvers Bloodstock joined forces to become leading buyer on Day 1, spending A$2.9 million on five yearlings.

 

• I Am Invincible led all sires by gross with eight yearlings selling for A$5.05 million at an average of A$631,250.

Lot 59 – Frankel (GB) x Antibes (Lonhro), colt – A$2,000,000

Coolmore, led by Tom Magnier, secured lot 59 for A$2 million, the first seven-figure lot of the 2026 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale, after spirited bidding. The striking bay colt, bred and offered by Segenhoe Stud, is out of stakes-placed mare Antibes (Lonhro) and hails from a family littered with black-type performers.

Antibes is a half-sister to stakes winner As Time Goes By (Deep Impact {Jpn}), while her dam, multiple Group winner A Time For Julia (Redoute's Choice), has produced a line of high-class performers. The pedigree also features champion South African sprinter Laisserfaire (Danehill) and stallions Time Thief, Foreplay, and Sejardan.

The colt is also from the same family as Ninja (2022, Farnan-Impulsive), who is currently odds-on favourite for the Magic Millions Guineas this Saturday.

“He was one of the standouts. We've had a lot of luck with Segenhoe,” Tom Magnier said. “We've had more Frankels in the northern hemisphere than in Australia, so we know them well. All the team really liked him. He's a lovely, fluid-moving horse and ticks all the boxes.

“We bought him in a syndicate with Chris Waller, so he'll go straight into his stable. Chris really liked him all week – when everybody agrees on a horse, it gives you confidence to go a little further. Fair play to Peter O'Brien and John Camilleri; they breed very good horses, and we're delighted to be part of it.”

Magnier was excited for what was to come the rest of the week on the Gold Coast for Coolmore.

“Home Affairs has had two this morning and three of the top six in the betting for the Golden Slipper. After a tough year losing Wootton Bassett, this is probably the best bunch of horses we've brought to the Gold Coast.”

When explaining his successful approach of utilising the world's best international stallions with his quality broodmare band, Camilleri explained the long-term thought process.

“It's a big commitment, to go all the way to the Northern Hemisphere. It's an expensive exercise, it's risky. I've sent a lot of mares over, but you normally only get one or two shots at the world's best stallion, and I thought I'd roll the dice. It's paid off here.

“I'm only interested in having a small broodmare band and breeding elite horses. I don't want hundreds and thousands of animals. So, if I think there's something available, like a Deep Impact or a Frankel, and I've got the right mare for them, I simply don't hesitate.”

“Cost becomes secondary, then.”

Talking about Antibes, an unraced daughter of Lonhro, and why she was the right mare to take the punt with, Camilleri was clear in his assessment.

“She had a great pedigree. She was a beautiful type. She had a lot of ability. She had an injury, so we didn't race her, but Anthony Freedman rated her and said she could run.

“Her first foal has run second in the Moloney at Flemington. So I think the mare's going to do it. She's by Lonhro, she ticks a lot of boxes, so I thought she deserved a trip on a plane to Frankel.”

Antibes unfortunately missed to Home Affairs last season but visited Harry Angel (Ire) this Spring.

Lot 201 – Extreme Choice x Dame Giselle (I Am Invincible), colt – A$1,200,000

Rarity and pedigree combined to push the Extreme Choice colt out of former star I Am Invincible filly Dame Giselle to A$1.2 million, making him the second seven-figure lot of the opening day at the 2026 Magic Millions Gold Coast Sale. Waller Racing, in partnership with Mulcaster Bloodstock, secured the stunning bay after a competitive bidding duel, recognizing both the colt's exceptional athleticism and the scarcity of his sire's stock.

“We're pretty happy with that colt, he looked sharp and he's got a beautiful family,” Guy Mulcaster said.

“We looked at him two days ago with Chris and he said they all run out of that family and that was good enough for me. I thought we'd be hard enough to beat and we didn't let on too much what we were up to, so we probably got him at the right odds. He looks a beautiful horse and let's hope he's back here next year.”

The colt's appeal was enhanced by Extreme Choice's limited availability due to fertility issues.

“He doesn't get many in-foal, does he?” Mulcaster said.

“The less there are, the harder they are to buy, so we're pretty happy to have got him and we got one with one of the best pedigrees, so fingers crossed.”

The colt is the third foal of Dame Giselle, a four-time Group winner who earned over A$1.3 million, including a Group I placing in the Coolmore Classic. Closely related to Group I winner Ulanova, she has a Snitzel colt at foot and was covered by Zoustar last spring. Her first two foals, fillies by Exceed and Excel and Snitzel, sold for A$1 million and A$725,000 respectively, though neither has yet raced or trialled.

Lot 75 – I Am Invincible x Avantage (Fastnet Rock), filly – A$1,050,000

Demand for the progeny of Champion New Zealand racemare Avantage (Fastnet Rock) remained strong at Magic Millions, with her third foal, a filly by champion sire I Am Invincible, selling for A$1.05 million to Glentree Thoroughbreds in partnership with Badgers Bloodstock. Consigned by Coolmore Stud, the filly continued an extraordinary run of success for the family in the sale ring.

A nine-time Group 1 winner for Te Akau Racing, Avantage was a champion on the track and later commanded NZ$4.1 million when purchased by Tom Magnier via Gavelhouse Online. Her offspring have since proven highly desirable, with her first foal, a filly by Wootton Bassett bringing A$2.1 million at the 2024 Magic Millions, followed by a second filly by I Am Invincible selling for A$1.6 million in 2025.

“She had everything we look for in a filly,” Luke Simpson, Stud Manager for Glentree Thoroughbreds, said. “She's a really good physical, a beautiful mover, and she's out of a multiple stakes winner and a phenomenal racehorse. She ticks a lot of boxes for our program going forward.

“We're looking to get a racing career out of her and hopefully she can step up to some of mum's form and then join our broodmare band going forward. There were a couple of other fillies we had our eye on, but this was our main target, so we're delighted to secure her.”

Avantage slipped to Zoustar last season, meaning there will be no yearling offered in 2027, but she visited Coolmore's City of Troy this spring.

Lot 35 – I Am Invincible x Alassio (Foxwedge), colt – A$950,000

Ciaron Maher Bloodstock, in partnership with David Redvers Bloodstock, secured lot 35 for A$950,000, identifying the colt as a standout value buy early in the sale. The gorgeous bay, by champion sire I Am Invincible, is the second living foal of Group 2 and Group 3-winning mare Alassio (Foxwedge), bred and offered by Silverdale Farm.

Alassio was a multiple stakes winner and comes from a strong female line. She is a half-sister to the dam of stakes placegetters Dealmaker (Dundeel) and It's a Knockout (Dundeel), while her dam Cinque (Red Ransom) was also a stakes winner.

“Just nice and early in the sale, I thought he was probably a bit of value because he's early in the catalogue, compared to what the same horse tends to make halfway through Day 2,” Redvers said.

“We all loved him, and he's a horse Sheikh Fahad particularly liked. We all know about the stallion, and the mare's a Group 2 winner, so he fits what we're looking for. We've got another very nice I Am Invincible with Ciaron called Invicto. Very happy to have him.”

Redvers also highlighted the colt's key attributes.

“He's incredibly athletic. He's got a huge amount of presence and a very good mind. Totally unflappable out there, with a real standout action and athletic build. There was a very good underbidder as well…let's hope we all weren't wrong.”

Alassio missed last season but was again served by Yarraman's champion sire I Am Invincible.

Lot 137 – I Am Invincible x Calaverite (Lonhro), colt – A$875,000

A tense finish greeted the sale of lot 137, with a late opposition bid arriving just as the hammer fell, before Mark Player emerged successful at A$875,000. Offered by Emirates Park, the colt is a son of champion sire I Am Invincible and a half-brother to Group 1 Caulfield Guineas winner Golden Mile (Astern), from one of the deepest female families in the catalogue.

“We've certainly missed out on horses before bidding after the hammer; it fell our way today and it's just relief, I suppose,” Player said.

“Rob Roulston and I work very hard to identify the horses we like, and two days ago we independently wrote down our favourite horse in the catalogue – and it was the same horse.

“We pushed as far as we could to get him, we managed to, and we're just delighted.”

Calaverite has proven herself a high-class producer, with seven foals to date, six of which have raced for four winners. The pedigree page is further strengthened by the presence of Champion New Zealand Two-Year-Old La Dorada (Super Seth) and ATC Derby winner Major Beel (Savabeel).

“He's by a great sire, a half to a Group 1 winner, and out of a mare who has produced and done it,” Player said. “She was a fast mare, and he's got great presence. He looks like one of those rare 'Vinnies' that might run at two rather than being a 3-year-old. When you have that sort of hope, you tend to push that little bit harder.”

A trainer is yet to be decided, with Player noting the decision will be made alongside his partners.

“He's the sort of horse I don't think any trainer on our roster would want not to have in their stable. He'll be very popular.”

Player will be hoping to replicate the success he enjoyed with dual Group 1 winner and champion sire Ole Kirk.

Calaverite was sold at the 2025 Inglis Chairman's Sale for A$900,000 to Yulong's Growing Empire Syndicate. She has a colt at foot by Zoustar and was served by Alabama Express last spring.

The post ‘When Everyone Agrees, It Gives You Confidence’: Coolmore Land A$2m Frankel Colt At Magics appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

View the full article