A $725,000 Snitzel colt topped the just completed Melbourne Premier yearling sale at Oaklands Junction.
The three-quarter brother to Group 3 winner Jukebox (Snitzel) was consigned by Blue Gum Farm on behalf of breeders Neville and Susan Duncan and is the third-highest yearling sold at auction in Victoria.
Aquis Farm signed for the September 9 foal, the first foal of Jestajingle (Lonhro), a Perth winner and a half-sister to Group 3 Vain Stakes winner Jukebox.
“He’s a top-level colt by a champion sire. We thought he was a super mover, a real 2YO who’s come from great breeders and Phil Campbell has done a lovely job preparing him,’’ Aquis’s Shane McGrath said.
“Across the board with these top-quality horses, that’s what they’re going to make.
“They can be expensive but if they can come out and win a nice race, they’re a future stallion prospect which is what everyone is after.’’
Blue Gum also consigned the second top lot, a colt by Pierro out of Pass The Parcel which sold to First Light Racing for $575,000 in conjunction with training partners Trent Busuttin and Natalie Young.
The colt is a half-brother to Group 2 placed Casual Pass (Wandjina) and is from the immediate family of Group 1 winners Kementari (Lonhro) and Sterling City (Nadeem).
“He is a colt that when we first looked at him, myself and Paul Willetts, we saw him for 60 seconds and asked for him to be put away and then whispered to each other that we thought this was the best colt we’d seen all year. We were so blown away by this colt,’’ First Light’s Ash Dowley said.
“We expected him to make that much and we knew we would have to be pretty strong on him. We did go two bids over what we initially thought but we loved him that much and didn’t want to go home without him.’’
Book 1 of the Premier Yearling Sale ended with an average of $129,162 (11% year-on-year increase) median of $110,000 (22% increase on 2019) and gross of $47,402,500.
In total 214 lots sold for $100,000 or more (up from 186 last year) and 70 for $200,000 or more (up from 54 in 2019).