Rare filly She's Extreme sold for AU$3.4 million (US$2,250,120, AU$1=US$0.6618) May 9 at the Chairman's Sale after Coolmore continued its large-scale investment in elite breeding stock as some of the world's biggest Thoroughbred buyers clashed at Inglis' night of nights.
Coolmore's Tom Magnier signed for three seven-figure mares in less than four hours, adding C'Est Magique (AU$1.7 million) and Autumn Ballet (AU$1.6 million) to his acquisition of She's Extreme—before coming off second best against big-spending American John Stewart for Tutta La Vita.
The Resolute Racing principal, who underbid Winx's AU$10 million Pierro daughter four weeks ago at the Inglis Australian Easter sale, paid AU$3.2 million (US$2,117,760) for three-time group 1-placed Tutta La Vita.
In total, nine fillies and mares sold for AU$1 million or more to six different parties during the select 88-lot sale at Riverside Stables in Sydney.
She's Extreme, the 2022 ATC Champagne Stakes (G1) and VRC Oaks (G1) winner, has been earmarked for one of Coolmore's suite of stallions including first-season 2023 Golden Slipper (G1) winner Shinzo, third season stallion Home Affairs, or the operation's star shuttler Wootton Bassett.
"It's not often a filly can win a group 1 at 2 and train on and win an Oaks," Coolmore Australia's Tom Moore said.
"She put herself in very rare company. She's by a great stallion in Extreme Choice. She had everything that we look for in these elite mares and the type of mares that we come to the Chairman's Sale to buy."
Another of the Coolmore purchases, the group 1-placed C'Est Magique, will race in the care of trainer Chris Waller for heavyweights John Magnier, Michael Tabor, and Derrick Smith.
"She's got good race performances left in her and maybe at group 1 level," Coolmore's Colm Santry said. "There's a load of horses for her, being by Zoustar, and she could go overseas to Justify later on."
2023 Black Opal Stakes (G3) and Silver Shadow Stakes (G2) winner Autumn Ballet, who was offered Thursday night as a racing and breeding proposition, will be immediately retired.
Stewart Lands Tutta La Vita
Meanwhile, brash American owner Stewart bid through Inglis' Mark Webster over the phone to buy the Chris Waller Racing-consigned Tutta La Vita, the Chairman's Sale second highest-priced lot of the night.
Placed in the Vinery Stud Stakes (G1), Surround Stakes (G1), and 2023 Flight Stakes (G1), the filly has stayed in training after her Australian Oaks (G1) run last month.
She now is likely to run in the Doomben Roses (G2) May 25, a fortnight out from the Queensland Oaks (G1).
Stewart zeroed in on Tutta La Vita, unaware that he was bidding against Coolmore for the prized filly who was being sold by Kevin and Vicky Payne.
"Tom texted me as soon as I bought her and I didn't know I was going head-to-head with him and you don't like to do that with people that you partner with, but it's going to happen when you're both going after good fillies," Stewart told ANZ Bloodstock News.
"It makes me feel good about the horse, the fact that they were the under bidders because I view them as very good judges of the caliber of horses."
Stewart, who met Waller earlier this year on a trip to Australia, heeded the endorsement of Tutta La Vita's trainer.
He said: "There were probably some horses that on paper looked a little more accomplished on the track, but we think from a broodmare prospect that she lines up more with our program."
Waller described the sale of Tutta La Vita "as a great result for everybody" and he was pleased that Resolute Racing was keeping the filly in his stable.
"Obviously, they're very passionate about racing around the world, in particular Australia. They're making their presence felt here and obviously having a horse like Tutta La Vita fits the bill," Waller said.
"They've been buying horses ready to race in America and doing very well."
Sale Reaction
The one-day sale grossed AU$34,885,000 (US$23,093,521) for 56 lots sold, down 22% from 2023. The session saw year-over-year increases in average and median with an average of AU$622,946 (US$412,384) (up 12%) and median of AU$410,000 (US$271,416) (9.3%), but also saw the clearance rate decline with 67% of offered lots selling compared to 80% in 2023.
Inglis Bloodstock chief executive Sebastian Hutch said the nine million-dollar lots were the headline acts that the company had worked hard to acquire.
"We felt like we had a strong group of high-end mares. It just felt like a year where it was difficult to procure them for the sale for whatever reason," Hutch said.
"The volume of them was fewer across the market as a whole, so we worked hard to try and secure as many as we could. Those mares sold really well tonight and we are pleased with how it worked out."
Below that top end, Hutch admitted it wasn't as straightforward as he would have liked.
"Certainly early on, it was evident that there was disparity between the expectations of buyers and vendors," he said.
"Obviously one of the challenges of offering a boutique group of mares that vendors have a high regard for, you're trying to strike a balance between what vendors think they're worth and what buyers think they're worth.
"For one reason or another we probably didn't get that quite right early in the sale and that's something for us to work on going forward."
The Australian Broodmare Sale will be conducted May 10, starting at 11 a.m. local time.
