Sparks flew early on Day 1 of Magic Millions' Perth Yearling Sale Feb. 19, when a filly (Lot 25) by Australia's reigning champion sire Zoustar, out of group 3 winner Lubiton, topped proceedings, selling to Sheamus Mills Bloodstock for AU$525,000 (US$370,193, AU$1=US$0.71).
Mills, bidding online from his home state of Victoria, delivered the final blow to outlast bloodstock agent Johnny McKeever and trainer Annabel Archibald.
Archibald, alongside husband and training partner Rob, will saddle the filly's I Am Invincible half sister Chayan as an AU$26 chance in the Feb. 21 Blue Diamond Stakes (G1) at Caulfield Racecourse, and Mills is hoping for a timely pedigree update.
"That would be a bit of a dream scenario, but not without a chance," Mills told ANZ News. "She ran well on debut, so in probably a fairly open race, hopefully she can make her presence felt."
On a fly-in, fly-out mission to Western Australia, Mills said the filly was not initially on his shopping list but proved impossible to leave behind after he inspected her at the beginning of the week.
"I came over on Tuesday and looked at about 50 or 60, and came home Wednesday," he said.
"I like the medium-sized, athletic Zoustars who stand over plenty of ground. She had a lovely sort of shape to her; she wasn't too heavy, and she moved particularly well.
"Her number one attribute I liked was her personality. I thought she's a lovely, tough filly, very settled. I saw her when I first got there, and then I saw her just before they closed up at the end of the day, and the girl who led her said she'd had her ears walked off by the end of the day and had been very popular.
"I could see how tired she was, but when she was asked to walk, you wouldn't have known the day that she'd had. She's obviously held up very well, and that little glimpse into her temperament sealed the deal."
Selling for AU$525,000, the filly became the second-highest-priced filly ever sold at the Perth sale, second only to a filly Mills purchased for AU$625,000 at the 2024 renewal. Named Fight For Life, who sadly died without making a racecourse appearance.
Mills did not attend in 2025 but returned this year with a specific target in mind, the sister to Fight For Life, cataloged as Lot 154, who was eventually knocked down to Pearce Racing for AU$475,000 later in the day.
"I suppose the original reason was to come and see the sister (to Fight For Life), and going that far, there were certainly enough other horses in the catalog of interest. I had a few other little jobs to do in terms of other clients who were interested in various horses."
Mills said a trainer for the Zoustar filly had yet to be finalized.
"Not really sure at the moment (who will train). We put all the horses through the same process, and then we'll work them out at the end. The majority obviously go to Mick Price, but we do have a couple of horses with Waller and Malua Racing. So we'll just see, once we learn a little bit more about her."
At the close of trade on the first day of the two-day sale, the auction had returned healthy numbers at the top end and through the middle market, with 138 yearlings sold at a clearance rate of 82%, with an impressive 22 lots making more than AU$200,000.
The aggregate rose 9.7% from last year's corresponding session to AU$14,737,500 (US$10,391,853), while the average weighed in at AU$106,793 (US$75,303), up 21%, and the median increased 14% to $80,000 (US$56,410).
Magic Millions' Western Australia manager David Houston said the opening session set a strong platform heading into the second and final day.
"It has been a super day today," Houston told ANZ News. "To be up AU$20,000 on average, selling 20 horses less than last year and up a million dollars in gross, it is fantastic.
"I think tomorrow I'll be strong again. There's obviously not so many horses to go through; it'll be a shorter day, but there have been a lot of good horses come out of Day 2, and there'll be great value there.
"I spoke to a number of the buyers or potential buyers today, and they have missed out, so they'll be looking tomorrow to fill their orders as well, so I'm very hopeful for tomorrow."
