Lope de Vega Colt Tops Opening Day of Gold Coast Sale

The principle of supply and demand ultimately determines the value of any product, and so it was of no great surprise that the only lots by Lope de Vega (IRE), Extreme Choice (AUS), and I Am Invincible (AUS) on offer June 1, the opening day of the Magic Millions Gold Coast National Yearling Sale, commanded the three highest prices. Buying on behalf of prominent Queensland owners Ron and Judi Wanless, KPW Bloodstock's Kevin Walls secured Lope De Vega's crack colt (Lot 913) for a sale-topping price of AU$600,000 (US$429,207, AU$1=US$0.72), which was followed closely by Michael Freedman's successful bid of AU$580,000 for the filly by Extreme Choice, Newgate Stud's phenom who will have three more lots up for auction on the second and final day on the Gold Coast. After a competitive opening day of trading, Mitchell Bloodstock and Gall Bloodstock—two families already entwined in I Am Invincible's incredible success story—will be hoping to write another chapter after they teamed up to purchase the sale's sole 'Vinny' representative for AU$500,000. But it was the less fashionable Lope de Vega, whose achievements (at least in the Southern Hemisphere) have been dwarfed by those of Extreme Choice and I Am Invincible, who ended the day with top honors thanks to Walls' determination. The former Trelawney Stud manager is known to buy primarily on type, and he could not resist the appeal of Lot 913, whose impressively versatile sire is still having an influence in Australia some 12 years after he last stood on these shores. Yulong principal Yuesheng Zhang is known to be an admirer of Lope de Vega—his group 1-winning son Lucky Vega (IRE) is doing a very solid job on the farm's roster in Nagambie—and so there is a better than even chance that the Chinese mining magnate (or at least one of his representatives) was the online underbidder. Regardless, it was ultimately Walls who emerged victorious from a heated bidding battle for the Glenbeigh Farm-consigned colt, whose unraced dam Palme d'Or is a half sister to stakes winner Francesco Guardi. Given that Francesco Guardi won the 2022 Moonee Valley Gold Cup (G2) for his former trainer Chris Waller, and Lope de Vega's most recent Australian group 1 win came courtesy of Arapaho's stout staying effort in last year's Sydney Cup (G1), it would seem rather unlikely that Palme d'Or's first foal will be a precocious 2-year-old performer. It would be unwise to pigeonhole the colt prematurely, however, especially given Lope de Vega has also sired a plethora of group 1-winning sprinters including Santa Ana Lane, Vega Magic, Gytrash and Vega One. "As soon as he walked out of the box, I just hoped he met our criteria," Walls said. "Once he did, he was always going to be on our radar, and Ron told me to buy him—so that's what I did." Kerry Stephens, who runs Glenbeigh in tandem with her partner Denis Griffin, was understandably delighted to secure such a sizable sum for the colt's breeders at Ballylinch Stud, where Lope de Vega stands. Griffin used to work at Ballylinch before emigrating to Australia, and maintaining that pre-existing relationship has paid off handsomely as Glenbeigh secured top billing on their first foray to this sale. "He's a beautiful horse, and it's a great result," Stephens told ANZ News. "This is our first draft at this sale so we're obviously delighted to sell the top lot on the opening day. We had put a reserve price of AU$250,000 on the colt; we thought that he might sell for around AU$300,000 so to get double that for him was a very nice surprise. "I'd like to thank the breeders at Ballylinch for entrusting us to sell the colt for them. I'm sure they'll be very happy with the price, and we are too. I'd also like to wish Ron and Judi all the best with the colt, and we'll certainly be following his progress closely in the future." Across the day, almost AU$7.4 million (US$5,293,553) was traded on 122 lots sold at an average price of AU$60,578 (US$43,334), up from AU$44,961 last year, with a clearance rate of 76%. The median was $30,000. "It was a really strong market here today," Magic Millions managing director Barry Bowditch said. "Whether it was a colt or a filly of quality that entered the ring, there was good participation and great competition. "Looking at the figures from previous years, it's hard not to be pleased with the increases across the board in today's sale." The final day gets underway at 11 a.m. June 2, with Newgate's three remaining offerings by Extreme Choice—Lots 1040, 1077 and 1150—almost certain to be in high demand.