Leading Victorian based thoroughbred nursery Three Bridges Thoroughbreds celebrated their first seven figure seller when the star producer Zenaida topped Day Two of the Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale today.

The dam of Group One winner Sunshine in Paris and Group Three winner Macroura was purchased by Yulong Investments for $1.4 million after a spirited bidding battle.

She was one of three lots to sell for over one million dollars and made history as the highest price ever sold by the Liston family of Three Bridges Thoroughbreds.

“It’s amazing,” Toby Liston said. “She’s a lovely animal, obviously it’s unfortunate you have to sell these horses, but she’s gone to a wonderful home.”

“They (Yulong) are the best supporters of Victoria, so it’s great for us and great she’s staying in Victoria. I can’t wait to see her foal.”

“It’s very exciting and it’s a big deal for our family and our farm. We haven’t sold a horse for $1 million before, so it’s great.”

“We’ve done it before for other people, it’s easy to sell somebody else’s horse, but it’s hard to sell your own.”

“It’s a lot of money, I was hoping for a million. It was just great to get a great result,” Liston summed up.

Sam Fairgray from Yulong said he was very pleased to secure the mother of Sunshine in Paris, who last night sold for $3.9 million to James Harron.

“She’s a mare that, going forward, the pedigree is going to improve and improve,” Fairgray noted.

“She’s got the two stakes-winning daughters already and it’s likely we’ll keep the fillies out of her and keep building the family.”

“She’ll go to Alabama Express, obviously with a similar sort of cross to Sunshine in Paris and Macroura.”

“Mr Zhang has had a passion for Zabeel mares for a long time so to get one like her is fantastic.”

“Maurice (her covering sire) is a good stallion, he’s done well, he missed a year but he’s a very good stallion and we’re not really fussed whether we get a colt or a filly, because Maurice colts are very good and if we get a filly she’s staying at the farm.”

Yulong’s love affair with Frankel continued today when the team went to $1.375 million to secure the young English bred and raced mare Great Vibes who is in foal to the Juddmonte champion.

Offered as Lot 910 through the Arrowfield Stud draft, Great Vibes was a two-year-old winner at Newmarket.

“She is a beautiful mare, probably the best-looking mare in-foal to Frankel,” Fairgray pointed out. “So we’re really pleased to be taking her home.”

“It’s a nice early service, if it comes out looking like her it’ll be a good sort.”

“There’s a lot of fillies in the family, so hopefully it keeps on growing. These are great broodmares that we’re putting together and it’s good for the industry and having Mr Zhang involved is really good.”

“She’ll stay here and then we’ll mate her to one of our stallions, probably to Tagaloa I would say. Lord Kanaloa has worked well with mares with Daylami in the family so we’ll just to go with that cross.”

Fairgray said the sale had been a successful so far for Yulong and that the operation’s owner Mr Zhang was enjoying his involvement.

“He loves being here and going and looking at the horses and so forth. He’s got a good eye for a really nice type, he loves learning about the pedigrees and what’s worked and why people are buying them.”

“His knowledge of the industry is amazing, world-wide that is,” Fairgray added. “He follows it very closely and he knows what’s going on all around the world.”

Later in the afternoon bloodstock agent Jim Clarke went to $1.15 million to secure the good looking US stakes winner Giza Goddess who was presented in foal to I Am Invincible as part of the Newgate Consignment.

“She’s a gorgeous mare, physically she was just beautiful,” Clarke said.

“It’s obviously a lovely cover to our champion stallion and these American mares have proven themselves of being very good producers here in Australia, so we’re delighted with her.”

“We’ve seen yearlings out of these really sharp American mares sell really well the past few years but not only sell well, but race really well.”

“We haven’t really put that much thought into the mating for her yet, but the client is quite into his pedigrees and I’m sure he’ll be going back through and see what options for her.”

“But she’ll be bred to something commercial and one of our better sprinting horses that’s for sure,” Clarke added.
So far the National Broodmare Sale has grossed over $76.7 million for 329 lots sold at an average price of $233,348 and clearance rate of 76 per cent.

“I think there’s still a huge thirst for quality lots,” Magic Millions Managing Director Barry Bowditch said. “Horses at the middle to top end, in a large number of cases, were participated on with gusto. There were many pleasing results today.”

“In saying that, I think we’ve got a very motivated group of vendors out there who are looking to be very realistic. There’s plenty of value to be found in the passed in lots, and obviously in what we’ll be offering tomorrow.”

“The vendors out there know that plan B or C is not probably what they were wanting to do. In a lot of cases they are being incredibly realistic.”

“There are a lot of quality mares here that are either not selling as well as they should or going back to the box unsold. In saying that, the sale is still very pleasing for quality horses and I believe that will continue tomorrow.”

To view the results of the sale so far or to make an offer on a passed in lot click here.

Day Three of the National Broodmare Sale will commence at 10am (Qld time) tomorrow.

SALE STATISTICS
(2022 in brackets)

Lots Catalogued: 480 (490)
Lots Sold: 329 (357)
Lots Passed In: 104 (62)
Lots Withdrawn: 47 (70)
Sale Gross: $76,772,500 ($78,431,500)
Average Price: $233,351 ($219,696)
Top Price: $4,100,000 ($4,000,000)
Median Price: $110,000 ($120,000)
Sold %: 76 (85)

DAY TWO TOP SELLERS

$1,400,000 – Zenaida (Lot 751)
Vendor: Three Bridges T’breds (As Agent) / Buyer: Yulong Investments (Pty Ltd) Australia (Vic)

$1,375,000 – Great Vibes (Lot 910)
Arrowfield Stud (As Agent) / Yulong Investments (Pty Ltd) Australia (Vic)

$1,150,000 – Giza Goddess (Lot 902)
Newgate Consignment (As Agent) / Clarke B’stock (NSW)

$825,000 – Amiche (Lot 773)
Yarraman Park Stud (As Agent) / Kia Ora Stud (NSW)

$800,000 – Cafe Royal (Lot 812)
Newgate Consignment (As Agent) / Musk Creek Farm/Boomer B’stock (Vic)

LEADING BUYERS
(ranked by total spend)

$26,116,000 – Yulong Investments (Australia) Pty Ltd – 49 lots
$6,100,000 – Tom Magnier – 3 lots
$4,270,000 – James Harron B’stock – 4 lots
$2,555,000 – Kia Ora Stud – 7 lots
$1,600,000 – Arrowfield Stud – 1 lot

LEADING VENDORS
(ranked by gross)

$21,976,000 – Newgate Consignment – 45 sold
$7,422,500 – Yarraman Park Stud – 15 sold
$5,154,000 – Edinburgh Park – 40 sold
$4,137,500 – Blue Sky Premium Consignment – 38 sold
$3,915,000 – Milburn Creek – 5 sold