Yulong's $4 million trump card leaves Coolmore's Magnier wincing as underbidder

Yulong’s unquenchable thirst for elite broodmares was on show when the Victoria-based operation splurged almost A$17 million on the Gold Coast, A$7.1m of which was spent on champion two-year-old Away Game and four-time Group 1 winner Tofane.

The Nagambie stud bought four of the eight mares to make a million dollars or more in the race fillies and mares session at the Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale, going to A$4m (£2.27m/€2.64m to take home the Ciaron Maher and David Eustace-trained Away Game and A$3.1m on Tofane.

Not content with its early haul, Yulong also bought back-to-back million-dollar mares from the supplementary catalogue, going to A$1.35m for lightly raced four-year-old Forever You and A$1.6m for three-year-old Mac ‘N’ Cheese.

Signing under various entities, including the Written Tycoon Syndicate, Yulong spent a total of A$16.48m, accounting for a stunning 38 per cent of turnover on day one across 37 mares, in which the session grossed A$44,935,500 at an average of A$249,652.

The median was A$120,000 while the clearance rate closed at 87 per cent, with 180 horses changing hands.

Agent Dermot Farrington was also playing at the top end on behalf of clients, landing US-bred Coolmore Classic winner Lighthouse for A$1.7m and Swift Witness for A$1m.

Group 2 winner Rubisaki and dual stakes-winning sprinter Ballistic Lover also went for A$1m each on day one.

Underlining the strength of the market was the demand for Away Game. Five parties, both domestic and international, were prepared to bid above A$3m in an attempt to buy the top-class sprinter.

A Magic Millions 2YO Classic, Widden Stakes and Percy Sykes winner at two, Away Game has been a runner-up at Group 1 level on three occasions, in the Golden Slipper, the Oakleigh Plate and the Robert Sangster Stakes.

"We've seen the market is so strong on these fillies that have been dominant, especially with two-year-old form [like hers]," Yulong’s chief operating officer Sam Fairgray said of Away Game.

"She's a beautiful filly and if she leaves progeny looking like herself she'll definitely do well in the sale ring [as a broodmare]."

Coolmore Australia principal Tom Magnier, leaning on the rail of the sale ring entrance ramp, winced as his A$3.9m bid was overtaken by Yulong’s $4m return. Magnier declined to bid again for the four-year-old, ensuring Sunlight, who made A$4.2m in 2020, remained as the most expensive mare sold at a Magic Millions sale.

Away Game, a A$425,000 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale purchase by European agent Kerri Radcliffe in 2019, is set to race in Saturday's A$700,000 Kingsford-Smith Cup at Eagle Farm before bowing out in either the Stradbroke Handicap or Tatt's Tiara later in the Queensland Winter Carnival.

“She’s had a couple of hectic days here at the sale, only walking, but she is really well,” said co-trainer Maher.

“There’s not much she can’t handle, she’s pretty adaptable, a pleasure to train and hopefully she can round out the fairytale and get that elusive Group 1 [win].”

A daughter of the stakes-placed winner Elusive Wonder, Away Game is also a sister to the stakes winner Modern Wonder. She was sold through the Newgate-Killora Consignment as Lot 584.

Yulong already has a connection to the family of Away Game having bought her half-sister, the juvenile-placed Pippa Charlotte, for A$375,000 at last year’s Magic Millions sale. She is in foal to Written Tycoon and Fairgray said Yulong intends to “build the family” following the acquisition of Away Game.

While the curtain is set to come down on Away Game’s racing career in the near future, it is less certain for the Mike Moroney-trained A$3.1m mare Tofane, who could yet race on for another season.

Withdrawn from last year’s National sale, a decision which netted her owners victories in the Stradbroke Handicap, Tatt’s Tiara and the C F Orr Stakes over the past 12 months, Tofane represented Yulong in the 2020 Everest, finishing ninth behind winner Classique Legend.

"Mr Zhang has really liked her for a few years and we've spoken to [co-owner] Rupert Legh on several occasions trying to buy her, so it's great to finally get her," said Fairgray.

"She's no certainty to go to stud this year, we'll just see how things unfold.

"She's shown in the last year that she's getting better as she gets older, so if she's still got that interest in racing then we may race her on."

Katsumi Yoshida’s Northern Farm, which owns close relations Funstar and Youngstar, was the underbidder, while Fairgray kept his cards close to his chest by bidding online for Tofane.

Tofane’s breeder Gordon Cunningham of Curraghmore in New Zealand bred the four-time Group 1 winner out of Baggy Green, a three-quarter sister to Group 1 winner Funstar and a half-sister to fellow Group 1 winner Youngstar.

Cunningham put Tofane into work with Moroney and Pam Gerard at Matamata in New Zealand but he soon started receiving calls from Australian trainers and agents after she won a Te Teko barrier trial in September 2018.

Providing Moroney with first option, the Ballymore trainer bought her for a syndicate headed by Legh.

Moroney said from the Gold Coast on Tuesday: “She has a good brain and handled everything well. That’s surprising because, in the early days, I thought she was going to be a bit of a trouble to travel, but when we finally gave her her first trip away she ran really well and she's actually one of those horses who actually perform better when she's away from home.

“The attributes she had was that she was no fuss, she would let you know when she’d had enough people. She'd let you know when she was uncertain and you'd just walk away from her.”

Cunningham said he felt a great sense of fulfilment seeing Tofane sell on Tuesday for such a high figure, even though he no longer has any association with the mare or her dam Baggy Green.

He sold Baggy Green to fellow New Zealand breeder Valachi Downs when Tofane was unraced.

“Actually, I had some farm developments at the time, so I sold Baggy Green because I had Tofane put in work and now I don’t have any of them,” said Cunningham.

“However, I’ve got the memories and a little bit of money in the bank.”

Fairgray revealed Yulong would discuss with trainers Tony and Calvin McEvoy about whether stakes winner Mac ‘N’ Cheese, the half-sister to Group 1 winner Exceedance and Group 2 winner Oxley Road, races on this campaign.

The intention, however, was for the Spendthrift Australia-sold filly to race on at four.

“She has a strong pedigree behind her and is well performed herself, so she is another nice mare to add to the broodmare band,” said Fairgray.

“When you want to get these mares, you’ve got to front up and buy them.”

Widden Stud’s Antony Thompson and Derek Field made a concerted push to buy Mac ‘N’ Cheese but couldn’t match Yulong.

A sister to Irish Derby winner Sovereign, Forever You, who was raced by Tony Fung and Phoenix Thoroughbreds, has won three of her six starts for Annabel Neasham.

Yulong already owns a sister to Forever You, You Only You, who has a weanling filly by resident sire Alabama Express and is in foal to Lucky Vega.

Forever You could also remain in training.

“We sold a Lope De Vega colt for A$600,000 at the Magic Millions sale out of a full-sister [in January],” said Fairgray.

“With the farm, it’s all about trying to build pedigrees and if you can get a filly from the same family, put them to the right stallions and build those families, hopefully we get the benefit of it down track.”

In recent years, Yulong have invested heavily in the top end of the market, buying 14-time Group 1 winner Melody Belle for A$2.6m and Greysful Glamour for A$1.5m at last year’s Gold Coast sale and Unforgotten (A$2.75m) and Viddora (A$2.55m) at the previous year’s auction.

Yulong also purchased dual Group 1-winning sprinter In Her Time for A$2.25m at the 2021 Chairman’s Sale and Fairgray said the huge investment will start to pay dividends at the yearling sales next year.

“Viddora has got a really nice Snitzel filly, In Her Time has got an I Am Invincible colt, and Unforgotten’s got a beautiful I Am Invincible filly, so they’re all starting to come through the system now,” he said.

“Next year we will see them entering the yearling sales and Melody Belle and Greysful Glamour are due to foal down to Written Tycoon this year, as are those other mares I just mentioned.

“In the years to come there's going to be some really nice quality coming through.”

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