Lonhro Filly Magic on the Gold Coast

LONHRO FILLY MAGIC ON THE GOLD COAST 
A filly by Lonhro (Aus) set a new record price for a filly at the Magic Millions National Weanling Sale when selling to James Harron for A$710,000 during the second and final session on the Gold Coast yesterday. Lot 381, from the draft of Segenhoe Stud, caused a bidding frenzy that eventually boiled down to Harron and New Zealand-based agent Michael Wallace. The October foal hails from one of Australia’s most successful families. She is out of True Blonde (Aus) (Naturalism {Aus}), a stakes winning half-sister to successful sire Snippets (Aus), as well as the dam of prominent sire Not A Single Doubt (Aus). True Blonde has produced eight winners, including the stakes winner and producer Regrowth (Unbridled’s Song), and she is the second dam of Champion 2-Year-Old Filly and G1 Golden Slipper heroine Forensics (Aus) (Flying Spur {Aus}). Lonhro ended the sale as the leading sire by average, with three sold for an average of A$310,000. 
“She’s a fantastic filly,” Harron said. “We’re delighted to secure her. It’s one of the best families in Australia and she’s an outstanding physical. We’re a fan of Lonhro and it’s a lovely outcross for later on with breeding.” 
He added: “She handled the sale process really well. She’s very relaxed and we’re delighted to get her.” 
The sale’s second session built on a highly successful first session Sunday. Overall, 350 weanlings changed hands for A$15,245,000, up 78% on last year’s gross with 113 fewer horses sold. The buyback rate remained on par with 12 months ago at 13%, while the average climbed 21% to A$43,559. 
“It’s been a staggering two days of selling weanlings,” Magic Millions Managing Director Vin Cox said. “Our gross is up more than 75% and the average by over 20%. This tells us not only is there a robust appetite for weanlings, but the Australian bloodstock industry is extremely healthy.” 
Another trend that carried over from the first session was the popularity of first season sire Foxwedge (Aus) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}). The Group 1-winning sprinter, who stands at Newgate Farm, had a colt sell to James Harron for A$260,000 Sunday, and built on that momentum yesterday, with a pair selling for more than A$200,000. Foxwedge was the sale’s third-leading sire by average, with eight sold for A$172,500. The other first season sires in the top 10 by average were Sepoy (Aus) (six sold for an A$101,667 average), So You Think (NZ) (five sold for an A$86,000 average) and Helmet (Aus) (three sold for an average of A$81,667). 
Shortly before sending its record-priced filly through the ring, Segenhoe donned its buyers cap to secure Lot 370, a filly by Foxwedge, from Newgate for A$350,000. The August foal is the second foal out of New Zealand Group 1 winner The Party Stand (NZ) (Thorn Park {Aus}). That transaction occurred shortly after Michael Wallace and Prima Park Bloodstock went to A$235,000 for Lot 333, a filly out of Sleepy Hollow (Aus) (Carnegie {Ire}), a half-sister to the stakes winning Citirecruit (Aus) (Citidancer {Ire}), the dam of Group 3 winner Royalsecuritybaby (Aus) (Choisir {Aus}). The filly was offered by Rothwell Park. 
Leading sire Fastnet Rock (Aus) got his name in the mix when Lot 390, a colt from Broadwater Thoroughbreds, sold for A$220,000 to Musk Creek Farm. The bay is the first foal out of New Zealand Group 3 winner Veronica Franco (NZ) (Johar), a half-sister to a pair of stakes winners. 
“The pleasing thing is that [the weanling sale] wasn’t only about the Teeley Sale,” concluded Cox. “The sale built on the momentum of yesterday.” 
The Magic Millions National Sale continues Wednesday with the four-day National Broodmare Sale. 
“We now look forward to three days of select fillies and mares starting on Wednesday,” Cox said. “The catalogue is full of quality from the very first lot on Wednesday to the last lot on Friday, which is the late supplementary entry Solar Charged in foal to Sebring. For those that are looking to purchase, I recommend you do your homework and aim high–you might be surprised about what you end up with.”