Godolphin added further to the future broodmare portfolio when they purchased two fillies for $600,000 a piece at the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale on Friday.
Catalogued as Lot 526 https://catalogue.magicmillions.com.au/lot/20GPR/526 and offered as the Cressfield Stud draft, the filly is by Coolmore's champion sire Fastnet Rock (Danehill) and out of Group 1 winner Mid Summer Music (Oamaru Force) - making the colt a three-quarters brother to handy two-year-old Euphoric Summer (Not A Single Doubt), who won the Magic Millions 2YO Clockwise Classic (RL, 1000m) and was last seen running a good third in the BJ McLachlan Stakes (Gr 3, 1200m).
Euphoric Summer was purchased by Phoenix Thoroughbreds from Cressfield for $260,000 at last year's edition of the sale and will line up in the Magic Millions 2YO Classic (RL, 1200m) this afternoon.
Cressfield Stud's Bruce Neill admitted to be feeling nervous while the filly went through the ring, but was thrilled that Godolphin were able to secure her.
"We're very pleased and was very popular throughout the sale," said Neill. "We thought we had a few buyers on her. It got slow during the lead-up, but once we got her on the market - we had a reserve of $350,000 - she started to gather interest. She made what I thought was a pretty fair price.
"I'm always nervous early on and that's the beauty of the sales. The adrenaline is pumping, but we knew she'd had the inspections, the x-rays were clean and she's already thrown a stakes winner out of a Group 1-winning mare.
"It was all there, but it was the case of finding the right buyer and thank goodness Godolphin were the right buyers.
Mid Summer Music beat Buffering (Mossman) in the Stradbroke Handicap (Gr 1, 1400m) in 2012 and this high-priced yearling she has ever produced.
"I've still got the mare. She's got a Merchant Navy on the ground and she's been a good broodmare," said Neill. "She's sold well. I got $300,000 for the first Fastnet Rock who has won well in New Zealand and Europhic Summer made good money and is now a Group 3-placed horse.
"She's going to get every chance. The other one (Euphoric Summer) is with Mick Price and Mick Kent jnr, so we've had good luck there.
"I only race the ones I can't sell, so I give the market every chance to buy something from me."
Meanwhile, Jason Walsh, racing and bloodstock for Darley, said the two fillies fitted well into Darley's long term plan to stock up on well-bred fillies who will, in time, strengthen their broodmare band.
"She also meets all the criteria when we came here at the beginning of the week. She has an absolutely bomb-proof attitude and has handled the week really well."
Walsh was visibly ecstatic to be able to secure the Snitzel (Snitzel) filly out of Mirror Mirror (Dehere) for $600,000 and said that Godolphin's head trainer James Cummings fell in love with the filly when he saw her during the inspections.
"She's a lovely filly and the kind of prospects that we are here to buy," said Walsh. "She's from a great family and we thought she was a top-class filly. The trainer [James Cummings] is in love with her and we are delighted to be taking her home."
Godolphin re-entered the yearling market in 2018 and has since gone from strength to strength with their purchases, headlined by Exhilarates (Snitzel), who they purchased for $600,000 at the 2018 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale and the filly went on to take out the Magic Millions 2YO Classic the following year.
"We are primarily here to source some top families and irrespective of what they do on a racecourse they will be joining our broodmare programme which makes it a long term venture for us," explained Walsh.
"Obviously we are buying them because they look like racehorses, that's what we saw in Exhilarates, and that's what we see in the four fillies we've bought so far this week and we're hoping they can get to somewhere near the level she has.
"She's strong, she's neat, she's forward and she's handled the week really well, as I say, James is really excited about putting a saddle on her back in the next few weeks."
Catalogued as Lot 532 https://catalogue.magicmillions.com.au/lot/20GPR/532 and offered by Strawberry Hill Stud, the filly is out of Mirror Mirror, making her a half-sister to Listed winner No Looking Back (Redoute's Choice), while she is also a sister to two-time winner and Group 3-placed Chauffeur.
Further back this is family as Group 2 winners Tennessee Jack (Whiskey Road) and Tennessee Vain (Whiskey Road) - the latter being the dam of Tennessee Morn (Bletchingly), who in turn produced Group 1 winner Malaguerra (Magnus) and Listed winner Tennessee Midnight (Danehill). Tennessee Midnight herself is the dam of Group 1 winner Aloha (Encosta De Lago), who is a half-sister to the dam of Group 1-winning mare Seabrook (Hinchinbrook).
Godolphin have been stocking up on well-bred fillies all week and they add the pair to a sister Group 1 winner Extreme Choice (Not A Single Doubt), who they purchased for $600,000 and another filly by the Arrowfield, who they paid Vinery Stud $500,000 for.
Darley have two new first season sires with stock on offer at this year's Magic Millions sale; Astern (Medaglia d'Oro) and Frosted (Tapit) and Walsh said he was pleased with they the stock of both yearlings have been received by the buyers.
"We have been really impressed with how the stock has been received, including the first season horses and obviously Exceed has had an unbelievable week.
"We are looking for some of these young horses to take the mantle from the likes of Exceed and Lonhro. The have started really well this week the market has been really impressed with them, as have we during inspections."
Astern enjoyed a brilliant result on the first day when Asian Bloodstock Services parted with $725,000 for a colt from Yarraman Park's draft, while on Thursday Frosted enjoyed a good result when Spendthrift paid Widden Stud $650,000 for a half-sister to champion sprinter Santa Ana Lane (Lope De Vega). While Exceed And Excel is enjoying a red-letter week, finishing day three with an aggregate of $8,620,000, with his 20 yearlings selling for an average of $431,000.
