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Well-related former Godolphin mare has a date with boom first-season stallion.
Coolmore came off second best in several high-profile sale ring stoushes yesterday, but it was not losing out in the battle for one of the best-related mares in the Magic Millions catalogue on Wednesday.
Magnier, in partnership with Mark McStay's Avenue Bloodstock, paid $1.3 million for Godolphin four-year-old Tangier, a sister to Astern who is in-foal to I Am Invincible.
Tangier will be added to the big group of blueblood mares who will be waiting for I Am Invincible's Coolmore Stud Stakes and Black Caviar Lightning-winning son Home Affairs when he gets back from his impending Royal Ascot excursion.
"You spend a lot of time looking for these kind of mares," Magnier said.
"She's a very good-looking mare, she's a really good mover and she's got tons of quality.
"We bought Shout The Bar last week (at the Chairman's Sale), we've bought this mare this week and we've got a lot of mares at home and we really want to support this horse."
Tangier is by Medaglia d'Oro out of the Exceed And Excel mare Essaouira who is not only the dam of Astern, but also three-time Group 1 winner Alizee (Sepoy), the untapped Tassort (Brazen Beau) and Marrakesh (Lonhro), who is the mother of promising staying filly Mamounia (Medaglia d'Oro).
Tangier was the first seven-figure lot of the broodmares section of the National Sale, which followed Tuesday's race fillies and mares catalogue, in which Magnier was the underbidder on the headline lot - $4m mare Away Game.
She was bought by Yulong, who also bought Tuesday's second top lot - $3.1m mare Tofane – and Magnier said it was no shock to see competition so stiff on the Gold Coast.
"The market is really healthy in Australia, it's amazing to see what's going on here," he said.
"Prizemoney is good and you can see all the international people that are here this week. Long may it last."