3 minute read
Tony Fung investments continues his love affair with Exceed And Excel.
The I Am Invincible (Invincible Spirit) filly out of South African Grade 2 winner Ektifaa (More Than Ready) will head back to Yarraman Park after she was purchased by James Mitchell of Mitchell Bloodstock for $600,000 at the Magic Millions National Weanling Sale on Thursday.
Catalogued as Lot 74 and offered as part of the Shadwell dispersal, the filly is the second foal out of the daughter of More Than Ready (Southern Halo) and her first foal by Murhraar (Oasis Dream) was purchased by Snowden Racing for $110,000 at last month's Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale.
The filly's third dam is Calvinia (Varick) and she is also the dam of Group 1 winner Calveen (Canny Lad), Group 2 scorer Kosi Bay (Spinning World), Group 3 winner Fireworks (Snitzel) and Listed winner Striker (Van Nistelrooy) - the dam of Group 3 scorer First Impressions (Rip Van Winkle).
James Mitchell told Racing & Sports Bloodstock he was happy to be able to secure the filly, especially given his family's long history with Sheikh Hamdan and Shadwell.
"We are really excited to have her," he said. "She was, in our opinion, far and away the pick of the sale. We expected to have to pay a bit of money for her, but the way the I Am Invincible fillies have sold at the yearling sales, we have confidence that if we do decide to put her back through there will be plenty of people looking to buy her. We loved her.
"We haven't made any firm plans for her at this stage, we will just her home, back to Yarraman and we expect her to grow out into a Queen filly and if that is the case, we will consider offering her.
"She is a lovely mare and this is her second foal and it is great to be able to support Sheikh Hamdan's family and Angus Gold after the amount of support that Yarraman has received from them over years. We are super rapt to have bought this filly off the Shadwell team."
Ektifaa herself will be offered as Lot 831 carrying a sibling to the filly in utero at the Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale next week.
I Am Invincible finished the day as the leading sire by both average (with three or more lots sold), having six lots sell for total receipts of $2,825,000 at an average of $470,833.
Meanwhile, Tony Fung Investments spent $3,150,000 on two colts by Exceed And Excel (Danehill) at the Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale last month and he continued to throw his support behind the stallion again at the Magic Millions National Weanling Sale on Thursday, purchasing a colt by the Darley stalwart for $550,000.
Shane McGrath, who was signing the docket on behalf of Fung, told Racing & Sports Bloodstock the weanling would now join their racing programme.
"We bought him for the racing programme," said McGrath. "He is by a champion sire and we are unabashed fans of Exceed And Excel and he is a lovely colt.
"I was in Scone last week, having a look at Bivouac and I was looking at him and I thought he was exactly the type of horse we are all trying to buy at the yearling sales. It just reminded me of when Exceed And Excel gets you good ones, how good they can be and at the end of the day, Exceed And Excel has been a fantastic dual hemisphere sire for so long."
McGrath said the weanling already looked like the type of horse the operation is looking to target at the yearling sales and was happy to pay that price for him.
"When we saw this colt, he was exactly the model of horse we are looking for at yearling time and he is obviously out of a very fast mare and a pure two-year-old.
"He is from a great consignor and is a great testament to the breeding legacy that Shadwell have created in Australia and the huge impact they have had. We are delighted to secure him and I thought it was a very fair market as it has been in Australia for a very long time. He was a smashing colt and he was our pick for the sale and we are delighted to get him."
Catalogued as Lot 65, the colt is out of dual Listed-winning juvenile Nomothaj (Snitzel), who is herself a daughter of Real Stolle (Elusive Quality).
Further back this is the same family as Listed-winners Chattanooga (Scenic) and Tindal (Testa Rossa) as well as last year's VRC Derby (Gr 1, 2500m) winner Warning (Declaration Of War).
Nomothaj herself will be offered carrying a sibling to the colt at next week's Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale and she is catalogued as Lot 831.
Shadwell's racing manager Angus Gold was delighted with Thursday's results telling Racing & Sports Bloodstock: "We are over the moon with the way the weanlings sold. It was great to see the Bulbula sell so well and Zoustar has had a great season, so that was good.
"We are thrilled off the back of the yearlings as well and obviously with the mares to come. It is nice to be able to repay Sheikh Hamdan's family for some of his big investment down there. It exceeded all expectations and I have to thank Magic Millions for the brilliant job they have done and the Mitchells and Matt Scown, who have done an unbelievable. It is quite an effort to get 20 foals to a sale and get them safely through the ring. It's been a great day."