‘It is only going to get better’ – Anamoe’s first yearlings make a big early impression on the Gold Coast
The confidence surrounding the first yearlings by Darley’s Anamoe came to the fore on day two of the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale when two fillies by the nine-time Group 1 champion each fetched $800,000.
The first of those came early in the session when astute judge Sheamus Mills stretched to $800,000 to secure a youngster from a family he knows well.
Offered by Greg and Jo Griffin’s Lime Country Thoroughbreds, the filly is out of juvenile winner Eawase (Sebring), whose two wins were headlined by a score in the Bill Carter Stakes (Listed, 1200m). She in turn is out of Group 3 winner Karuta Queen (Not A Single Doubt), who landed the Magic Millions 2YO Classic (RL, 1200m) in 2011.
It is the second time Mills has made a play for a member of the family, having bought Karuta Queen’s fifth foal for $1.5 million from Strawberry Hill at the 2020 edition of the Magic Millions sale. Now known as Queen Of The Green (Written Tycoon), she won on debut and had six career starts.
“We paid a lot of money a couple of years ago for the Written Tycoon out of Karuta Queen and we thought she was a star filly,” Mills said. “She’s now got a lovely I Am Invincible filly on her, so we’re already in the family. She was a big, beautiful chestnut by Written Tycoon and I just thought this filly was very much in her mould.
“It’s a good fillies’ family. If you look down the page, funnily enough there’s a good couple chestnut fillies on there so there wasn’t much not to like to be honest.”
The filly proved extremely popular in the lead-up to the sale, attracting heavy inspection from prospective buyers.
“I just heard Jo say that she had had 46 hits on x-ray and that’s just unheard of,” Mills said.
“I don’t think it took any genius to find her, it was really just a matter of where they valued her. Gai [Waterhouse] was the underbidder and I guess anytime you’re going to beat her you’re going to have to pay fair money.”
The result represented a strong pinhook success for Lime Country Thoroughbreds, who purchased the filly for $340,000 from Alma Vale Thoroughbreds at last year’s Inglis Sydney Weanling Sale.
Mills said Anamoe’s first crop of yearlings had left a lasting impression on him.
“I ended up with about four or five of them on my list. I just thought, from a first-crop stallion, I think he’s certainly the best-credentialled horse to go to stud for a long, long, long time,” he said.
“Then to back that up, the types that he’s put on the ground, I think you need to do that in order to get that wildfire, to get fever pitch [reaction]. I don’t want to overplay that, but obviously they’ve been extremely well received by lots of people.”
Later in the day the $800,000 mark was reached again when Victorian trainer Matt Laurie teamed up with Willannah Park Bloodstock and ARJB to secure the Anamoe filly out of Debutant Stakes (Listed, 1000m) winner Kiki Express (Sepoy). The youngster was offered by Newgate Farm.
Laurie said: “I just thought she was a really nice athletic filly. Moves really well, really cat like, and just effortless. I thought she was a quality filly and everything we look for, so fingers crossed we can see it on the track.”
The filly was making her second appearance in the Bundall ring, having been purchased by Ciaron Maher Bloodstock for $360,000 at the 2025 Magic Millions National Weanling Sale via the Newgate Farm draft.
“I’ve seen quite a few Anamoes here, and I am really impressed with what he has left. They are very strong bodied horses. [This filly] had a great hind quarter, and a good rib cage on her, and I just thought she looked to have a lot of quality. Obviously, the price reflects that, but we’re very excited,” Laurie said.
Laurie acknowledged the importance of strong client backing when operating at the top end of the market.
“You’ve got to have some good backing so you know where you stand,” he said. “We have got some good clients that’ve been with me for a long time, so they’ve been very supportive over the years. We’ve had a lot of luck, so hopefully it’ll continue.”
Over the opening two days of trade, Anamoe has had 14 yearlings sell for an aggregate of $5,820,000 and an average of $415,715.
Arvin Chadee, Darley’s nominations manager, said: “We’re over the moon with how the market has reacted to the first yearlings by Godolphin and Darley’s champion, Anamoe.
“He’s averaged over $400,000, which is quite incredible for a first season stallion. But more importantly, the buying bench, and the trainers that have purchased the Anamoes, the likes of Michael Freedman, Tony and Calvin McEvoy, Chris Waller, and Gai and Adrian [Bott], some of the best trainers in Australia, have all worked very hard to try and secure an Anamoe to race next season. So that, for me, that is the biggest endorsement for the yearlings by Anamoe, that they’re going to be represented by the best trainers in some of the best stables up and down the country.”
“It’s quite incredible, even just with day one and day two, you would be very, very happy with where he sits in terms of his statistics. But there are a lot more yearlings still to sell by him, and I dare say some of the best ones still haven’t gone through the ring. It is only going to get better.
“I think we can sit back quite confidently and watch the Anamoe yearlings in the next couple of days, and continue on their upward trajectory.”