SURF’S UP
Magic Millions release quality catalogue for 2026 January sale on the Gold Coast
The first yearlings by Anamoe (Street Boss) and Jacquinot (Rubick) plus full siblings to In Secret (I Am Invincible), Sunlight (Zoustar), Super Seth (Dundeel) and Stefi Magnetica (All Too Hard) are among highlights in the catalogue for January’s Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale.
The five-day sale will kick off on January 13, a week later than normal, with inspections beginning on the Gold Coast. The $7.3m Magic Millions Gold Twilight meeting will take place on the Gold Coast on January 10 and the $13.25m Magic Millions Raceday will take place at the same track a week later on January 17.
Well-related offspring of proven sires Extreme Choice (Not A Single Doubt), Zoustar (Northern Meteor), I Am Invincible (Invincible Spirit) and Snitzel (Redoute’s Choice) also feature, along with the progeny of rising stars such as Ole Kirk (Written Tycoon), Home Affairs (I Am Invincible) and Farnan (Not A Single Doubt).
A slightly streamlined catalogue has been assembled with 1,221 yearlings, down from 1,401 last January. That includes 980 lots in Book 1 – down from 1021 – with 241 in Book 2, compared to 380 in 2025.
Magic Millions managing director Barry Bowditch said the 2026 sale could be expected to achieve “great results”, not just for the pedigrees represented but for an exceptional physical crop of yearlings.
“It’s a catalogue that will be extremely well received not only once people open it, but more so when they get on the farms and see the actual yearlings,” Bowditch told ANZ News. “Physically speaking, it’s an outstanding crop.
“All the major players are heavily supporting the sale. All the right sires have big, big numbers. It’s very exciting.
“Compared to recent years, physically speaking, it’s in very good shape. And when you look at the sire strength and mare strength and put it all in a melting pot, I think we’re in a very strong position.”
Last January’s Book 1 sale moved 769 yearlings grossing $207 million with an average of $269,000, down from 2024’s figures of $225m and $276,000 off 819 yearlings sold.
Bowditch said Magic Millions was confident the 2026 edition would present yearlings for the full spectrum of buyers.
“Our team have worked incredibly hard with the vendors to ensure we’ve got a catalogue that’s for everyone,” he said.
“It’s got the high end horses, the middle end, the lower end, and they’re very well-selected horses physically.
“So I’ve got a lot of confidence that whatever budget the buyer comes to us with, they’re going to find plenty of horses for the budget they have.”
No yearlings will be more keenly anticipated than the 33 catalogued by Darley’s first season sire, former track superstar Anamoe (Street Boss).
Among his progeny certain to attract concerted bidding are a pair from Segenhoe Stud in Lot 407, a half-sister to the outstanding Joliestar (Zoustar), and Lot 52, a son of quadruple Group winner Anaheed (Fastnet Rock), along with Lot 893, Lime Country Thoroughbreds’ half-sister to triple Group winner Tuscan Queen (Fastnet Rock).
Darley’s head of stallions Alastair Pulford said hopes were high that Anamoe’s first draft would be extremely well received.
“He’s the best local prospect to have gone to stud in generations – a nine-time Group 1 winner, one of the most expensive horses to go to stud, and certainly the most expensive horse we’ve had for a first season,” Pulford said of Anamoe, who covered his first two books at a service fee of $121,000 (inc GST).
“He got a really good quality book of mares in his first crop. And the word from the moment they started being born was how good these foals were.
“They’ve been probably more precocious than most people expected them to be, and the feedback from sales companies when they did the inspections was very strong.
“He’s got big expectations to fill, but he was an absolutely elite horse – by a Group 1 winner out of a fellow elite-level scorer Anamato (Redoute’s Choice).
“He’s got that strength in his pedigree so many of these good stallions have, as well as the race performance. We are obviously very very hopeful, almost confident, that he’ll be a top class stallion. I think the market will really like him. He is a real standout.”
Widden Stud’s dual Group 1 winner Jacquinot has 25 yearlings catalogued, including Lot 508, Middlebrook Valley Lodge’s half-brother to Group 1 winner Chain Of Lightning (Fighting Sun) and Lot 484, Attunga Stud’s three-quarter sister to Group 2 victor Erno’s Cube (Rubick).
Newgate Stud’s dual elite victor Artorius (Flying Artie) is represented by 18 yearlings from his first crop, while other debutant sires include Arrowfield’s dual Derby winner Hitotsu (Maurice), Twin Hills Stud’s Blue Diamond Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m) hero Daumier (Epaulette), and Newgate’s Golden Rose (Gr 1, 1400m) victor In The Congo (Snitzel).
One of the most in-demand yearlings at the sale is sure to be Lot 250, Segenhoe Stud’s brother to In Secret (I Am Invincible), the dual elite winner of the Coolmore Stud Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m) and VRC Newmarket Handicap (Gr 1, 1200m).
The colt’s sister fetched $2.3m as the third-highest lot last January, while In Secret herself was a $900,000 yearling, also at Magic Millions Gold Coast.
Much is expected also of Lot 835, Widden’s full brother to triple Group 1 queen Sunlight (Zoustar), who’s now a stakes-winning producer herself, and whose daughter of Home Affairs topped last January’s auction at a sale record of $3.2 million.
Group 1 winner and top-flight-producing sire Super Seth’s brother comes up as Lot 764 from Arrowfield’s draft, while dual elite winner Stefi Magnetica’s brother is Lot 537 from Cressfield’s draft.
Also tipped to turn heads are Coolmore Stud’s sister to dual stakes winning mare Mumbai Muse (I Am Invincible) as Lot 593 and Arrowfield’s brother to smart three-year-old colt Beadman (Snitzel) as Lot 372.
Queensland sensation Cool Archie (Cool Aza Beel) has both a three-quarter sister and a three-quarter brother at the sale, both from the draft of his sire’s farm Newhaven Park, as Lots 77 and 539.
Other Group 1 winners with siblings entered include Imperatriz (Lot 100), Benedetta (972), Devil Night (544), Incentivise (225), Kimochi (873), Manaal (724), Overpass (962), Sepals (970), Stay Inside (624) and Velocious (661).
Elite winning mares with offspring entered include Avantage (Lot 75), Hungry Heart (360), More Joyous (581), Snapdancer (826) and Loving Gaby (493).
Coolmore stallion Home Affairs, fresh off topping both this sale and Inglis Easter earlier this year as a first-season sire, has 46 lots.
They include a half-brother to Group 2 winner and current Newgate sire Cosmic Force (Deep Field) as Lot 478, a half-sister to Magic Millions 2YO Classic (RL, 1200m) winner Shaquero (Shalaa) as Lot 277, a filly out of New Zealand Group 1 winner La Luna Rossa (Written Tycoon) as Lot 432, and a colt from dual Argentinian Grade 1 winner Kononkop (Pure Prize) as Lot 427.
Extreme Choice (Not A Single Doubt) has 12 offerings, highlighted by his farm Newgate’s Lot 362, a filly out of nine-time stakes winner I Am A Star (I Am Invincible).
Triple champion sire I Am Invincible has 40 yearlings involved, including offspring of four Group 1-winning mares in a filly from Avantage in Lot 75, a son of Instant Celebrity (Not A Single Doubt) in Lot 385, a colt from Odeum (Written Tycoon) as Lot 632, and a daughter of Qafila (Not A Single Doubt), as Lot 708.
Reigning champion sire Zoustar (Northern Meteor) is represented by 34 yearlings including daughters of top-level victors Graceful Girl (Nicconi) as Lot 330, and Secret Agenda (Not A Single Doubt) as Lot 779.
Among the 41 offerings from the late Snitzel’s penultimate crop are close relatives to a trio of Group 1 winners: a three-quarter sister to Qafila as Lot 11, a half-sister to Prince Fawaz (Fastnet Rock) as Lot 446, and a brother in blood to Yearning in Lot 730.
Snitzel also has yearlings out of six elite winning mares including a filly from Carry On Alice (Captain Al) as Lot 148, a daughter of Hiyaam (High Chaparral) as Lot 351, and a son of Loving Gaby (I Am Invincible) as Lot 493.
International sires represented include Frankel (Galileo) with 12 lots, Kingman (Invincible Spirit) with three, Baaeed (Sea The Stars) and Blame (Arch) with two each, and Night Of Thunder (Galileo) with one.
Bowditch said the slightly smaller catalogue size – due mainly to having 139 fewer lots in Book 2 than last January – would allow a longer time for inspections of secondary book. The Book 2 sale will also take place on only one day, as opposed to two days in previous years.
“The smaller catalogue is basically a Book 2 change,” he said.
“Our feedback was that it was very hard logistically to get horses into Book 2 and have them all parading at the one time.
“This year the Book 2 horses will arrive when they arrive, not staggered, so they’ll get a good amount of time for inspections.
“Given the fact it’s all just on the Sunday, it allows for plenty more buyers after the big Book 1 and the raceday to stick around to support Book 2.”
GOLD COAST MAGIC MILLIONS CARNIVAL SCHEDULE
January 7: Magic Millions Yearling Inspections commence, Magic Millions Sales complex
January 10: $7.3m Magic Millions Gold Twilight meeting, Gold Coast Turf Club – ten races featuring the $3m Magic Millions Sunlight (1100m), $1.5m Magic Millions QTIS Open (1300m) and $1m Magic Millions The Syndicate (1100m)
January 11: Pacific Fair Magic Millions Polo & Showjumping, Doug Jennings Park
January 13: TAB Magic Millions Barrier Draw, Kurrawa Beach, Broadbeach
January 12: Magic Millions Yearling Sale, Day 1 from 11am (Lot 1-210)
January 14: Magic Millions Yearling Sale, Day 2 from 10am (Lot 211-450)
January 15: Magic Millions Yearling Sale, Day 3 from 10am (Lots 451-690)
January 16: Magic Millions Yearling Sale, Day 4 Super Session from 10am (Lots 691-980)
January 17: $13.25m Magic Millions Raceday, Gold Coast Turf Club – ten races featuring the $3m Magic Millions 2YO Classic (RL, 1200m) and $3m Gold Coast Magic Millions 3YO Guineas (RL, 1400m)
January 18: Magic Millions Yearling Sale, Day 5 (Book 2) from 12pm (Lots 981-1221)