Te Akau pay $2.1million for filly at 2024 Magic Millions sales

David Ellis reinvested more than half his proceeds from the sale of Avantage into the star mare’s first foal at Magic Millions on Thursday, with the Te Akau Racing principal engineering a new top lot early on Day 3 of the Gold Coast Yearling Sale.

Ellis paid $2.1 million for the filly by Wootton Bassett out of the daughter of Fastnet Rock he raced then sold to Coolmore for NZ$4.1 million at the end of her racing career, which generated nine Group 1 wins.

The filly became the 13th seven-figure lot of the sale and set a new record for the most paid for a product of a first-crop member of an Australian first-season sire.

Ellis said the filly reminded him of Avantage as a young horse, which meant he knew he was going to have to be aggressive if she was to end up in Te Akau’s Cranbourne stable with Mark Walker.

“(She’s an) absolute dead-ringer,” Ellis said.

“I thought this was as athletic a filly as you’d ever see.

“If we want to train these top fillies we’ve got to come here and buy them and that is what we’re doing.

“We’re just over the moon to have a filly of her quality to train.”

Avantage’s filly’s presence as the fourth lot through the ring ensured a big crowd ringside early and bidding kicked off at $500,000 before escalating to seven figures swiftly under the guidance of auctioneer Steve Davis.

She earned two more $100,000 bids after matching the sale’s previous best lot of $1.9m, which was for a son of Too Darn Hot on Day 2, before being knocked down to Ellis.

Wootton Bassett has cemented himself as a top stallion in Europe, but only served his first season at Coolmore Australia in 2021 and Tom Magnier was delighted to see the Iffraaj stallion’s youngsters being supported by Australasian buyers.

“We had to give a lot of money for Justify, we had to give a lot of money for Wootton Bassett and it’s great that we can bring these horses down to Australia and they get the support that they do,” he said.

“I just hope for David and Karyn and all the Te Akau team that this filly does great things for them.

“You never know, we might be back returning the favour at the end.”