Snitzel colt breaks Magic Millions record

A son of champion stallion Snitzel readjusted the record for the highest price paid for a yearling in the history of Magic Millions on Thursday’s third day of selling at the Gold Coast Yearling Sale.

The colt out of Humma Humma got to $2.8 million before being knocked down to Ciaron Maher’s bloodstock manager Will Bourne, who was bidding on behalf of Englishman Phil Cunningham.

It is the first time in Australia for Cunningham, who operates under the Rebel Racing banner in England, and he was delighted with his purchase, which he hopes will bring him back for next year’s Magic Millions 2YO Classic.

“This is my first time to Australia, I only turned up 10 minutes ago, so it was good to get involved,” Cunningham said.

“It gives me an excuse to come back. I’m absolutely loving the place, I went to Sydney, Hamilton Island and now here.

“We finish up in Melbourne after here and, hopefully, we’ll be back here next year.”

Cunningham’s big purchase claimed the record price from the colt by I Am Invincible out of Anaheed who sold for $2.7 million at the 2023 sale.

The Snitzel colt claimed the honours as the highest-priced lot of the 2025 sale from the sister to In Secret, a filly by I Am Invincible out of Eloping, who sold for $2.3m on Day 2.

The record lot is the second foal from Denman mare Humma Humma, a Group 3 winner on the track whose first foal Price Tag, a son of Zoustar, who was beaten twice during the Spring Carnival but carries high raps from the Anthony and Sam Freedman stable.

Maher is looking forward to seeing what he can achieve with the colt.

“He looks really early and sharp, he’s got a great pedigree and is from a quality family with a sharp pedigree,” he said.

The colt was offered by Widden Stud, which continued its outstanding record as a top-end operator at Magic Millions.

Widden also has the highest-priced yearling filly sold at the Gold Coast, the sister to Sunlight who races as Clean Energy and was a $2.6 million purchase in 2023, and once held the record for the highest-priced broodmare sold out of the Bundall sale ring when Sunlight sold for $4.2 million.

“It has been an amazing sale for Widden, we sold Sunlight here as a record-priced mare, having sold Clean Energy, the record-priced filly, and now to have the highest priced yearling, it is a big honour,” Widden principal Antony Thompson said.

The Snitzel-Humma Humma colt was one of two brilliant results for Magic Millions in the first hour of selling on Day 3 with a colt out of dual Group 1 winner In Her Time selling for $1.8 million.

The son of Written Tycoon is a brother to the colt Coolmore paid $750,000 for last year and that operation’s colt fund doubled down on the family.

“Obviously we got the brother last year for the syndicate as well, again we’re very lucky to have the people we have in this syndicate, and everybody was very keen on the horse,” Tom Magnier said of the colt who will be trained by Chris Waller.

“I think Chris has an opinion of the brother, which probably gave us the confidence to come back this year.”