Frankel colt stars on Day 1 at Magic Millions 2026

A striking Frankel colt became the first $2 million lot of the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale, with Coolmore’s Tom Magnier landing the prized youngster after a spirited battle.

The colt, raised at Segenhoe Stud, is out of Lonhro mare Antibes and is a brother to emerging three-year-old Chateau Eze.

Breeder John Camilleri elected to sell this colt, and Segenhoe’s Peter O’Brien said the result was fitting recognition for Camilleri’s long-term investment.

“John Camilleri sends those mares over there – it’s a big risk to send them up there, travel them, bring them back (and) foal them – so he deserves all the credit,” O’Brien said.

“The mother had a ton of ability but it doesn’t read it in the book, so John backed his knowledge of her ability and had a big swing with her and he’s got the just rewards.”

The colt’s pedigree is bolstered by the presence of A Time For Julia and the VRC Oaks winner Personal within the family.

Magnier confirmed the colt will join Chris Waller’s team and said he ticked every box the Coolmore group looks for.

“We’ve had a lot of Frankels in the northern hemisphere, (more) than in the southern hemisphere, so we know them well, (and) we’ve had a lot of luck with the grand dam,” Magnier said.

“All the team really liked him. He’s a lovely fluid-actioned horse and he ticks all the boxes.

“Chris really liked the horse all week. I suppose there’s a couple of horses that you don’t agree on, but when everybody agrees on a horse, it gives you the confidence to go a little bit further.”

The colt now holds the record as the highest-priced Frankel yearling sold in Australia.

Just 30 minutes after his sale, a daughter of I Am Invincible became the first seven-figure filly of the auction when knocked down for $1,050,000 to Glentree Thoroughbreds and Badger’s Bloodstock.

The filly, out of superstar mare Avantage, impressed Glentree principal Luke Simpson from the outset.

“She’s a lovely filly that we saw earlier on in the week and we kept our eye on her and every time we saw her she just kept improving,” Simpson said.

“We’ve seen her other siblings and I think she was equally as good as them, so she had all the attributes that we were after.”