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So You Think colt realises $1.1 million.
Chinese owner Bon Ho bought back into a family he knows well when he went to $1.1 million for a So You Think (High Chaparral) half-brother to his Group 2 winner Classique Legend (Not A Single Doubt) at the Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale on Tuesday.
The colt becomes the most expensive So You Think yearling ever sold - smashing his previous record of $500,000 - and it comes after a fruitful weekend for the Coolmore Stud-based sire who was provided with his sixth top-flight winner with Quick Thinker's victory in the Australian Derby (Gr 1, 2400m).
The colt, who was catalogued as lot 134, is out of winning Encosta De Lago (Fairy King) mare Pinocchio - who has produced two stakes winners including the aforementioned Classique Legend and Group 2 winner and Group 1-placed Aethero (Sebring).
Pinocchio herself is a sister to multiple Group 1-winning champion Racing To Win and a half-sister to Group 3 winner Purrealist (Tale Of The Cat).
Meanwhile, Group 2 winner Mardi's Magic (Kenny's Best) and Listed winner Our Crown Mistress (Star Witness) feature under the colt's third dam.
Pinocchio's three yearlings to go through the ring prior to this colt have made a healthy aggregate of $1,057,000. Milburn Creek sold Pinocchio for $320,000 to Tyreel at the 2014 Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale in foal for the first time to Foxwedge (Fastnet Rock). She was covered by I Am Invincible (Invincible Spirit) last September having missing the year prior.
The So You Think / Encosta De Lago cross has already produced a stakes winner in Group 3 winner Higher Ground.
Tyreel Stud owner Linda Monds said she was happy with the result and said she expected him to be popular.
“We are absolutely thrilled with this result for this beautiful colt,” said Monds. “He was very popular and he deserved to be. I knew he would sell but nobody in this market could guess the value. I just hoped he would go to somebody who knows the family and would look after him.
“For Tyreel Stud, the staff that puts so much time and effort into these horses, this is the grand final. This means everything to us. We’re just over the moon with the results we have. It’s so good for the farm and the family.
“His demeanor won a lot of people over. He was so chilled out and relaxed. I had Carmel Size out here the other day and she couldn’t believe that the mare had done it again. He is such a nice horse.”
Monds said she was ‘devastated’ the farm had to sell the colt, but will be keeping a keen eye on what he does on the track.
“To be honest, I am devastated that I have had to sell him but to run this farm we need an income and we get an income three times a year - Magics, Classic and Easter. I don’t know what the future holds and no one does with events happening globally, so for me I had to sell, sell, sell all the way. I’ll be watching so closely.”
Monds admitted to not knowing what to expect from the sale and was quick to heap praise on the team at Inglis for their handling of the sale.
“From a vendor’s perspective, the virtual sale was always going to be daunting, it’s never been done before. But full credit goes to Inglis for pulling this off. I believe the right horses will sell well.
“The catalogue is full of outstanding pedigrees and physical types. So far from what I’ve seen on Day 1, Inglis have done the most phenomenal job. They could not have done any more. They have tried to meet the vendors’ requirements and the buyers’ requirements and I believe they have done that.”
