Fantastic Love, a G2 winner of the 2004 Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Flemington, was sold for a song at the Emirates HIT Sale at Meydan racecourse on Sunday.

Now an 11 year-old gelding, Fantastic Love made just AED 4,000 which is the equivalent of AUD 1,074.

Fantastic Love (11g Peintre Celebre – Moon Flower by Sadler’s Wells) was still a stallion when he won the 2003 King George V Stakes and the 2004 Queen Elizabeth Stakes.  He followed that Flemington victory with a second to Count Ricardo in the G2 Sandown Classic.

He was subsequently gelded and was still racing as a nine year-old until eased down at Jebel Ali in January 2009.

Stubbs Art topped the Emirates HIT Sale when making AED 160,000 to the bid of Saudi Arabia based trainer Abdulla Mishreff.  He ran third to Henrythenavigator and New Approach in the 2008 English 2000 Guineas when trained by David Elsworth.  

The six-year-old son of Hawk Wing has been a regular runner on the Dubai circuit without winning for Ali Rashid Al Raihe.

The Emirates Racing Authority reported that 93 horses changed hands for a total of AED 1.93 million at an 84% clearance rate.

The average suffered significantly, falling 36% to AED 20,756.  The sale lost some of its lustre when catalogue standouts such as recent Dubai Carnival winners Lord Of The Starsand Navajo Chief were later withdrawals.

Currency converter:   1,000 Dirhams = AUD 268