Testa Rossa’s affinity with the Magic Millions is continuing at this week’s National Sale on the Gold Coast.
The Vinery sire sold a foal for $160,000 on Monday and backed it up with $580,000 for his Group 2 winning filly Twilight Royale on Wednesday.
Testa Rossa was a graduate of the Magic Millions yearling sale in 1998 and he won the Magic Millions 2YO Classic in 1999.
The Testa Rossa – Bad Romance weanling was one of the Top 6 colts to change hands among the 500 plus lots catalogued during the two-day Foal Sale.
Successful buyer Josh Hutchins had to outbid some spirited competition to take the colt back to Element Hill Stud. The Innisplain property is owned by his father John and Fu-Mei Hutchins.
“He’s a cracking foal,” Element Hill manager Mitchell Frazer said. “And he’s got a superb pedigree to back it up.”
The colt was sold by Vinery (as agent) and is the first foal of a Flying Spur mare. His second-dam is a sister to the Hutchins family’s Australian Horse of the Year Typhoon Tracy. “We will nominate him for the Magic Millions in January,” Frazer said. “He’s a terrific type and will develop into a fabulous yearling.”
Wednesday’s record-breaking Broodmare Sale was dominated by the Teeley Assets dispersal but there was no shortage of prospective buyers on Twilight Royale.
The Testa Rossa filly sold for $580,000 to Coolmore Stud’s bloodstock advisor James Bester. She was the fourth highest-priced lot apart from the Teeley trade.
Twilight Royale was trained by Bjorn Baker and won three races up to Group 2 level in the VRC Sires’ Produce Stakes at Flemington. She was retired after missing a $2.40 million bonus in the LR Scone Guineas on May 17.
Testa Rossa has been catalyst for Baker’s meteoric rise in the training ranks. He prepared Testa Rossa colt Unencumbered to five wins in a row earlier this season culminating with a $2 million pay-day in the Magic Millions 2YO Classic on January 11.
Earlier that week, Vinery (as agent) sold a Testa Rossa colt from Electric Dreams (Redoute’s Choice) for $320,000 across the road at the Magic Millions yearling sale. And, like this week’s Testa Rossa weanling, he was also the first foal of a Danehill-line broodmare.
His Magic Millions figures make Testa Rossa one of the value sires in the Hunter Valley. Vinery will stand him for a $27,500 (inc gst) service fee in 2014.