Te Akau's David Ellis described the I Am Invincible juvenile out of dual group 1 winner Shillelagh as "the nicest colt he'd seen at the Ready To Run Sale" and he showed his admiration for the youngster when stretching to an Australasian record of NZ$1.65 million (US$973,500, NZ$1=US$0.59) to secure the Kiltannon Stables offering during the first session of the New Zealand Bloodstock Ready to Run Sale Nov. 20.
The previous Southern Hemisphere record for a 2-year-old at auction was delivered at the Inglis Ready2Race Sale last month when a Written Tycoon filly wrote her way into the history books when Yulong forked out a cool AU$1 million to secure her.
However, that new record looked likely to be short-lived when the well-bred "Vinnie" colt posted the fastest breeze ahead of the NZB sale, clocking an electric time of :09.97, making him the only horse among the 404-strong offering to go under the :10 barrier and, late in the afternoon Wednesday, the colt very much delivered on that promise.
Ellis is known for his significant firepower, but even he appeared on the ropes at times during the fierce bidding battle. He traded blows with Sha Tin-based trainer Cody Mo, his agent Denys Chan, and Hong Kong-based owner Kin Man Yeung, eventually landing the winning seven-figure blow, which was enough to keep Mo and Chan at bay.
"I was on the toe the whole time he was in the ring, because I really wanted to take this horse home. At one stage my wife Karyn (Fenton-Ellis) said to me, 'If you really, really like this colt, don't be beaten.' That gave me the confidence to put in those last couple of bids," said Ellis.
Shillelagh was trained by Te Akau's former trainer Jamie Richards to win four of her six starts in New Zealand for owner/breeders Christopher and Susanna Grace and Ellis said that made the result extra special.
"The fact that we trained Shillelagh for Christopher and Susanna Grace makes this quite special for Te Akau, but the simple fact is that I thought he was easily the nicest colt I've ever seen at the Ready to Run Sale," he said.
"Harry and Bill Mitchell, who stand I Am Invincible at Yarraman Park, said to me that this is as nice an I Am Invincible colt as they've seen, and they're going to be taking a share."
The colt was consigned by Mark and Lorraine Forbes's Kiltannon Stables, and the latter was overcome with emotion when the 2-year-old left the ring, having smashed the sale's previous record of NZ$825,000, which was set by last year's top lot, who is now better known as Oxlade Stakes winner Megastar Heart.
The colt has champion stallions on both sides of his pedigree being by I Am Invincible, who was crowned Australia's champion sire for a third time last season, while he is out of a daughter of Waikato's New Zealand's nine-time and reigning champion stallion Savabeel. He is also bred on the same cross as six winners from 10 runners and they are headed by the 2023 Lonhro Plate at scorer Madeira Sunrise.
Day 1 of the Ready to Run sale saw a gross of NZ$18,547,000 (US$10,942,730), up 14% on the previous year, with an average of NZ$173,336 (US$102,268), and a median of NZ$90,000 (US$53,100). The clearance rate was 66%, representing the 107 horses who sold from 161 on offer.
The second and final session of the sale will be Nov. 21.
