Curtain Closes on Book 2 of Gold Coast Yearling Sale

Tony Ottobre was delighted to have acquired his latest “Jenni” horse after buying Magic Millions Gold Coast’s Book 2 topper for “a lot more than I expected” on a robust closing day of trading Jan. 18. Ottobre’s Cape Schanck Stud had to go to AU$270,000 (US$180,157, AU$1=US$0.67) to acquire Lot 1113, a filly by vendor Yulong’s young stallion Tagaloa (AUS) out of a full sister to dual group 1 winner and siring sensation Extreme Choice (AUS). The well-proportioned filly had obviously caught the eye of several other keen shoppers—taking their lead from a reasonably strong Book 1 sale—on a day in which a more streamlined Book 2 performed well, especially in comparison to 2025’s flat results. A reduction from 380 cataloged lots last year to 241 this time, with the sale halved from two days to one, helped Book 2 return results that had Magic Millions managing director Barry Bowditch beaming over a “solid” outcome. With attendances and interest perhaps also aided by the absence of race meetings in Queensland, Jan. 18-20, Book 2 boasted an average of AU$51,466 (US$34,341) late on Sunday night, up from 2025’s figure of AU$44,419. The clearance rate of 84% was substantially up from 70% at the same stage after last year’s sale, while the median had leapt from AU$36,000 to AU$42,500 (US$28,358), and the gross, with 56 fewer lots sold, was AU$9,212,500 (US$6,147,039), compared with AU$10,673,000. Ottobre, who targeted Book 2 exclusively and became its biggest buyer, was thrilled to emerge from a spirited bidding duel with a filly who’ll continue to carry the torch for his fleet of horses named after his late daughter Jenni. “I loved its swagger, the way it walked, the way it paraded, and it was extremely smart; you could tell that from the back parade ring,” Ottobre told ANZ News. “While all the other horses were jumping around and carrying on, this filly was just looking at them and going about its business." The filly’s pedigree also made a compelling argument. While dam Mightily won only once at humble Balranald—in six starts, she hails from one of the hottest families in Australia, in that her full brother is Newgate Farm’s sub-fertile star Extreme Choice. The 12-year-old’s stakes winners-to-runners ratio of 11.6% has helped make him the most expensive sire in the country, at AU$330,000 (inc GST). “The pedigree was very attractive. The mother’s a full sister to Extreme Choice. That put her pretty high on my list,” said Ottobre, adding he wasn’t sure which of his regular trainers would be handed the filly. “To be honest, she cost a bit more than I thought. I came here for Book 2, hoping it wouldn’t cost me those sorts of figures. “I thought she was a really nice type, and that maybe AU$180,000 or AU$200,000 was going to pull her up, but it sounds like quite a few other buyers were on her, more than likely a few buyers from Book 1. But I wanted her, so I went that bit extra.” The seasoned buyer said the stronger year-on-year results for Book 2 were in step with the outcomes of Book 1, where the average of AU$270,468 and clearance rate of 87.35% compared favorably to 2025’s figures of AU$269,000 and 83.05%. “If you’re big in Book 1, Book 2 is going to be big too,” Ottobre said. “Everyone saw what they were paying in Book 1, and realized they’d have to pay a bit more than normal. And there’s some fantastic-looking horses here, too."