Million Dollar 2YO Stakes -Winners Before Christmas!

Tara Madgwick - Sunday December 3

The focus is fast switching from the breeding season to the yearling sales season and with a record number of yearlings sold in Australia in 2023 for $1million or more we’ve already seen three of them come out and win stakes races this spring.

Some 47 yearlings were sold in Australia this year for $1million or more, 26 at Inglis Easter, 20 at Magic Millions and one at Inglis Premier.

$1.6million Magic Millions purchase Bodyguard - image Grant Courtney

Of the eight stakes races for juveniles run so far this season, three have fallen to million dollar purchases and two of those are colts secured by James Harron Bloodstock.

The Group III ATC Breeders Plate was won by Zoustar colt Espionage, a $1million Magic Millions purchase from Baramul Stud trained by Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott and the Listed VRC Maribyrnong Trial was won by I Am Invincible colt Bodyguard, a $1.6million Magic Millions purchase from Emirates Park trained by Peter and Paul Snowden.

An early season stakes victory does not ensure a future stud career and that’s a fact James Harron knows only too well.

His green and gold colours were carried to victory in the 2015 Breeders Plate by Capitalist, who went on to win the Golden Slipper securing Champion 2YO honours before retiring to a super successful and lucrative career at Newgate Farm

The next year in 2016, he won the Breeders Plate again with another handsome chestnut colt in Khan, but lightning did not strike twice. The son of Exceed and Excel failed to win again for Harron’s syndicate and was ultimately offloaded and gelded. He won only one more race in a career that spanned 26 starts.

Connections of Espionage and Bodyguard will no doubt be hoping they turn out more Capitalist than Khan!

Flying the flag for the million dollar fillies was Eneeza, who improved on her debut second in the Group III VRC Ottawa Stakes to win the Listed MRC Merson Cooper Stakes, the race won in recent years by Anamoe and Little Brose, who won this year’s Group I MRC Blue Diamond Stakes.

The Peter Moody trained daughter of Exceed and Excel was a $1.1million Magic Millions purchase for KiaOra / TFI and does look like a genuine natural two year-old runner.

Advertisement

The top end of the global bloodstock market appears to be holding up well enough in the latter part of this year although there has been a softening further down the food chain and how that translates in Australia next year will be interesting given our booming racing industry that is awash in prizemoney.

How many million dollar yearlings in 2024?

All juvenile stakes-winners this season as follows:

G3 VRC Maribyrnong Plate – Dublin Down (Exceedance) – Magic Millions $370,000

G2 VRC Ottawa Stakes – Karavas (Alabama Express) Inglis Premier $260,000

G3 ATC Gimcrack Stakes – Manaal (Tassort) – Homebred Emirates Park

Listed MRC Debutant Stakes – Coleman (Pierata) – Magic Millions $550,000

Restricted Listed MVRC Inglis Banner – Bold Bastille (Brazen Beau) – Inglis Premier $270,000

No Black Type $1million ATC Golden Gift – Shangri La Express (Alabama Express) – Magic Millions $220,000

Advertisment
More Reading...
2025 G1 Epsom Handicap Field and Barrier Draw
The field and barrier draw has been decided for the Group I Epsom Handicap on Saturday with odds-on favourite and unbeaten mare Autumn Glow drawing the extreme outside gate in a field of 14.
Golden Rose Brings Second Season Shake Up
We are two months into a new racing season and the second season sires table was given a good shake up over the weekend with the $1million Group I Golden Rose and $300,000 Group II Stutt Stakes both producing a quinella for sires in this cohort.
Sires With Winners - Monday September 29
Here is the full list of 22 stallions which had winners throughout Australasia today with winners and result details.
Equimillion This Long Weekend – Draws and Start Lists
Racing NSW have their annual Equimillion event coming up this long weekend at Sydney International Equestrian Centre at Horsley Park and for people interested in off the trackers it’s a showcase for the sport, so let’s take a look at who’s who in the zoo.
Goffs Orby Day 2 - Trio of Million Dollar Yearling Fillies
The second day of the Goffs Orby Yearling Sale took off overnight with three individual yearlings selling for a million or more with the full sister to dual Group I winning champion 2YO Colt Blackbeard selling for €1.9 million to MV Magnier.
Magic Carpet Writes New Chapter for Family
Jenna McLeod got a massive thrill when watching the latest generation of her family’s breed score at stakes level at Te Rapa on Saturday.
2025 G1 The Metropolitan Field and Barrier Draw
Chris Waller and Ciaron Maher are set to have half of the Group I Metropolitan field between them with the Waller trained Birdman an easing favourite after drawing a wide gate for Saturday’s race.
Autumn Glow Epsom Challenge - Just How Big Is This Task?
With the unbeaten Autumn Glow set to run as the first odds-on favourite this century in the Epsom Handicap on Saturday we thought we’d run some data to see how big this mountain is that she’s attempting to climb, and turns out, it’s pretty big.
Sires With Winners - Tuesday September 30
Here is the full list of 27 stallions which had winners throughout Australasia today with winners and result details.
She's Unusual Keeps Good Times Rolling
Continued success with resident stallion Unusual Suspect and their racing team has kept Nigel and Adaire Auret busier than they may have envisaged, but without any complaints.