Racing
Yulong snaps up Femminile
SA Derby winner to race in green and white this weekend at Eagle Farm
Femminile will race in Yulong's colours in this Saturday's $1 million Queensland Derby after being bought by the big-spending operation on Tuesday.
The Victorian racing and breeding giant paid $1.5 million for the daughter of Dundeel at the Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale.
The three-year-old will remain in the care of Pakenham trainer Phillip Stokes, who prepared her to win the Group 1 South Australian Derby on May 3, and Yulong's chief operating officer Sam Fairgray said the purchase price would look cheap if she adds another Group 1 this weekend.
"She'll stay with Phillip for Saturday and go around in the Yulong colours," Fairgray said.
"Mr Zhang saw her and liked her and thought she had upside. He thought if she happened to win on Saturday we've got a bit of a discount off the price.
"Who knows, as a four-year-old she might get over a bit of ground and end up being a Caulfield Cup horse."
Femminile is a $9.50 chance in betting on the Queensland Derby, favourite for which is Statuario, who was runner-up to Femminile in the SA Derby.
She was one 14 lots to sell for $1m or more in Tuesday's race fillies and mares section of the sale, one of whom was fellow OTI Racing galloper Lady Laguna, a daughter of Overshare who sold to James Harron for $2.5m two lots after Femminile.
The only two more expensive lots on the day were Zougotcha, who sold to Tom Magnier for $5.25m – the second highest amount paid for a mare in Australian history – and her Chris Waller-trained stablemate Atishu, who was bought by Yulong for $2.7m.
Sangster Stakes winner Climbing Star sold to Magnier for $2.1m, while Japan's Katsumi Yoshida was an active buyer throughout the day with his top lot Revolutionary Miss, whom he bought for $1.6 million.
Day 1 of the National Broodmare Sale saw $45,529,500 change hands at an average of $370,159 and $160,000 median with a clearance rate just short of 83 percent.
National Broodmare Sale Day 1 – top lots
$5,250,000 – Zougotcha (bought by Tom Magnier)
$2,700,000 – Atishu (bought by Yulong)
$2,500,000 – Lady Laguna (bought by James Harron)
$2,100,000 – Climbing Star (bought by Tom Magnier)
$1,600,000 – Revolutionary Miss (bought by Katsumi Yoshida)
$1,500,000 – Femminile (bought by Yulong)
$1,350,000 – Moesha (bought by Tom Magnier)
$1,350,000 – Skirt The Law (bought by Widden Std/Double R Thoroughbreds)
$1,200,000 – Written In Code (bought by Watership Down/McKeever Bloodstock)
$1,100,000 – Alsephina (bought by Katsumi Yoshida)
$1,000,000 – Socks Nation (bought by Katsumi Yoshida)
$1,000,000 – Amazonian Lass (bought by Nocab Racing/Kestrel Thoroughbreds)
$1,000,000 – Kuroyanagi (bought by Dean Hawthorne)
$1,000,000 – See You In Heaven (bought by Yulong)
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