Te Akau Racing announced its presence early at this year’s Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale, but the I Am Invincible colt David Ellis went to $1.3 million for might not be destined to race in the New Zealand giant’s famed tangerine and blue silks.
Coolmore teamed up with the now-trans Tasman operation to buy the colt out of Street Cry mare Palace Talk, which makes him a brother to Group 2 winner Shuffle Dancer.
It is not the first time Te Akau and Coolmore have raced horses together, but the fact John Magnier’s operation was happy to team up with a seven-figure colt is an endorsement of what Te Akau has achieved since setting up base at Cranbourne midway through last year.
“It’s very exciting for us to be able to buy a colt of his quality and have him to train for Coolmore Stud,” Ellis said.
“I think he (Jon Magnier) has just been impressed with the results Te Akau Racing has had and wants to be involved in supporting us at Cranbourne.
“Tom and MV and their father have been supportive for a long time and they want to take that to the next level now that we’re in Australia full time.”
The colt, who went through as Lot 19, was the middle pin of a stunning 15-minute period for I Am Invincible, who had a filly out of Outback Barbie sell to Tony Gollan for $1.2 million as Lot 16, while Lot 21 was a colt out of Palazzo Pubblico who sold for $750,000.
Te Akau has fond memories of buying products of I Am Invincible on the Gold Coast, with eight-time Group 1 winner Imperatriz a $360,000 Magic Millions yearling, but Ellis suspects the $1.3 million colt will be more precocious than her.
“We thought that he’d make a Christmas, autumn two-year-old and train on and be a very good three-year-old,” Ellis said.
Ellis also provided an update on the Mark Walker-trained Imperatriz, who will ramp up preparations towards the $1 million Group 1 Black Caviar Lightning (1000m) at Flemington on February 17 with a strong gallop at Cranbourne on Wednesday morning.
“She’s just absolutely flying, she’s going to gallop tomorrow morning and we’re really happy with the way she coming up.”