When Tony McEvoy first laid eyes on Lot 624 in Session II of the Melbourne Premier Yearling Sale, all he could see was Zabeel.
So when he was the underbidder to Singaporean Thomas Loke on theAmericain x Reveal The Goddess colt, McEvoy thought his dreams of getting his hands on the youngster were dashed.
But within minutes, things changed.
"I approached the buyer through his representative and congratulated him, told him I thought the horse looked exactly like Zabeel, he's obviously out of a Zabeel mare and I was at Lindsay Park when Zabeel came through as a yearling and this horse just kept giving me flashbacks of him,'' McEvoy said.
"As it turns out, the owner wanted to keep the horse in Australia and didn't have a trainer, so after a short discussion they offered me the horse to train, which I'm so excited by.
"You won't see him run at two. I'll take him home, give him time and develop him into a Melbourne Cup winner.''
The colt was the day's sale-topper at $175,000 in what was a successful Session II of the Premier Yearling Sale, which ended with an 84% clearance rate, $42,868 average and a gross of $6,516,000.
Inglis' Victorian Bloodstock Manager Simon Vivian described the entire four days of Premier selling as "a great success all round''.
"Vendors left happy, buyers left happy, there was a great atmosphere on every day with great crowds, and to set a new record with the $1.4million colt on Day 2 was fantastic,'' Vivian said.
To view the Inglis TV special feature on former Australian cricketer and now pinhooker Simon O'Donnell,CLICK HERE.
To view the full results of the Premier Yearling SaleCLICK HERE.
The next sale on the Inglis calendar is the March Thoroughbred Sale at Oaklands Junction on Friday March 17.
To view the catalogue,CLICK HERE.
Supplementary entries will close 10am Monday March 13.
Attention then switches to a big fortnight of Inglis sales in March and April, which will be the last sales at Newmarket before the Sydney arm of the company moves to Riverside Stables.
The highlight will be the annual Australian Easter Yearling Sale, which runs from April 4-6.
To view the catalogue,CLICK HERE.
The Easter Yearling Sale will be flanked by the inaugural The Chairman's Sale.
The Chairman's Sale Session I, on Thursday March 30, is for Elite Racing Prospects while Session II, to take place on Friday April 7, is for Elite Breeding Prospects.
Entries for the Elite Breeding Prospects close 5pm this Friday, March 3.
The big two weeks of action will be wrapped up with the Australian Broodmare & Weanling Sale from April 10-12, which will double as the last ever sale at Newmarket.
Entries for the Broodmare & Weanling Sale close Monday, March 6 at 5pm.
2017 MELBOURNE PREMIER YEARLING SALE SESSION II
(2016 in brackets)
Lots Sold: 149 (147)
Clearance Rate: 84% (88%)
Average Price: $42,868 ($45,701)
Median Price: $38,000 ($40,000)
Top Price: $175,000 ($220,000)
Gross: $6,516,000 ($6,718,000)
2017 MELBOURNE PREMIER YEARLING SALE SESSION 1
Lots Sold: 444 (466)
Clearance Rate: 87% (88%)
Average Price: $121,334 ($110,682)
Median Price: $100,000 ($85,000)
Top Price: $1.4million ($700,000)
Gross: $53,872,500 ($51,578,000)
