Racing: Tony Pike flexes muscles at Magic Millions

Cambridge trainer Tony Pike. Photo / Trish Dunell

Tony Pike flexed some of his growing yearling sales muscle on the opening day of the Magic Millions sale on the Gold Coast yesterday.

Pike paid A$300,000 for a filly by Shalaa out of Zuzao to be raced by a syndicate of his owners including long-time clients Raffles Racing.

It comes after Pike's first colts syndicate formed last season kicked a huge goal, with one of his purchases going on to be this season's star male juvenile Not An Option.

He has already had a majority shareholding sold to Cambridge Stud which would mean the syndicate is an instant success with the remaining colts all now a bonus.

Many of the shareholders in that syndicate will re-invest in two new colts syndicates formed this year to give the Cambridge horseman some real clout for the sales period ahead.

"The first syndicate went so well we have only 10 per cent left in this year's two syndicates," explains Pike.

"We have two colts syndicates this year, one to buy at Karaka and one for Australian sales.

"The obvious aim is to get good racehorses who could potentially go on to make stallion prospects.

"The filly we bought today is in a different syndicate and there are still shares available in her." New Zealand's king of the sales, David Ellis, was also busy buying fillies, paying A$360,000 twice for fillies by I Am Invincible and Exceed And Excel.

He also purchased one by former Te Akau speed freak Xtravagant for $70,000.

One of the biggest Kiwi winners of the opening day was Waikato breeding establishment Monovale Farm.

They bred and sold at Karaka a subsequent group two winner Adrift, who beat Winx as a 3-year-old in the Light Fingers in Sydney. Adrift's first live foal by I Am Invincible was the talk of the sale yesterday and brought the top price of A$1,050,000 going to Mulcaster to be trained by Chris Waller. Adrift is out of Monovale's prolific broodmare Stray, who has had 10 foals to the races for nine winners, including Adrift and Karaka Million winner Xiong Feng.

Monovale will offer a yearling filly out of Stray by Iffraaj as Lot 317 at Karaka on January 27.