Triple Group I winning mare Forbidden Love set the Gold Coast sale ring alight on Tuesday when selling for $4.1million to Yulong, going within a whisker of the Magic Millions record price for a mare set by Sunlight in 2020 when she sold for $4.2million.
Offered in the Newgate Consignment on behalf of her ownership group as a breeding proposition, Forbidden Love was bought for just $150,000 as a yearling at Magic Millions by her former co-trainer and part-owner Richard Freedman before going on to win over $2.2million.
She attracted an opening bid of $1million followed by keen competition until Yulong won the day with their final bid of $4.1million.
“Brilliant. I remember standing over in the corner and buying her for $150,000. These guys (other co-owners) all came in and… $4.1 million,” said a delighted Richard Freedman, revealing she had sold above expectation.
“We were thinking maybe mid-three million was possible but this is fantastic.
“I’m very happy that she’s going to a great stud and she’ll be looked after. That’s the main thing.
“She owes us nothing. We owe a lot to her. She raced until she was five-years-old and she was sound enough for a long time. We owe her plenty.”
By All Too Hard from stakes-placed import Juliet’s Princess (USA), Forbidden Love claimed her Group I wins in the ATC Surround Stakes (1400m) at three and then at four against all comers at WFA in the ATC Canterbury Stakes (1300m) and George Ryder Stakes (1500m).
With a race record like that, Newgate Farm’s Henry Field was not surprised at her sale price.
“We knew that she was going to sell well. She’s a triple Group I winner, and beautiful,” he said.
“She had all the hallmarks of a top end of town mare. It was an international bidding duel between the three biggest players on the planet and Mr Zhang from Yulong was the victor.
“He’s bought himself a rare entity. She’s a special mare and they’ll have a lot of fun with her for many years to come. She’ll be a foundation mare. She’ll stack up at the top of any broodmare anywhere in the world and he’s been buying the best of the best.”
Yulong have been buying up a storm at the sales this year and had to dig deep to get this prized mare, but Sam Fairgray said there was no fixed plan in place as to which stallion would cover Forbidden Love this year.
“It was probably getting to the end, but to get those mares you’ve got to front up and buy them and Mr Zhang is adamant on what he wants to achieve,” said Fairgray.
“He’s putting his neck on the line and the industry is very lucky to have him.”
“We’re keeping an eye on buying quality mares like her to build a broodmare band and hopefully in years to come we see the results of it.
“We haven’t decided definitely who she’ll go to as yet, but after the sale we assess it all and see what we end up with and make a call then.”
