Stuart Ramsey of Turangga Farm had a big payday at the Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale on Tuesday when his brilliant grey sprinting mare Chain of Lightning was the first of the big banger mares to be offered for sale and duly lit up the bid board when selling for $2.5million.
Bred by Ramsey and retained to race, Chain of Lightning has been a work in progress for the Peter Moody and Katherine Coleman stable after starting her career with wins at Armidale and Inverell when trained by Stirling Osland.
The daughter of Fighting Sun (who was also bred by Ramsey) was dispatched to Moody after those initial modest wins and he quickly developed her potential with her first stakes win coming in the Group III MRC Cockram Stakes in August 2022.
Chain of Lightning has made progress ever since, taking her first Group I win in the $3million ATC TJ Smith Stakes last month earning her a ticket to Royal Ascot.
Consigned for this sale by Kenmore Lodge and knocked down to Zhijun Zhao, Chain of Lightning has the overall record of eight wins from 23 starts with prizemoney of $2.7million and her new owners Yulong can now ponder whether the five year-old races on to Royal Ascot or joins their star studded broodmare band in the spring.
The best of two winners from Magic Art, who was also bred by Ramsey, Chain of Lightning comes from a great family with her grand-dam Group II winner Mardi’s Magic, a half-sister to the dam of Champion Miler and five time Group I winner Racing to Win with Everest winner Classique Legend also on the page.
Magic Art is no longer at Turangga Farm and has been traded a couple of times through Inglis Digital selling for $3,250 in 2022 and again in 2023 for $20,000.
Magic Art was covered by Jacquinot last spring after missing the previous year. She has an unraced two year-old colt by Magna Grecia (IRE) called Jaddaf that made $375,000 at Inglis Easter last year and is trained Anthony and Sam Freedman for Sheikh Mohammed Obaid al Maktoum.
