by Kit Gow/Dane McLeod/TTR AusNZThe 2026 Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale saw a strong enough start on day one, with eight standout yearlings reaching the coveted A$1-million mark, including a A$3-million Extreme Choice colt that topped the day.At A GlanceClearance for day one of the Inglis Easter Yearling Sale was down to 76% (79% in 2025), while the aggregate increased to A$66.08 million, ahead of 2025 (A$63 million) and 2024 (A$63.3 million). 149 horses sold this year compared to 129 in 2025.The average dropped to A$452,603 (A$488,798), while the median dipped in 2026 to A$350,000 (A$375,000).The top lot on day 1 was lot 26, a colt by Extreme Choice who was sold by Lime Country Thoroughbreds to Tom Magnier for A$3 million. Eight yearlings broke the million-dollar barrier on day one, down from 10 on the first day in 2025.Dean Hawthorne Bloodstock (BAFNZ) was the day's top buyer by gross, spending A$5.25 million on 11 yearlings. Go Bloodstock /Michael Freedman/Andrew Williams Bloodstock (FBAA) topped the average on day one, spending an average of A$1.08 million each on two yearlings.I Am Invincible lead the stallions by gross on day one with A$11.23 million for 16 lots, while Extreme Choice topped the averages (two or more sold) at A$1.9 million across three lots sold.Arrowfield Stud headed the vendors by aggregate, selling 25 yearlings for A$9.38 million on day one. By average (two or more sold), Lime Country Thoroughbreds finished day one with 100% clearance and the top lot to clock a A$822,000 average for five yearlings sold.Lot 26 – Extreme Choice x Pretty Brazen (Brazen Beau) (colt) – A$3,000,000It didn't take long for the ring to ignite at Riverside on Sunday, with Tom Magnier striking early to secure lot 26 – the Extreme Choice colt out of Pretty Brazen (Brazen Beau) for A$3 million from the draft of Lime Country Thoroughbreds. A spirited bidding duel unfolded, with Yulong pushing strongly to A$2.9 million, before Magnier ultimately prevailed.Pretty Brazen was a high-class performer on the track, claiming both the G2 Let's Elope Stakes and G2 Sandown Guineas. She is out of the outstanding bluehen Pretty Penny (Encosta De Lago), a six-time winner who was Group 3-placed.As a broodmare, Pretty Brazen has been exceptional, producing nine winners from nine to race, including five individual Group winners – notably by five different stallions.The colt's A$3-million price tag sets a new benchmark for an Extreme Choice yearling, and also equaled the 2025 Inglis Easter Sale topper – the Home Affairs colt out of Shout The Bar (Not A Single Doubt).“Extreme Choice is doing very well, but the long and the short of it is he was a standout colt all week and everyone on our team loved him,” said Tom Magnier.“He's a good mover with loads of quality and is very good looking with a lovely light step on him.“Linda and Graham Huddy bred the horse and they race a lot of horses with us and are involved in Home Affairs. They're great people and they've been in this game a long time, so I'm really delighted for them.”In a fitting full-circle moment, the colt returns to Coolmore, where his dam Pretty Brazen was raised. Bred by Dr Dennis O'Brien, she represents a long-standing association with the farm.Since producing this colt, Pretty Brazen unfortunately missed to Extreme Choice but was served by Shinzo last spring.Lot 117 – Extreme Choice x Speak Fondly (Northern Meteor) (filly) – A$1,800,000Following a standout season headlined by Streisand (Magnus) who won this season the G1 Blue Diamond Stakes and placed in the G1 Golden Slipper Stakes, the combination of Shane McGrath and trainer Clinton McDonald made a decisive move in the ring, securing the Extreme Choice filly out of Speak Fondly (Northern Meteor) for A$1.8 million from the Newgate Farm draft.Speak Fondly was a Group 1 winner on the track and has continued that success as a broodmare, producing 12-time winner Compelling Truth (I Am Invincible), a Listed winner, along with Watson (Capitalist), a dual winner who was fourth in the G3 Eskimo Prince Stakes.“Like everybody else here, we've done our due diligence. We've gone around and looked at all the fillies and she was our pick of the sale,” McGrath commented.“She's sold accordingly, you just have to look at the farm she's came off, you know, they have produced three of the last six Golden Slippers, that's the sort of farm you want to be buying off.“We actually looked at every stakes-winning and Group-winning Extreme Choice that came through the sales, just to try and find a common denominator. I had a good chat with Jim Carey down at Newgate, and he said all the really good Extreme Choices all have got a beautiful action and that's what she had. She's an October foal, so I think there's plenty of growth, maturity and, to come.“Who knows what you have, but it's a ticket in the lottery. His statistics are incredible. We've got a really good bunch of owners. We've had some great success over the last couple of years with fillies and fortunately they're happy to back us.”Speak Fondly returned to Extreme Choice last spring after producing this filly.Lot 126 – Zoustar x Summer Sham (Not A Single Doubt) (filly) – A$1,800,000This outstanding filly is the fifth live foal out of Summer Sham (Not A Single Doubt), winner of the G2 Angus Armanasco Stakes. She has already made her mark as a broodmare, producing Schwarz, winner of the G1 William Reid Stakes among his six career victories before retiring to Rosemont Stud.Summer Sham has become a proven commercial force for Widden Stud at the sales, with her progeny by Zoustar consistently commanding strong prices – including Schwarz selling for A$1,250,000, Silver Wedding for A$800,000, Tuscany for A$1,550,000 and Lafite for A$1,400,000.“She was our number one Zoustar and probably our number one filly of the sale. We've bought Zoustar's here in the past that are performing well for us and she was right up there,” Dean Hawthorne said.“She's a full sister to a Group 1 winner. Just quality. We didn't think we'd have to go that high and the knees were knocking when we got up there.“But full credit to the boss, she kept going and yeah, we got her. Full sister to Schwartz. And when you're buying off Widden Stud, one of the great nurseries in Australia, you just know you can make your judgement there.”Reflecting on past success with the farm, Hawthorne continued: “Two years ago I bought four off Widden. Napoleonic, Beskar, Price Tag, all stakes performers and we've got another filly coming through by Zoustar that we bought that looks like the stakes class. We have a lot of luck shopping there and we like buying the breed and we'll keep going back to the well.“We've bought a few and we're restocking the shelves so to speak. Our racing team's a little bit light at the moment and when the sale's over tomorrow night, we'll sit down with the trainers who have supported GSA throughout the year, right from the beginning of the season.When asked about targeting Easter in particular, he said, “You get the best pedigrees, vendors want to bring the best here and we want to buy the best. So this is where we come.”This filly carries an intriguing pedigree pattern, duplicating Redoute's Choice 3×3 – through Zoustar's dam and her own sire, Not A Single Doubt.Summer Sham has since produced a Zoustar weanling filly and was again served by Zoustar last season.Lot 133 – I Am Invincible x Sweet Sherry (Bel Esprit) (filly) – A$1,700,000Go Bloodstock, Michael Freedman and Andrew Williams Bloodstock (FBAA) combined to secure the I Am Invincible filly out of Sweet Sherry (Bel Esprit) for A$1.7 million from Silverdale Farm draft.A Group 2 and dual Listed winner on the track, Sweet Sherry has proven equally effective in the broodmare barn, producing three-time stakes winner Eneeza (Exceed And Excel). Commercially, she has been outstanding, with four of her five yearlings selling for over A$1 million, totalling A$6,525,000 at an average of A$1,305,000.“She's a gorgeous filly raised on a very good farm,” said Michael Freedman.“We are trying to find a fairly early, sharp type of horse for Sir Owen Glenn – she may not be pre-Christmas but she certainly will be a good autumn prospect.“He's a phenomenal stallion,” he said. “She was a real quality filly, so we were keen to get her. I am very glad we got her.”Sweet Sherry has since produced a Snitzel weanling filly and was served again by I Am Invincible last spring.Lot 20 – I Am Invincible x Pippie (Written Tycoon) (colt) – A$1,350,000The high-class sprinter Pippie (Written Tycoon) continued her impact in the sale ring, with her I Am Invincible colt selling for A$1,350,000 to China Horse Club, Newgate Bloodstock and partners from the Cressfield draft.This follows strong results from her previous progeny, including Samudra (Snitzel), who sold for A$775,000, and Empress K, an I Am Invincible filly purchased for A$1.4 million and later exported to Japan.“We loved him. He was really our favourite colt on the ground. Certainly one of our top five favourite colts on the ground. Masculine, powerful colt out of a very fast mare and bred on a terrific farm in Cressfield, so really, you know I know it's a cliched expression, but he ticked every box,” Henry Field said.“He looked like the kind of horse you could see standing in the stallion barn in a couple of years. So we were very, very delighted to get him. We were running out of gas, we were running out of bullets, but he was certainly one that we wanted.“We have had a wonderful relationship with China Horse Club and partners and have 15 horses that have gone on to become stallions and I hope he's number 16.“Certainly, from a physicality and a temperament point of view, he looks like the sort of horse that would be that type of animal, and he's good. I know that Michael Smith from China Horse Club thought he was nearly his favourite horse in the sale.“We work together as a team, we have a great partnership, and I'm absolutely thrilled to get him.”When asked about his physical attributes that appealed to him, Field responded, “He's just a huge forearm, huge gasp, and very muscular. He looks like, you know, he's a Usain Bolt type individual.“Just so powerful, so muscular and fast looking.”Tragically, Pippie died in late 2024 but her legacy is already taking shape, with Samudra showing promise on the track and her progeny set to carry her influence forward.Lot 135 – Zoustar x Sword Of Light (New Approach) (colt) – A$1,350,000Widden Stud continued its strong run on day one when lot 135 – a Zoustar colt out of Sword Of Light (New Approach) sold for A$1.35 million to Yulong Investments, Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott Racing.Sword Of Light was the winner of the G2 Let's Elope Stakes, and is a half-sister to Sword Of Justice (Medaglia d'Oro), a Listed winner and eight-time victor.Further strength to the page comes via Beskar (Snitzel), a recent Listed Darby Munro Stakes winner, while the second dam Joyeuse (King's Best) is a half-sister to multiple stakes winners, including triple Group 1 winner Flamberge (Exceed And Excel).“Yulong and Gai purchased the colt, he's a lovely Zoustar colt and is out of a great mare. We are lucky to be partners with David Moody and Ash Hardwick and Gordon Shannon,” Antony Thompson commented.“To have those guys in a mare like that with us is great, we can't do it on our own. So it's really good for all the people that back us.”Sword Of Light has since produced a Zoustar weanling filly and was served by Too Darn Hot last spring.Lot 171 – Home Affairs x Victoria Quay (Dundeel) (colt) – A$1,300,000In the wake of Guest House (Home Affairs)'s G1 Golden Slipper Stakes victory, demand for progeny by Home Affairs was expected to surge and so it did on Day 1 – highlighted by the A$1.3-million purchase of this colt out of Victoria Quay (Dundeel) by EA & WA Huglin and Clarke Bloodstock (FBAA).Victoria Quay was a high-quality 3-year-old, capturing the G2 Wakeful Stakes before her career was curtailed, though not before showcasing her class.“He's a beautiful colt, he stood out straight away when I first saw him. I actually remember seeing his mother in Adelaide as a yearling, she's a gorgeous filly and obviously went on to be a fantastic race filly as well,” Jim Clarke commented.“I thought he was the best colt I've seen in the sale. Just his physique, he's a big strong horse. I think even though his mother was probably the best at three and got out over a little bit of ground, to me he still looked like he had a lot of precocity and speed.“It's a big try for a young stallion, but he's a young stallion and I think he could be the next big thing.Victoria Quay, after producing this colt as her second foal, unfortunately missed to Ozzmosis but was served by Anamoe early in September last year.The post Coolmore Flex For A$3,000,000 Extreme Choice Colt appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.