The 2023/24 racing season is set to conclude with a bang with Group 1 winner Espiona to be sold on the final day of the racing year.
The five-year-old daughter of Extreme Choice will be offered in a standalone digital sale to be conducted via Magic Millions auctioneer Clint Donovan on Wednesday, July 31.
Espiona has been one of the country’s highest-profile female performers since her head-spinning seven-length win in the Group 3 Desirable Stakes (1400m) at her second start and Magic Millions feels privileged to be offering her.
“Through her career she raced against elite horses and proved herself one of the best of her generation,” Magic Millions managing director Barry Bowditch said of the $190,000 Gold Coast Yearling Sale purchase.
“Being able to offer her through a standalone virtual sale will give the owners, vendor, prospective buyers and interested parties the opportunity to see her sell via a streamlined process by a world class auctioneer.
“It will provide Espiona a fitting sales process to take her to the next journey of her life.”
Espiona is a winner of seven races, with six minor placings and more than $3.3 million in the bank, from 24 starts for Chris Waller.
Her biggest win came in last year’s Group 1 Coolmore Classic (1500m), while she was also placed four times at Group 1 level, including two starts ago when third in the Doomben 10,000 behind Bella Nipotina and I Wish I Win.
She earned a Timeform rating of 117 for that performance, which was just one pound off her career peak, which was obtained at her first start this year when third in the Group 1 Black Caviar Lightning (1000m) behind Imperatriz and Private Eye.
“Like we saw this preparation, she was often in the company of the very best Australian sprinters and she had enough ability to beat anything,” Waller said.
“She was lightly-raced and, certainly from a pedigree and ability perspective, she is as good as you need and certainly capable of producing very good quality colts and fillies which would hype their chance in Group One races.”
