Winx filly sells for $10 million

Winx's first foal doubled the record for the highest-priced filly sold in Australia when she lived up to her billing as the headline act of this year's Inglis Easter Yearling Sale in Sydney on Monday.

The daughter of Golden Slipper winner Pierro sold for $10 million when knocked down to Winx's part-owner Debbie Kepitis, who outlasted American bidder John Stewart in a short-but-explosive bidding war.

The price tag bettered the previous record of $5 million, set by Black Caviar's half-brother, a colt by Redoute's Choice out of Helsinge, at the 2013 Easter Sale and was almost four times better than the previous fillies' record of $2.6m.

Winx took Kepitis and fellow owners Peter Tighe and the late Richard Treweeke on a ride of a lifetime, winning 37 races, 25 of them at Group 1 level, and more than $26 million in stakes, and Kepitis said on the eve of the sale she realised she would not be able to deal with parting with her.

"I didn't come here to buy this horse originally," Kepitis, who runs Woppitt Bloodstock, said.

"We put her up for auction and then, in the last few weeks, all of our family started to miss our daughter, our granddaughter, so we just decided that, as best we could, if we could get her we would," Kepitis said.

"I am privileged to have been able to secure this filly on behalf of my family, to be able to hopefully see if she can get to the racetrack and, if she can't get to the racetrack, she'll be an amazing mum.

"She's Australian forever and she's going to be just fabulous. - Debbie Kepitis of Woppitt Bloodstock

"Hopefully she'll do a Winx, but it doesn't matter if she doesn't."

Bidding started at $2m and after two bids of $500,000, Stewart – who was bidding on the phone via Mark Webster – announced his presence by raising the bid to $5m.

Kepitis upped the ante by $1m, Stewart retaliated with a bid of $7.5m before Kepitis went to $8m, with Stewart offering one last bid of $9m before Kepitis delivered the knockout blow.

The filly was prepared for sale by Coolmore Stud, which was where both Winx and her Pierro filly were born, and Coolmore Australia principal Tom Magnier said it was fitting that she was retained by one of Winx's original owners.

"I knew she was going to make a very high figure because somebody's buying history – this is a classic, it's a collectors' item – and there's only one person who deserved today and that was Debbie and Paul and the family."

The result of the filly raises anticipation around what might happen with any of Winx's future progeny with the daughter of Street Cry last week confirmed as being in-foal to four-time Australian Champion Stallion, Snitzel.

Winx was two from two at Flemington, winning back-to-back Group 1 Turnbull Stakes (2000m) in 2017 and 2018.

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