Australian Group 1 winner Espiona (Aus) will be offered by agent Glenesk Thoroughbreds in a standalone virtual sale set to be held by Magic Millions at 3pm (AEST) on Wednesday, July 31.
Trained by Chris Waller for Denise Martin's Star Thoroughbreds, Espiona won seven of her 24 starts and earned over A$3.3 million in prize-money during her illustrious career, with her biggest success coming in 2023 when she defeated the multiple Group 1 heroine Pride Of Jenni (Aus) (Pride Of Dubai {Aus}) by a nose to win the G1 Coolmore Classic at Rosehill.
The daughter of Extreme Choice (Aus) was also placed at the top level on multiple occasions, including when finishing third in February's Black Caviar Lightning at Flemington, passing the post less than a length behind the 10-time Group 1 winner Imperatriz (Aus) (I Am Invincible {Aus}) who later sold virtually for a record-breaking A$6.6m at the Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale.
“She was a very tough horse,” Waller said of Espiona. “But her racing pattern made it difficult to get the best from her. 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.
“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 1 races.”
Espiona was purchased for A$190,000 by Star Thoroughbreds and Randwick Bloodstock Agency's Brett Howard from the Torryburn Stud draft at the 2020 Gold Coast Yearling Sale. She is out of a full-sister to the Listed-winning Bonny O'Reilly (NZ) (O'Reilly {NZ}), while her second dam is a half-sister to the multiple top-level winners Glamour Puss (NZ) (Tale of the Cat) and Vision And Power (NZ) (Carnegie {Ire}).
“We are honoured to have been entrusted by Denise Martin and her syndicate of owners to present Espiona to prospective buyers,” said Magic Millions managing director Barry Bowditch. “Through her career she raced against elite horses and proved herself one of the best of her generation.”
“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 [Clint Donovan].
“It will provide Espiona a fitting sales process to take her to the next journey of her life.”
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