Toby Liston came to the Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale knowing his family's Three Bridges Thoroughbreds operation was sitting on a potential milestone lot and the events of Tuesday did not help his nerves.
Expectation only heightened when Sunshine In Paris, a daughter of Three Bridges' mare Zenaida, sold for a staggering $3.9 million late on Tuesday's opening session on the Gold Coast.
That result had Liston on edge ahead of Zenaida's appearance in the ring early on Wednesday, which is why he was so relieved when she became another addition to Yulong's band of high-class mares after selling for $1.4 million.
"It's a big deal for our family and our farm, we haven't sold a horse for $1 million before, so it's great," Liston said.
"We've done it before for other people, it's easy to sell somebody else's horse, but it's hard to sell your own. You're never as worried, but when it's your own you're never as confident.
"Coming into today, I was a bit nervous last night, but that's a wonderful result."
The daughter of Zabeel became Day 2's first seven-figure lot when Yulong successfully went past $1 million for the fifth time of the sale.
Three Bridges paid $240,000 for Zenaida, who is out of the Morcon mare Madison Avenue, at the 2021 National Sale.
She was carrying a colt by Dubious at the time, with her earlier foals being Sunshine In Paris (Invader), who is a last-start winner of the Group 1 Surround Stakes, Group 3 winner Macroura (Snitzel) and Noble Exception (Exceed And Excel).
Zenaida was sold in-foal to Arrowfield's Japanese stallion Maurice and Yulong's Sam Fairgray said she would visit Redoute's Choice's Orr Stake-winning son Alabama Express this season.
"Maurice is a good stallion, he's done well, he missed a year but he's a very good stallion and we're not really fussed whether we get a colt or a filly, because Maurice colts are very good and if we get a filly she's staying at the farm," Fairgray said.
"She'll go to Alabama Express (next). Obviously with a similar sort of cross to Sunshine In Paris and Macroura."
