A quality draft of 105 horses from 29 vendors was offered at the Hygain Capricornia Yearling Sale at Rockhampton on Sunday.
The sale grossed $1,016,500, selling 81 of the 105 lots offered for a 77 per cent clearance rate and average of $12,549.
Strong interest in the offering attracted bidders all the way from Victoria, pushing the sale to a top of $51,000.
The top-priced horse was an 18-month-old bay/brown colt sired by Spill The Beans and out of Falvesa.
Offered by Aquis Farm, Murrurundi, NSW, the colt caused a fast-paced bidding war, eventually won by Jared Wehlow of Queensland.
A second-top price of $42,000 was paid for an 18-month-old brown Sidereus filly, offered by Oaklands Stud, Umbiram, and purchased by Pointon and Howard, Queensland.
Another Sidereus filly from Oaklands Stud also drew strong interest, with Tom Button, Queensland, paying $40,000 for the stunning grey horse.
Alistair Stuart, Oaklands Stud, said they were happy with their sale results, clearing 21 of the 22 offered lots.
"The sale was a little bit patchy, but that's to be expected when you have such a big draft," Mr Stuart said.
"Top money was good, a lot of people got a good buy with ours and there was quality horses here.
"Nothing was a below-average horse; they were all pretty good, looking around this morning."
Speaking of the grey Sidereus filly, Mr Stuart said Tom Button's success with her full brother, Bank Manager, was a huge drawcard.
"I think it was just one of those horses that they had to have," he said.
"Getting away from that, she herself was a lovely horse to look at, she's always going to sell herself, she's grey and she was pretty easy."
Magic Millions Sales director David Chester said it was possibly the best Capricornia Yearling Sale they'd ever had.
"It followed on from most of the sales in Australia this year, most of them have been up," he said.
"Racing is going so strong in Rockhampton with prize money and the QTIS (Queensland Thoroughbred Incentive Scheme) scheme, so that's the reason.
"There's a lot of new south-east Queensland studs supporting the sale so they bring up better horses, and it's the first time we've sold a horse to Victoria, so we had buyers from New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland, but mostly locals."
This was the first year the sale has been run by the Rockhampton Jockey Club, after signing a three-year agreement late last year to manage and promote it.
