Coolmore Lands Star Filly Chayan for Record $5.6 Million at Inglis Chairman’s Sale

A remarkable chapter in the story of talented filly Chayan unfolded at Riverside Stables on Thursday evening, with the Group 2-winning two-year-old purchased by Coolmore for a staggering $5.6 million at the Chairman’s Sale.

In one of the most extraordinary bidding duels ever seen in an Australian sales ring, global breeding powerhouses Coolmore and Yulong went head-to-head for more than 10 minutes before Coolmore secured the daughter of I Am Invincible.

The sale made Chayan the highest-priced lot ever sold at the Chairman’s Sale and the second most expensive race filly or mare sold in Australia.

Offered through the Newgate Consignment on behalf of owner Eric Koh, Chayan’s rise through the autumn included victory in the Group 2 Reisling Stakes before she was installed as favourite for the Group 1 Golden Slipper.

“Unbelievable. I came here thinking maybe $3.6m would be the absolute top for her so to go beyond four, beyond five, five point six, unbelievable,’’ Koh said.

“It’s an amazing result. It got to a point when I cried a little myself and thought ‘stop already’. But they just kept going. It was unbelievable.

“This is obviously the biggest result and achievement for myself. I’m very happy, very satisfied and like I said, heavy hearted to lose her but happy for Coolmore, for Tom [Magnier] and I think she has huge potential ahead.’’

Coolmore’s Tom Magnier confirmed Chayan would remain in the care of trainers Annabel and Rob Archibald.

“When there’s a filly as highly rated and highly thought of as she is, you expect to have all the top people on her and that’s clearly how things played out,’’ Magnier said.

“I’m delighted for Eric, he’s a really good guy and he’s done very well out of her. Yulong are always very strong and that was some duel.

“Rob and Annabel have been calling me all week about this filly and in fairness, they do a great job. Rob was our racing manager once upon a time so I said ‘we’ll give this filly back to you if we buy her’.

“Hopefully with a bit of luck she’s lucky on the track and keeps going but at the end of her racing days, I think she’d suit a stallion like Super Seth but there’s a lot of racing upside there yet, it’s over to Rob and Annabel now.”

The result capped an emotional evening for the Archibald Racing team, who will continue training one of the most exciting fillies in the country heading into her three-year-old season.

“We are incredibly proud of our team for the work they’ve done to get her to this point. She’s taken a lot of care along the way and she’s spent time at nearly all of our stables throughout her preparation,” Rob Archibald said.

“I’m very grateful to Coolmore for entrusting her back to us to train. We’ve had a long relationship with Coolmore and they are fantastic people to do business with.

“We’re excited for the opportunity to race a filly like her next season and hopefully there are some big wins ahead. I think she’s a filly with tremendous upside and there’s still a lot of improvement to come.”