Winx’s foal for sale: Insane price of star racehorse’s yearling

Winx’s owners have made the shocking call to sell the legendary racehorse’s firstborn, attaching a sky-high price tag.

Winx’s owners have made the shocking call to sell the legendary racehorse’s firstborn, attaching a sky-high price tag.

The foal will be offered for a public auction at next year’s Inglis Easter Yearling Sale in a move that’s set to cause a frenzy among big stables across the world.

She was born to great fanfare in the NSW Hunter Valley in October last year, after Winx’s tragic stillborn in 2020.

The sale of the filly, who is the daughter of Winx and fellow champion racehorse Pierro, is said to be the most significant yearling sale in the history of southern hemisphere racing.

Winx’s firstborn will go up for auction next year. Picture: Winx Ownership Group.

“Horses like this just don’t come up for sale,” said Inglis Bloodstock CEO Sebastian Hutch.

“A filly with credentials like these is extraordinarily rare, not just in the context of Australian thoroughbred breeding but breeding right around the world.”

The filly goes up for auction next April, coinciding with the fifth anniversary of Winx’s last Group 1 win and farewell ride in the Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Royal Randwick.

But she doesn’t come cheap. It’s possible the young horse will smash the $5 million record for a yearling sale, set a decade ago by the half-brother of the mighty Black Caviar, who was also sold at the Easter auction.

The foal was born in October 2022, after Winx suffered a stillborn in 2020. Picture: Winx Ownership Group

Winx captured the heart of the nation as she won race after race, with a record 33 consecutive wins cementing her as one of the greatest of all time.

She was officially the world’s best racehorse in 2018 with $26 million in career prize money.

“Winx is arguably the greatest racehorse in the history of the Australian thoroughbred,” Mr Hutch said.

Mr Hutch, who has met with the filly a few times, said she was a star in her own right.

“This is the rarest of opportunities and the greatest of honours to be afforded the chance to showcase this unique filly to a global audience,” he said.

“I have been lucky enough to see the filly on a number of occasions and I think the biggest compliment that I can pay her is that independent of her illustrious mother, she is a special filly in her own right.”

Winx is considered the best racehorse of all time.

Winx’s ownership group, including Debbie Kepitis and Peter Tighe, said they were “heartbroken” to part ways with the beautiful filly.

“It was a very hard decision,” Ms Kepitis said.

“The whole ownership group found this a difficult thing to work through but we just feel this is the best way to move forward with this gorgeous little filly.

“It is heartbreaking and my stomach is still in knots. I don’t know how I will cope in April.’’

But Mr Tighe said the group held out hopes Winx would produce another foal.

“We had the first foal stillborn, then we have had this filly, so it’s been a rollercoaster with breeding from Winx,’’ he said.

“But it is not as if we can’t breed from her anymore, either. She will be going to Snitzel in the next week or two so that is another chapter.

“Hopefully, we can have a nice colt or filly from Winx next year.”

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