Everyone has to start somewhere and for €1,850,00 purchase Minnie Hauk it was Mallow Racecourse on a Tuesday afternoon. Bought by breeding powerhouses Coolmore at a Goffs Sale in 2023, the daughter of Frankel ran a promising race to finish second of fifteen runners in a one mile maiden. Whether Minnie Hauk can go close to repaying her price tag on the track is another question, but that is the gamble of the thoroughbred industry.
And Coolmore has never been afraid to speculate to accumulate over the years. Attendees at the world's biggest sales, the Tipperary operation leave with the sales-toppers more often than not. It is interesting, though, to look back on some of their biggest purchases over the year to see how they fared on the track: One Cool Cat - 2002 - $3.
1 million Out of Storm Cat and Storm Bird, One Cool Cat saw Coolmore stretch to $3.1 million at the 2002 Keeneland Sales. It was an astonishing amount of money for an American-bred horse they sent into training with Aidan O'Brien.
An underwhelming debut fourth at the Curragh was followed by an impressive victory in a York maiden. One Cool Cat then rattled off four consecutive victories, including the Group 1 Phoenix Stakes and the National Stakes. He didn't necessarily train on as a three-year-old, though, and was a beaten favourite on his last start in the Haydock Sprint Cup.
The Green Monkey - 2006 - $16 million At the time the $16 million Coolmore paid for The Green Monkey was the highest price ever paid at au.
