Poster Girl landed a lucrative Magic Millions double in the space of a week when she clung on to win Saturday’s $1 million TAB Magic Millions Fillies and Mares (1300m) at the Gold Coast.
The win came a week after Chris and Corey Munce’s Alabama Express mare won the $250,000 Magic Millions Rising Stars 3YO & 4YO feature at the Gold Coast, with her career earnings now rocketing beyond $1.6 million.
Poster Girl was a $160,000 purchase by Gerard O’Toole and Arthur Hoyeau from the Yulong draft at the 2023 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale.
After tackling the Queensland Oaks as a three-year-old, Chris Munce said his stable’s decision to train the mare as a sprinter-miler is paying dividends.
“To have a mare like this, she’s just a beauty,” Munce said.
“We tried to train her as a stayer last time and I think she runs a strong mile but she got hampered by wet tracks which she hates.”
Winning jockey Martin Harley has built a formidable association with both the stable and the mare, winning all four races aboard Poster Girl.
The jockey was full of praise for the mare, who rolled forward from a wide barrier to sit outside the leader Jenni The Fox.
Poster Girl put more than half-a-length on Jenni The Fox inside the final 250m but Lucy Yeomans’ mare fought back in the final 100m and was only denied by a nose in the photo finish.
“She really enjoys this track,” Harley said.
“We were worried about the barrier but she’s uncomplicated so I was adamant that we were going to push forward today.
“She could sit outside the leader as long as she had something to follow for the first half of the race.
“She let down really good in the straight and while she was getting a bit tired in the last 50m but she’s got the heart of a lion.”
A three-quarter sister to stakes-placed Sketched being the best of three winners from well-bred import Caricature (USA), an unraced half-sister by Dubawi to G3 winner City Style and to the dam of dual Listed winner Universal Order.
Caricature’s current yearling, a son of G1 producing sire Grunt (NZ) will be offered by Yulong at the Inglis Premier yearling sale as Lot 544, while the mare foaled a full sister to Poster Girl in October before being one of 165 mares covered in the first season by the dual G3-winning Zoustar stallion Growing Empire.
Alabama Express’ yearlings were again well received in the ring at the 2026 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale, with 14 lots grossing $3.9 million highlighted by Lot 627, a colt out of a sister to Pierata that was knocked down to Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott, Kestrel Thoroughbreds and Darby Racing for $625,000.
