A Royal Minister chestnut filly was sold for $3 million to top the annual November session of the TOBA Thoroughbred Yearling Sale at Caymanas Park on Sunday.

Fillies dominated the sale and a second Royal Minister chestnut filly was sold for $2.4 million to give Ham Stables Ltd a sweep of the top priced lots.

Surprisingly, no colt topped the $2 million mark, with a grey colt by Traditional going for $1.9 million to attract the highest price out of lot 75.

With fillies taking the spotlight, it certainly looks a potent sign for the local breeding industry which, although importing its stallions to perpetuate a particular lineage breeders, maximise the use of the locally-bred fillies as good fillies, more than stallions, are which produce the outstandings performers that over time should enrich the local breeding stock.

A powerfully-built and lively-looking chestnut, the top-priced filly is out of the imported mare Miss Chestnut by Horse Chestnut and a half-sister to the outstanding three-year-old colt, Mark My Word.

Himself a chestnut, Mark My Word fetched $1.5 million as a yearling and eventually became only the second horse in local thoroughbred history to go on to win the Triple Crown and Superstakes in the same as a three-year-old. This was attained a day before the Yearling Sale was conducted.

Hitting the three million dollar bracket mark for the first time, the sale price surpassed that of last year’s record figure of $2.8 million which was paid for a Traditional chestnut colt out of Melissa’s Song by Studdish whose chestnut filly was this year’s second highest priced yearling at $2.4 million out of lot 204.

Hall-Of-Fame trainer Philip Feanny whose Ham Stables bred the record-breaking Miss Chestnut filly said that he felt the filly was “worth more than what was paid for her.”

“She is a magnificent specimen. She’s definitely an athlete and is the best looking horse at the sale. I thought she would have gone for more. She is a very beautiful horse and is as perfect as you can get. There is no perfect horse” he conceded but continued “she is as perfect as you can get.”

Also endowed with good pedigree for racing, the other chestnut filly by Royal Minister is out of Melissa’s Song and full sister to Musical Maestro and half to Poseidon.

Musical Maestro is a very fast chestnut colt who at present shares the current track record mark for 1,000 metres straight at 56.1seconds, while his half brother Poseidon by Law Of The Sea, stays quite well.

While fillies held sway by fetching the two top prices and almost completely dominate the sale, it was left to a grey colt by Traditional out of Defendant by Lit De Justice to lead the way for the colts.

A magnificent looker with eyes as alert as that of a cat, the Defendant colt was bred by Trevor Rainford.

While Defendant, who is by Lit De Justice, managed to attract almost $2 million for her grey colt, a bay filly by Dayton Flyer out of Road To Justice by Lit De Justice which makes her a half-sister to the brilliant Bruceontheloose failed to attract buyers and was turned out of the parade ring not sold after the biding stopped at $900,000.

Meanwhile, locally-bred champion racer and top money earner Miracle Man had his first big day at the sale when one of his three progenies went for $1.5 million out of lot 234. A handsome chestnut colt he is out of the Jamaica 1,000 Guineas winner, Fiord by Exotic Traveler.

Also topping the million dollar mark were lots 179, 168, 150, 132, 102, 96, 84, 82, 76, 75, 60, 53, 42, 39.