It is the Australian horse racing’s equivalent of a royal birth.

Legendary race mare Winx produced a “healthy and happy” foal in the early hours of this morning at Coolmore Stud in the Hunter Valley.

The colt, sired by Arrowfield Stud’s leading stallion Snitzel, is the half-brother to the most expensive filly ever sold.

It is the second live foal out of Winx, 13, who set an Australasian record winning streak of 33 races, including 25 Group 1 wins, and a record four Cox Plates.

She won more than $26 million in prize money, was named World’s Best Racehorse in 2018 and retired a year later.

Owners say the champion mare delivered a “beautiful colt”, which could grow up to be “anything from a sprinter to a stayer”.

“We’re ecstatic,” part-owner Peter Tighe said.

“[It’s] something very special because Snitzel is getting on a bit in age now, he can’t go on forever. So we’re glad we were able to get her [Winx] pregnant to him and have a beautiful colt.

Worth the wait

Mr Tighe said Winx was three weeks overdue and gave birth just after midnight.

“She was under constant vet supervision, the team at Coolmore are second to none,” he said.

The mare delivered a stillborn foal in 2020 and was given a year off breeding before successfully producing the $10-million Pierro filly and now the Snitzel colt.

“He was up and about quickly … no dramas or anything like that,” Mr Tighe said.

“[Winx] has done everything perfectly so far this morning; she knows what to do, that’s for sure.”

How much could the colt be worth?

The news that Winx’s first foal would be sold shocked the industry. The filly’s staggering $10 million sale price saw even more jaws drop.

The CEO of Bloodstock with Inglis — who sold the filly — Sebastian Hutch said it was impossible to know what the future holds for the colt, but he was glad to hear the foaling had been free of complications.

He was “reluctant to speculate” on the possible value of such a horse, and would not be drawn on comparisons to its half-sister.

“It’s a different ball game with the colt,” Mr Hutch said.

He said only very few colts made it to stand as commercial stallions and Winx’s latest foal would first need to prove himself on the track.

“He’s got all the ingredients, certainly genetically, to give himself every chance to go on and be a good racehorse,” Mr Hutch said.

He said it was a “rare occasion” for a colt to meet the required standard to become a stud stallion.

“In Australia in any given year, you’re talking about six, eight, 10 colts that merit in any given crop going on to be commercial stallions,” he said.

“They’re certainly worth a lot of money. We’re talking, in the case of the very best one, tens of millions of dollars.