Going by the nickname of Rockstar, the yearling is the product of three-time Melbourne Cup winner Makybe Diva and Jerrys Plains' Coolmore Stud's number one stallion Galileo, and is expected to be sold for between $1 million and $1.5 million this weekend at the Inglis Easter Yearling Sale in Sydney.

Born at Coolmore Stud in the Hunter, he will be one of the 7600 yearlings Inglis expects to go under the hammer from April 5.

About 300 of them are Hunter-born and bred from the region's premier studs, including Scone's Arrowfield, Amarina Farm in Denman and Coolmore Stud in Jerrys Plains.

Big-name buyers at the sale are expected to include trainers Gai Waterhouse and Lee Freedman as well as Japanese family Yoshida, which owns 2006 Melbourne Cup stars' Delta Blues and Pop Rocks.

Last year's average price was $385,000 and while the equine influenza and the current global economic crises have meant tough times for horse racing, Coolmore's stud manager Peter O'Brien said the atmosphere was "pretty positive".

"It's been a tough year for selling horses, no one can deny there has been a tough patch, but there is a positive vibe right now in the saleyards," he said.

"I've got to say, I'm feeling more confident that I have in a while."

He said he estimated Rockstar would probably go for about $1 million to $1.5 million.

His sire, English Derby winner Galileo, who is the son of Sadler's Wells, has previously had yearlings sell for up to $1 million while Makybe Diva's half-brother, Musket, by Redoute's Choice, sold for $2.5 million at the 2005 Sydney Easter Yearling Sale.