Confidence high that unprecedented demand will continue at Inglis Premier Yearling Sale
Victorian breeders and buyers to display their strength at local Oaklands Junction auction
All signs suggest this year’s Inglis Melbourne Premier Yearling Sale is almost certain to set new records and follow on from what has already unfolded over the past seven weeks at Australian thoroughbred auctions, but just how far the market will climb remains unknown.
The answer, though, will become clearer when bidding starts tomorrow at the three-day Premier sale at Oaklands Junction and it is the Victorian owners and trainers who are expected to underpin the market at the auction, where 793-lots are set to be offered.
Inglis’ Victorian bloodstock manager James Price is confident of a “successful sale” given the number of buyer registrations, the foot traffic on the grounds since inspections started on Tuesday, and the number of people set to arrive this weekend.
“Vendors are very happy with inspections, we’re happy with the bookings and the people who have arrived and who will continue to arrive over the next 24 hours,” Price told ANZ Bloodstock News yesterday.
“We expect there to be a real buzz and confidence in the market when the sale gets underway on Sunday.”
The Magic Millions Gold Coast, Tasmanian and Perth yearling sales all broke new ground in terms of averages and aggregates while the Inglis Classic, conducted in Sydney earlier this month, also broke previous marks.
The Victorian buying bench, led by the likes of Ciaron Maher and David Eustace, Mick Price and Mick Kent Jnr, Anthony and Sam Freedman, Peter Moody, Trent Busuttin and Natalie Young and Ben and JD Hayes, is expected to be bolstered by strong interstate and international participation.
Rushton Park’s David Johnson, along with fellow Victorian farms such as Blue Gum and Gilgai Farm, committed to presenting the Tatura-based stud’s yearling crop to the market in Melbourne and so far he has no regrets.
“We’ve targeted this sale and brought our best horses here,” Johnson told ANZ Bloodstock News.
“Last year, we did the same, our good horses all came here and we were well paid for what we brought and we decided to do the same this year.
“I think past history shows that if you put your best horses in any sale, you’re well rewarded for it.”
Among Rushton’s 22 lots are yearlings by sires such as Lonhro (Octagonal), Toronado (High Chaparral), Street Boss (Street Cry), Deep Field (Northern Meteor) and an imposing colt by champion sire Written Tycoon (Iglesia).
Rosemont Stud general manager of bloodstock Ryan McEvoy, through the farm’s growing racing division, is well placed to gauge the appetite of Victoria’s leading trainers to buy at the Premier sale.
“I know we’ve just had the Perth and Tassie sales, but certainly the Gold Coast and Classic confirmed what a strong, hot market it is and there’s still a lot of buyers who haven’t been able to fill orders or haven’t been able to land on the horses that they’ve wanted to,” McEvoy told ANZ Bloodstock News.
“So, I think the Premier sale will give them a great opportunity to do that. Easter, as we know, is a unique two-day sale with the creme de la creme, but herein lies the opportunity to land those horses in that middle market.
“I think the middle market horses will be really strong here and the early feedback we’ve had from those who have seen the majority of horses on the ground suggests there’s a lot of quality here.”
Ryan Arnel’s Victorian operation Stonehouse Thoroughbreds, which has the support of South Australia’s Mill Park Stud and New Zealand’s Waikato Stud for the Premier sale, similarly predicts immense competition between buyers when selling begins tomorrow.
“From the past few days of inspections, it is clear that the market is strong and it shows here,” Arnel told ANZ Bloodstock News.
“There’s been huge representation from all over the world and, even if they’re not able to make it, there’s a lot of people here looking for four or five different clients.
“It is looking like it is going to be a very strong sale.”
Inglis’ Victorian leader Price, who succeeded the retiring Simon Vivian 12 months ago, was confident this year’s Premier auction would surpass the 2021 edition, but he was not prepared to make any bold predictions on the final numbers when the last horse is sold on Tuesday.
“Every sale we’ve had so far this year has seen rises across the board, where we get to in terms of a rise for the Premier sale from what we put up last year will be hard to tell,” he said.
“Yes, we expect a rise across the board, and where that stops we will wait and see. We have full confidence in the product that has been brought to the sale and the buying bench here, so we expect to have a successful sale.”
Price was also reserved about whether the magical million dollar mark will be broken for the second year in a row after a Robert Crabtree-bred Written Tycoon colt sold for $1.1 million in 2021.
“There are some lovely fillies and some lovely colts here on the ground, but it’s hard to pinpoint and say, ‘that’s a seven-figure horse’,” he said.
“There’s certainly some horses here who can push close to that. Whether they do, we will and see. If we do get a million dollar horse, that’s fantastic, and it’ll be lovely for the sale but we anticipate that there will be great strength between $400,000 and potentially $700,000 for those better colts and fillies.
“We feel it is going to be a successful sale and that won’t be determined by whether we have a million dollar horse or not.”
The Premier sale starts at 10am tomorrow.