Depth and diversity drive record-breaking Inglis Ready2Race Sale
A strong buying depth and broad international participation underpinned a buoyant day’s trade at the Inglis Ready2Race Sale at Riverside Stables on Thursday, making it a record-breaking edition of the two-year-old auction in Sydney.
The session was headlined by the Hunter’s Lodge-consigned Toronado (High Chaparral) colt out of Baccarat Baby (Casino Prince), who became the highest priced colt sold at the sale when Hermitage Thoroughbreds went to $900,000 to secure the youngster.
A total of 122 lots sold for a record $19.05 million – up from $15.6 million in 2024 and eclipsing the previous record by over $2.3 million.
A record 64 lots realised $100,000 or more, while 39 sold for over $200,000, producing a clearance rate of 75 per cent, up from 64 per cent last year. The auction returned an average of $156,180 and a median of $100,000, matching last year’s benchmark on a day vendors widely described as solid and well-supported across all levels of the market.
“We said before that we were the best prepared we’d ever been,” Inglis Bloodstock CEO Sebastian Hutch told ANZ News.
“We felt we were in a good spot to run as good a sale as we could, and I’m certainly pleased with the metrics. I think it’s been, on the whole, a positive day.”
Hutch said the depth of quality among this year’s catalogue had been reflected in the strength of competition, particularly at the top end of the market, underlining the increasing professionalism of vendors, many of whom now plan specifically around the Ready2Race format.
“I felt like we had great depth amongst the buyers at the top end,” he said.
“We feel like we lament this sale every year, that we just don’t feel like we have enough horses to satisfy the demand from people at that top quartile, and it’s probably the best group we’ve had for this sale. I think there are plenty of people making money today.”
Hunter’s Lodge first draft delivers dream result with Toronado top lot
Much was made of Lot 188 before he entered the ring. The colt had clocked the fastest breeze of the sale at a slick 10.05 seconds, doing so with apparent ease and backing it up with both pedigree and presence.
Out of a Group 3-winning mare and half-sister to multiple Group 1 winner Duais (Shamus Award) and recent The Roses (Gr 2, 2000m) winner Philia (All Too Hard), the colt duly delivered a dream result from the first ever draft of Cade Hunter and Liam Ruddy’s Hunter’s Lodge, returning $650,000 on their $250,000 Inglis Easter investment and topping the sale.
“It couldn’t feel any better to be honest, it couldn’t have gone any better,” Ruddy said. “The whole draft has sold really well, it’s been a good clearance rate and everybody is getting a good return on investment so we’re really, really over the moon.
“We had the reserve at $400,000 so when the bidding opened at $400,000, that was just the best feeling, we took a deep breath and after that it was just fun.
“We were trying to keep track of who was bidding but there were so many bids coming from so many directions.
“To have a judge like Guy [Mulcaster] buy a horse off us, we’re stoked. It’s unbelievable that Caspar [Fownes] was desperate to have the horse, he loved him. I guess it’s a real credit to us that those sorts of judges want to buy a horse off us and hopefully we can find another one for them next year.”
Hermitage agent Guy Mulcaster, who is also the main talent scout for trainer Chris Waller, said: “He really stood out.
“We identified him from the breeze-ups and then we saw him physically and he matched his breeze so it was a no-brainer for the Hermitage team to have a look at a horse like that, and they saw him this morning for the first time and loved him. It was a great result for them.
“When you saw him physically you could see there was a fair bit of improvement in him too so it worked out well.”
Hunter’s Lodge sold half of their eight lots for a combined $1,256,000, another highlight pinhook result coming when its $14,000 Inglis Premier purchase by Rubick (Encosta De Lago) out of Written Tycoon (Iglesia) mare Aqueous made $160,000.
“I’m speechless,” Cade Hunter said. “The result for the draft as a whole has just been unbelievable for our first year. It’s overwhelming, we appreciate the support from everyone.”
Chuang proved a major presence in the buyer ranks, signing for six lots worth a combined $2.585 million.
“The stock was very well prepared,” Mulcaster said of the catalogue as a whole. “When they’re buying them at Easter or Melbourne etc, some of them are really nice horses that we already had notes on and they’ve all gone forward and I think their preparation for this sale is a testament to the vendors. There’s so many people here.”
Hutch added: “It was great to have Mr. Chuang here. He’s been a very good patron of Inglis for a long time and had incredible success, both domestically and internationally. He’s had a lot of success with yearlings from Inglis, and he came here and bought a number of nice horses today. He bought horses for which there was tremendous competition.”
Eugene Chuang’s Hermitage Thoroughbreds also signed the docket for the second top-lot, a son of I Am Invincible (Invincible Spirit) consigned by Crossley Thoroughbreds who sold for $675,000.
The colt breezed in 11.07s and is bred in the purple, being out of winning Exceed And Excel (Danehill) mare Maroon Bay, a half-sister to Group 1 winner turned sire Merchant Navy (Fastnet Rock), Listed winner Setana (Fastnet Rock) and Jolie Bay, the dam of multiple Group 1 winner Joliestar (Zoustar), who will shoot for Everest (Gr 1, 1200m) glory on Saturday.
“He was a lovely colt and really only got on our radar late, this morning actually and he ticked all the boxes,” Mulcaster said. “He’s another nice one to add to the collection.’’
Crossley’s Mitch Pearce, who offered the colt on behalf of a client, said: “It’s an amazing feeling. I can’t really put it into words.
“This colt has paraded beautifully all week, he’s a vendor’s dream.
“Liam Howley has prepared this guy all the way along, I’m just the lucky guy standing here talking about it. I just can’t wait to watch his racetrack future.’’
Hong Kong demand sets tone for record-breaking sale
There was a steady stream of six figure lots for much of the afternoon, which kicked off in fine fashion as the first three lots, all of whom broke 11 seconds in their respective breeze ups, sold to Hong Kong buyers for $220,000 or more.
Heading those was Lot 2, a Fernrigg Farm-consigned colt by Exceed And Excel (Danehill) out East Asia (Swiss Ace) who was knocked down to Hong Kong-based Me Tsui for $360,000 after being passed in at the Inglis Melbourne Premier Yearling Sale.
“His breeze up was exceptional, so I was hoping to get that,” Rae-Louise Farmer told ANZ News.
“He’s always been a nice horse, but you can never get too confident with the market, especially these days.
“He was always just a little bit on the smaller side, but over the last six months he’s really grown into himself, and he carried himself with a lot of presence here, and we got rewarded for it.”
The Hunter Valley nursery sold five of its six lots on offer, finishing eighth by aggregate with gross receipts of $885,000 despite a relatively smaller draft in what was only its second year selling at Ready2Race.
Another of the highlights was Lot 134, a Bivouac (Exceed And Excel) colt out of Stocks Stakes (Gr 2, 1600m)-winning So You Think (High Chaparral) mare So You Assume. After being passed in at the Inglis Classic Sale, he sold to Michael Chang for $210,000.
Fernrigg also sold a Zoustar colt (Lot 81) to Chinese outfit CHOA for $180,000, while its colt by Tassort (Brazen Beau) went the way of Mick Price and Michael Kent Jnr for $120,000.
“We are excited,” Farmer said. “To be honest, we came here with a draft of really well prepared horses. Robert Quinn‘s done an amazing job with them. We bred most of them ourselves, and kind of stuck to our guns when we couldn’t sell them as yearlings. The patience has paid off, so I’m very happy.
“I think Inglis have done a tremendous job getting the clientele here. The foot traffic’s been enormous over the last couple of days.
“The Asian market is very strong on horses that look like they’re going to be up and running and sound. I think if you’ve got the right horse that’s been prepared properly, you’re gonna get paid.”
All told, buyers from Hong Kong were the most active, spending $8.13 million on 36 horses, making up 42.67 per cent of the market share. Their closest rival was New South Wales, who spent a little short of $5 million on 27 horses, recording a market share of 26 per cent.
The third top lot on the day was a colt by The Autumn Sun (Redoute’s Choice) consigned by Ohukia Lodge, who sold to Gai Waterhouse and Dahli Farm for $575,000.
Other standouts included Rathosheen Bloodstock-consigned colts by Exceed And Excel and Toronado, who sold for $560,000 and $550,000 respectively, while Kiltannon Stable’s son of Yulong shuttle sire Lucky Vega (Lope De Vega) realised $510,000 when selling to the Hong Kong-bound James Cummings.
Baystone Lodge’s Richini, a daughter of Zoustar (Northern Meteor) who finished a solid fifth in the Debutante Stakes (Listed, 1000m) on Wednesday, attracted plenty of interest and eventually went the way of Bjorn Baker and Jim Clarke for $500,000.
Nolen Racing finished top vendor, their 15 lots (after withdrawals) all selling for a combined $2.188 million at an average of $145,867.
The operation’s top earner was a son of Pinatubo (Shamardal) out of a half-sister to both Blue Diamond Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m) winner Reaan (Hussonet) and the dam of dual Group 1-winning heroine Coolangatta (Written Tycoon). He was knocked down to Magus Equine for $425,000, having fetched $90,000 as a yearling at the Easter sale earlier in the year.
“Unbelievable really,’’ Tal Nolen said. “Inglis did an amazing job getting the buyers here, it’s been a phenomenal sale.”
Pinhookers strike across the board
Darrel Burnet’s DBS Thoroughbreds achieved its third successful pinhook in as many years when Lot 178, a Wooded (Wootton Bassett) colt secured for $160,000 at Inglis Premier realised $290,000.
Last year the operation sold a Written Tycoon (Iglesia) colt for $420,000 after being sourced for $75,000 at Inglis Premier, while also turning a $25,000 Brutal (O’Reilly) colt into a $140,000 two-year-old at the 2023 sale.
“Spending $160,000 on a yearling is always going to be risky, it was our most expensive ever yearling purchase,” Burnet told ANZ. “To bring him here indicates what we thought of him and backs up our judgement, to do three successful pinhooks in three consecutive years.”
Burnet’s results underscored his ability both to pinhook and to prepare horses specifically for the Ready2Race format, with his All Too Hard (Casino Prince) colt selling for the first time to Japan’s Knine / Rising Sun Syndicate for $220,000.
“The reserve was much lower, but he’s been very popular all week,” Burnet said. “He’s a beautiful animal by the right stallion. Just delighted, over the moon.
“My client wasn’t sure whether to sell him as a yearling earlier in the year, but decided to send him up to me, and we specifically targeted this sale. You can purchase horses for this sale, or you can aim them directly at it.”
It wasn’t just the major consignors finding success, with one of the day’s more rewarding results coming from Dean and Phoebe Grass’ Gippsland Bloodstock, whose sole entry – a North Pacific (Brazen Beau) colt picked up for just $3,250 via an Inglis Digital sale in March – was knocked down to Malaysia for $40,000 after some competitive bidding.
“It’s a great result,” Dean Grass, who trains out of Pakenham, told ANZ News. “There was very little risk involved. He was a lovely horse when we got him online and he was delivered home. He’s been a nice colt the whole way through. My wife found him and took the chance on him, and we do the job anyway, so it ended up being worthwhile.
“It was one of those ones where you’re not paying a lot, so we took a chance. When we x-rayed him up, he was good. His scope was good. So we thought, alright, that side is covered, and then it was just a matter of him doing the job, which, you know, that’s what we do for a living anyway. It’s exciting.”
Sebastian Hutch said the diversity of approaches had become a defining strength of the sale, with professionalism and planning now underpinning success.
“To participate in the sale well, it’s a professional exercise,” Hutch told ANZ. “It’s part of consolidating a good structure, a good plan, a good team of people, good process.
“There are people who are breeding horses for the sale, there are people who are buying foals for the sale, and people are buying yearlings for the sale. Over the course of a crop cycle I think there’s more than enough opportunity for people to consolidate the necessary horse to bring here and have it lift the bar again.”
Hutch acknowledged that while the sale continues to strengthen, the Ready2Race format presents its own set of challenges, particularly given the volume of data available to buyers.
“It is a tricky sale,” he said. “The margin for error becomes very small. One of the upsides is that people have so much more information available on the horses. One of the challenges is, if any of the information is negative, you tend to marginalize a certain percentage of the buying bench.
“I don’t think we’ll get to clearance rates in the eighties in the short term, but more broadly speaking, we came into this sale wanting to demonstrate that this is the best two-year-old sale in Australia and demonstrate that this has the potential to be the best in Australasia. And I think we’re very much on track.
“New Zealand run a very effective two-year-old sale but we are looking to grow the market and encourage more domestic and more New Zealand-based vendors to think that they can participate in this sale and get their best result.”
Hutch said several refinements to the sale’s structure this year had helped improve buyer engagement, from a later start time to the shift to a Thursday session. Feedback from both domestic and international participants suggested the changes created a smoother flow of inspections and bidding activity.
“We’re very much committed to the format,” he said. “We’re actually trying to make the sale better, and it’s borne out in the effort that everybody’s made over the last 12 months to make the sale better and borne out further in the results.”