‘Too Darn Hot’s maybe one of the best in the world’ – Too Darn Hot all the rage as another record tumbles at Riverside
The Inglis Australian Weanling Sale record set on Monday was broken only a day later when an immaculately-bred colt by sire-of-the-moment Too Darn Hot (Dubawi) fetched $775,000 on a spirited day of trading at Riverside.
Bred by Rob Cummins and presented by Widden Stud, Lot 367 was bought, after a tense bidding duel, by Stefan Pardi’s Equine Growth Fund – which emerged as the sale’s biggest buyer in its first year at the auction.
The colt’s price eclipsed the sale’s previous high of $650,000, set 24 hours earlier, for a filly by Stay Inside (Extreme Choice) out of Group 1 winner Sheidel (Holy Roman Emperor).
Tuesday’s record breaker is a brother to Group 2 winner Too Darn Lizzie out of Enbihaar (Magnus), the Group 2-winning mare who finished second in the Blue Diamond Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m). The colt’s second dam Charm’s Honour (Strada) was also a black-type winner.
The sale was timely given both Too Darn Lizzie and Enbihaar will be offered at Thursday night’s Chairman’s Sale.
It also helped Too Darn Hot – returning to Darley this spring at a fee of $275,000 (inc GST) after a year off shuttling duties – end as leading sire of the sale by aggregate and average (with three or more lots sold). The nine-year-old had seven foal sold for $1.8 million at an average of $260,714.
Stay Inside ranked second by aggregate, with 13 weanlings yielding $1,281,750, while Ole Kirk (Written Tycoon) was second by averages with three lots sold at $190,000.
Having been tipped by Widden owner Antony Thompson as the weanling sale’s likely top lot, the Too Darn Hot-Enbihaar colt fetched more than double the price of Tuesday’s equal second most expensive offerings. Both of those were knocked down for $340,000 and marked a bumper sale for new concern Alma Vale Thoroughbreds, who emerged as top vendor through their first draft at this auction.
One of those was also by Too Darn Hot in Lot 453, a colt out of US dual stakes winner Josdeanimaux (Leroidesanimaux), bought by Silverdale Farm.
The other was among the first crop of Darley’s nine-time Group 1 winner Anamoe (Street Boss) in Lot 362, a filly from a line of three stakes-winning mares in dam Eawase (Sebring), who is herself out of Group 3 scorer and Magic Millions 2YO Classic (RL, 1200m) winner Karuta Queen (Not A Single Doubt) and her mother Card Queen (Final Card), whose five race wins were headed by a victory at Group 3 level.
Nine weanlings fetched $200,000 or more on Tuesday, up from seven on day one, as the sale closed with a robust set of numbers that delighted Inglis, especially given some softness in areas of the yearling market in the preceding months.
Late on Tuesday night, the average stood at $53,980 – slightly down on last year’s record mark of $55,167 despite a far larger offering of weanlings, with 465 put through the ring compared with 373 last year, and 356 sold compared to 292.
The median was unchanged – for the fourth straight year – at $30,000, amid a record gross for the sale of $19,216,950, up from $16,104,000. The clearance rate was 77 per cent, but set to rise, compared with 78 per cent in 2024.
“Each and every year we come away feeling like there was an opportunity to sell more nice foals here, or sell more foals well here, and it’s been a source of frustration for a number of years,” said Inglis Bloodstock CEO Sebastian Hutch.
“So to be here today having turned over in excess of $19 million, and selling over 350 foals, is very satisfying.
“For the clearance rate to be where it’s at and the median and average to have held solid with 12 months ago, given the larger catalogue, is pleasing.
“Obviously there were holes in certain parts of the market, but from the point of view of the auction house there was a lot to be satisfied with.”
Hutch said the strength of the sale reflected the recent growth of the May sales week at Riverside.
“In 2019, this sale turned over just over $6 million. We’ve worked constructively to try to give vendors confidence that this is a sale they can bring good stock to. The sale has built momentum year after year,” he said.
“We were confident that this was the best, most lucrative weanling sale we would run in recent history, and that’s the way it’s played out, which is great.
“Vendors recognise we run a good sale here. They enjoy selling at Riverside at this time of year, the facilities are excellent, it’s a convenient location for a lot of people to consolidate a large volume of stock, and thus they supported the sale with quality stock.
“Buyers like seeing an opportunity at the sale. It’s part of an important week for us, with the Chairman’s sale on Thursday and Australian Broodmare Sale on Friday. As a May sales series, given where it was six or seven years ago, it’s very quickly become a very significant week.”
Tuesday’s standout was of course Lot 367, knocked down to the Equine Growth Fund’s Pardi, who was thrilled to secure a son of Too Darn Hot he’d rated “a 9.75 out of ten”.
“What’s the sire doing? He’s probably the best in the land, maybe one of the best in the world,” said Pardi, who confirmed the colt would return to Widden to be reared for pinhooking as a yearling.
“I Am Invincible and Snitzel, their time’s nearly up. He [Too Darn Hot] gets fillies, he gets colts, and this is an exceptional horse. I pulled him out five or six times. I’ve never rated a horse 9.75 out of ten. Last time I rated a horse 9, I bought it for $300,000 and sold it for a million.
“I didn’t want to leave without him. The fifth time I pulled him out he was half asleep. He’s just such a relaxed colt.
“Usually that breed are a little bit small, but he was exceptional.”
Pardi offered a tongue-in-cheek apology to Widden, saying his group had budgeted to spend more on the colt. As it was, the Equine Growth Fund still ended as the auction’s leading buying, purchasing three lots for $1,235,000.
“It’s hard to find these quality colts,” Pardi said. “He could be easily in a colts’ syndicate next year for someone to make a stallion. So we thought let’s buy here, nine months before [the yearling sales] and try to turn it into something for the future. If not, we’ll race it.”
Pardi explained the Equine Growth fund was “a model of sophisticated investors that I have on board, ten to 20 of them”.
“They have an appetite to pinhook, they’ve been successful over the last couple of years doing it, so we all put our money together and try to find the right ones,” Pardi said.
The sale marked not only an emergence for the Equine Growth Fund but also perhaps a key chapter in the second phase of Pardi’s time in the industry. He was warned off by Racing NSW in 2009 for matters relating to syndicator Storm Bloodstock. Pardi said his ban was overturned some five years ago.
“It was overturned, probably five years ago by Racing NSW. It’s way over with,” he said.
“It was a very, very dark time in my life, and I’ve certainly cleaned that act up a long time ago, or I wouldn’t be here.”
Widden’s Matt Comerford said the stud was overjoyed to sell the auction’s top lot – and to be able to rear the colt in preparation for next year’s yearling sales.
“He had an unheard of, for weanling sales, number of inspections,” Comerford said.
“He presents like a really good physical, he has that scope and that quality and that strength that can [when absent] let the stallion down a fraction at times, but they sent the right sort of mare to him, got the right sort of result physically, and he’ll continue to grow into a fantastic individual.
“The stallion’s red hot, the family’s red hot. The owner’s looking to capitalise on the market. He’s got the mare in the Chairman’s on Thursday as well, and Too Darn Lizzie’s in the Chairman’s as well.
“Certainly it’s a very good pinhook play for Stefan and the team. And we’re thrilled to consign him next year.”
Also helping Too Darn Hot to the top of the sires’ stats was the colt from Josdeanimaux. His buyer Silverdale Farm was thrilled to acquire him, having bid unsuccessfully on Monday’s Stay Inside-Sheidel filly.
“He was very well presented,” said Silverdale manager Rob Petith. “With Too Darn Hot being a very exciting horse at the moment, we thought we had to be strong, and we’re thrilled to get him.
“We’ll come back for another yearling sale and re-offer the colt.”
Alma Vale’s Oscar Englebrecht was extremely satisfied with the sale of Lot 362, the Anamoe-Eawase filly, for Metcalfe’s long-term associate Reg Ryan. The weanling helped Alma Vale top the vendor charts, with 15 lots grossing $1,445,000 at an average of $96,333.
“She’s a queen of a filly. She had 32 x-ray hits. She’s been out of her box more than she’s been in. She’s been busier than a lot of horses I’ve brought to Easter, and she’s never turned a hair,” said Englebrecht.
“We thought we’d come here and make our money and we have. You take a bit of risk out of the equation going to a weanling sale. If someone goes and makes money off her, it’s awesome, because that’s what the whole industry needs to keep ticking over. That’s great money for a weanling.”
Englebrecht said he was a major fan of Anamoe’s early stock.
“We’ve got five or six Anamoes at home, and I think he’s going to be a very, very good stallion,” he said. “He definitely stamps them, and they’re really good sorts. I’ve talked to a lot of other managers at farms, and there’s a really good feeling about Anamoe.”
Second-top vendor was Victoria’s Noorilim Park, with seven weanlings yielding $1,232,500, ahead of Yarraman Park, with 12 for $1,179,000.
Trilogy Racing and Suman Hedge Bloodstock ranked second among buyers, with seven lots purchased for $749,000.
Tuesday’s fourth-highest weanling was Lot 319, Yarraman Park’s filly by their super sire I Am Invincible (Invincible Spirit), which fetched $290,000 when sold to New Zealand’s Lyndhurst Farm. The filly is the first foal of Chasing Fireflies (Twirling Candy), who was stakes placed in the US and is from the same family as Australian Group 3 winner Mumbai Muse (Zoustar).