Hutch taking measured approach ahead of Classic sale
The boss of Inglis’ bloodstock division Sebastian Hutch is maintaining a measured market view heading into the opening session of the company’s reshaped 2024 Classic Yearling Sale.
Rarely one to overstate the likely outcome of an Inglis sale, chief executive Hutch said the Australasian yearling market so far this year paints a more circumspect picture than what perhaps the raw figures suggest.
Hutch’s opinion ahead of tomorrow’s first of three Classic sale days is despite the stronger than initially predicted Magic Millions and New Zealand Bloodstock sales, the former’s Book 1 turnover falling by two per cent (with 28 more horses sold) while Karaka increased its main Book aggregate by 14 per cent.
“Our observation of the market is, while it’s been good through the first couple sales of the year, the clearance through the ring has probably been a bit softer than what people are used to,” Hutch (pictured below) told ANZ Bloodstock News.
“I get the impression that vendors who have been active or a participant or engaged in some way, shape or form in the first two yearling sales of the year are very aware of that.
“It’s something that we’re looking to caution vendors about who haven’t been part of those first two yearling sales, that there is an element of selectivity in the market.
“Even subtle things, the format of the sale this year is slightly different with no Highway Session, and that’s not to say there’s not ‘Highway’ type horses in the sale, but they’re dispersed throughout the catalogue and it makes the mechanics of the sale a little different to past years for vendors to be sensitive of.”
Inglis has compiled a catalogue of 808 lots to be offered from Sunday to Tuesday in a single Book, electing to this year scrap its traditional day three Highway Session targeted towards country and provincial trainers, and thus far it’s a decision Hutch is comfortable with.
While there is both pessimism and optimism from vendors, often in equal measure and in line with a studmasters’ personalities, a sale’s company’s public opinion can be polarising but it’s one Hutch defends.
“I think every vendor on the complex wants to see us apprehensive in advance of the sale because complacency is something that we don’t want to allow to enter into our mindset,” he said.
“We can never have enough buyers here, and while we’re very pleased with the number of buyers, we’re still working to find more.
“We want to make sure buyers are being steered into the right horses and ultimately we want to come away from the sale feeling like we generated good turnover and we help vendors achieve a good clearance, they are the two things we feel are most important.”
Among those in attendance are Hong Kong agents George Moore and Willie Leung, expatriate Australian agent Justin Bahen and sales regulars John Foote, Merrick Staunton, Suman Hedge and other agents.
“Certainly, the response to the catalogue since we issued it back in December has widely been very positive and I think that’s a compliment to the standing of the sale and the catalogue that there appears to be such a broad cross-section of people here inspecting or engaged with the sale,” Hutch said.
“We have a strong contingent of overseas people, a great contingent of interstate people and the local contingent is strong as well, but we don’t want to take for granted that these people are just going to rock up and buy horses on Sunday.
“We want to make sure we’ve done everything we can to ensure the environment is set for people to buy.”
Meanwhile, Yarraman Park’s son of a gun Hellbent (I Am Invincible) could be on the verge of a breakout carnival, adding currency to his yearling crop, 14 of which are set to go under the hammer at the Classic sale.
That optimism comes in the form of Hellbent’s three stakes winners, Sir Rupert Clarke (Gr 1, 1400m) winner and Newmarket Handicap (Gr 1, 1200m) bound mare Magic Time; Oakleigh Plate (Gr 1, 1100m) contender Benedetta and Percy Sykes (Gr 2, 1200m) scorer Kristilli.
And he is also the sire of today’s Inglis Millennium (RL, 1100m) favourite Fully Lit and Duchess Of Sussex, a Phillip Stokes-trained two-year-old filly who is a $3.20 chance to win on debut at Morphettville today, while he will also be represented by Hellberg in this afternoon’s Blue Diamond Prelude (C&G) (Gr 3, 1100m) at Caulfield.
Yarraman’s Harry Mitchell, whose operation will offer 21 yearlings this week, three of which are by Hellbent, is “delighted with the way he’s going”.
“Obviously when your horse stands at a cheaper fee you’ve got to build along slowly, but he’s really rolling along,” Mitchell said.
“We’ve got Fully Lit in the Millennium and we’ve got Magic Time, Benedetta and the like, so he’s making a name for himself and he is an ideal horse for people to buy.
“He’s a syndicators’ horse, he can get a two-year-old, but they train on really well and they look like they all want to try to me, they want to find the line.”
Two of Yarraman’s Hellbents will go through early on Sunday, being a colt out of the stakes-placed Ambers Waltz (Danehill Dancer) and a half-sister to Heritage Stakes (Listed, 1100m) winner Economics (Capitalist), who are catalogued as Lot 70 (pictured below) and 74 respectively.
“She’s [Lot 70] a quick looking filly, she could be one who could be back here next year for the race and we’ve got a lovely colt out of Amber’s Waltz who was a great race mare,” Mitchell said.
“We’re hearing very nice things about her two-year-old by Hellbent [Kimberley Rose in Western Australia] and we’ve got her brother selling on Sunday as well.”
Mitchell cited the Classic sale’s graduate record, one which counts Extreme Choice (Not A Single Doubt), Castelvecchio (Dundeel) and Classique Legend (Not A Single Doubt) on the honour board, as selling point for Inglis’ 2024 sales season opener.
“The market might come back slightly and I think that’s fair enough with the way things are, but on the whole I think it’ll stay pretty good,” he said.
“Racing’s healthy in Australia, the prize-money’s good and trainers need horses. This sale has an excellent record of producing very good horses at affordable prices, so it seems to me that it’ll all be fine.”
Selling at the Classic sale will start from 10am tomorrow.