Kennewell’s $150,000 Sydney trip Tassort-ed
Not for the first time this season, Group 1-winning Victoria-based trainer Lloyd Kennewell made a flying visit to an interstate sale to specifically buy a horse by Australia’s probable champion first season sire Tassort (Brazen Beau).
Kennewell, who trains in partnership with Lucy Yeomans at Cranbourne, partnered with his agent, Group 1 Bloodstock’s Mathew Becker, to buy the Riversdale-consigned colt for $150,000 at the Inglis HTBA Yearling Sale in Sydney.
The highest-priced of three horses to make six figures at Riverside Stables on Sunday, the colt is the first foal out of 1200-metre winner Raahiyah (Snitzel).
A Time To Reign (Time For War) colt also made $120,000 to the bid of Kembla Grange-based trainer Ross McConville and a filly by Hellbent (I Am Invincible) sold for $115,000 to Rosehill-based trainer David Payne.
“We’ve been shopping all year for Tassorts, he looks a stallion with a really bright future and he’ll probably be crowned champion first season stallion,’’ Kennewell said of Lot 85.
“I flew up for the very reason I thought he was the colt of the sale and he was exactly what I wanted to see when I got here on the grounds.
“He’s a colt that was well sought after, he was the best one here, the price suggests that and we got him so we’re very happy.’’
Kennewell and Backer also bought a filly by the young Newgate Farm sire for $100,000 at the Magic Millions Adelaide Yearling Sale and they outlaid $150,000 for a gelding by the same sire at the Magic Millions Gold Coast 2YOs in Training Sale last October.
The trainer conceded he had no ammunition left should the underbidder have pushed him any further at the HTBA sale.
“That was my last bid, the final figure I’d have let myself go to,’’ Kennewell said.
“I was hoping to buy him for $80,000 to $100,000 but it didn’t happen. It was a really good underbidder too, a very good judge so that always makes you feel a bit better when you blow the budget.’’
Riversdale’s Nick Hodges was thrilled with the result.
“He was really popular, from day one everyone who saw him really liked him,’’ Hodges said.
“He had plenty of x-ray hits, a lot of foot traffic so he was always going to sell well but that price was far and away more than what we were expecting. It absolutely exceeded expectations. It was a very good price for him.’’
Tassort, whose fee has been increased from $11,000 (inc GST) to $38,500 for this coming season, was also the sire of the top-priced lot at last week’s Inglis Melbourne Gold Yearling Sale when a second crop colt made $80,000.
The sale’s second–top lot, a first crop colt by Kingstar Farm’s resident sire Time To Reign, is out of Sweet Bouquet (Dream Ahead), a half-sister to Group 2-winning and Group 1-producing sire Santos (I Am Invincible) and Melagrana (Fastnet Rock), a Grade 3 winner in Japan.
The colt is the half-brother to the Chris Waller-trained two-year-old Emirate (Extreme Choice), who impressed at his sole barrier trial last week.
“He’s a real flashy colt and they paid $1 million for the half–brother who has trialled well so that helps,’’ McConville said.
“It was a bit more than I wanted to pay for him but if you want the good ones, you’ve got to pay up for them.’’
Kingstar’s Adam Cook added: “It’s a great result. We’re happy as Larry.
“It’s Time To Reign’s first crop and the market has reacted to how good a type he throws and this colt was no different.
“This guy is a December foal but he’s very forward and people have obviously seen that because he was very popular in the ring.’’
Seventy-five per cent of the offering found new homes, with 151 horses sold for a combined $2.934 million, down by a third on the much larger 300-lot catalogue of last year, while the average of $19,430 was down nine per cent year-on-year.
The median closed at $10,000, which also declined by $2,500 compared to the 2023 HTBA sale.
Inglis Bloodstock chief executive Sebastian Hutch was satisfied with Sunday’s trade.
“This sale provides an important service to the market and while obviously we’d like to be able to post a stronger set of results for vendors, we are pleased with the level of buyer engagement with the sale,’’ Hutch said.
“It was really great to see names like Mark Newnham, Joe Pride, Annabel Neasham, Brad Widdup, Gerald Ryan and Sterling Alexiou, Lloyd Kennewell, Matthew Smith, David Payne, Trilogy, Darby Racing, Blueblood Thoroughbreds, Champion Thoroughbreds and a broad cross section of country NSW and Victorian trainers feature amongst the listed buyers, while the participation from buyers in Hong Kong, Singapore, New Zealand goes to show that this sale continues to attract a significant buying bench.
“As has been the case all year at every sale, yearlings that met the criteria of buyers sold well and for those that didn’t, vendors had to work harder to meet the market.
“We’ve had 16 lots realise $50,000 or more, while the figures for the clearance, average and median are within a reasonable range of the equivalent figures at the end of the sale 12 months ago.
“There is no disguising that the market at this level has challenges, but as is the case every year at this sale, there have been some excellent results and I have no doubt there will be some talented racehorses emerge from this sale.
“We now move to the breeding stock sales series, we have some strong catalogues for both our weanlings and broodmares sales in Sydney next week and we can’t wait to get into that.’’
Sale statistics
2024 2023
Catalogued 224 300
Offered 202 268
Sold 151 (75%) 207 (77%)
Aggregate $2,934,000 (-33%) $4,399,500
Average $19,430 (-9%) $21,254
Median $10,000 (-20%) $12,500
Top Lot $150,000 $280,000