Maher comes up trumps with $1.5 million Inglis Easter colt by I Am Invincible
More than $66 million changes hands on day one of elite Riverside Stables auction with middle market providing the backbone of trade
Ciaron Maher, Australia’s biggest trainer, came out on top on day one of the Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale, backing his judgement to land the “colt of the sale”, the top-priced $1.5 million son of I Am Invincible (Invincible Spirit), who was one of six lots to reach the seven-figure mark at Riverside Stables yesterday.
The six million-dollar yearlings, colts by proven stallions and one who is tipped to reach new heights, captured the headlines but it was the depth of the middle market, something which has been evident throughout the majority of yearling sales in 2022, that again underlined buyers’ willingness to up their sights.
The aggregate was last night at $66.41 million, up three per cent year-on-year, which was then the benchmark single day’s trade at a southern hemisphere sale (it eventually closed at $67.6 million after some passed in lots were sold), while the average increased by four per cent on day one of 2021 to $383,873.
The median of $300,000, however, perhaps best illustrates the strength of the market with it up from $260,000 on the same session last year and there is every reason to suggest that the momentum will continue today.
Inglis Bloodstock chief executive Sebastian Hutch was, understandably, pleased with how the statistics read after the opening day’s trade.
“Any day you can come out of the sale day with figures we have today, it’s hard to be anything other than pleased,” Hutch said.
“There were a lot of nice horses in the sale and they sold well. I think it’s a really good reflection on the strength of the day that the median is up 15 per cent on the same day last year. I think that is probably the best way of demonstrating the strength and depth of the market.
“Time and time again, we saw people frustrated and not even being able to get close on the horses they wanted to buy and horses were making significantly more than vendors’ expectations.”
Meanwhile, the might of the Maher and David Eustace stable, which has more horses on its books than any other in the country, was to the fore on day one with the training partnership landing the most expensive colt of the session, who was by I Am Invincible (Invincible Spirit), for $1.5 million.
Maher’s bloodstock manager Will Bourne revealed that the trainer bought the horse without an owner already committed to purchasing it, such was his opinion of the colt, but it didn’t take him long to convince Kia Ora Stud and Tony Fung Investments to come on board.
“We paid a bit of money for him, but Ciaron was in love with the horse, Cressfield are great breeders and, overall, he’s a quality colt,” Bourne said.
“Ciaron purchased Cellsabeel from this sale (in 2019) and she had a tonne of ability, he knows this family very well and he was keen to get his hands on this colt.
“Funnily enough, Ciaron loved him that much. He has been a very brave person in the business of the thoroughbred world and it’s no shock that he is again at the Sydney Easter sale.
“Ciaron thought he was the number one (colt in the sale).”
Coolmore was underbidder on the colt.
The colt, who attracted a “stratospheric” 27 x-ray hits, is the first foal out of the former Bjorn Baker-trained Group 3 winner Egyptian Symbol (Stratum), who was bred and raced by Cressfield’s Bruce Neill. His second dam is Group 1-winning sprinter Our Egyptian Raine (Desert Sun) who Neill bought for $900,000 off the track, while Cellsabeel, a Black Opal Stakes (Gr 3, 1200m) placed mare whose racetrack career was curtailed by injury, is a half-sister to the now pensioned Our Egyptian Raine.
“He has a very good second dam, who was one of Australia’s great racemares. I think she was second in about ten Group 1s and Egyptian Symbol was a filly we tried to sell at Magic Millions many years ago and she didn’t even make $80,000 as a reserve,” Neill said.
“We kept her and raced her and she won $1.5 million and now she has made $1.5 million for her first foal. We are pretty happy about that.”
Neill’s Cressfield operation has a distinct focus on quality over quantity, breeding about 25 mares a year and largely to proven stallions.
“The page justified going to a good stallion, I try not to breed Danehill over Danehill and therefore I Am Invincible was a perfect option, Stratum being by Redoute’s Choice,” he said.
“It’s a good outcome. She missed the next year to I Am Invincible but she is in foal to Deep Field now.”
Despite the record day of trade, Neill felt there was a lull in the market early in the sale and into the afternoon before it picked up.
“It felt to me like it was plateauing. Before those two $1 million colts for Coolmore went through, the clearance rate was only 72 per cent, and the average was on par with last year,” he said.
“So it improved with those three top lots going through. I think it’s a bit patchy.”
Maher and Eustace bought 11 yearlings either outright or in partnership on day one.
Coolmore’s triple play
Despite losing out on the $1.5 million colt bought by Maher, Coolmore, as it has for an extended period of time, still demonstrated its sales ring strength yesterday, buying the Written Tycoon (Iglesia) half-brother to Group 1-winning colt Artorius (Flying Artie) for $1.4 million and back-to-back million-dollar colts earlier in the session.
The Greg Perry-bred and Vinery Stud-consigned son of Written Tycoon, who was catalogued as Lot 198, and early afternoon additions – a $1.4 million Arrowfield Stud-sold Snitzel colt and the $1 million I Am Invincible colt who were sold consecutively as Lots 90 and 91 – will all join the Coolmore-led colts syndicate which has enjoyed immense success with dual Group 1-winning Royal Ascot-bound Home Affairs (I Am Invincible).
The trio, as is Home Affairs, will be trained by Chris Waller.
Coolmore Australia principal Tom Magnier said the addition of the Written Tycoon colt provided the horse’s new connections with an extra incentive to follow the career of Blue Diamond Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m) winner Artorius who is also expected to head to the UK in June for the Royal Meeting.
“When we head to Royal Ascot (with Home Affairs) he will give us a reason to be watching Artorius when we go over in the summer,” Magnier said.
“He is a horse that is mature, he looks strong and Chris was pretty keen on him, he thought he was a forward type of horse.”
The colt is the fourth foal out of the unraced Gracie’s Lass (Redoute’s Choice), a half-sister to Darley Sprint Classic (Gr 1, 1200m) winner Delectation (Shamardal).
Vinery Stud bloodstock manager Adam White said the colt had been straightforward all week
“He never put a foot wrong, just paraded in and out of his box all the time and it’s a great result for the farm again,” White said.
“His pedigree was obviously going to get a lot of the big players around for him, we knew he was a quality colt and most of those stallion funds were on him and we knew Coolmore was certainly there and we’re looking forward to seeing him on the racetrack,” White said.
“Kudos to Greg Perry, he puts a lot of effort into his matings and does his plans. He relies on us a little bit with the physical match-ups and he’s had a terrific run over the last half a dozen years.
“He’s not only bred Artorius, but he’s also bred a VRC Oaks winner in Aristia and he also bred a Victoria Derby winner a couple of years ago (Johnny Get Angry) and, of course, he’s got (Oakleigh Plate winner) Marabi.
“He’s a quality breeder and a farm like Coolmore recognise that and it was great to see them get the colt.”
The first of Magnier’s high-priced haul was the son of Snitzel (Redoute’s Choice) out of the Listed winner C’Est Beau La Vie (Bernardini), while his second dam is Group 3 winner Valkyrie Diva (Jade Robbery), a half-sister to Melbourne Cup (Gr 1, 3200m) heroine Makybe Diva (Desert King).
“He was a striking colt, one of the nicest Snitzels in the sale,” Magnier said.
“Snitzel needs no introduction with what he’s doing at the moment and he’s out of a Bernardini mare, which is always a positive.
“Everyone’s here this week to try and find those good colts that we want to turn into stallions and he was one of the standouts of the sale and all the team really liked him, so fingers crossed.”
Arrowfield Stud’s Paul Messara said: “He is a beautifully balanced colt and farms like Coolmore and all the stallion groups are trying to find those horses and he had everything going for him.
“He’s a beautiful animal and I wasn’t surprised that he fetched a big number.”
Magnier was also not the least bit surprised that there was so much competition on those colts and at the Easter sale in general,
“I think it’s going to be like that a lot this week,” he said.
“I think there are some really nice colts and there are some excellent judges on the complex, so I think that when those good horses come up, you’re going to have to put your shoulders back.”
Magnier also had his sights set on the next lot through the ring, the $1 million colt out of the stakes-placed mare Calming Influence (Commands).
“He was a lovely moving horse, a great pedigree and this is why you come to Easter, to get those great pedigrees,” Magnier said.
“Hopefully we get a bit of luck with this guy and try to find the next Home Affairs.”
The million-dollar colt was bred by north east Victoria breeder Reg Ryan, who bought Calming Influence in foal to I Am Invincible for $290,000 at the 2020 Chairman’s Sale, at the height of the pandemic.
“Well, I bought the mare in foal for $290,000, so to get a million-dollar result was a pretty good effort, I thought,” Ryan said.
“I bought her in 2020 when there was no one here at the Chairman’s Sale. Because of the pandemic I reckon things were down a bit for one particular season and that was probably what got me over the line (price wise).”
The colt was born at Middlebrook Valley Lodge and consigned by Bhima Thoroughbreds as Lot 91 and, while the $1 million price tag was a new milestone for breeder Ryan, it was not a total shock.
“He had 170-odd inspections and he had 16 x-ray hits; Coolmore came back five times, Newgate four times, so we knew they were the right people (to push the price up),” he said.
“I bred Military Rose, the Magic Millions winner, and I sold a Snitzel at Magic Millions in 2015 for $775,000. I have only got seven mares, but if you pick the right mares and the right stallion (you can get results).”
The I Am Invincible colt has an unraced three-year-old brother named Barassi in training with Trent and Toby Edmonds on the Gold Coast while the juvenile sister named Covalent is in work with Bjorn Baker in Sydney.
Calming Influence has a Zoustar weanling colt and is back in foal to the same stallion this season.
Coolmore has so far bought eight yearlings at this year’s sales, three of them by Yarraman Park’s I Am Invincible, who yesterday averaged $647,812 after 16 lots were sold.
Harron lights up Riverside Fireworks
The top seven lots sold yesterday were all colts and prominent buyer James Harron ensured he made his presence felt, purchasing the I Am Invincible half-brother to recent Festival Stakes (Listed, 1000m)-winning juvenile colt Millane (Zoustar) for $1.35 million.
He also bought a final crop colt by Not A Single Doubt (Redoute’s Choice) for $975,000 during yesterday’s opening session.
The John Camilleri-bred and Segenhoe Stud-consigned son of I Am Invincible, the third foal out of Widden Stakes (Gr 3, 1100m) winner Fireworks (Snitzel), was “one of the talking horses of the sale”.
“He is beautifully bred. The mare’s young and done a great job so far, he’s a very masculine horse, very mature horse, he carried himself very well and he absorbed all the pressure of the sale,” Harron said of the Lot 169-offered colt.
“He is a terrific breeder and, of course, John has all his stock at Segenhoe. We’ve had a lot of luck over the years (buying from Segenhoe), most notably with King’s Legacy recently.
“Things came together for us to be able to get him.”
Harron also purchased the Amarina Farm-consigned son of Not A Single Doubt who is the fifth living foal out of Di Lusso (Lonhro), making him a half-brother to the Group 2 winner and New Zealand Oaks (Gr 1, 2400m) runner-up Contessa Vanessa (Bullbars). He was catalogued as Lot 136.
Dundeel on the rise
Arrowfield Stud, the leading vendor by aggregate on day one after selling 22 yearlings for a combined $10,085,000, was also rewarded by its faith in stallion Dundeel (High Chaparral) after the half-brother to Spring Champion Stakes (Gr 1, 2000m) winner Profondo (Deep Impact) sold for $1 million.
The colt, purchased by the father-and-son team of John, Wayne and Michael Hawkes, also continues the sales ring success his dam, the late Rick Worthington-trained Widden Stakes winner Honesty Prevails (Redoute’s Choice), whose first three foals have made $1.9 million, $1.15 million and now $1 million.
Arrowfield Stud’s Paul Messara was delighted the colt would be trained by the Hawkes’, who also prepare MRC Thousand Guineas (Gr 1, 1600m) winner Yearning (Snitzel) for the leading Hunter Valley farm.
The figure was also a new milestone for the sire Dundeel, with the yearling his first to reach the seven-figure mark in the ring.
“This is the year Dundeel got a lot of very good mares, so we are expecting a bit of upshift in the performance out of the track coming out this draft, but also in the price of his stock,” Messara said.
“There are some really nice Dundeels throughout this complex. Walking around I could see them all over the place and it’s good with the pedigree this one had to fetch $1 million and push through that barrier.”
Messara also marvelled at the breeding career thus far of Honesty Prevails, a $720,000 yearling.
“That’s (Honesty Prevails’) third foal. Custodian, the second one was $1.15 million by Shalaa, and he looks like a horse with a lot of talent as well,” he said.
“The first three out of the mare are very talented and that’s why people are paying the money for them.”
The Hawkes’ also bought another three yearlings, two fillies by Snitzel from Arrowfield and a So You Think (High Chaparral) colt from Segenhoe Stud for a further $1.38 million.
China Horse Club-Newgate colts fund strikes early
The Newgate Farm-China Horse Club and Trilogy Racing partnership struck early in the sale, going to $900,000 for a colt by Zoustar, the same sire as the group’s talented juvenile Metallicity, a Black Opal (Gr 3, 1200m) placegetter who is being targeted at the Queensland Winter Carnival.
The early action for the Zoustar colt was also a huge pinhooking result for BBT Breeding and Racing’s Carol Walsh who paid $360,000 for the colt at last year’s Inglis Great Southern Sale on the advice of agent Sheamus Mills.
Consigned by Newhaven Park as Lot 5, the colt is the third foal out of Epona Stakes (Gr 3, 1900m) winner Vergara (Snippetson), herself a half-sister to MRC Autumn Classic (Gr 2, 1800m) winner Valiant Spirit (Duporth).
“I think we paid plenty of money for him, but for us he was the best Zoustar colt in the sale and he reminded me a lot of Zoustar; he’s out of a good mare and raised on a good farm, so he was the Zoustar colt we were determined to get,” Newgate Farm principal Henry Field said.
“He is not necessarily an early, early horse but he can be a really good back-end two-year-old, like I think Metallicity is going to be. He looks like a Golden Rose and Caulfield Guineas sort of colt, so we were thrilled to get him.”
Trained by Peter and Paul Snowden, Metallicity is slated to resume in the BRC Champagne Stakes (Gr 2, 1200m) on May 14 before tackling the BRC Sires’ Produce Stakes (Gr 2, 1400m) and the JJ Atkins Plate (Gr 1, 1600m).
The China Horse Club-Newgate Farm partnership also went to $850,000 for a Written Tycoon colt out of Listed winner Hell Or Highwater (Not A Single Doubt), a $510,000 Magic Millions Gold Coast National Weanling Sale pinhook for vendor Rosemont Stud.
Widden Stud sire Zoustar averaged $520,625 on day one from 16 yearlings sold.
Day two of the Easter sale starts at 10am today.
Sale statistics – day one
2022 2021
Catalogued 244 240
Offered 213 205
Sold 173 (81%) 175 (85%)
Aggregate $66,410,000 (+3%) $64,470,000
Average $383,873 (+4%) $368,400
Median $300,000 (+15%) $260,000
Top Lot $1.5 million $2.5 million