Market holds up as buyers play it safe with search for quality over quantity
Six-figure son of champion sire Exceed’s expectations for Middlebrook at Inglis Weanling Sale
The doom and gloom pervading the wider economy was certainly not replicated at the Inglis Australian Weanling Sale yesterday, as the company continued its return to live auctions in the Covid-19 era with the marketplace once again demonstrating its remarkable resilience in the face of adversity.
There were 12 individual weanlings of the 188 lots offered who cracked the $100,000 mark at Riverside Stables on day one of the sale, headed by a session-topping $260,000 colt by Exceed And Excel (Danehill), while the average of $33,748 was down comparatively year-on-year by eight per cent,
That figure is well short of as much as 20 per cent predicted by some industry professionals and the clearance rate was deemed an acceptable 70 per cent, which compares to the 83 per cent achieved at the corresponding sale last year.
Inglis had been hamstrung by Covid-19 restrictions and racing industry regulations, including the banning of Victorian participants from being in attendance at the Sydney sale.
“Consequently, it’s rewarding to see such a diverse range of people involved in the sale, domestic and international participants and a number of interstate investors from right around the country,” Inglis general manager of bloodstock sales and marketing Sebastian Hutch said.
“Evidently, it’s a selective market, which was to be expected in advance of the sale. The pinhookers are being very selective in what they are identifying what is appropriate prospects for next year’s yearling sales but when a horse jumps through all the necessary hoops and meets the vetting criteria as well as pleases people from a physical and pedigree standpoint, they are making plenty of money.”
Middlebrook Valley Lodge’s Verna Metcalfe, who was the leading vendor by aggregate and average on day one having sold 11 weanlings including the highest-priced lot and another two six-figure colts, said those with quality select sale horses came in for strong competition from the buying bench.
“I think the market’s pretty good and with the crisis of the coronavirus it’s holding up very well,” said Metcalfe, who later added: “I’ve said all along, this is the sale to come to. It’s the first weanling sale and if you bring them here, then the good colts sell well.”
Metcalfe, in the lead-up to the sale, revealed she had deliberately targeted the auction with a number of high-calibre weanlings and she was rewarded when NSW owner Bruce Mackenzie won what was at least a four-way battle for the first foal out of the unraced Count Your Money (Pierro).
The result was an emotional one for Metcalfe who consigned the colt on behalf of breeder Kate Gadsby who has “had a lot of bad luck lately”.
“I thought this colt would make $200,000 because Exceed And Excel colts are hard to get. He only serves a limited book,” Metcalfe said.
“He’s a lovely colt, the first foal out of the mare. He was a good colt from the day he was born, just a good, straight forward, easy-to-rear colt.”
Catalogued as Lot 174, the colt’s dam is a half-sister to Group 1 winner Good Project (Not A Single Doubt) and Singapore stakes scorer World Airlines (Umatilla).
“This was the one. This colt is the pea,’’ said Port Stephens-based Mackenzie who did not attend the sale in person.
“I had multiple people look at the horses who I trust and they said he could be the nicest colt at the sale.
“With the bidding, I baulked at the barrier a couple of times but then I kept going. I wanted him, I wanted to take him home, full stop. I was going to buy him no matter what.’’
Galls take shine to Aquamosa family
Middlebrook Valley Lodge also sold a colt by So You Think (High Chaparral) for $130,000 to Gall Bloodstock whose principals, Brett and Ray Gall, also intend to keep the horse to race.
The first foal out of Aquamosa (Alamosa), a Group 3-placed juvenile in New Zealand and a half-sister to the stakes-placed Guillada (Guillotine), was on the market from the opening $50,000 bid. He was catalogued as Lot 120.
“Brett asked me what he was like ages ago and I said he was just a stunner. He has been from the day he was born and he’s just one of those colts who walks beautifully,” Metcalfe said.
“He’s always calm and he never loses his cool and they have got to have a good temperament to make a racehorse and he’s got that.
“So You Think is a very good sire and I think he’s an undervalued sire.”
The Galls, in partnership with Yarraman Park Stud, paid $180,000 for Aquamosa in an Inglis Digital online auction earlier this year when offered by Middlebrook Valley Lodge. She is in foal to Merchant Navy (Fastnet Rock) and will be covered by I Am Invincible (Invincible Spirit) this year.
Syndicator launches new pinhook venture
The second six-figure son of So You Think to be sold yesterday, a Twin Hills Stud-consigned weanling, signalled the diversification of the Darby Racing business into the pinhooking and trading side of the bloodstock industry.
One of the country’s leading syndicators, best-known for racing Golden Slipper (Gr 1, 1200m) winner She Will Reign (Manhattan Rain) and dual elite level winner Yankee Rose (All American), principal Scott Darby revealed he was capitalising on his team’s knowledge and on-track success to broaden the scope of the operation.
The pinhooking business will trade under Darby Racing and work as an inhouse operation rather than bringing in outside clients.
“The syndication business is going terrifically but it’s also getting quite ‘busy’ in the market and I suppose we are looking to use our knowledge to make money in other ways and the natural progression would be to go down the path of weanlings to yearlings and yearlings to two-year-old breeze-up sales,” Darby said yesterday.
“We’ve got three going to the Inglis Ready2Race Sale this year and also weanlings to yearlings which is something we’ve dabbled in previously but not seriously or at a commercial level.”
Darby Racing has colts by Written Tycoon (Iglesisa), Dawn Approach (New Approach) and Super One (I Am Invincible) being prepared for the October breeze-up sale.
“The hard thing about this is trying to get people to understand as they can be a bit cynical. I want to be very open and very upfront about it. If you’ve got a syndicator’s licence obviously you’ve got that fallback but it’ll be full disclosure if it’s passed in,” he said.
“We’ll probably look to buy about six weanlings across the two sales and present them at the right sales next year.”
Darby’s new So You Think colt is second foal of the winning Fastnet Rock (Danehill) mare Feirin, who is a half-sister to the European stakes-placed Gripsholm Castle (Dynaformer), was catalogued as Lot 204.
“Our research on So You Think is that his stats are phenomenal. He’s had five Group 1 winners, he’s certainly on the rise but in some ways he’s just going under the radar a little bit,” Darby said.
“His averages are up and on type he was one of the best – and we looked at most of the weanlings there – and he was a big, strong colt who has probably thrown more to the Fastnet side. He’s a really good walking colt and I think he’ll sell really well come next year. I couldn’t be happier to grab him.”
Twin Hills’ Olly Tait said: “The price of $150,000 is a lot of money, but he is a lovely horse and he did everything right. He’s by a really good sire and with his attitude and athleticism we didn’t have to do much.
“There were a lot of inspections from the moment we started and we were confident that he would sell well.”
On the market yesterday, Tait said: “It’s been OK and, like most horse sales, the top is very strong and then it can be difficult if you don’t have the horses the buyers’ want but, all in all, I think it’s a pretty good result and I’d say a resilient market given the current circumstances.”
Darby also secured a son of Sooboog (Snitzel) from Tyreel Stud for $26,000 yesterday for his new venture.
First season sires a safe bet
Pinhookers were also banking on the appeal of first season stallions with a number of progeny by well-credentialed young sires featuring among the top lots sold yesterday.
Sydney agent Andrew Williams was one of those who took a shine to colts by freshman stallions Hellbent (I Am Invincible) and Pariah (Redoute’s Choice), paying $140,000 and $105,000 respectively on behalf of the Spyglass group, “a big old syndicate of New Zealanders and bits and bobs”.
Williams’ first purchase was the Hellbent colt who is the fifth foal out of high-class sprinting mare Sister Madly (Redoute’s Choice). He was sold by Segenhoe Stud Australia as Lot 50.
“We saw him on the farm at Segenhoe initially and he made a second list to go back and have a look at the complex and he really caught our eye,” Williams said
“He’s a sharp looking horse, moderate size, good action. I am really like these Hellbents. They are great-shaped horses and I’m really quite excited by him.
“I thought Yarraman did a fantastic marketing play on him by going to the farms with Matt Scown (and filmed videos of his foals) and he really caught my attention.
“What’s been on the complex here has been very nice as well. He’s quite an exciting horse being a son of I Am Invincible, so you never know.”
Segenhoe Stud’s Brian Clarke believes the Hellbent colt had a lot going for him.
“He’s really nice with a great shape, precocious a real two-year-old sprinting type,” he said.
Later, Williams swooped a Newgate Farm-consigned son of Arrowfield Stud’s first season sire Pariah as Lot 123. He is the fourth foal out of European Group 3 winner Astrophysical Jet (Dubawi).
“Once again I thought he was a really nice horse. He’s a horse who might go to an early sale – it just depends which country (Australia or New Zealand),” he said.
“I thought he was a very good example of what Pariah can potentially leave and he is out of a very good mare and he’s also off a very good farm in Newgate.
“They have proven that they are producing really good horses with the likes of Exceedance and Shadow Hero, so they aren’t too dissimilar to Segenhoe. They are both very good farms.”
Williams and his clients had identified about 15 potential candidates at the Sydney sale, but conceded being able to accurately place values on them with a view to trading them next year was difficult.
“It’s not easy and that’s the frustrating thing in lacking the foresight in what the industry or the world will be like (next year),” he said.
“I just think we’ve got to buy the right horses because they can be raced and syndicated whatever the plan is (if they cannot be sold).”
Other first season sires with progeny to prove popular in the sales ring included Merchant Navy, Russian Revolution (Snitzel), Churchill (Galileo) and Invader (Snitzel).
Sale statistics 2020
Catalogued 250
Offered 188
Sold 131 (70%)
Aggregate $4,421,000
Average $33,748
Median $20,000
Top Lot $260,000