Star jump-out-winning son of Dundeel creates Inglis Ready2Race record
Maher and Eustace to train after paying $750,000 for Baystone Farm’s juvenile but internationals dominate the buying bench
Hong Kong buyers dominated the top end of the Inglis Ready2Race Sale, with as many as 33 two-year-olds destined for the Asian racing capital, but it was leading Australian trainers Ciaron Maher and David Eustace who made the biggest statement of the auction, going to $750,000 for an exciting colt by Dundeel (High Chaparral).
The highest-priced juvenile ever sold at an Inglis sale – and the second most expensive at an Australian breeze-up sale – the Baystone Farm-consigned colt caught the attention of domestic and international buyers alike after an impressive jump-out victory last month.
The colt was one of five horses to sell for $400,000 or more during a session where the thirst for quality was evident, but vendors were not prepared to part with their stock, preferring to pass them in rather than accept offers under their perceived value, leading to a clearance rate of 66 per cent.
Maher described the sales–topper as an “elegant horse” and he specifically zeroed in on the colt, the stable’s only purchase for the day.
“He seems like he is a ready-made horse, he trialled up really well and the form out of his trial is quite good already,” Maher said.
“We knew we’d have to pay a fair bit for him – we probably had to go a couple bids more than I expected to – but for a nice horse you normally do.
“He’s got a lovely action, he’s such a beautiful horse. Hopefully, he’s a Guineas type this time next year. I’d say he’ll run as a two-year-old and hopefully he’s the next good one.”
Maher held off Sir Owen Glenn’s Go Bloodstock manager Steve O’Connor, who was flanked by agent Paul Moroney, to win the local bidding duel and create a new benchmark for Inglis’ Ready2Race Sale, which also achieved an Australian-high aggregate of $15,646,500, in part helped by the increased size of the catalogue with 289 lots (from 185 last year).
The previous Inglis record top-priced lot was $610,000, set in 2020, while the Australian record for a breeze-up sale is held by Magic Millions, which sold a juvenile in 2006 for $825,000.
Clients of Group 1 Bloodstock’s Mat Becker, who was standing near the table where Maher was sitting during the bidding process and signed for the top-priced colt alongside the trainer, have taken ownership of the horse while vendor Baystone Farm will retain a ten per cent share in the two-year-old.
The son of Dundeel, who breezed up in 10.69 seconds at Seymour, impressed by winning an 800-metre Flemington straight course jump-out under jockey Craig Williams on September 22. Godolphin’s two-year-old colt Heuristic (Street Boss), who finished last in the field of six, ran third to King’s Gambit (I Am Invincible) in the Debutant Stakes (Listed, 1000m) at Caulfield on Saturday.
Baystone Farm’s Dean Harvey, who works closely with Flemington trainer Troy Corstens to educate the two-year-olds, knew “we had a really good product” when bringing the unnamed colt to the sale.
“We knew he’d sell well, but to what sort of price we didn’t know and he was for sale well before that,” Harvey said.
“All the good judges had him on their list, he vetted really well and he’s a stunning individual and we’d already produced him to win a trial down the straight.
“In terms of the risk factor in buying the horse, he has done all he could do to minimise that risk going forward. He’s by a proven stallion out of a proven family, a fast family, and he is a really nice individual.
“I think the market had full confidence in that and it showed in the ring.”
Catalogued as Lot 223, he is the fourth foal out of Lady Moura (Redoute’s Choice), herself a sister to Group 3 winner – and sire – the late Beneteau. He was purchased from the Arrowfield Stud draft by Baystone Farm for $210,000 at the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale.
“He was just a gorgeous individual [as a yearling]. We’ve had a bit of luck with the stallion and he’s out of a Redoute’s mare,” Harvey said.
“We have traded a few horses privately which have been really, really good results, but he is our best result through the ring.”
Koolman active at the top end
Hong Kong buyers dominated the market, spending $5.970 million, accounting for 38 per cent of the catalogue, compared to 17.55 per cent last year.
Singapore buyers, too, took advantage of the reopening of the international borders to step up their presence, buying 13 per cent of the lots sold at the cost of $2.045 million.
NSW agent Olly Koolman was one person called upon by Hong Kong owners as their eyes on the ground and he bid with conviction, purchasing three six-figure two-year-olds, including a $550,000 son of Deep Field (Northern Meteor) who is bound for the jurisdiction.
Initially purchased by Tal Nolen for $120,000 from Michael Grant’s Lauralyn Park draft at this year’s Inglis Premier Yearling Sale, the Deep Field colt breezed up in 10.10 seconds at Seymour in Victoria, not only the fastest breeze-up of the session, but also the quickest clocked by any horse across the four venues used this year.
Koolman had been taken by the colt for quite some time, with the juvenile being the fourth foal out of High Chaparral (Sadler’s Wells) mare Alderney, who has already produced the two-time winner and stakes-performed filly Riduna (Fastnet Rock).
The agent revealed after signing for the colt that he was prepared to bid again if competition, which was also coming from Hong Kong interests, was also prepared to up their bidding.
“He is a horse we’ve been attracted to for quite a period of time. I inspected him twice here on the grounds and I chose not to go back a third time because I think I would have been even more excited,” said Koolman, who signed under the banner of his late father, Anton Koolman Bloodstock.
While stopping the clock in fast time during his breeze-up, Koolman said it was the horse’s action and demeanour that was his biggest drawcard.
“Time helps me sell a horse, but it doesn’t necessarily sell the horse to me. I was particularly taken by the way he did it, not so much the time in which he ran,” the agent said.
“A horse can run 200 metres out of the paddock with no one on its back and, in fact, they’ll do it electively, so it’s not really do-or-die for me most of the time.
“I just like to see the way they go about it and the way they present themselves on sale day under a bit of pressure, a bit of noise and fanfare around them, because that’s what they’re going to get on race day.”
The big result for vendor Nolen, a veteran of the Australian breeze-up sales since their inception in the early 2000s, bettered his Magic Millions 2YOs In Training Sale result of $525,000 when he sold a colt by No Nay Never (Scat Daddy) at the Gold Coast in October 2019.
He declared the selling of the Deep Field colt as “top of the tree” in terms of Nolen Racing’s achievements.
Under his banner, Nolen Racing sold seven lots for $1.46 million – at an average price of $208,571.
“I didn’t expect that sort of money, that’s for sure. When he started off, I was a little nervous but once they kicked into it, it felt good,” Nolen said.
“Education is the main thing with these horses and I’m lucky I’ve got good staff. He’s always been professional, always shown he was going to be a nice horse.
“We bought him at Prem thanks to (Inglis’) Will Stott, he put me on to him, so we’ve really got to give Will the credit for this one.
“We had $200,000 reserve on the horse and hoped for $300,000. I never saw $550,000 coming.”
Reigning champion Hong Kong sire Deep Field was popular throughout the one-day session, with nine juveniles selling for an average of $245,000, led by the Nolen Racing-offered colt.
The sire of 21 winners of 53 races in Hong Kong from 38 runners, Deep Field is represented in the Asian racing capital by Hong Kong Sprint (Gr 1, 1200m) winner Sky Field, who is trained by Caspar Fownes, the stakes-placed My Sugar and the seven-time winner Winning Dreamer, a gelding trained by Frankie Lor.
“Deep Field is the stallion of the moment up there, so there’s a bit of confidence out of that because once a stallion goes well in Hong Kong they tend to continue to go well and I think he is probably the next one. Prior to that, it was Danehill and Exceed And Excel,” Koolman said.
“He’s come from a great yard and he’s been well selected in the first place, so you go there and you know that you’re going to see a bunch of nice horses, because you know they’ve been through a pretty good selection process and that makes the job a lot easier.
“The fact that he’s been educated by horse people has a huge difference, but all the drafts here have been well–presented and professionally managed, so we just get a great deal of confidence out of the sale in general.”
Koolman also added a colt by the former Coolmore shuttler No Nay Never from Baystone Farm for $460,000 on behalf of Francis Lui, who recently celebrated his 800th winner as a trainer in Hong Kong.
Baystone’s Dean Harvey, whose Victorian farm achieved an aggregate of $1.55 million for the six horses it sold, paid $80,000 for the colt from Emirates Park at the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale in January.
Catalogued as Lot 136, he is out of the unraced mare Boomex (Exceed And Excel) who has already produced Group 3–winner Marboosha (Dream Ahead).
“We play a numbers game, so if they were like that all the time it would be a fairytale, but they’re not, so you just have to get through them and try and troll through the rest of them to break square, and to get a couple of good results like that helps everyone,” Harvey said.
“He’s always been a nice horse, the mother’s done a great job and No Nay Never is a world-class stallion. He probably hasn’t hit the heights over here, but across the rest of the world he is absolutely flying.
“He’s a beautiful horse, well-conformed and he sold really well. Attitude–wise, he’s great, takes everything in his stride, so hopefully he goes really well for the new owners.”
Chan senses rivers of gold in Hong Kong staying races
In April, the Hong Kong Jockey Club increased its prize-money by HK$167 million (approx. AU$33,889,880) for the 2022-23 racing season, with a significant portion of the extra funds dedicated to races for middle-distance horses.
Golden River Investments’ Denys Chan has taken note of the Jockey Club’s intent to increase the pool of horses capable of running in races such as the Hong Kong Cup (Gr 1, 2000m) and the Hong Kong Vase (Gr 1, 2400m) by purchasing three two-year-olds yesterday with pedigrees and conformation to suggest they will excel over a middle distance.
Hong Kong-based Chan, who made a flying visit to Sydney for the sale, went to $500,000 for a colt by Arrowfield’s The Autumn Sun (Redoute’s Choice); $400,000 for a son of Mapperley Stud’s Complacent (Authorized); and $270,000 for a colt by Dundeel (High Chaparral).
The first-crop son of The Autumn Sun, who breezed-up in 10.96 seconds at Cambridge in New Zealand for vendor John Malcolm’s Cheltenham Stables, was bred by Sir Peter Vela’s Pencarrow Stud and sold for NZ$200,000 at this year’s New Zealand Bloodstock Karaka Yearling Sale.
Catalogued as Lot 58, he is the second foal out of four-time winner Sopraffina (High Chaparral), a half-sister to Group winners Supera (Savabeel) and Eleonora (Makfi), while his third dam is Vela’s Melbourne Cup (Gr 1, 3200m) and Caulfield Cup (Gr 1, 2400m) heroine Ethereal (Rhythm).
“We had Alpha One who is doing well [come out of this sale] and there’s a lot of quality horses in this sale, especially the Deep Fields and the Per Incantos, and this one [by The Autumn Sun] really caught my eye,” Chan said.
“I loved his walk, his movement, everything was 100 per cent. He was my horse of the sale. My client is based in Hong Kong, so he will probably want him [to race] in Hong Kong if he is sound and proven quality, maybe he’ll stay and race here before sending him over as a PP (private purchase permit).”
Peter and Paul Snowden – who train the Chan-purchased, stakes-winning three-year-old sprinter and last year’s Inglis Ready2Race sales topper Alpha One (Super One) – are expected to take on The Autumn Sun colt prior to his exportation to Hong Kong, if all goes to plan.
Chan also bought the Hannover Lodge-consigned Complacent colt, who breezed in 10.75 seconds at Warwick Farm, with the intention of the horse developing into a middle-distance performer in Hong Kong.
He is a half-brother to VRC Oaks (Gr 1, 2500m) runner-up Thunder Lady (Mastercraftsman) and from the same family as Australasian Oaks (Gr 1, 2000m) winner Tully Thunder (Thunder Gulch), herself the dam of Australian Derby (Gr 1, 2400m) winner Levendi (Pierro).
“[It’s all about] type, type, type. Type is the key and he is such a good type,” Chan said.
“For Hong Kong at the moment, prize-money for the staying races is up 25 per cent, so it’s now or never to buy a good stayer.
“This horse has ‘good stayer’ written all over him. The Hong Kong Derby, it’s definitely the plan. We’ll try him out here firstly and it will depend how he goes, but if he makes the grade, he’ll definitely end up in Hong Kong.”
Catalogued as Lot 78, the colt was pinhooked by Hannover Lodge, who paid $105,000 for him from the Rosemont Stud draft at the Inglis Premier sale.
Soon after, Chan added Lot 82, a Woburn Farm-prepared Dundeel colt who was initially purchased for $180,000 from the Inglis Easter sale. He is the third foal out of To Be Sure (Not A Single Doubt), who is from the same family as She’s Ideel (Dundeel), a Group winner up to 2400 metres.
“Again, he’s a type and with that pedigree, you just can’t go wrong. He’s going to be trained by Bjorn Baker, who trained [She’s Ideel], so you can’t go wrong there as well.”
Justify colt has connections hoping for a Hong Kong Derby
The new owner of colt by Coolmore’s US Triple Crown champion Justify (Scat Daddy), a $300,000 purchase by agent Olly Koolman yesterday, is dreaming of Hong Kong Derby (Gr 1, 2000m) success for the two-year-old.
Koolman purchased the juvenile on behalf of a “wonderful new client of ours”.
“We bought a couple of horses for him in recent times at the Classic sale and he’s enjoyed success with them and this is the most he’s spent on an individual horse, but he was particularly fond of the Justify factor and you’d like to think he’ll go well in Hong Kong,” Koolman said.
WBF Thoroughbreds’ Will Forrester paid $50,000 for the colt, the first foal out of four-time winner So You Merge (So You Think), from the draft of Ridgmont Farm at the Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale in April and prepared him for the Ready2Race Sale.
A Hong Kong trainer for the Lot 54-catalogued colt, who breezed up in 10.47 seconds at Warwick Farm last Thursday, has not been determined.
“We’ll discuss that as the next few months unfold, but it’d be nice to get him up there early to acclimatise before next season. We’ll make sure he goes to a patient trainer, to ensure he has every chance to get over a bit of ground as a later three-year-old,” Koolman said.
“He’s a mile-and-a-quarter horse who seemed to run a pretty good time to present himself this early and his attitude won me over, to be honest with you.
“He looked like his old man and when you’re looking at first season sires, I generally like them to resemble their father and he certainly did that.”
Phil Bishop of Equicom Syndications was the underbidder.
“The market’s very strong, but so is the prize-money, so my competitors on a horse like that were possibly Australian,” Koolman mused.
“He’s not your typical Hong Kong horse as I don’t identify him as a sprinter or a miler, but I identify him as a mile–to 2000-metre horse.
“He’s got a good, patient owner, so he’s going to get that opportunity as a late three- and four-year-old.”
As for the Hong Kong Derby dream, Koolman quipped: “I’ll get a few nights sleep between now and then.”
In all, 24 horses sold for $200,000 or more, while 60 sold for $100,000 or more, which helped the Ready2Race Sale become the highest-grossing two-year-old sale ever conducted in Australia.
Aided by the larger number of 221 horses offered to the market, up from 126 last year, $15,646,500 was traded at an average of $107,907, a figure which was down six per cent year-on year. The median also fell $5,000 to $80,000 on the 2021 sale.
Australian trainers Chris Waller, Annabel Neasham, Robbie Griffiths and Mathew de Kock, Greg Eurell, Greg Hickman, Shane Nichols, John McArdle and Mick Price also featured on the buyers’ list, but Hutch admitted the domestic market had fallen compared to the past two years’ Ready2Race sales.
Vet reports of the two-year-olds were also thought to have contributed to the higher-than-ideal pass-in rate.
“I think ultimately the success of the sale is going to be best judged in the context of the other two sales for the balance of the year, just to give a bit of context, but through the pandemic years we were very pleased to sustain and actually develop a lucrative market through an area of support which traditionally hadn’t been a strength of the sale – the domestic market,” Inglis Bloodstock chief executive Sebastian Hutch said.
“That was a huge strength of the market in 2020 and 2021, but evidently there wasn’t anywhere near the same level of strength in the domestic market this year and, personally, I think a huge amount of that is attributable to the strength of the yearling market.
“The huge amount of money people spent on yearlings in the first half of the year is a significant factor, and I think that was in evidence today.”
Hutch said the amount of work Inglis’ bloodstock team had put into developing the international buying bench, with the mindset that domestic buyers’ appetite could wane, had paid off.
“In spite of a domestic market that wasn’t anywhere near as strong as what it’s been in the past couple of years, to be able to post a gross that is going to breach $16 million I would expect when private sales are done, have huge participation and purchasing power from Hong Kong and Singapore,” he said.
“Twelve months ago, I think we sold one horse to Singapore. I don’t know what the figures are today, but it felt like a lot, so to be in that position today and having created a viable market almost with a different set of people is demonstrative of the fact that we worked hard.”
Rival Magic Millions will hold its 2YOs In Training Sale on the Gold Coast on October 25, before New Zealand Bloodstock conducts a two-day sale at Karaka next month.
Sale statistics
2022 2021
Catalogued 289 185 Offered 221 (+76%) 126 Sold 145 (66%) 102 (81%) Aggregate $15,646,500 (+34%) $11,696,500
Average $107,907 (-6%) $114,672
Median $80,000 (-6%) $85,000
Top Lot $750,000 $400,000