Asian buyers underpin top-end of Inglis Ready2Race Sale
Progeny of Deep Field, Capitalist and Pride Of Dubai all crack $500,000 barrier
Demand for high-end bloodstock shows no signs of slowing down after what is believed to be a record price for a two-year-old sold at public auction in Australia was broken twice at the Inglis Ready2Race Sale, an appetite fuelled by Asian buyers who secured four of the five highest-priced lots.
Three horses broke the $500,000 mark yesterday, all sold to Asian buyers, with a sale-topping $610,000 Deep Field (Northern Meteor) colt having the honour as Australia’s most expensive two-year-old breeze-up horse, eclipsing the mark momentarily held by a Capitalist (Written Tycoon) gelding who fetched $550,000 earlier in the day.
The figure paid for the Lime Country Thoroughbreds-consigned Deep Field colt, who was bought by the Macau Jockey Club and Louis Ho with Hong Kong-based trainer David Hayes, also surpasses the $540,000 mark set at the 2015 Inglis Ready2Race Sale and the $525,000 reached at last year’s Magic Millions Gold Coast 2YOs in Training Sale.
A Pride Of Dubai (Street Cry) also sold for $530,000 to underline the strength of the market at the top end, which was also illustrated earlier this year at the Covid-affected breeding stock sales.
The willingness of the buying bench to embrace online bidding and rely on the opinions of agents on the ground to help shape their decisions was a factor that did not go unnoticed by Inglis managing director Mark Webster shortly after the conclusion of the sale.
That was after a shaky start in which the first six lots through the ring were passed in.
“Obviously the sale got off to a slower start than we expected while the market was trying to assess where it was at, but I think the results in the end were surprisingly good, noting that we’re in the Covid environment, and that there’s travel restrictions in place and effectively the borders are closed with Victoria and Queensland and there’s no internationals here,” Webster told ANZ Bloodstock News.
“For us to have achieved a record gross, which is currently sitting at $10.9 million, so it’s going to get to $11 million easily enough, a record price for a lot offered and a record average of (nearly) $100,000, I think that is very good under the circumstances.
“The strength at the top was particularly good and the confidence in buyers from either Melbourne or Asia to bid online or through an agent here when they were absent was quite extraordinary.”
The clearance rate of 65 per cent, down two per cent on last year’s sale, again emphasised buyers’ not being prepared to compromise on quality and were prepared to pay a premium when they were happy with the horse, again demonstrated by the fact that the median of $70,000 was up $10,000 year-on-year.
“The Hong Kong market has bought three of the top five and Busuttin and Young have bought the other two, so you could say that the top five horses were bought by people who were not here, which is fabulous,” Webster said.
“That’s the part you don’t really know. I guess at the Easter sale (in April) we had to sell pretty much everything to people who weren’t present but there had been a fair degree of on-farm inspections that had taken place in advance of the restrictions coming into place, so we knew we had that up our sleeve.
“It’s a little more difficult here where some of those people haven’t been able to see the horses at all, so they have had to rely on a trusted person to report back to them – either an Inglis person, or an agent or a vet, so for them to bid with that degree of confidence is excellent.
“It also shows that there’s very strong demand, particularly from Hong Kong, for quality horses and it’s a compliment that they would think of our breeze-up sale which gets horses like Wishful Thinker winning at the weekend and is a graduate of this sale format.”
Hayes plays hand in purchase of top-priced Deep Field colt
The top-priced Deep Field colt, who ran 10.3 seconds at Taupo in New Zealand for Regal Farm before transferring to Lime Country Thoroughbreds to be prepared for the sale, was a $230,000 Inglis Classic Yearling Sale purchased by Regal Farm, Upper Bloodstock, Teng Long and McKeever Bloodstock.
The second foal out of Exceed And Excel (Danehill) mare Wind Shift, he was catalogued as Lot 162.
“We’re ecstatic to secure the colt. Louis Ho from the Macau Jockey Club was instrumental in purchasing the horse. The horse will now go to Lindsay Park in Euroa to let down and a further decision will be made on his future in coming weeks after a short spell,” Hayes said.
“We just loved him. He’s a particularly sharp looking horse with great balance who breezed up well.”
Lime Country Thoroughbreds’ Greg Griffin, who along with wife Jo stepped in to assist their New Zealand countrymen when they were unable to travel with the horses to Australia, was delighted for Regal Farm’s Shane Crawford and Kara Waters after the record-setting colt’s sale.
“We’re really, really happy. Shane (Crawford) and Kara (Waters) from Regal Farm, along with Brett and Cherry from Trelawney, they have sent the draft across to us in outstanding order,” Griffin said.
“They do a great job and it’s just really good to get good results for good people who have been supporters of us for a long time, so I’m stoked for them.”
Griffin acknowledged the growing reliance on an online market, which will take time for vendors to adjust to, but credited an increased transparency for giving buyers confidence to bid.
“It’s been odd having horses that you know are going to sell well but aren’t parading anywhere near as much as they should,” he said.
“You’ve got to be guided by opinions of friends in the industry, by the sales company, by registrations and that sort of thing. They’ve done a good job to get buyers online and involved.”
Ho happy to back Vella’s judgment with Capitalist gelding
Hong Kong’s Bon Ho’s growing thoroughbred interests expanded again yesterday when he purchased the powerful Capitalist gelding just days after his star sprinter Classique Legend (Not A Single Doubt) won the $15 million Everest (1200m).
The prominent owner, who has more than 70 horses in work in Australia, won an aggressive bidding duel to secure the horse by the young Golden Slipper-winning stallion who stands at Newgate Farm.
Offered by Glenn Haven Thoroughbreds, the $170,000 Mitchell Bloodstock-purchased Inglis Classic Yearling Sale graduate breezed up in 10.17 seconds at Warwick Farm last month and came in for strong competition from buyers.
It was Ho, bidding over the phone via Inglis’ Jonathan D’Arcy, who secured the likely sprinter under his Legend Racing banner.
“He breezed up very well and he came highly recommended by Matt Vella of Glenn Haven Lodge,” Ho said from Hong Kong.
“I have a few Capitalists myself already and they are all promising types. I think this stallion is going to be very successful so I was very happy to be able to add another one to my stable.
“As the sale suggests, this horse is ready to race. He will stay in Australia and be trained by Matt Vella.
“I have a lot of respect for Matt as a horseman, he’s very capable and I look forward to this horse showing us all how good we think he is.”
The revelation that Vella, who broke in the horse, would retain the gelding was pleasant news to the young Hawkesbury-based trainer.
“A few guys here saw the horse and liked him and they approached Mr Ho. He texted me to ask me if I liked him, given he was in my draft, and I told him I did. He’s a very nice horse to be taking home,” Vella said.
“I’m thrilled to be able to train this horse and I’m very grateful to Mr Ho for the support he’s given me. He’s bought himself a nice horse. It just shows you can find nice horses at these sales.”
The gelding will be immediately put into work with Vella earmarking the $2 million Inglis Millennium (RL, 1200m) at Randwick in February as an early target.
“I thought he’d bring between $400,000 to $500,000, but the fact he’s made even more than that doesn’t surprise me.
“As I said in every interview I did pre-sale, I urged the owners to take the horse out of the sale and give him to Peter Snowden or someone like that and run him in the Breeders Plate but true to their word, they kept him in and it’s great they’ve got this result.
“The Golden Slipper might be getting ahead of ourselves, but all the good horses I’ve broken in, including Slipper winners, they were all like this bloke: very forward and very strong.”
Catalogued as Lot 35, the gelding is the first foal out of Gosford Guineas (Listed, 1200m) winner Lady Sniper (Snippetson).
The vendors of the two highest-priced lots through the ring, Lime Country and Glenn Haven, also topped the averages for leading vendors at $236,000 and $165,000 respectively.
New Zealand’s Ohukia Lodge was the leading vendor on aggregate, grossing $1,477,500 from 14 lots sold.
Pride Of Dubai colt makes $530,000
Earlier in the session, another strong pinhook result was achieved when a $120,000 Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale graduate by Coolmore’s Pride Of Dubai (Street Cry) with a strong Hong Kong pedigree was on-sold for $530,000 to K F Cheng.
Prepared by Hannover Lodge, he breezed up in 10.86 seconds at Warwick Farm. The colt, who was catalogued as Lot 21, is a half-brother to the stakes-placed Thorondor (Fastnet Rock) and out of Listed winner Impressive Eagle (Rubiton) who in turn is a half-sister to Queensland Derby (Gr 1, 2400m) winner and Hong Kong Group 2 winner Eagle Way (More Than Ready).
“It’s amazing. We’re so grateful and happy for our clients and … it was a result everyone was looking for this morning. To buy a quality horse and then get him here and sell him for a price, it’s really well deserved,” Hannover Lodge’s Hinnerk Hueppe said.
“He’s a beautiful horse by Pride Of Dubai who just kept on improving and we’re over the moon.
“We’ve been well supported by Hong Kong clients and they are also supporting this sale, which is good to see. They are buying good quality yearlings hoping they can race them and even if they can’t make it to this sale, we can deliver a result.”
Savabeels to join Busuttin and Young stable
The love affair with champion stallion Savabeel (Zabeel) for expatriate New Zealand husband and wife training partnership Trent Busuttin and Natalie Young has been long, dating back to 2011 Victoria Derby (Gr 1, 2500m) winner Sangster, and they were strong on two colts by the Waikato Stud sire yesterday.
Having trained Saturday’s Caulfield Classic (Gr 3, 2000m) winner Albarado by Savabeel, Busuttin and Young backed up yesterday with the assistance to New Zealand Bloodstock’s Mike Kneebone to secure an Ohukia Lodge-consigned colt for $330,000 and another one from the draft of Lime Country as agent for Trelawney Stud for $310,000.
Sydney-based Kneebone described Lot 117, who breezed up in 10.47 seconds at Taupo, as typical of the “very good” Savabeels. He is the third foal out of the winning mare Simply You (O’Reilly), herself a daughter of Group 1 winner Glamour Puss (Tale Of The Cat).
“When the Busuttins are looking for these good Savabeels, even going back to Sangster, they have all been those big, strong bays,” Kneebone said.
“They are athletic looking horses and he fitted the bill for them. With Alberado last Saturday, they are looking for as many as they can get into the stable and they support the Kiwis wherever they are.”
The second Savabeel colt, who is out of winning mare Dubonnet (O’Reilly), breezed up at Taupo in 10.82 seconds. He was catalogued as Lot 220. The couple also purchased a colt by American Pharoah (Pioneerof The Nile) for $100,000.
Kneebone believes the way yesterday’s Inglis sale, which gathered momentum throughout the day, augurs well for the NZB Ready to Run Sale next month.
He reasoned: “We’re just living in such a different situation (with Covid-19) and I think it’s good thing for everybody to have a good sale, no matter where they are, and we think if a sale’s good in Australia then that momentum will flow on to New Zealand which is established as the best two-year-old sale in the southern hemisphere.”
Twomey and Fownes take shine to Star Turn colt
Caspar Fownes will prepare a colt by Star Turn (Star Witness) after Wattle Bloodstock’s Peter Twomey purchased the colt on behalf of the Hong Kong trainer’s client for $250,000.
Twomey, who recently brokered a seven-figure deal for unbeaten Victorian gelding Barocha (Ilovethiscity) on behalf of Hong Kong’s Beauty Stable, took confidence from the fact the Valiant Stud-consigned colt had developed well since the time he first inspected him at the Inglis Classic Yearling Sale in February.
He was initially purchased by the late Rick Worthington and Scone Bloodstock’s John Hutchinson for $140,000 to be prepared for the two-year-old sale.
“I’ve seen him as a yearling, we’ve seen him do it on the track in a breeze-up and he’s improved on type in the last nine months and we want to see him keep going the same way,” Twomey said from Riverside Stables yesterday.
“He was a nice horse, that was sort of the top of where I valued him and I wasn’t sure if we were going to have that final bid and if someone went one more, that was probably us done, but it’s nice to walk away early in the sale with one of our picks.”
He breezed up at Warwick Farm in a time of 10.42 seconds and he is the second foal out of three-time winner In The Moment (Keeper). He was catalogued as Lot 23.
Twomey also combined with Fownes to purchase a colt by Rich Enuff (Written Tycoon) from Leneva Park for $150,000.
A three-quarter brother to Melbourne winner Beerz With Clint (Written Tycoon) and dominant maiden winner Latenighttoughguy (Written Tycoon), who was recently sold to Hong Kong, he was a $110,000 Inglis Melbourne Premier Yearling Sale purchase by Glenhuntly Lodge and Bluegrass Bloodstock. He was catalogued as Lot 64.
The duo will be sent to Victoria to continue their preparations under Enver Jusufovic at Cranbourne before being sent to Hong Kong next year.
Later in the day, Twomey added a Hallowed Crown (Street Sense) colt from Baystone Farm for $80,000 in conjunction with Singapore trainer TIm Fitzsimmons. He was catalogued as Lot 80.
Smith backs judgment on Written Tycoon colt
New Zealand agent Bevan Smith, who has based himself in Australia since July due to the closure of the border between the two countries, was also active yesterday, partnering with Oculus Racing’s Joseph Waldron for a $250,000 son of Written Tycoon (Iglesia).
Expatriate New Zealander Waldron has recently relocated from Mornington in Victoria to a property at Longwarry, near Pakenham, and will train the colt.
Catalogued as Lot 79, he is the first foal out of Play For Time (Foxwedge), a $725,000 Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale purchase, making him a grandson of grand stakes-winning mare Procrastinate (Jade Hunter).
“He’s the first foal out of a really expensive mare and the second dam is super potent in Procrastinate … his pedigree checked out, the stallion is the best one going around at the moment and I thought he breezed enormously well,” Smith said.
“He really caught the eye and the stride analysis confirmed what my eye was telling me.
“He’s got a lovely big stride but not only that, he’s very efficient and he’s an A type.
“It’s a cliche, but he ticked every box, so we had a lot of confidence coming here and spending this kind of money on this horse. Hopefully he can be a foundation horse for Joe Waldron in the next couple of years.”
A $150,000 Inglis Classic trade for Darby Racing and Will Johnson Bloodstock, the Valiant Stud-consigned colt breezed up in 10.42 seconds at Warwick Farm.
Meanwhile, Inglis Banner (RL, 1000m) contender Predetermined (Headwater) was sold to Melbourne-based bloodstock agent Mark Pilkington for $200,000 yesterday after initially being passed in.
Currently in training with Leon and Troy Corstens at Flemington, the Baystone Farm-consigned colt won a Flemington jump–out last Friday to confirm his credentials for Saturday’s Moonee Valley race. He was sold in absentia.
Williams and Harron hoping to have found a colt with a big engine
Also yesterday, agent James Harron came good on his promise to support Danny Williams in the wake of the death of the Goulburn trainer’s promising two-year-old Hot ‘N’ Hazy (Snitzel) in a race fall at Rosehill in July.
Upon hearing an emotional interview in the week after the race with Williams, Harron vowed to buy a two-year-old at a ready to run sale and the pair combined yesterday to secure a Nicconi (Bianconi) colt from the Blake Ryan Racing draft for $85,000.
“It was Andrew Bensley who did an interview with Danny and it was pretty tough to listen to. We threw a line out on social media and we got an amazing response,” Harron recounted yesterday.
“There’s wonderful people behind it and they are all jumping in and texting and tweeting and they are all very excited.
“Let’s hope we can end a really sad story with this new boy behind us. We were delighted to get him, he’s a lovely colt who breezed well and he’s got a super attitude. I’m really looking forward to having a horse with Danny. We’ve got to know each other in the past few weeks.”
The Lot 37-catalogued colt, who is the second living foal out of the Listed-placed Lil Red Corvette (Henny Hughes), breezed up at Warwick Farm in 10.45 seconds.
Inglis also waived commission on the proceeds of the sale of the colt.
Williams was clearly moved by the gesture of Harron and was looking forward to getting his hands on the “well conformed” colt.
“It’s very humbling. It’s a great thing that James has done and the people who are behind him. It’s given us a lift. We were very down on things and financially it really hit us hard as well, so I couldn’t thank James enough – it’s been fantastic,” Williams said.