Barhams take home $230,000 mare Hold Me Closer after Inglis Digital auction
The headline mares in yesterday’s Inglis Digital auction will be retained by their owners after failing to meet their reserves but the bumper late June sale still saw turnover of $6,428,750, pushing trade through the company’s online platform to more than $93 million for the financial year.
Chris and Jane Barham, the breeders of dual hemisphere Group 1 winner Merchant Navy (Fastnet Rock), bought the highest-priced lot, the broodmare Hold Me Closer (Danehill Dancer), who was offered in foal to Brazen Beau (I Am Invincible) by Tarcoola Stud.
The Barhams paid $230,000 for Hold Me Closer, the dam of Group 3 winner Thought Of That (So You Think) and the three-time stakes-placed winner Daily Bugle (Press Statement).
“Hold Me Closer, [Segenhoe’s] Peter O’Brien had her as a yearling, loved her, rated her very highly and he’s obviously someone we respect greatly so we were more than happy to purchase her, largely on his recommendation,” Chris Barham said.
“She’ll go to Segenhoe now and foal down, then we might send her to Zoustar later in the year but we’ll make that decision in a little while.
“She’s our first online purchase and we’ve been on tenterhooks all day trying to secure her but we’ve really enjoyed it. We’ve been giggling all day about it to be honest, it’s been fun.’’
Tarcoola’s Ken Williams said: “I bred her, sold her as a yearling, bought her back after her racing days to breed with her and now sold her again, so it’s been quite the journey.”
Two horses also sold for $200,000 while a further eight made $100,000 or more in the 615-lot online auction.
The Sullivan Bloodstock-consigned Speedy Kitty (Exceed And Excel), who was sold in foal to Swettenham Stud’s Toronado (High Chaparral), reached the benchmark $200,000 figure late in the sale, bought by Kia Ora Stud who also own her mother Ashley’s Kitty (Tale Of The Cat).
Cool Kaap (American Pharoah), the two-year-old half-brother to Speedy Kitty, won his first start at Eagle Farm yesterday, just hours before the rising seven-year-old mare was sold through the digital ring.
“It’s a Kia Ora family and a family we think has an extremely bright future. We bred her and sold her as a yearling so it’s great to get her back to the farm,” Kia Ora’s Shane Wright said.
“She’ll foal down to Toronado, who is going unbelievably well, and then she’s likely to visit Captivant.’’
The other horse to sell for $200,000 yesterday, the talented three-year-old Ashgrove (Dundeel), who is accepted for Saturday’s Winx Stakes (Gr 3, 1600m) at the Sunshine Coast, will remain in the Tony Gollan stable.
Ashgrove was bought back by the trainer’s sister Zoe Daly who was already a part-owner of the colt who wears the Black Soil Bloodstock colours and was co-owned by Fung Family Racing.
“It was really a win for everybody – the majority owner wanted to test the market and was happy with the price, we were happy to be able to retain him and other stable clients are happy to be able to get involved in a horse as good as him,’’ Gollan said.
“The $200,000 was our last bid, we knew there was interest from Singapore and other places, so we almost lost him, but it’s great to have been able to retain the horse in the stable and hopefully he can repay his new and existing owners with an immediate dividend on Saturday.’’
Meanwhile, agent Suman Hedge’s client chose to offer stakes winner Hell Or Highwater (Not A Single Doubt), who is in foal to Zoustar (Northern Meteor), the stakes-placed mares Wedgie (Foxwedge) and Cymbalism (Denman) through the online auction two months before the new breeding season begins.
Wedgie was also in foal to Widden Stud’s Zoustar while Cymbalism is in foal to Written Tycoon (Iglesia).
Hell Or Highwater’s yearling colt by Written Tycoon made $850,000 at this year’s Inglis Australian Easter Sale when bought by China Horse Club, Newgate Bloodstock and Trilogy Racing, Wedgie’s yearling filly by Written Tycoon made $340,000 at the Easter sale while her weanling filly by the Yulong Stud sire made $160,000 at the Magic Millions National Weanling Sale in May.
Hell Or Highwater had a reserve of $800,000, Wedgie had $400,000 placed on her while Cymbalism had a reserve of $425,000.
The stakes-placed four-year-old mare Capriccio (I Am Invincible), who has been trained by Daniel Bowman at Warrnambool to win $376,100 in prize-money in her 14 starts, was another high-profile mare passed in yesterday by Esker Lodge’s Darren Dance who bred and co-owned the two-time winner. She had a reserve of $250,000.
Hedge believes the reserves placed on his trio of mares were nothing “outlandish”.
“With Hell Or Highwater I did expect some interest because when we bought her [last year for $850,000] there was a lot of interest in her and the yearling sold particularly well, but it is what it is,” Hedge said.
“Hopefully someone has missed a nice foal. They’ve got good covers inside them, so we’ll definitely foal them down now and see how we go.
“The advantage of an online sale is that it’s not very disruptive. They either sell or they don’t, whereas when you go through a [live] sale with the preparation, the travel and everything else that is involved, if they don’t sell it’s a big blow financially and in time and effort.”
The 12-month Inglis Digital turnover of $93,177,349 was up 32 per cent on last year’s $70,396,262 in trade generated by the online platform operated by Inglis.
“It’s been a fabulous 12 months, astonishing really when you consider we’ve sold Funstar for a world record online price of $2.7 million as well as other outstanding results like Every Rose [$1.3 million], Joyous Legend [$1.025 million], Fasika [$920,000], Archanna [$900,000], Members Joy [$800,000], there’s been some wonderful highlights,’’ Inglis Digital’s business manager Nick Melmeth said.
“Individual results aside, we’ve also set a world record for an online sale at $10,816,499 earlier this year. The team has worked really hard to ensure that Inglis Digital provides the highest standards of service to the market across the board.
“A huge amount of work has been done by a lot of people to get the platform to the point where it commands the respect of the market, so to have it where it is now, where so many major domestic and international participants are enjoying its benefits, is very satisfying.
“It’s been a rewarding 12 months for the vendors but also an extremely successful period for the buyers – Inglis Digital graduates have won one in seven Australian races this season, so buyers know that when they purchase off the platform, they’re giving themselves a strong chance of enjoying success.’’
The Valachi Downs unreserved dispersal of young and racing stock will close tomorrow while the Magic Millions July Online Sale will take place next week. A preview of the catalogue will be available on Saturday.