Bumper Premier catalogue released as Victorian sale sticks with March date
Three-day Inglis sale scheduled as big-ticket stallions have strong representation
Inglis has remained steadfast in maintaining the March date for its Melbourne Premier Yearling Sale in 2020 despite a push earlier in the year from certain sections of the industry for the Victorian auction to be brought forward.
There had been calls from a selection of prominent breeders to hold the Premier sale in January, before Inglis’ Classic Yearling Sale, and potentially even clashing with the New Zealand Bloodstock Karaka Yearling Sale.
But Inglis general manager of bloodstock sales and marketing Sebastian Hutch confirmed that, while the company made adjustments to the format of the 2020 Premier sale, the traditional March date remained firmly in place.
The stance comes as the auction house released the catalogue for next year’s edition, which comprises 524 Premier Session yearlings and a 260-lot Showcase Session.
The sale has been reduced from four to three days to limit the amount of time buyers need to be on the ground at Oaklands Junction.
“We have consistently maintained the attitude of having a collaborative approach with all of our vendors, whether they are NSW or Victorian, and we are very comfortable with where the Premier sale fits at this stage,” Hutch told ANZ Bloodstock News.
“Evidently, on the strength of the entries put forward for the sale, so are our vendors, but we have made some tweaks.
“We will have a three-day sale in 2020. We have done that on that basis of the feedback that we have received, not just from the buyers, but also the vendors and hopefully it lends itself to a good result.”
Meanwhile, Inglis Victorian bloodstock manager Simon Vivian said the agitators for change had respected the company’s decision and subsequently backed the 2020 Premier sale with a high-class draft of horses.
“At the request of the breeders, we investigated options and we gave it strong consideration where a change of sale date would fit with the breeding community and where it would fit with the buying community,” Vivian said.
“After all things were considered with every possible option, we thought that our existing date in March was our preferred date.
“Those breeders who were strong advocates for the change of date respected our decision and have collectively supported the sale with outstanding drafts of horses.”
Next year’s Premier sale will feature progeny by 120 different sires including I Am Invincible (Invincible Spirit), Redoute’s Choice (Danehill) and his champion sire son Snitzel, Exceed And Excel (Danehill), Not A Single Doubt (Redoute’s Choice), Zoustar (Northern Meteor) and Dundeel (High Chaparral).
Woodside Park Stud’s flagbearer Written Tycoon (Iglesia), Darley’s young sire Brazen Beau (I Am Invincible), Coolmore’s duo of Pierro (Lonhro) and Fastnet Rock (Danehill) and the second last crop of Sebring (More Than Ready) will also be on offer.
The last crop by Yarraman Park Stud’s late sire Hinchinbrook (Fastnet Rock) and the final southern hemisphere-bred yearlings by Medaglia d’Oro (El Prado) have also been catalogued at the Premier sale.
Vivian was yesterday unequivocal in his belief about the strength of the catalogue that has been compiled.
“The initial plan was to always have the Premier Session as a two-day session and we set ourselves the task of tightening up on the quality. What was interesting was that the quality of horse that was offered to us was significantly superior to previous years,” he said.
“I would have to say that this is the best catalogue of horses Melbourne has put together for over a decade and I mean that sincerely.
“Firstly, the professionalism and level of investment by the Victorian industry has been significant and the support of their local sale is undeniably a contributing factor. I also think that the atmosphere that Oaklands created at 2019 yearling sale led to a number of interstate and New Zealand vendors looking again at Premier as being a really good option.”
First season sires such as Palentino (Teofilo), Astern (Medaglia d’Oro), Star Turn (Star Witness), Shalaa (Invincible Spirit), Divine Prophet (Choisir), Cable Bay (Invincible Spirit), Frosted (Tapit) and Tivaci (High Chaparral) are among the stallions showing their wares in front of yearling buyers for the first time.
“I am delighted to have as many Hinchinbrooks as we do after Beat The Clock went out and won the Group 1 race (Hong Kong Sprint) on Sunday. It has been a long time since we have got the level of sires that we have got. For us to be selling Frankels, I Am Invincibles, Snitzels and these sorts of horses.
“One thing with Melbourne, and something that we have always been proud of, is the variety the sale provides. We have a number of Dundeels, more Exceed And Excels and Fastnet Rocks that we would normally have,” Vivian said.
“It is a real boost for the sale to have those name stallions as well represented as they are in a catalogue like that. With the collective group of 784 horses, there is a real pull to be able to draw on local, national and international buyers to the sale.”
Next year will also see the second running of the $1 million The Showdown (1200m) for Vobis-sired two-year-olds, which was won this year by Prince Of Sussex (Toronado), while the inaugural $500,000 race will be conducted for the first time next April.
The Premier Session will be held on Sunday, March 1 and Monday, March 2, while the Showcase Session will be held on Tuesday, March 3. Selling starts at 10am each day.
