It is going to be a momentous 150th anniversary year for Inglis. The move to Warwick Farm is scheduled for December. And imagine, for a moment, that next year you’ll be boarding a seaplane at Rose Bay and flown to the Chipping Norton Lake to attend the sales at Warwick Farm.

In the interim – aside from Premier in Melbourne and the final hallowed Easter Sales at Newmarket – the inaugural Chairman’s Sales will be held in Sydney with plans to follow suit in Melbourne, if Sydney works, plus there’s a scheduled rejuvenation of the sales complex in Melbourne.

OK, the seaplane may not be right at the top of the priorities for this extraordinary $140,000,000 development but Mark Webster, Inglis Managing Director, assures me that it is something the 150 year old company is examining.

Perhaps that is because Webster concedes that the Warwick Farm vision has been, until recently, a ‘hard sell’ to some industry participants. “However, I believe there’s very little negativity now as people have seen the plans and the photos and seen construction under way.

“It’s hard to imagine that any sales company, anywhere or anytime and even allowing for inflation, would have spent this amount of money ($140,000,000) on a sales complex. The Inglis family and other shareholders could have simply taken the money (from the sale of Newmarket) but instead have committed this huge sum to this Warwick Farm project for the benefit of the industry,” Webster said.

The Newmarket complex, purchased by Inglis in 1917, is believed to have sold for more than $250,000,000. A confidentiality clause demands the speculation.

Inglis first sold a horse there in 1906 and for many in the business it’s a case of struggling to let go of the old girlfriend. “But we’ll all move on. It will be business as usual,” says Yarraman Park’s Arthur Mitchell.

Warwick Farm trainer Mark Newnham says he’s astounded at the rate of progress at the site which he drives past each day and is happy to assure people the commute is not so bad. “I think it’s going to be fabulous,” Newnham said.

The old barn, the homestead and the famous fig tree which has seemingly guarded the sales arena ‘forever’ will be all that remains of the existing sales complex which will become the 650 dwelling residential complex ‘Newmarket Green’.

The key elements of the new complex will be a 144 room hotel with integrated air conditioned sales arena, which will accommodate 1000 guests. Plus, of course, the new stables – re-using the hardwood from the existing Newmarket stables – and, importantly, well shaded parade areas given the issues which could have arisen from the extreme temperatures last weekend.

In deference to the past  – the pre-parade ring adjoining the sales arena will feature two metallic fig tree sculptures and either side of the hotel will be two Moreton Bay fig trees, which have been grown from saplings of the famous Newmarket Fig Tree over many years in readiness for the move.

“We’ll be packing our desks in December and the hotel is due to open in January,” Webster said, ‘It’s an exciting time and lot of planning has gone into the development including consultation with vendors as to what they want.”

Webster says the project has been quite a learning curve. “There were no plans to relocate, let alone build a hotel when I joined Inglis in 2007. I’ve learned a hell of a lot,” Webster said.

He says that the right facilities are part of the service expectation. “While buying a yearling might hinge on science and selection criteria and budgets there is also an emotional element and you want your clients in the right frame of mind. They expect a level of service and it’s important to show your level of appreciation for their custom,” he said.

That has been emphasised in the design of Warwick Farm and one of the motivators behind the proposed renovation of the Oaklands facility. Commercial realities will demand that the Warwick Farm complex is multi purpose.

“Ii will be used for sale purposes for 15 per cent of the year so a lot of detail has gone into the planning to ensure it will be suitable for weddings, expos, conference, food and wine festivals. The hotel will be 100 per cent owned by Inglis but managed by hotel specialists which is the norm,” he said.

Classic Overview

“We were obviously delighted with the results from Classic,” Webster said. Across the board but especially from the Gold Riband session which averaged $130,000. I’d have been happy with $90,000….hoping for $100,000 but tried not to say that beforehand.

“The increase in the overall average was pleasing. It was probably just right. Too great a rise from one year to the next could potentially scare off buyers. At the same time, breeders and vendors don’t want to be in the sale which is seen to ‘bargain basement’ and I think this year we achieved a better balance for buyers and sellers. I think Classic has grown in quality and standing as well as by the numbers.”

Webster said that the upcoming Chairman’s Sales were part of on-going innovation. “Obviously the concept is not entirely new and we’ve taken aspects of other sales around the world and launched it here. We’ve had a strong level of interest including from Melbourne owners and trainers and if it goes well here, we’d look to do something similar in Melbourne through the spring,” he said.

These sales may not necessarily be held at the traditional venues. “We have considered selling at the Theatre of the Horse at Randwick but the lack of a roof there is some concern. Who knows, in Melbourne, we could have a sale of elite racing or breeding prospects at Crown. There’s much to play out yet but these are all things which can be considered,” he said.

While buoyed by the success of the Classic sale, Webster acknowledges that there is a ‘delicate balance’ required to ensure continued growth in each of the house’s three major sales.

“Who’s to say if there’s a ceiling? But while prize money continues to increase and while the best colts command premium prices, pre and post racing, the market looks certain to remain strong,” he said.

Brief History
Renowned racing historian Andrew Lemon, working on the history of Inglis, says the first horse sold at Newmarket was in 1867 and that the first Inglis sold horse at the venue was in 1905, not 1906.

He says: “The first yearling sales at Newmarket were in 1867 but not by Inglis who did not run the sales there until 1905……the Inglis company also began in business in 1867 – but they did not at that stage sell racehorses.

“The first sales at Newmarket (run by auctioneers S C Burt) consisted of exactly eight yearlings – but there was a crowd of a few hundred potential buyers including some big names from Victoria. The best horse sold at that sale was The Duke who won the 1868 AJC Derby.

“Various yearling sales were held at Newmarket in later years but not every year – sometimes sales were held at Randwick, sometimes in the city. Several auctioneers ran their own sales.

“Inglis took over the Newmarket sales in 1905 (you will read 1906 in some sources, but 1905 is the correct date) and have sold there ever since. Perhaps the best horse sold at the first Inglis yearling sale in 1905 was Melodrama who won two Epsom Handicaps at Randwick.”

HOOFNOTE: The Australian Broodmare and Weanling Sale (April 10 – 12) will be the final sale held at Newmarket.