Easter in July as Inglis Round 2, Scone catalogues released
The catalogue for what is set to be the world’s first physical yearling sale in months has been released, with 94 lots to go under the hammer at Round 2 of the Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale next month.
They will be joined on July 5 by 156 yearlings who will be sold as part of the Inglis Scone Yearling Sale, which will be held at Riverside Stables at Warwick Farm for the first time instead of its traditional venue in Scone, White Park.
Inglis decided to offer a Round 2 for Easter in addition to Round 1, which was held in its intended spot in early April, to offer more options in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Plans for Round 1 were against the backdrop of what were very unusual conditions, very challenging, so it was agreed at the time that we’d put a provision in place for a Round 2 in July,” Inglis general manager of bloodstock and marketing Sebastian Hutch told ANZ Bloodstock News yesterday. “That was met favourably at the time with vendors and they’ve backed up their enthusiasm with confirmed entries for the sale. We’re really very pleased to be able to consolidate a group of 90-odd nice horses.
“There is a good diversity of stallions, good diversity of vendors, horses that were originally catalogued for the sale and a sprinkling of additional horses to complement that group.”
Yearlings by a number of Australia’s premier stallions will be offered, with Snitzel (Redoute’s Choice), I Am Invincible (Invincible Spirit), Pierro (Lonhro), Exceed And Excel (Danehill) and Fastnet Rock (Danehill) among those with multiple yearlings in the catalogue. Frankel (Galileo) and American Pharoah (Pioneerof The Nile) also have strong representation with six and five yearlings respectively.
“Easter is the most potent force of quality racehorses of any sale in Australasia and there’s no doubting the likelihood that there will be quality racehorses out of this sale,” Hutch said. “But we’re also very conscious of the fact that, while Easter has been synonymous with high-priced yearlings, there is tremendous value to be found at that sale and we are trying to service interest right across the board. We’re very conscious of having horses that are going to appeal to people at a variety of price ranges, not just at the very top echelon of the market. I think the way the catalogue has come together, it’s obviously a small catalogue for Easter Round 2, we’re in a position to satisfy a broad base of demand.”
Hutch added: “There is value to be found at Easter and that was demonstrated again through the autumn carnival in Sydney. Horses like Quick Thinker and Nettoyer, both of whom were relatively inexpensive graduates of the sale at $100,000 and $20,000 respectively, and they’ve gone on to win the Australian Derby and the Doncaster Mile.
“They are great advocates for the quality that can be found at the sale at value prices, and it happens time and time again. In the value bracket at Easter, there are quality horses to be found. There’s no doubt the same will be the case next month.”
Inglis will again be the trailblazer when it comes to returning to physical sales, having also led the way on the world stage when going to a virtual format for Easter Round 1. In order to ensure the viability of a physical sale, strict biosecurity measures will be in place at Riverside on inspection days as well as sale day itself.
“There’s no disputing the fact that having to go first through a lot of these challenges has been demanding, not just in terms of the time that you have to commit to making appropriate arrangements with vendors and buyers,” he said. “We’ve consistently asked stakeholders to be patient with us as we try to formulate, in conjunction with them, an appropriate set of protocols for the workability of both virtual or digital sales and now as we work towards a reinstatement of live sales.
“Much of our work at this stage is consultation with our biosecurity experts and NSW Health. Those conversations have been very constructive; as we said in the lead-up to the traditional Easter sale, it was an evolving situation so it was very hard to prescribe a rigid plan. Similarly, in the case of Round 2, it’s hard at this stage to prescribe a rigid plan. The difference at this stage is that things are very much improving in terms of the environmental landscape as opposed to April when things were very much on a regressive pathway. Things are looking better by the day in New South Wales, which is great.
“I think we’re confident, at this stage, of hosting something very close to a traditional yearling sale at Riverside on July 5 and similarly flowing into the weanling sale on July 8.”
The Scone Yearling Sale occupies a new position in the calendar and a temporary venue in 2020, with the auction to be held immediately after Easter Round 2 at Riverside Stables. Hutch said that the cooperation of the Hunter Thoroughbred Breeders Association (HTBA) had proven crucial.
“We’re conscious of the understanding of the HTBA and their willingness to embrace our approach this year,” he said. “The Scone Yearling Sale is an important sale for the local community in the Hunter Valley, but the HTBA have embraced the move and they have got a strong catalogue of 156 horses. A number of major vendors are still engaged despite the fact that the sale is scheduled much later than had been originally intended.
“The scheduling of the sale just seems to work better for a huge number of participants whether they be vendors or buyers. A number of vendors were hoping to try and liquidate stock in advance of the weanling sale series, while it is also a timing issue in that the deeper into the calendar we go, the closer we get to the restart of the foaling season. That presents logistical challenges for consignors.
“In the case of both the Easter horses and the Scone horses, people buying those horses will want to get them broken, get them into their systems. A number of horses that will go through the sale will have been broken in already but there will be some that haven’t and purchasers will want to be able to break them in to get them to the next phase of their racing life.”