Quality and value to the fore for Inglis Premier
Yearlings by star sires Frankel (Galileo), Wootton Bassett (Iffraaj), Too Darn Hot (Dubawi), I Am Invincible (Invincible Spirit), Zoustar (Northern Meteor), Written Tycoon (Iglesia) and many more will go on offer in a catalogue bristling with quality for next year’s Inglis Premier yearling sale at Oaklands Junction.
The auction that has produced three of the past four winners of The Everest (Gr 1, 1200m) takes place again from March 2-4 with 803 yearlings catalogued, 565 of which will go under the hammer in book one over the first two days.
A total of 119 stallions are represented, including first season sires such as Home Affairs (I Am Invincible) (14 lots), Stay Inside (Extreme Choice) (14), Pinatubo (Shamardal) (12), Acrobat (Fastnet Rock) (5), St Mark’s Basilica (Siyouni) (4) and Profiteer (Capitalist) (3).
And 66 individual vendors will present drafts, headed by Victorian powerhouses Yulong, Rosemont and Blue Gum Farm, along with Widden, Newgate and Vinery.
Inglis Bloodstock CEO Sebastian Hutch said the sales house was delighted with the catalogue, which continued a strong tradition of quality from the Melbourne sale in recent years.
“Ultimately, we rely on the support of the major farms and breeders in Victoria to consolidate the volume and quality in the catalogue, and we certainly feel a number of the best farms have supported the sale very well,” Hutch told ANZ Bloodstock News.
“The best farms in Victoria are well represented, and we’ve had a lot of interstate support this year, and there’s a good variety of stallions, which we feel is important.
“The depth of proven stallions in Australia isn’t at the level that it’s been in past years but by the same token there’s a huge number of promising younger stallions the market is keen to get behind, and they’re well represented in this catalogue – those second, third and fourth crop sires who look to be the prominent sires of the future.”
Premier has a major selling point on which to hang its hat: that the winners of three of the past four Everests in Bella Nipotina (Pride Of Dubai), Think About it (So You Think) and Nature Strip (Nicconi) have come through the sale.
“The trio could have been purchased for a combined $270,000 and between them, they have won more than $53 million in prize-money and counting,” said Hutch, also mentioning Premier graduates such as Group 1 winners Attrition (Churchill), Griff (Trapeze Artist), Benedetta (Hellbent) and Santa Ana Lana (Lope De Vega).
Premier – which of course also hatched superstar Black Caviar (Bel Esprit) – also counts among more recent graduates sprinter I Am Me (I Am Invincible). While the six-year-old mare hasn’t yet won a Group 1, she has three placings at the top level, five stakes wins and $4.4 million in prize-money, from a purchase price of $210,000.
If our vendors are doing well, then we’re doing well
“I Am Me is a fantastic sprinter who’s given her owners a wonderful ride, and made her purchase price look an absolute bargain,” Hutch said.
“Ultimately, for our vendors we want to achieve the best prices we possibly can, because obviously if our vendors are doing well, then we’re doing well.
“But by the same token, year after year there’s evidence of people buying quality horses at Premier for not a lot of money.
“Sixteen of the 31 Group 1 winning graduates from the sale since 2018 could have been bought for $100,000 or less. We’ve sold many horses which were more expensive than that, but the sale always offers incredible value.”
Hutch also highlighted Premier’s strong results in Asia, including two recent Hong Kong Group 1 winners. Invincible Sage (I Am Invincible) was bought at Premier in 2021 for $200,000, while Victor The Winner (Toronado) was purchased at the sale a year earlier for $180,000 from the draft Collingrove Stud, which has 12 lots this time around.
“We always get tremendous support from Hong Kong in particular,” Hutch said. “It’s a sale that Asian buyers like to attend, and I think vendors and breeders recognise that. That’s been the case for a number of years, and I think people are motivated to take advantage of that this time.”
The great Frankel (pictured below) – the world’s equal most expensive sire with Dubawi (Dubai Millennium), at a service fee of £350,000 (approx. AU$698,000) – has a notable strong representation at Premier 2025, with seven yearlings entered.
Among these is Lot 201, a supremely-bred colt amidst a strong 36-yearling draft from Victoria’s progressive Rosemont Stud.
The colt is the first live foal of Canadian Grade 3 winner Heavenly Curlin (Curlin). While bred in the US, the mare’s second dam is Australian breeding byword Shantha’s Choice (Canny Lad), dam of three Group 1 winners in the breed-shaping Redoute’s Choice (Danehill), Platinum Scissors (Danehill) and Manhattan Rain (Encosta De Lago), plus two other stakes victors.
He’s a really nice colt that we thought would be a standout at Melbourne
“I would hazard a guess he’s the best-bred horse in the catalogue,” Rosemont’s Anthony Mithen told ANZ Bloodstock News.
“He’s a really nice colt that we thought would be a standout at Melbourne. He was entered and accepted at all the sales, and we’ve taken a bit of a bold move to be a big fish in what is becoming a bigger pond, the Melbourne Premier sale.
“We were determined to make sure we had some real highlight horses, and we’re probably shifting a bit to make sure we’re highlighting the strength and quality to come out of Rosemont, in our own backyard in Melbourne.
“Hopefully we’re rewarded. He’s a lovely colt, really athletic, medium sized and good looking, with an unbelievable pedigree.”
The other six Frankels are offered in the vast draft of Victorian powerhouse Yulong, which has a whopping 87 lots in the sale.
Among their Frankels is Lot 333, a colt who’s the first foal of Moonee Valley Fillies Classic (Gr 2, 1600m) winner Mokulua (Redoute’s Choice), daughter of VRC Oaks (Gr 1, 2500m) heroine Dear Demi (Dehere). Another is Lot 534, a filly first foal of dual winner Too Much Lippy (More Than Ready), a half-sister to Australian Derby (Gr 1, 2400m) hero Levendi (Pierro).
Yulong’s draft also features 19 yearlings by the farm’s flagbearer Written Tycoon, plus offerings from their emerging stallions Tagaloa (Lord Kanaloa) (15 lots), Lucky Vega (Lope De Vega) (ten) Alabama Express (Redoute’s Choice) (nine) and Grunt (O’Reilly) (seven).
Zhang Yuesheng’s farm also offers the only lots by outstanding foreign sires Kingman (Incincible Spirit) and Lord Kanaloa (King Kamehameha).
Kingman’s Lot 242 is a filly first foal of the French-bred Kesariya (Exceed And Excel), while Lot 298, by Japanese star sire Lord Kanaloa, is a colt first foal from a three-quarter sister to Irish Derby (Gr 1, 1m 4f) winner Trading Leather (Teofilo).
Coolmore shuttler Wootton Bassett has 13 offerings, including Two Bays Farms’ Lot 364, the third foal of star mare Oohood (I Am Invincible), winner of the Flight Stakes (Gr 1, 1600m) and runner-up in the Golden Slipper (Gr 1, 1200m).
Much vaunted first season sire Home Affairs’ first Premier draft includes Lot 490, a colt from Morning Rise Stud who’s the first foal of the stakes placed Splendoronthegrass (So You Think), a half-sister to two stakes winners including Group 3 and Listed victor Mumbai Muse (Zoustar).
The young Coolmore sire also has Lot 452, a filly in Crossley Thoroughbreds’ draft out of dual New Zealand Group 2 winner Serena Miss (Iffraaj).
Rosemont’s 36-strong selection includes eight yearlings by their second season sire Hanseatic (pictured below), who opened his account on Saturday with Tiz Worthy winning his second start, at Murray Bridge, and had Rohesia run third in the VRC Inglis Banner (RL, 1000m) last month.
“The Hanseatics are really good,” Mithen said. “We’re excited that they’re peas in a pod with strength and precocity, and they’re seemingly living up to the good start the stallion has had on the track.
“We’re quietly optimistic his second season progeny will end up on plenty of shortlists, so it’s hopefully an exciting period coming up for us and the stallion.”
The stud, near Geelong, also offers two yearlings by its first season sire Extreme Warrior (Extreme Choice) including Lot 86, a colt from a half-sister to the Rosemont-owned dual Group winner Brooklyn Hustle (Starspangledbanner).
“Extreme Warrior’s stock are sharp and athletic,” Mithen said. “They’re also a bit on the smaller side, so I’d encourage those looking at them to remember that so were Extreme Choice and Extreme Warrior. They look like fast horses who suit the Australian market.”
Of the entries, 474 yearlings are either VOBIS nominated or eligible while others are BOBS, QTIS, Racing Rewards SA and Westspeed eligible.
All entries are eligible for the incentive schemes on offer as part of the lucrative Inglis Race Series.
