Quality to the fore as Inglis release Easter catalogue

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The auction house release smaller 421-lot book ahead of their premier sale in April

Siblings to Switzerland (Snitzel) and Growing Empire (Zoustar), half-siblings to Group 1 winners Sunshine In Paris (Invader), El Castello (Castelvecchio) and Autumn Angel (The Autumn Sun), and progeny out of top-level winning mares such as Arcadia Queen (Pierro) and Hungry Heart (Frankel) are among the many highlights of a streamlined Inglis Easter 2025 catalogue.

Wootton Bassett (Iffraaj), Too Darn Hot (Dubawi), Extreme Choice (Not A Single Doubt) and The Autumn Sun (Redoute’s Choice) are among the rising sires sure to be in hot demand at the sale, along with long-established heavy hitters including Zoustar (Northern Meteor), I Am Invincible (Invincible Spirit), Snitzel (Redoute’s Choice) and Written Tycoon (Iglesia).

And international sires including Frankel (Galileo), Gun Runner (Candy Ride), Justify (Scat Daddy) and Siyouni (Pivotal) will also be represented in the auction at Sydney’s Riverside complex on April 6 and 7.

The catalogue is considerably smaller than last year’s book of 500, and significantly tighter than the past several years, with 421 lots catalogued.

While Australia’s foal crop for 2023 – from which this year’s yearlings spring – was the lowest it has been in the past five years and 5.7 per cent down on 2022, and though the country’s wait continues for the next generation of stallions to emphatically cement themselves, Sebastian Hutch said the slimmer catalogue merely reflects an accent on quality over quantity.

The Inglis bloodstock CEO said the level of mares represented had not been bettered at an Australasian sale in the recent past.

“The strength of the mares in the catalogue, as proven producers or as racemares, is as strong as I can ever remember it,” Hutch told ANZ Bloodstock News. 

“Ultimately, when people get the catalogue and turn page by page, I think they’re going to be very excited by what they see.

“After last year, we felt 500 lots was a bigger number than what we felt was ideal. It’s not about filling a book; we’re not trying to just fill boxes. We want to find horses who are suitable for the sale. There’s no intention to try to pad out the catalogue with what people might feel to be inferior horses.

“Inglis Easter has had a great run in terms of graduates of late. Switzerland and Growing Empire, arguably the two sexiest three-year-old colts in the country, are graduates of the sale. Ultimately, these are the horses people go to the Easter sale to buy, and it’s similar with the fillies.

“When people appraise the market at the end of  2025, I’d be confident statistics again will reflect that the best yearlings that were on the market in 2025 in Australasia will have been offered at Inglis Easter.”

Few sires are expected to generate more attention than Wootton Bassett. The shuttler has 17 lots at the sale including his stud Coolmore’s colt out of Group 1 winner Nakeeta Jane (So You Think) (Lot 80) and Cambridge Stud’s filly from the stakes-winning Zouzarella (Zoustar) (Lot 267).

Former Darley shuttler Too Darn Hot has 18 yearlings on offer, including Vinery Stud’s colt out of top tier heroine Plucky Belle (Mossman) (Lot 109) and Sledmere Stud’s filly first foal from Group 3 winner Seasons (Sebring) (Lot 143), while Extreme Choice (14 lots) and The Autumn Sun (13) are also well represented.

Yarraman Park’s triple champion sire I Am Invincible has 32 lots, including Arrowfield Stud’s exciting colt second foal of triple Group 1 winner Arcadia Queen (Lot 282), Vinery Stud’s filly first foal of dual Group 1 winner Sierra Sue (Darci Brahma) (Lot 162), and Cressfield’s filly second foal of two-time top-tier winning sprinter Pippie (Written Tycoon) (Lot 108).

Last season’s champion two-year-old sire Written Tycoon has ten lots, including a colt offered by his farm Yulong, the first foal of the now deceased dual Group 1 winner Hungry Heart (Lot 410).

Widden flagbearer Zoustar has 36 yearlings including Vinery’s sister to last spring’s boom colt Growing Empire (Lot 58), Fernrigg Farm’s colt first foal from dual New Zealand Group 1 winner Danzdanzdance (Mastercraftsman) (Lot 341), and Kulani Park’s filly third foal from dual top-level victor Kenedna (Not A Single Doubt) (Lot 10).

Four-time champion sire Snitzel has 45 lots – the most of any sire – and they including his stud Arrowfield’s brother to sensational Coolmore Stud Stakes (Gr 1, 1200m) hero Switzerland (Lot 76), while the farm will also offer a colt out of elite-winning sprinter Silent Sedition (War Chant) (Lot 164), plus Coolmore’s draft includes a filly by the stallion, the third foal of outstanding Group 1 winner Invincibella (I Am Invincible) (Lot 417).

Jon Freyer, bloodstock manager at Arrowfield – the sale’s largest vendor with 42 lots – said Switzerland’s brother was ‘as good a colt as we’ll take to the sales this year’. He’s also a potential sale-topper, given Switzerland was the fifth-highest lot at Easter 2023, fetching $1.5 million.

“He’s a slightly stronger colt than Switzerland was at this stage, slightly more muscled, and lets remember that Switzerland was a beautiful colt,” said Freyer.

Arrowfield are also enamoured with their filly by their Japanese shuttler Maurice (Screen Hero) who’s the fourth foal of triple Group 1 winner Shoals (Fastnet Rock) (Lot 156). She’s a half-sister to Isthmus (I Am Invincible), Arrowfield and Pinecliff Racing’s Group 3-winning four-year-old mare who’s being aimed at resumption in the Black Caviar Lightning Stakes (Gr 1, 1000m) at Flemington on February 15.

“This filly looks a bit bigger and scopier than a couple of the I Am Invincibles,” Freyer said. “She’s got the lot.”

Australia has been used to familiar names at the top of the sires table for many years such as I Am Invincible, Snitzel and Written Tycoon – who are 20-years and older – and in more recent seasons the younger Zoustar.

Hutch said this Easter would mark another phase in Australia’s evolution of seeing younger stallions step up to lead the next generation of sires.

“It’s been well documented and well noted that we’re in something of a transitional phase in the profile of the stallions in the country,” he said.

“We’ve obviously had a core of world class stallions at the forefront of our market for an extended period or time in Snitzel, I Am Invincible and Written Tycoon, joined by Zoustar in the last few years.

“But there’s a huge number of young, emerging stallions looking to try to make their mark both on the racecourse and in the sale ring now. We’re delighted to have been able to consolidate what feels like a really strong group of representatives of all those different types of stallions in the catalogue.”

First-season sires at the sale are headed by Home Affairs (I Am Invincible), whose filly out of Sunlight (Zoustar) topped this month’s Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale at $3.2 million. Home Affairs has 28 Easter lots, including his stud Coolmore’s colt first foal of two-time Group 1 winner Shout The Bar (Not A Single Doubt) (Lot 158), and Cressfield’s colt out of Group 1 winner Secret Agenda (Not A Single Doubt) (Lot 146).

Golden Slipper (Gr 1, 1200m)-winning debutant sire Stay Inside (Extreme Choice) has 12 lots including Sledmere’s colt out of multiple stakes winner and stakes-winner producer Silent Surround (Face Value) (Lot 165), and Segenhoe’s colt from the mare famed as the last horse to beat Winx (Street Cry) – ATC Oaks (Gr 1, 2400m) victor Gust Of Wind (Darci Brahma) (Lot 395).

Among the international contingent, the great Frankel is represented by 12 yearlings, including a colt second foal of New Zealand Group 1 winner Loire (Redoute’s Choice) (Lot 31) offered by Trelawney Stud, and three impeccably-bred Arrowfield lots, one being a filly out of a three-quarter sister to former European Horse of the year and now leading sire Kingman (Invincible Spirit) (Lot 110).

American siring sensation Gun Runner has two yearlings on offer including Emirates Park’s filly out of Sweet Embrace Stakes (Gr 2, 1200m) winner One More Honey (Onemorenomore) (Lot 92), while Bhima Thoroughbreds offers the exotic sole lot by Japanese former champion Kitasan Black (Black Tide) (Lot 169), a filly out of Japanese mare Skirt Fuwari (Symboli Kris S).

Sledmere will offer the only lot by former Coolmore shuttler Justify, a filly out of a winning US-bred mare Sahara Breeze (More Than Ready) (Lot 134), while French sensation Siyouni’s sole lot, from Alma Vale Thoroughbreds, is from a two-year-old winning half-sister to German Group 1 victor Danceteria (Redoute’s Choice) (Lot 129).

The wash-up from the bellwether Magic Millions sale earlier this month focused on its softer low-to-middle market. Many saw that as a reflection of a tough time for breeders, which was acutely felt in the 2024 season. Most experts, however, expect Easter to be impervious to any downtown, with its age-old reputation for quality.

Hutch was wary of making predictions for Easter, other than saying its dollar volume would be down because of reduced numbers but that buyer engagement would be strong.

“While there was a feeling in the market that the market had come back in 2024, in pure dollar terms, in terms of published turnover, that didn’t appear to be the case,” he said.

“Still, almost inevitably in 2025, things were going to tighten up a bit. That was in evidence on the Gold Coast, though they ran a really good sale.

“Our volume of horses for Easter is down on 2024, so inevitably the turnover is going to be down. But in terms of the quality of horses, people will be impressed with what they see, and certainly the early indications are there’s going to be good buyer engagement both domestically and internationally.

“Hopefully we can deliver good results for our vendors and again have these horses represent this sale with distinction on the racecourse in years to come.”

Freyer, a fixture at Easter for many years, believes the sale’s reputation is possibly misleading. While it has a deserved reputation at its elite end, he said this perhaps led many to overlook that there were still bargains to be had.

“The top end of Easter is immune from too many downturns. It’s a unique opportunity to buy the best physicals with amazing pages,” he said.

“But the bottom half, year after year, offers tremendous value, often with yearlings that are slightly off the pace for whatever reason.

“There’s always tremendous buying at Easter, and I don’t know why more trainers and syndicators don’t get there and shop in that market. A lot are scared off by the top prices, but there’s fantastic shopping to be had there. They’re not all $600,000, $800,000 or million-dollar yearlings that do well.

“We sold Autumn Angel at Easter for $230,000, for example. There’s plenty in that bracket – that people are more than happy to pay at other sales, for nice yearlings that haven’t got anywhere near the pages as these ones.”

Also sure to attract attention are Bhima’s full brothers to triple Group 1 winners Militarize (Dundeel) (Lot 275) and Forbidden Love (All Too Hard) (Lot 6), Yulong’s half-brother by Maurice (Screen Hero) Sunshine In Paris (Lot 264), and Arrowfield’s half-brother by Maurice to ATC Oaks (Gr 1, 2400m) winner Autumn Angel (Lot 277) and emerging Group 2-winning sprinter Baraqiel (Snitzel).

The Chase offers a brother to Coolmore Stud Stakes winner Ozzmosis (Zoustar) (Lot 86), Cambridge’s draft includes a half-sister by Almanzor (Wootton Bassett) to Group 1-winning colt El Castello (Lot 259), and Kia Ora Stud will sell a sister to Group 1-winning sprinter Wild Ruler (Snitzel) (Lot 296), who’s also a half-sister to Group 3 winner Pavitra (American Pharoah).

After Arrowfield’s 42 lots, the sale’s second most represented vendor is Coolmore with 39, before Segenhoe with 24 and Widden with 23.

Of the catalogue, 338 are BOBS Eligible (80 per cent) while there also VOBIS Silver, Westspeed and QTIS yearlings available. All graduates from the sale also have the opportunity to be nominated for the lucrative Inglis Race Series.