Riverstone celebrate ‘great’ first day at Classic
One year on from a stunning debut at Inglis Classic, Hunter Valley boutique stud Riverstone Lodge is showing that it was no one-off after a strong first day of this year’s edition, writes Trevor Marshallsea
Established in 2023 by former Newgate nominations executive Nick Taylor and backers, Riverstone hit Riverside for their first splash at a major sale 12 months ago and sent ripples around the breeding scene.
Selling eight of nine lots, they emerged as leading vendors by their average of $190,000 and their median of $180,000, with their top lot a Hellbent (I Am Invincible) filly sold to BK Racing and Breeding for $320,000, equal seventh overall. Now known as Savvy Hallie, she won her only barrier trial so far for Brad Widdup at Hawkesbury in December.
Coming close to that performance a year later may have been a tough ask of Riverstone, especially considering economic factors leading to some tightening in the market in the two earlier major sales this year, Magic Millions Gold Coast and New Zealand Bloodstock’s at Karaka.
But after Sunday’s opening session, Riverstone were delighted to have ranked fourth among vendors by aggregate – behind only heavyweights Arrowfield, Widden and Yarraman Park – selling all seven of their lots for $865,000. They averaged a healthy $123,571, and were equal 12th by median, with $130,000.
“It was a great day for us,” Taylor told ANZ Bloodstock News. “To clear 100 per cent and be above the average and the median was a great result.
“Clearance rate is a big thing for us. After the Gold Coast we realised it was important to set reserves here that would help us meet the market.
“We still had a really good sale at the Gold Coast, selling eight lots, but it was clear the market might have come back a bit. We wanted to get our horses on the market here and meet the market.
“It’s important to bring good, clean product to the sale, and our horses have been popular throughout the week, with good foot traffic.”
It’s a fair way to foot it to Riverstone’s draft at the outer reaches of Barn G, where the new guys have to bide their time for now, but the location doesn’t seem to have harmed them any.
Their top seller on Sunday was especially rewarding. Lot 84 was a colt by Kia Ora’s Farnan (Not A Single Doubt) out of a placed half-sister to dual Group 1 winner and subsequent sire Contributer (High Chaparral).
Bought by Riverstone with bloodstock agents Suman Hedge and Paul Willetts at the Inglis Australian Weanling Sale for $180,000, he was flipped for $260,000 when selling to Hong Kong trainer Francis Lui.
“We’re really happy with that result,” Taylor said, crediting Willetts as a “great” judge. “It’s not easy to buy colts like that at a weanling sale”.
Riverstone also sold a Zousain (Zoustar) colt to Blueblood Thoroughbreds and Team Waterhouse and Bott for $160,000, a So You Think (High Chaparral) filly to Otm Racing for $150,000, and a Wootton Bassett (Iffraaj) colt to Triple Crown Syndications for $130,000 – all comfortably more than the sale’s day one average, which stood on Sunday night at $99,952.
Among the remainder of Riverstone’s 13-lot draft, Taylor has particularly high hopes for Monday’s Lot 354 – a colt by Capitalist (Written Tycoon) out of La Praline (Anabaa) – and two more colts on Tuesday in Lot 646, by Bivouac (Exceed And Excel) out of Siyaadeh (Written Tycoon), and Lot 792 by Extreme Warrior (Extreme Choice) out of Yangarra Rose (Zoustar).
With Riverstone housing 70 mares – including ten of their own – on their 400-acres spread over two farms, the future is looking good for Taylor and his cohorts, who including fellow team members Alex Kemp and Billy Brooks.
“Things are going really well. I’ve got a great team behind me – a lot of mates, and everyone’s working hard and taking great pride in what we’re trying to achieve at Riverstone,” said Taylor, who also credits a concerted investment in stock.
“Obviously you can’t do it without good clients, and people backing the farm.
“Relationships are important, plus we’ve invested a lot of money in weanlings and mares. I suppose we’ve backed ourselves and had a crack, and hopefully it’s paying off.”
Sale statistics – Day One
2025 2024
Catalogued 270 270
Offered 243 238
Sold 177 (73%) 197 (83%)
Aggregate $17,691,500 (-5.3%) $18,701,000
Average $99,952 (+5.3%) $94,929
Median $80,000 $80,000
Top Lot $400,000 $375,000