‘The foot traffic through the week has been good, and the response is feeling positive’
The Melbourne Premier Yearling Sale kicks off on Sunday with Inglis Bloodstock CEO Sebastian Hutch quietly confident of seeing a continuation of results better than many vendors might have expected early in the year.
Inglis’s Classic sale last month largely defied the worst fears of vendors sparked by alarming softness in the bottom half of the market at Magic Millions Gold Coast and Karaka.
Classic’s average and median were unchanged from 2024, its clearance rate dropped only from 84 to 82 per cent, and its gross of $54.68 million was down just $1.6 million with 17 fewer lots sold.
Those figures, and the comparative stock on offer at Victoria’s major sale, has inspired a positive prognosis from Hutch for Premier, which has drawn a catalogue of 803 yearlings, 565 to be sold in book one on Sunday and Monday, before Tuesday’s book two. Book one last year averaged $127,000 with a median of $90,000, grossing $52.7 million with a clearance rate of 82 per cent.
Looking back on Classic, Hutch believes that despite pre-sale apprehension from vendors the level of demand was not quite met by the quality of the yearlings presented. He hopes buyers who left without finding the horses to match their wish lists will make up for it at Oaklands Junction over the next three days.
“Taking a view in the context of the year, there’s no point ignoring it has been harder work this year,” Hutch told ANZ Bloodstock News. “But clearly there’s appetite there for good stock, and we found that at Classic.
“We felt we didn’t have a sufficient volume of high quality stock to satisfy the relative demand that was there.
“We managed to engage a broad cross section of buyers at the sale, with over 330 listed, but there were buyers there with an intent to find a particular profile of horse but didn’t find enough of it.
“A lot of money left that sale unspent. Our intention is to capture as much of that money at Premier as we can.
“That’s a frustration for any sale, and there’s a possibility the same frustration will prove to be the case at Premier, but the stock that’s of the perceived quality, that vets well and has appropriate pedigree credentials, we expect to sell well.”
Hutch said there was “more of that stock” at Premier than Classic, thanks especially to patronage from major Victorian studs.
“Typically, we’ve been the beneficiaries at Premier of good support from high-end vendors, or vendors capable of producing high-end stock,” said Hutch, speaking at Oaklands.
“The line-up of vendors is strong for the sale, including local vendors. Yulong and Rosemont have drafts that are really strong on paper, with a number of nice horses who could have gone to any yearling sale in the country.
“I know, for instance, Rosemont have a Frankel colt, a Zoustar colt and a Written Tycoon filly who could have gone to any sale in the country. Gilgai have a number of very appealing horses.
“And they’re supplemented by interstate vendors, either in their own name or through consignors, places like Yarraman Park, Milburn Creek, Arrowfield.
“Newgate Farm are back for the first time since Think About It went through the sale and they have a strong draft. They have some Extreme Choice fillies who look well–placed here, and progeny of their younger stallions.
“There are plenty of interesting horses here.”
Hutch said Premier had its distinct appeal, and a strong track record in recent years, including producing three winners of The Everest (Gr 1, 1200m) in Think About It (So You Think), Bella Nipotina (Pride Of Dubai), and Nature Strip (Nicconi).
“People respect the sale. The winners of three of the last four editions of the Everest could have been bought at this sale for $70,000, $80,000 and $120,000. That gets people motivated to get involved in the sale,” he said.
“Plus, we’re in a different state, with different breeding incentives, different types of pedigrees and stallions.”
Victorian stallions that are likely to be in demand, Hutch said, include Yulong pair Alabama Express (Redoute’s Choice) with 14 lots and Lucky Vega (Lope De Vega) with ten, Widden Victoria’s Doubtland (Not A Single Doubt) with 11, and Rosemont sires including Hanseatic (Street Boss) with 26 and Shamus Award (Snitzel) with 17.
Woodside Park’s Shalaa (Invincible Spirit) with ten lots and Swettenham’s Toronado (High Chaparral) with 19 also fly the Victorian flag.
Hutch said Inglis had “worked hard to engage as many people as possible” at the sale, and had drawn a strong and diverse buying bench. This included carrying on the strong presence of Japanese and Hong Kong buyers seen at Classic, while Chinese interests are also expected to make their presence felt.
Also, New Zealand-based South African bloodstock agent Craig Ramsay will be at Premier, believed to be targeting stock for a major client from his home country.
“A certain percentage of the buying bench will be the same as at Classic, but there’ll be some differences as well,” Hutch said.
“We had reasonable Victorian participation at Classic, but limited top end Victorian trainers at Classic. More of those top end Victorian trainers will be at Premier.
“The majority of NSW trainers and partnerships will be engaged as well. Representatives of all the colts funds are here, there’ll be strong international representation, including a huge volume of traders again from New Zealand.
“The foot traffic through the week has been good, and the response is feeling positive.”
Premier showcases the progeny of 119 stallions including Extreme Choice (Not A Single Doubt), I Am Invincible (Invincible Spirit), Snitzel (Redoute’s Choice), Too Darn Hot (Dubawi), Zoustar (Northern Meteor) and Wootton Bassett (Iffraaj).
First season sires include Home Affairs (I Am Invincible), Stay Inside (Extreme Choice), Captivant (Capitalist), St Mark’s Basilica (Siyouni) and Pinatubo (Shamardal).
Six yearlings by the great Frankel (Galileo) are on offer, including Yulong’s Lot 333, a colt first foal of Group 2 winner Mokulua (Redoute’s Choice), herself a daughter of VRC Oaks (Gr 1, 2500m) heroine Dear Demi (Dehere), while Rosemont offers Lot 201, the second foal of Canadian Group 3 winner Heavenly Curlin (Curlin).
The sale will offer yearlings from 66 individual vendors and a total of 474 catalogued yearlings are either VOBIS nominated or eligible, while others are covered under the BOBS, QTIS, Racing Rewards SA and Westspeed schemes.