News

Estonian Princess tops September (Early) Sale at $375,000

14th Sep 2022

An “absolutely amazing’’ result for TJS Bloodstock’s Simon Raleigh has topped tonight’s Inglis Digital September (Early) Online Sale, with broodmare Estonian Princess selling for $375,000.

Raleigh purchased Estonian Princess – in foal to So You Think – for $200,000 just 16 months ago at the 2021 Inglis Australian Broodmare Sale at Riverside.

He retained the foal – which he will offer at an Inglis yearling sale next year – before sending the mare to Zoustar and re-offering her tonight.

“It’s pretty amazing really, to get that sort of turnaround in an investment like this, and hopefully the yearling sells really well next year and will bring the buyer of the mare tonight a great deal of joy, it’s just a great result all round,’’ Raleigh said.

“I’m thrilled with the outcome and I hope the buyer is just as thrilled as I am.

“The bidding certainly went on, I was watching on my phone and it just kept going. I’ve both bought and sold with Inglis Digital and I think it’s a fantastic platform and it avoids all the complications and costs involved in a live auction. I’m very happy with the platform.’’

Estonian Princess was purchased by Orbis Bloodstock. She will head to Newgate Farm to foal down her Zoustar foal before a decision is made as to which stallion she will visit next.

“We will discuss those options with the team at Newgate but it will be one of the stallions based there,’’ Orbis representative Yuk Ting Szeto said.

“From what we could see on the page and the foals she’s left so far, we knew we would have to pay quite a bit of money for her, but she is definitely worth it.’’

The second-top lot of the sale was the G3-winning mare Felicia, which sold to Joe Stambe for $330,000.

Felicia was one of two mares purchased by Stambe in the sale, both of whom will be sent to his stallion Signore Fox.

“He’s a perfect match for her, actually both the mares I bought today had perfect nicks with him so they’ll be visiting him for sure,’’ Stambe said.

“I thought she would sell for $250,000-$300,000 but when the bug gets into you, sometimes it’s hard to stop. At the end of the day, you have to look at the weanling prices and yearling prices and weigh all of that up and they’re all very high at the moment, so I had to keep going.

“I’ve bought a few horses off Digital before, it’s easy to sit at home and go through everything and buy. It’s great.’’

Felicia was offered by Gerard Ballantyne on behalf of the mare’s ownership group.

“It’s a great result. We’re really, really happy with it. To get that sort of result, it’s just absolutely fantastic,’’ Ballantyne said.

“This was my first experience in selling a horse on Inglis Digital and I must congratulate all of you, it was absolutely seamless, the advice we got and the assistance we got from [Inglis Insurance Manager and Bloodstock Consultant] Sinead [Flannery] over the journey was spot on.

“For first timers there was that sense of comfort with the whole process, it was well explained and very simple to implement everything.’’

In total, the September (Early) Sale grossed $4,709,650.

Other quality results included G3 winner Monegal which realised $225,000, Ready To Ride – a More Than Ready half sister to Group-winning 2YO Kalashnikov – which sold for $155,000 as well as Written Tycoon mare Dusty Tycoon and Metro-winning, Stakes placed daughter of Zoustar, Zousonic, which both made $150,000.

The September (Early) Sale also included an eight-lot fundraiser offering for injured jockey Elissa Meredith, who is recovering from a race fall at Gunnedah in July.

Organised by trainer Louise Munce and the NSW Trainers’ Association, the items – which ranged from racing and sporting memorabilia to race day events and a William Inglis Hotel package – grossed a collective $25,000.

Meredith’s family said in a statement: “We are so grateful for the ongoing support from the entire racing industry.

“We watched the auction as a family live on the Inglis Digital website and we are really humbled by the support. There were plenty of tears every time a new bid was placed.

“There are many that we’d like to thank with special mention to the NSWTA who really stepped up and of course Inglis, who allowed the auction to take place and the promotion by them was very kind.

“Also to those who donated and placed bids, from Elissa we say a huge thanks and we wish we could hug everyone. In so many ways, the $25,000 raised will greatly assist Elissa in her recovery.

“Thanks again to everyone involved – we feel special that Elissa is involved in such a wonderful industry.’’

Entries for the Inglis Digital September (Late) Online Sale are now open and will remain so until next Wednesday, September 21.

The auction will run from September 23-28.

To enter, CLICK HERE.