"Incredible momentum'' sees Premier escalate again

News

3rd Mar 2026

The 2026 Premier Yearling Sale today concluded with strong Book 2 trade, wrapping up a memorable week of action at Oaklands.

On a spectacular three days in Melbourne:

*The overall Premier Sale gross sits at $68,594,000, up over $8,520,000 or 14% from the corresponding stage last year

*In an undeniable show of middle-market strength, 283 lots have sold for $100,000 or more, a significant 22% jump on last year’s figure at the corresponding stage, while there were also more $200k+ and $300k+ lots sold this year, rises of 15% and 17% respectively

*The Book 1 average ($144,569), median ($120,000) and clearance rate (81%) are all YoY increases

*Gilgai Farm ended the sale as leading vendor, enjoying a ‘perfect’ sale selling all 13 lots offered for $3,740,000, while Bell River Thoroughbreds ended with the highest average (for three or more sold) at $301,250, having sold all four lots offered

*Ciaron Maher Racing ended Book 1 as leading buyer with 13 purchases with different partners, ahead of Lindsay Park (12) and Clinton McDonald/Shane McGrath (11)

Inglis Bloodstock CEO Sebastian Hutch was delighted with how the three days of trade played out.

“There is incredible momentum behind this sale now, with an excellent set of results, particularly in the context of the market, following last year’s market-defying sale,” Hutch said.

“While it’s always satisfying to see the financial benchmarks improve year on year, what stood out to me as much as anything was the amount of people on the grounds not just on sale days but inspection days as well, the buying bench really got behind the sale again this year.

“We’re hugely grateful as always to the breeders and vendors who have supported the sale and I’m very proud of the effort the team at Inglis put into the sale.

“We are motivated to have as many people as possible go home from each and every one of our sales as happy as possible and it feels like there are plenty of happy sellers and buyers heading home from this sale.

“The diversity at the top of the market was great – the top 12 lots were all by different stallions, off service fees from as little as $16,500 so it goes to show there really is something for everybody at Inglis Premier.

“To have Premier as the Southern Hemisphere’s best performing yearling sale to this point of the season for the second consecutive year is a great thrill.’’

The Day 3 top lot honours were shared between an Extreme Warrior x Who’s Zooming Who colt (lot 757) of Rosemont Stud - which sold to Lloyd Kennewell, Group One Bloodstock and SP Bloodstock – and Blue Gum Farm’s Zousain x Cavalry Rose colt (lot 794) (offered on behalf of Hillside Downs) which sold to Taiwanese-based entity Elysian.

Both colts realised $220,000.

Kennewell’s opinion of the Extreme Warrior colt (pictured) strengthened even further when a confidante expressed their views to him during the week.

“The sale’s been tremendous, so many nice horses and this horse, I won’t quote who said it but a very good judge and someone I respect said he’s in the top 5% of the whole catalogue of colts, and I felt he was the best colt in the sale,’’ Kennewell said.

“We go on physicals, we want fast 2YOs and he looks all of that.

“The market’s so strong in all aspects…it’s amazing how the industry just keeps backing up, sale after sale, year after year, but it shows we’re in really good hands.’’

Rosemont’s Anthony Mithen added: “I’ve been told since we started parades by plenty of good judges that he’s the best colt of the sale…so he stood out to everyone.

“We’ve never had a busier horse. I checked an hour before he went into the ring…and with our ThoroughWorks data we couldn’t find a horse that had been out of the box more at any stage that we’ve presented horses at sales.’’

On the Cavalry Rose colt, Blue Gum’s Sean Dingwall said: “What a wonderful result. He’s a really nice type of horse and obviously the mare has done the job so it was great to get the job done for the owners.’’

To enquire about a passed in lot from the 2026 Premier Yearling Sale, contact Britt Hussey on 0409 333 823.

Focus now switches to the digital world, with entries for the Inglis Digital March (Early) Online Sale closing at midnight tomorrow.

The sale will open for bidding at 3pm Friday, with the final countdown of bidding set to begin from 10am next Wednesday, March 11.

To enter CLICK HERE.

It’s then all about the ‘Best of the Best’ at the Easter Yearling Sale, which will be held at Riverside Stables on March 29 and 30.

Inspections will begin in Sydney on March 24.

To view the Easter catalogue CLICK HERE.

2026 PREMIER YEARLING SALE STATISTICS - BOOK 1 (2025 stats in brackets)

Lots catalogued: 587 (565)

Lots Sold: 423 (393)

Clearance Rate: 81% (80%)

Average Price: $144,569 ($136,557)