News

It's official - best Classic Sale ever!

8th Feb 2022

The most successful Classic Sale in history ended this evening with multiple records smashed and a huge cross-section of participants on both sides of the industry ledger enjoying remarkable outcomes.

On a truly amazing three days at Riverside:

*The Book 1 gross of $66,786,000 was an astounding 30% increase on last year while the Book 1 average ($122,768) and median ($100,000) were up 20% and 25% respectively. The overall gross ended at a record $72,647,000, a 24.3% increase on 2021 and a staggering 53.5% increase on 2020, with similar numbers of lots catalogued in each of those years.

*There was remarkable growth in all facets of the market; 292 lots sold for $100,000 or more, up from 224 - or 30%. A total of 94 lots sold for $200,000 or more (an 84% year-on-year rise) while 25 sold for $300,000 or more, a 67% jump from 15 lots last year

*The overall top lot – an Extreme Choice x To Dubawi Go colt from Mane Lodge (lot 313) – realised $825,000, the highest price ever recorded at a Classic Sale. It eclipsed a new sale record which was set just a day earlier

*Newgate again ended as leading vendor, selling 48 horses for $5,645,000, finishing ahead of Sledmere who sold 29/29 for $4,955,000 and Widden, whose 38/40 sales grossed $4,455,000

*The Highway Session continued its annual increases, with its average of $49,858 a new record

*Inglis’ Sale Day Live broadcast saw a 10% jump in views to around 110,000 between the Inglis home page and Facebook page across the three days.

The Day 3 highlight was lot 558, a Fastnet Rock x Fiorentina filly (pictured) of Coolmore that saw Ciaron Maher Bloodstock, Australian Bloodstock and Lustre Lodge team up to purchase her for $500,000.

“She’s a beautiful filly who we brought here to Classic to really stand out, I mean she would have stood out at any sale. She had a lot of interest all through the week, plenty of good judges were on her,’’ Coolmore’s Tom Moore said of the filly, who is a half sister to G1 winner Silent Sedition.

“It’s been an incredibly strong sale with a great clearance rate and Inglis have done a great job getting all the buyers here.

“There’s people here on all different buying levels – you can bring really nice horses here to Classic and sell them with confidence knowing all the biggest buyers in the country are here.’’

Australian Bloodstock’s Jamie Lovett added: “The pedigree is there for everyone to see but physically she’s got so much quality about her. We’re hopeful she’ll get up and go early and then there’s that residual value as well.

“It’s been very strong, we’ve bought three or four but have missed quite a few more than that. It’s very competitive buying, very strong.’’

Newgate not only ended as leading vendor but they also enjoyed a spectacular sale for their stallions, with four of the top five sires by gross, standing at Newgate – Deep Field, Capitalist, Russian Revolution and Extreme Choice.

“I’m very proud of the team who have done so much hard work back home leading into this sale and to see these results at the end of the day is absolutely outstanding,’’ Newgate’s Henry Field said.

“We brought a robust group of yearlings to the sale. Classic is a sale we focus on to get the right horses there because as was seen again the past three days, the money is there for the horses because Inglis do such a fantastic job in getting so many buyers to Riverside.’’

Inglis Bloodstock chief executive Sebastian Hutch described the past week as “nothing short of extraordinary’’.

“Right from Day 1 of parades last Tuesday the complex has been abuzz with people, foot traffic led to excitement and anticipation from vendors and it’s been such a delight to see them realise some amazing results,’’ Hutch said.

“We can’t host a record sale as we just have without the support of the breeders and vendors to continually provide us with the opportunity to sell quality stock and it is very satisfying for our team to see so many people so very pleased with the sale.

“Of the top 13 lots of the sale, they were offered by 12 different vendors and purchased by 12 different buyers or partnerships which is such a fabulous indicator of the strength of the sale.

“There is tremendous momentum in the racing and bloodstock industries at the moment and I think the market is very much looking forward to the Inglis Premier Yearling Sale in Melbourne in two-and-a-half weeks which is a catalogue full of quality.

“I must acknowledge the efforts of the whole Inglis Team who have worked tirelessly to deliver a fantastic sale for vendors and buyers – the enthusiasm of the group to offer outstanding service is incredible and it’s exciting to consider how much there is to look forward to across the sales seasion.”

To enquire about any passed in lot from this year’s Classic Yearling Sale, contact Harry Bailey on 0420 997 417 or harry.bailey@inglis.com.au.

Buyers’ attention now moves to Inglis Digital, where a catalogue of 225 is currently selling in the February (Early) Online Sale.

The Final Countdown of lots begins at midday tomorrow, Wednesday February 9.

To register for bidding, to view the catalogue or to bid, CLICK HERE.

The focus then switches to Oaklands Junction in Melbourne for the Premier Yearling Sale on February 27, February 28 and March 1 for which 793 yearlings have been catalogued.

On-site inspections begin at Oaklands on Tuesday February 22.

To view the Premier catalogue, CLICK HERE.

2022 CLASSIC YEARLING SALE STATISTICS - BOOK 1 (2021 figures in brackets)

Lots catalogued: 660 (620)

Lots Sold: 545 (501)

Clearance Rate: 90% (91%)

Average Price: $122,612 ($102,421)

Median Price: $100,000 ($80,000)

Top Price: $825,000 ($625,000)

Gross: $66,823,500 ($51,313,000)

HIGHWAY SESSION

Lots catalogued: 150 (183)

Lots Sold: 116 (140)

Clearance Rate: 85% (88%)

Average Price: $49,858 ($48,736)

Median Price: $40,000 ($37,500)

Top Price: $200,000 ($220,000)

Gross: $5,783,500 ($6,823,000)