News

Oakleigh Plate winner joins stellar Chairman's Sale line-up

9th Mar 2021

Recent G1 Oakleigh Plate winner Celebrity Queen (Redoute’s Choice) is among the latest headline entries confirmed for the Inglis Chairman’s Sale.

The outstanding 4YO scored a stunning dead-heat victory in last month’s Oakleigh Plate at Caulfield, her seventh career win from just 14 race starts.

Celebrity Queen is by champion stallion and leading broodmare sire Redoute’s Choice out of the Stakes-winning mare Celebrity Miss, herself out of dual G1 winner Miss Margaret.

Celebrity Queen debuted with a victory in August 2019 and has missed a place only three times in her career, which has to date netted close to $1m in prizemoney.

In five Stakes runs – her past five career starts - she has recorded a G1 win, an unlucky G1 placing (2nd to Elite Street in last year’s Winterbottom Stakes), a G3 win and a G3 placing, making her one of the best credentialed mares to have come out of the west in recent decades for racing powerhouse Bob and Sandra Peters.

Celebrity Queen (pictured) is being targeted toward the G1 TJ Smith Stakes at Randwick on Day 1 of The Championships on April 3, a little over a month before the Chairman’s Sale.

Celebrity Queen joins the likes of two-time G1 winner Pippie (Written Tycoon), fellow dual G1 winner Danzdanzdance, G1 Blue Diamond runner-up Lankan Star, multiple Stakes-winning 2YO Mildred and Courchevel - the Snitzel half sister to champion mare Winx who carries a Capitalist pregnancy – among a stunning list of other mares confirmed for the sale, setting the scene for another outstanding renewal.

The catalogue is also set to include mares in foal to the likes of leading sires such as I Am Invincible, Written Tycoon and Zoustar, as well as a rare southern hemisphere-time pregnancy to exciting young sire Night Of Thunder.

In the past two editions of the Chairman’s Sale, the average price for race fillies and race mares is over $545,000, while three of the four highest-priced pregnant mares sold at public auction in Australasia in 2019 and 2020 were sold at the Chairman’s Sale.

Eight fillies or mares have sold for $1m or more in that same time including Maastricht who sold for $2.25m in 2019 and In Her Time who sold for $2m in 2020, a record Australasian price for a breeding proposition of her age.

The Chairman’s Sale will this year be held as a live auction at Riverside on the evening of Friday May 7.

Celebrity Queens’ breeder and owner Bob Peters admitted that it was with great reluctance he is offering Celebrity Queen for sale.

“I’d rather not be selling her and while I’m retaining the dam, Celebrity Queen is going to be a great opportunity for someone,’’ Peters said.

“It’s quite a young family and as a breeder it would excite me that her first four dams are by Redoute’s Choice, More Than Ready, Marscay and Sir Tristram.”

Inglis Bloodstock Consultant Harry Bailey said: “It is an absolute honour to be given the opportunity by Mr and Mrs Peters to sell Celebrity Queen on their behalf at the Chairman’s Sale.

“With her joining Pippie in the sale, the 2021 Chairman’s Sale is going to be the home of the best speed mares that Australia has to offer to the world, so it’s very exciting.

“We are very proud of what Chairman’s has become and after the virtual sale of 2020, we are looking forward to a fantastic sale back at Riverside in May.

“There is great quality among the entries for the Australian Weanling Sale and the Australian Broodmare Sale, as well as a big representation of yearlings in the HTBA May Sale, so it’s going to be a fantastic 10 days at Riverside in May.’’

Entries for the Chairman’s Sale, as well as the HTBA May Sale, the Australian Weanling Sale and the Australian Broodmare Sale close soon.

To enter, contact a member of the Inglis bloodstock team or CLICK HERE.