News

Osborne's claim the Mane act on Day 2 of Classic

7th Feb 2022

Mane Lodge front man Neil Osborne first sold at an Inglis Sale at Newmarket in 1979.

Fast forward 43 years and the 70-year-old today realised an achievement - “not a dream, because it wasn’t really anything I thought would ever realistically happen’’ – when his Extreme Choice x To Dubawi Go colt set a new Classic Sale individual price record of $825,000.

Purchased by Newgate Farm, China Horse Club and Trilogy Racing, the stunning colt (lot 313) eclipsed the former sale record which was set just 24 hours earlier, $775,000 for another Extreme Choice colt.

It was a monumental day for Osborne and his wife Denise, whose Mane Lodge in Sutton – between Goulburn and Canberra – has been a long-time supporter of Inglis.

“It’s fantastic, to be able to come here to Inglis and top the sale with a really genuine colt, it’s unbelievable really,’’ an emotional Osborne, who himself trained the dam To Dubawi Go, said.

“It’s sensational really, a new record for Classic, it’s hard to think words like that would ever come out of my mouth.

“I’ve got a lot of good friends here, a lot of good friends at Inglis, I just love them and it’s great to be able to celebrate with them and to achieve this here at Inglis.

“I love selling here, it’s only possible with the staff at Inglis and the staff back at home but wow, what a result.’’

A stunned Denise Osborne added: “I’m so excited, I can’t believe it. We foaled him down, right through, it’s all been fantastic, just unbelievable.’’

Newgate’s Henry Field revealed this was the colt (pictured) he wanted above all others at Classic.

“He’s a gorgeous athletic horse, plenty of scope, in my opinion the best Extreme Choice I’ve seen at a yearling sale this year, out of a Dubawi mare, off a great farm so we were just so pleased to get him for our big syndicate China Horse Club and Trilogy Racing for Jason and Mel Stenning, we’re delighted,’’ Field said.

“He’s a really good horse. He was the one horse we really wanted to buy at this sale.’’

It was also a poignant result for Newgate, who not only celebrated having the top two lots of the sale to date being by their burgeoning star stallion Extreme Choice, but the top four stallions on the overall sire aggregate to date stand at Newgate – Capitalist, Deep Field, Russian Revolution and Extreme Choice.

“The farm is going really well and as for Extreme, statistically he’s the best stallion in the country,’’ Field said.

“He’s as elite as they get. And when he throws a colt like this fella, the minute he walked out of his box I said ‘this is the horse we have to buy’.’’

The colt will be trained in Sydney, with a trainer to be decided after the Inglis Easter Yearling Sale.

Today’s second-top lot was a The Autumn Sun x Talimena filly (lot 288).

Offered by Valiant Stud on behalf of breeder Lloyd Walker, the filly sold for $550,000 to Glenn Burrows on behalf of NZ-based client Gary Harding.

“It’s unbelievable, a fantastic result. We obviously knew she’d sell but absolutely didn’t expect anything like that. It’s mind-blowing,’’ Walker said.

“I only have four mares – three in partnership with Valiant Stud and Talimena who I own outright – so I never thought I’d be playing with the big boys, but here we are.

“[Valiant Stud’s] Fergal [Connolly] and I looked at the options as to where to sell this filly and we both thought Classic was perfect for her, that she would be a standout at Classic and now that every person under the sun turns up to a Classic Sale, it was a winning move by us. You can absolutely be confident at Classic that as a vendor you’re going to get a great price.

“I followed The Autumn Sun through his racing days, I always loved him so to send a mare to him and for her to realise this, it’s a dream come true.’’

Burrows wasn’t expecting to have to go anywhere near the price tag he did to secure the filly.

“I was out on my feet. That was the absolute last bid. I had nothing left,’’ Burrows said.

“We came here thinking she was a $300,000-$350,000 filly so we had to push things to the absolute extremes to get her. I pushed the client and said ‘let’s have one last bid’ and he relented and we got her.

“To my eye she was the filly of the sale.’’

Day 2 ended with a sale average of $126,444 – a 22% year-on-year increase from the corresponding stage of the sale, with the gross at $55,509,000, a jump of 26% from Day 2 in 2021, making it a second consecutive record individual days gross for a Classic Sale.

The clearance rate continues to climb and is at an extremely healthy 89%.

So far 234 horses have sold for $100,000 or more (the figure was 137 at this time last year) while the lots to sell for $200,000 or more has seen a staggering near 100% jump to 79 (up from 40 last year and 28 in 2020).

“We worked hard through the Spring to solicit support by Australasia’s best breeders for this sale and to have the response to the catalogue be as positive as it has been is hugely rewarding,” Inglis Bloodstock chief executive Sebastian Hutch said.

“The spectrum of buyers at all levels is absolutely fantastic, the atmosphere through the sale has been wonderful and there are so many great stories to have emerged from the last couple of days.

“We still have 120 lots remaining to offer from the Main Book tomorrow and then we get into the Highway Session which will see another whole level of options arise for buyers.

“There are plenty of cracking yearlings in the Highway Session and there is going to be great value to be found in that session for those who engage effectively with the catalogue.”

Lots 541-810 have been catalogued for Day 3 of the sale, which begins at 10am tomorrow at Riverside Stables.

The first 120 lots conclude Book 1 before the Highway Session begins at lot 661.

To view the catalogue, CLICK HERE.

Day 3 action will again be broadcast live on the Inglis website and Facebook Page via our Sale Day Live coverage, with the Preview Show beginning at 9.30am.

To enquire on a passed in lot from the opening two days of the sale, contact Harry Bailey on 0420 997 417.

STATISTICS (last year in brackets)

Lots sold: 439 (423)

Clearance Rate: 89% (89%)

Average Price: $126,444 ($103,959)

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

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

Gross: $55,509,000 ($43,974,500)