News

Top Buyer Turns Top Seller On Day 2

7th Apr 2010

James Bester secured the third million dollar yearling of the sale when he landed Kitchwin Hills’ much-admired Redoute’s Choice-Asian Reef colt for $1.2million this afternoon.

The colt (pictured), whose dam has already produced Bon Hoffa and Before Too Long, topped the second session of the 2010 Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale.

He is one of 25 yearlings to have cracked the half million dollar mark this week.

For Kitchwin Hills, it was a role reversal, after buying the current sale topping Redoute’s Choice-Regrowth colt for $1.875million yesterday. This is Kitchwin’s first million dollar yearling, improving on the mark of $900,000 for a Redoute’s Choice filly last year.

“This horse has an incredible hind leg action, beautiful floating action in front ... I don’t buy them if they don’t have that. He is as complete a colt as I have seen,” Bester said.

“He has a mother who produced a Group 1 winner and a course record breaking Group 2 winner by a bread and butter sire. What can she do with Redoute’s Choice?

“Kitchwin Hills are fabulous operators. He’s had a great start in life and ticked every single box.”

The sale gross had gone through the $60million mark by this evening, at an average of $222,408 and overall clearance rate of 75%.

Yesterday’s clearance rate had risen to 78% late today and Inglis Managing Director Mark Webster is hopeful of reaching the 80% mark when the sale concludes tomorrow.

“There’s a lot of buyers on the list that haven’t unloaded yet and I would like to think they will spend that money and not go home empty-handed,” Webster said.

“We are seeing a few studs buying and that’s a reflection that they see an opportunity to buy into these nice horses at a time when the market is a little soft.

“In saying that, the sale is still averaging beyond the $220,000 mark, which is very much the top of the tree for yearling sales in this part of the world.”

The sale concludes tomorrow, with selling starting at 11am. There are another 100 lots to be sold from the first part of the catalogue, before Session II, which comprises Lots 501 to 614, follows.

Horses passed in during the opening two days are still available for sale via the Inglis Make an Offer service.