Sale Overview

Demand for top quality racing prospects continued at the fourth annual Inglis Ready2Race Sale, when four colts topped $300,000 for the first time ever at an Australian breeze up sale.

The colts by Smart Missile, Written Tycoon, Street Cry and Pierro went to buyers from Hong Kong, Australia, China and Thailand respectively and were among 30 lots that sold for $100,000 or more, which is almost double the 16 in 2015.

The sale gross of $9,221,500 was an Australian two-year-old sale record, with 147 lots sold at an average of $62,731.

Baystone Farm was the leading vendor with a 100% clearance rate from their draft of five, with an aggregate of $845,000. They were one of 19 vendors to enjoy a 100% clearance rate at the sale.

“Inglis promoted this sale and got a lot of Asian clients here as well as a lot of local trainers. I think this sale will just keep on improving,” Dean Harvey of Baystone Farm told ANZ Bloodstock News after the sale.

The leading sire was Australian Champion first season sire Smart Missile, whose four Lots sold averaged $142,000 and included one of the equal top prices of $310,000 for the colt from Asshewaqua (Lot 153). The colt was knocked down to the final bid of Hong Kong trainer Benno Yung and his bloodstock agent Charles Yung after being pinhooked by Baystone Farm from the Easter Yearling Sale for $40,000.

The other colt to make $310,000 at the sale was another great pinhook result, this time by Chevaux Bloodstock of Mittagong. A $64,000 pinhook from the Classic Yearling Sale, Lot 166, a colt by Written Tycoon from Best Feature, was sold at the Ready2Race Sale to Damon Gabbeddy’s Belmont Bloodstock, Victoria.

Champion trainer Darren Weir was all smiles when his client Yuesheng Zhang secured the Street Cry half-brother to Thousand Guineas contender Leotie for $300,000 when sold as Lot 61.

“I looked at him a couple of times and really liked the horse, liked his pedigree, he’s a great type, well built and I’m really excited that he’s coming into the stable,’’ Weir said.

“I like to shop where the fish are already biting,’’ said Mr Zhang. “I believe that when a mare shows she can get a nice horse, it tends to come out in not just one of their foals, but several. Lightning strikes twice as far as good broodmares go in my opinion, and I see Prairie Star as a very good broodmare.’’

The leading purchaser at the sale was Vichit Pongsri-Iam of Thailand, who purchased eight lots for $1,075,000, with many of the purchases likely to do their racing in Singapore.

Among Pongsri-Iam’s purchases was Lot 154, a colt by Pierro from dual Group 3 winner Augusta Proud, which sold for $300,000 out of the draft of Platinum Park, Clarendon.

While international buyers were strong at the sale in purchasing juveniles to race around the world, the domestic market was also very active.

Among the local buyers who bought multiple Lots were Bjorn Baker, Lindsay Park Racing, Joseph And Jones Racing, Sheamus Mills Bloodstock and Darby Racing.

Inglis’ Managing Director Mark Webster was pleased to see 89 lots sold to Australian buyers, on top of the 58 that will head overseas, the majority to Asia.

“We introduced the Ready 2 Race concept four years ago as we saw a lot of domestic money from impatient owners going out of the country and clients in Asia wanting horses up and going. We set out to focus on a select offering that we would get behind and it would be a long-term goal to introduce a totally new product to the Australian market place.

“$9.2 million in gross sales and 30 lots sold for $100,000 or more are signs of good progress, but we recognise we still have a way to go to be up there with the best in the world in this area, but I’m confident we’ll get there.

“Behind the 70% clearance rate there were vendors that clearly won, making healthy profits on their yearling sale purchases, but others that struggled to be frank.

“On the back of a much larger catalogue we worked hard to get extra and new buyers to the sale, such as the leading buyer from Thailand, but the vendors and us still have a little bit to learn and we’ve got a marketplace than still needs to be fully developed

“I’d like to see more of the domestic buyers get behind the sale, not just the trainers and syndicators, but also the stud farms, because their support next year when we go into year five of this Ready 2 Race concept is only going to help them in the long run,” Webster said.

For more information or to make an offer on any horses passed in at the Ready2Race Sale, contact Inglis’ Business Development Manager Peter Twomey on 0408 603 967.