Just three weeks ahead of our own National Yearling Sale, the most extraordinary Inglis Easter in history concluded at Riverside Warwick Farm, New South Wales on Wednesday on what was officially the most spectacular individual day of selling on record at a Southern Hemisphere yearling sale.
Emotions spilled over as vendors were “gobsmacked’’, “totally floored’’ and “flabbergasted’’ as 20 horses realised A$1m or more, four sold for A$2m or more and one for A$3m.
It created a memorable 48 hours that saw the highest gross, highest average and highest median for an Easter Sale in its 117-year history.
Among a plethora of unprecedented highs:
*All key financial indicators increased with the current gross of A$151,325,000 up 15% year-on-year and eclipsing the long-standing record from 2008 when Darley and Ingham Bloodstock famously went head-to-head on a A$37m spending spree
*The average of A$406,788 and median of A$300,000 both set new benchmarks for Southern Hemisphere yearling sales as clear record highs, enjoying increases of 10% and 7% respectively
*Arrowfield set a new benchmark for vendors, grossing a staggering A$30,175,000 from 58 horses sold, the first time in history a vendor has grossed more than A$30m in this part of the world
*Coolmore flexed its muscle on the buying front, ending as leading buyer by gross and average (for three or more purchased), spending A$10,300,000 on six lots at an average of A$1,716,667
*The sale’s top lot – a Zoustar x Solar Charged colt from Widden – became the equal-third highest yearling ever sold in the Southern Hemisphere and most expensive in nine years when selling to Coolmore for A$3m
*Overall, 20 horses sold for A$1m or more including the four most expensive horses sold in the Southern Hemisphere this year, again asserting Easter as the most prolific producer of seven-figure yearlings
*The most expensive Zoustar and Dundeel yearlings, most expensive I Am Invincible filly (and equal most expensive I Am Invincible yearling) and first millionaire Justify yearling were all achieved today alone.
Hawkes Racing secured the highest-priced filly of #InglisEaster 2022, Arrowfield Stud’s Snitzel x Silent Sedition filly, for A$2.2m.
Today’s top lot from Widden brought stud principal Antony Thompson to tears.
“It’s stunning. I can’t believe it. Words can’t describe the rollercoaster being behind the auctioneer there and seeing that horse make A$3 million, it is just overwhelming,’’ an elated Thompson said.
“I’m blown away, we all are.
“To top any sale is a fantastic thing but to top the Inglis Easter Sale, it’s pretty awesome. It’s been a stunning sale. You come here with the best of the best, you really have to stump up, there’s a lot of competition and so many beautiful horses on the complex, the buyers here are very professional.
“We knew we had a very special horse but wow, that’s a very special price. I’m just flabbergasted really.’’
The colt was one of six for Coolmore – all of which were seven-figure purchases – which also included today’s second-top lot, a Snitzel x Response colt from Arrowfield for A$2,250,000.
“We’re in the game this week of trying to find stallions. If you want to find the good pedigrees, they’re all here this week at Inglis Easter,’’ Magnier said.
“Around the world there is a lot of high prices on yearlings, but it’s about the types you walk away with. The truck will be going back to the farm tonight and to the breakers and hopefully, there is the next Home Affairs in there.
“The Solar Charged, he was probably the best type at the sale…and the Response, it’s a real stallion’s pedigree and if he does it on the racetrack, well they’re the kind of horses we wanted to get this week.’’
Arrowfield’s John Messara described Easter 2022 as “outstanding’’ and something he and his staff were proud of.
Arrowfield offered the second and third top lots of the sale; the Response colt as well as a Snitzel x Silent Sedition filly, which sold to Hawkes Racing for A$2.2m.
“We were very pleased with the outcome, I’m elated and I’m really happy for the team. We broke our own record, by a huge margin, by A$9 million which is ridiculous. We are very proud of that,’’ Messara said.
“It’s very gratifying because there has been a massive investment to get to where we are today.
“On the two big ones today, the [Response] colt we felt he was going to fetch big money because he was admired by so many professional buyers and in the end they got into a tussle to get him up to a pretty high level.
“His mother has thrown two good ones ahead of him, so it’s a low-risk proposition buying him based on what his mother has already thrown.
“And the [Silent Sedition] filly, I thought to my eye there were some very nice fillies in the sale but she was as good a filly as you could find. Almost perfect in every way so let’s hope she proves that on the track.’’
The fourth A$2m+ lot today was an I Am Invincible x Pinocchio filly – a half sister to Everest winner Classique Legend – which Tyreel Stud sold to Mitchell Bloodstock on behalf of The Yellow Brick Road Company’s Phillip Visalli for an even A$2m.
The filly – along with the six Coolmore-purchased colts – will be trained by Chris Waller.
“There may be no such thing as a perfect horse, but she’s as close as you’ll get,’’ Visalli said.
“We’ve been in racing for years and have had a Group 2 winner before but never a Group 1, so hopefully this filly fixes that in the next year or two or three.
“We loved the horse, we hadn’t bought one in a few years and decided we wanted to get back involved and when we fell in love with her, I asked Bill and James Mitchell to take a look to see if they agreed with us, and they did, so we went for her.’’
An emotional Monds added: “Absolutely amazing, just an outstanding result.
“I’m just blown away. I didn’t think I’d achieve that in this market. Colts will, I just didn’t think a filly could get there, it’s honestly floored me.’’
Inglis Bloodstock CEO Sebastian Hutch said he couldn’t have wished for a more remarkable two days than what unfolded at Riverside this week.
Sebastian Hutch
“That was Inglis Easter. The sale was extraordinary, today especially, for so many people, so many breeders, so many vendors and so many buyers who are taking home with them the best yearlings available to the public market this year,’’ Hutch said.
“We work hard to help people achieve their optimum results, so for the last two days to play out as they have is hugely satisfying.
“We don’t take our marketing line of ‘Inglis Easter. Best of the Best’ lightly, it’s something we are extremely passionate about ensuring is proven to be the case year after year and it’s certainly been so again this year.
“On behalf of everyone at Inglis, I want to express a huge amount of gratitude to everyone who participated in making the Inglis Easter Yearling Sale of 2022 such a special event and a wonderful success.’’
To view our Sale Day Live Day 2 Review Show, CLICK HERE.
To enquire on any passed in lot from the Easter Sale, please contact Harry Bailey on 0420 997 417.
Buyers’ attention now switches to Inglis Digital, where entries for the April (Early) Sale close at midnight tonight.
The catalogue will be live from Friday afternoon, with the final countdown of bidding to resume from midday next Wednesday, April 13.
To submit an entry, CLICK HERE.
2022 EASTER YEARLING SALE STATISTICS – (2021 stats in brackets)
- Lots sold: 372 (356)
- Clearance rate: 85% (88%)
- Average Price: A$406,788 (A$371,236)
- Median Price: A$300,000 (A$280,000)
- Top Price: A$3,000,000 (A$2,500,000)
- Gross: A$151,325,000 (A$132,160,000)
