AMAZINGLY STRONG 2023 Inglis EASTER Yearling Sale Concludes

05 Apr 23

ECONOMIC SLOWDOWN? What economic slowdown?

At the moment it certainly doesn’t exist in the quality end of the Australian Thoroughbred Industry where the insatiable thirst for quality thoroughbreds to compete for record prizemoney was maintained close to the peak of last year’s Record Sale Figures.

If ever there were questions to be answered about the state of play in the racing game, it would have come to the fore over the past 48 hours at the 2023 INGLIS EASTER YEARLING SALE conducted on 3-4 April at the Riverside Sales Complex at Warwick Farm.

At a time were inflation, interest rate rises, and cost of living concerns have seen contractions in certain sectors of the economy, an anticipated thoroughbred market correction was almost negligible.

It was an incredible two days of trade which saw the Easter Yearling Sale stand against the tide of pre-sale trepidation.

Over an incredible 48 hours of action:

*A total of 26 horses sold for $1m or more, becoming the “second highest” amount of millionaire yearlings at a Southern Hemisphere yearling sale. It was only behind the 2008 Easter extravaganza which saw 28 yearlings realise seven figures.

*Of the millionaire yearlings; nine (9) were by I Am Invincible, seven (7) by Snitzel, two (2) were by Written Tycoon, while The Autumn Sun with two (2) and Russian Revolution (1) both joined the millionaires club as a stallion for the first time.

* In another milestone, exciting young sire The Autumn Sun also produced the Sale Topper of $1.8m for Lot 440 a filly ex Via Africa whilst Pierro produced the Day One Sale Topper and overall second Top Lot of the sale at $1.75m for his daughter from Ennis Hill, the half-sister to Learning To Fly (by Justify).

*The sale gross of $137,670,000 was the “third highest” turnover in the sale’s history, with only last year’s record-breaking auction and the 2008 phenomenon ahead of this year’s renewal.

*Yulong Stud was leading buyer, purchasing 23 yearlings outright and a further two with partners for a total spend of $13,145,000.

*Arrowfield ended as a clear leading vendor ahead of Widden and Coolmore, selling 54 yearlings for a combined $22,260,000 while the leading vendor by average (for three or more yearlings sold) was Silverdale Farm, who sold seven yearlings at an average of $664,286.

*I Am Invincible was leading sire by both aggregate and average, with 31 of his progeny selling for $24,455,000 at an average of $788,871 and a higher Median of $800,000 whilst Snitzel was in the runner-up position having 34 yearlings sell for $21,270,000 at an average of $625,588 and a Median of $517,500.

Arrowfield’s John Messara described the sale topping The Autumn Sun x Via Africa filly as “something special.’’

“She is by our stallion, we’re very proud of him and we are very hopeful about him and she was an absolute queen, a true athlete,’’ Messara said.

“I think she’s a particularly exciting prospect because of her physical characteristics - she had balance, she had scope, she had substance, she was a great mover, she had everything you look for.

“She’s a very valuable commodity, we paid a lot of money for her.’’

On being leading vendor for the sale, Messara added: “The market was very strong…and I am very impressed that the (Inglis team) has been able to gather those clients together to bid for the horses so it’s been very good.

“It all fits in with our predictions but I think the top end was certainly stronger than I thought it would be.’’

The Day 2 second-top lot was a Snitzel x Ultimate Fever colt which sold to Coolmore for $1.6m.

Coolmore’s Tom Magnier added: “the right people here and this is the sale that people all over the world are tuning into watch.

“What’s happening in Australia is very exciting, the market’s very strong, people all over the world are tuning into this sale.

The Easter Sale concluded with an average of $390,283 and clearance rate of 84%, which will no doubt continue to climb over the next few days.

Inglis Bloodstock CEO Sebastian Hutch happily admitted he did not envisage the spending splurge that has unfolded at Riverside the past two days.

“It has been a very good sale, particularly in the context of the year so far,’’ Hutch said.

“It’s hard not to be pleased. To sell 26 horses for $1m or more is really quite surreal in the current market, it’s a credit to the vendors who have produced these yearlings in such outstanding fashion and a credit to the buyers who have again accepted that Easter is where they get the Best of the Best and where they’re happy to pay top dollar for top products.’’

2023 EASTER YEARLING SALE STATISTICS – (2022 in brackets)

Lots sold: 353 (372)
Passed In: 69 (16%)
Clearance rate: 84% (85%)
Average Price: $390,283 (down 4.1%) ($406,788)
Median Price: $280,000 (down 6.66%) ($300,000)
Top Price: $1,800,000 (Lot 440) ($3,000,000)
Gross: $137,770,000 ($151,325,000)

What this Easter sale proved yet again to Team Dynamic Owners, there is sensational buying in January on the Gold Coast at the Magic Millions.

Each year their sale seems strong for the incredible crop of athletic horses that pass through the sale ring and each year they represent terrific value when held against the prices paid at Easter.

Vendors tend to take yearlings based upon type to the Magic Millions and based upon Pedigrees to Easter. As a result, it proves by doing due diligence in January wonderful opportunities exist.

Dynamic Syndications loaded up on the Gold Coast purchasing 13 high quality yearlings there and we purchased a super filly by Lonhro at Inglis Melbourne Premier to join our three private yearlings we purchased late last year.

Of the 17 Yearlings we added to our stables, they were all of Easter quality and had Easter pedigrees and there is little doubt that had these been offered at Easter we would not have been able to afford to buy any of them.