TONY ARNOLD FROM THE AUSTRALIA
Inglis’ Melbourne Premier yearling sale maintained a strong presence in the marketplace when it posted an increase in the average price for the fourth successive year on its Select I session last week.
There was a stubborn reluctance to sign off with fractional increases against a worldwide downward trend in 2010, 2011 and 2012 – this year average prices jumped 8.58% in the Premier’s Select I session.
Several factors contributed to the heady average lift, not least of all a significant increase of entries from studs and vendors in the NSW Hunter Valley region and notably Coolmore Stud.
Marketing missions to South Africa paid off big time with the buyers’ sheets showing nine individual buyers spending just over $2 million on 31 yearlings – which is quite a feat coming just one month after the new glamour Cape yearling sale.
A third factor was the inaugural Blue Riband session, hailed by Inglis Managing Director Mark Webster as a “huge success”.
Inglis Managing Director Mark Webster labelled the Blue Riband "a huge success"
There was a clear message that the Melbourne Premier has the scope to move up the pecking order of principal sales, with the New Zealand National in January, and the battalion of Australian-bred entries in the catalogue, a clear target.
Coolmore, always among the biggest vendors for the Inglis Easter and Magic Millions Gold Coast sales, ships a select draft across the Tasman each year.
This year, it tested the Premier’s waters, offering 16 yearlings and sold 14 lots at an average $79,375 or slightly above the overall Select I average.
Coolmore Stud brought a strong draft to the Premier Sale
The standout of Coolmore’s draft was the $340,000 topper of the Blue Riband session – the colt by Fastnet Rock from dual classic winner Arborea, who was aged 22 when she foaled the youngster.
Of 535 lots offered, 409 were sold to fetch $32,079,912 – lineballing with last year’s trade on much the same number sold – while the average grew from $72,412 to $78,627.
The Select II session saw 118 lots sold (a rise in the clearance to 72%) for a gross of $3,341,045 and an average of $28,314, almost identical to 2012.
The combined figures saw 526 lots sold for $35,420,957 ($35,037,181 in 2012) for an average $67,340 which showed an increase of 8.95% on the 2012 Premier.