Inglis Chairman's Sale fares well with four mares sold online for A$1m or more

Some vendors were prepared to hold onto their elite breeding stock with a view to riding out the current worldwide economic turmoil while others were well rewarded for meeting the market with their elite mares at the Inglis Chairman’s Sale, held online on Friday.

The top of the market, as it was at the company's virtual Easter Yearling Sale, remained remarkably strong with four seven-figure mares traded as leading industry figures took the opportunity to source some of the best-credentialed broodmares on the market.

Group 1 winners In Her Time, Samaready, Booker and Youngstar all broke the million-dollar barrier at the virtual auction, being knocked down for A$2 million, A$1.8m, A$1.6m and A$1.4m respectively.

View sale results

Newgate Farm principal Henry Field won the battle for sale-topper In Her Time, while his Coolmore Australia peer Tom Magnier secured Oakleigh Plate winner Booker and Samaready, who is carrying a Snitzel sibling to Magic Millions 2YO Classic winner Exhilarates.

Japan’s Katsumi Yoshida was also active, buying the Chris Waller-trained Youngstar and her former stablemate, Group 2 winner Noire for A$800,000, to take back to the northern hemisphere.

The quartet of seven-figure lots pushed the average close to last year’s impressive figures, again underlining the willingness of industry stakeholders to take a longer-term view, but the clearance rate was down as the depth of the buying bench was tested due to the uncertainty created by the global coronavirus pandemic.

There were 51 lots sold last night at an average of A$429,804 in comparison to last year’s A$432,019 average, while the median of A$275,000 was also down slightly year on year. The clearance rate was hovering at 65 per cent at the end of selling. It was at 88 per cent at the same time last year.

Given the circumstances and the government-imposed restrictions placed on travel and businesses because of Covid-19, Inglis managing director Mark Webster was more than pleased with the results of the virtual Chairman’s Sale.

“I have mixed feelings about what could have been if we were able to assemble all the mares here and have the buyers to develop a full marketplace,” Webster said last night.

“To have achieved the results that we have with no horses on the ground and no buyers, it’s very satisfying to have a sale where we’ve sold four mares for over a million and we’ve had competition from around the world.”

The clearance rate is expected to pick up over the weekend and the no pass-in commission also provided vendors with great flexibility to elect to hold onto their mares if they did not reach their desired value.

“It's different to a yearling sale in the sense that breeders can hold on to them," Webster said. "When they have a yearling generally they want to move them on and let somebody else take over the training costs and the racing costs.

“In this case the breeders don’t have the compulsion to have to do that. They are here to trade, but they don’t have to as they have other options. They can foal them down, they can sell them next year if they want to.

“Having said that, I think there's some great support for this sale from breeders in general and, equally, a high-class buying bench.

"I’m really delighted for the sale to average $430,000 during a global health crisis and what is becoming an economic crisis is quite startling.”

Field bides his Time

Field, trading under the Newgate Bloodstock banner with fellow local and international partners, was the leading purchaser, buying seven lots to go with his blue-chip broodmare acquisition in the former Kris Lees and Ben Smith-trained The Galaxy and Black Caviar Lightning Stakes winner In Her Time.

The top-class mare, who is closely related to Coolmore’s prized first-season sire Yes Yes Yes, was sold by Yarraman Park on behalf of Orbis Bloodstock and Peter Brown.

“We thought she would make around $1.5 million to $1.6 million, so $2 million exceeded expectations,” Yarraman Park director Arthur Mitchell said.

“She really is lovely. She's medium-sized and she didn’t look to have any wear and tear, even though she is a seven-year-old rising eight. She's very sound.

“She has a beautiful nature, with a lovely head and is a beautifully balanced mare who moves well.”

Catalogued as Lot 42, In Her Time is one of five winners for Hell It’s Hot, a half-sister to The Shorts winner Hot As Hell, Listed winners Flaming Hot, Craig’s Dragon and Sin Sin Sin, who, of course, is the mother of Coolmore’s Everest winner Yes Yes Yes.

Newgate Bloodstock also purchased Group 1-winning New Zealand sprinter Volpe Veloce for A$675,000. She will be covered this year by Newgate Farm’s first-season sire, the Doncaster Mile winner Brutal.

Group 2 winner Decorah, who is in foal to Russian Revolution and made A$210,000, will also visit Brutal.

Newgate Farm is also launching the stud careers of Tassort and Cosmic Force this year. Tassort has been earmarked to cover Diddles, the half-sister to this year’s Black Opal Stakes winner Barbaric, after she was bought by the group for A$300,000 on Friday.

Centafaith, the dam of three-time Group 1-placed filly Fundamentalist, will visit Cosmic Force after she made A$250,000 as will A$200,000 acquisition Windradyne.

Magnier feels Justified in high-stakes play

Tom Magnier was the second leading buyer at the sale by aggregate, spending A$3.4m combined on proven producer Samaready and off-the-track mare Booker, with the duo to be covered by unbeaten US Triple Crown winner Justify in his second southern-hemisphere season later this year.

The purchase of the two mares, which comes 12 months after Coolmore spent millions acquiring the likes of Maastricht, Srikandi and Global Glamour to support Justify’s first Australian book, highlights Magnier and his partners’ determination to ensure the son of Scat Daddy is given every chance at stud.

“We bought a lot of nice mares last year and we want to do the same again this year," Magnier said. "Obviously we want to be a big supporter of Justify, as a lot of people are and he’s getting the best chance at stud by getting the best mares for him.

“Samaready ticks every box - she was a great race mare, she’s a great physical, she’s got the pedigree and she’s proven. She’s ideal. When you put her to a champion like Justify, hopefully the end result will be exciting. Booker looks very fast and she’s got a lot of quality.

“All the top people were on her so we’re delighted to get a mare like this for the syndicate.’’

Booker, who was raced by Victorian owners Barrie and Midge Griffiths who also sold Heatherly off the track at the 2018 Magic Millions Gold Coast National Broodmare Sale for $1.6m, is a brother to VRC Springtime Stakes winner Banquo.

Their dam Noondie, herself a half-sister to Listed winner Tranquility, made A$600,000 at last year’s Chairman’s Sale.

Blue Diamond Stakes winner Samaready, who was a wildcard entry for consignor Vinery Stud, was sold with an early cover to reigning champion sire Snitzel. Her first foal to race, the Godolphin-owned Exhilarates, has won four races including the Quezette Stakes and the 2019 Magic Millions juvenile race.

Vinery Stud general manager Peter Orton said it was a bittersweet decision to part with Samaready, describing her as a “wonderful mare’’.

“She’s a beautiful mare and it’s sad to see her leave the farm but she realised what was a great price for her," he continued. "In this market you’re never too sure but she got the value she deserved.

“It’s a new world and I just love in this industry how enthusiastic and resilient it is and how people are embracing this new concept of virtual and online selling.

“It’s such an exciting industry to be involved in and for the stability to still show through under a pretty dire global situation has been fantastic.’’

Two mares in foal to Justify were sold on Friday, with Gall Bloodstock going to A$250,000 for Lyskintyre Lass.

Christian and Mills land Samara Dancer and Lubiton

Victorian investor Michael Christian’s push to establish his Longwood Thoroughbreds operation as a leading seller of elite horses received a significant boost when the former Australian rules footballer secured two stakes-winning commercial mares for a combined A1.37m.

Christian, in conjunction with agent Sheamus Mills, paid A$750,000 for Group 2-winning juvenile Samara Dancer who is in foal to champion four-time Group 1-winning sprinter Trapeze Artist.

Later in the select Chairman’s session the pair added Lubiton, who is in foal to I Am Invincible, for A$620,000.

“We've spent the week in the Hunter and looked at all the mares. We were really taken by Samara Dancer and Lubiton and were very excited to pick them up for what we thought were great prices,” Christian said.

“We sat down at the start of the day and our best combination was to buy Lubiton and Samara Dancer. To buy them at the prices we could, we were absolutely rapt because we valued them at a much higher price than what we were able to get them for.”

Widden Stud’s Antony Thompson and Queensland-based David Lucas combined at the 2017 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale to buy the Phillip Stokes-trained Samara Dancer, the 2016 Blue Diamond Prelude winner, for A$825,000.

Samara Dancer was sent to I Am Invincible for her first two years, producing a colt and last September a filly by the Yarraman Park stallion before she was one of the best-credentialed mares to visit Trapeze Artist in his first year at Widden Stud.

Christian plans to send Samara Dancer back to I Am Invincible this year.

"Physically, Samara Dancer had the real wow factor," he said. "She's a magnificent looking mare. She's a Group 2 two-year-old winner, which I think is critical.

“She's from a great family and Trapeze Artist is certainly the best of the first-season crop, so I think his progeny will sell really well.”

While four of the five mares offered in foal to Trapeze Artist sold at the Chairman’s Sale, Arrowfield Stud’s The Autumn Sun was also well received, achieving a 100 per cent clearance rate and selling to a top of A$280,000.

Meanwhile, the Yarraman Park-consigned Lubiton also suited Christian’s plan to increase the quality of his broodmare band. She was a juvenile winner of five races, including two at stakes level.

“She's a two-time stakes winner and in foal to the best stallion in the land,” he said. “We hope to send her back to I Am Invincible this spring. We're really excited to be able to get quality broodmares onto the farm.”

Yarraman Park was the leading vendor by aggregate and average (three or more lots sold), with all four mares selling for A$3.06m at an average of A$765,000, while Glenesk Thoroughbreds was next in line, selling ten of its 11 lots for a combined A$2.86m.

The countdown of selling for the 399-lot digital Inglis Australian Broodmare Sale starts at 10am local time on Saturday.

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