The main sessions of the Inglis Melbourne Premier Yearling Sale came to a close on Monday afternoon with over $52.4 million worth of stock changing hands.
It was an outstanding sale for Victorian bred horses, Victorian stallions and Victorian studs highlighted by the success of Swettenham Stud’s high achieving stallion Toronado.
That dual Group 1 winner had two lots in the top ten including the equal sale-topper Lot 197, a $1 million colt bred and sold by one of Victoria’s most successful breeders in Gilgai Farm.
“I absolutely love Toronado!” Gilgai’s Rick Jamieson enthused having also fetched $475,000 and $400,000 for colts he described as “the standouts of our draft.”
Swettenham’s Adam Sangster was also delighted, noting that Toronado’s excellent sales results come off the season where his fee rose to $88,000.
Toronado’s average of over $280,000 was the best result for a Victorian stallion though others enjoyed good results with the progeny of Yulong’s well credentialled team of young stallions also proving popular.
Just minutes later, the Rosemont bred Lot 201, a flashy colt but world-class stallion Frankel, became the second million dollar horse sold at Oaklands Junction this week, rewarding its breeder for supporting their home auction.
Written Tycoon was in the limelight again with yearlings selling for up to $380,000 whilst youngsters by Yulong’s exciting up-and-comer Lucky Vega also sold for up to $380,000 with his average of $230,000 particularly impressive coming off a $19,250 service fee.
With Treasurethe Moment shaping as one of the country’s best three-year-old fillies, her sire Alabama Express is looking to be a great young horse for Victoria and his progeny sold for up to $380,000; his most popular colt was purchased by his VRC Oaks winning daughter’s trainer Matt Laurie.
Victorian based stallions tended to fare better than the norm with Darley’s Earthlight, Lovatsville’s Fierce Impact and Swettenham Stud’s I Am Immortal all achieving higher averages than that of the sale’s overall average.
The fact that buyers were willing to take a chance on such young stallions shows that Victoria is in a good place for the future.
Especially with the strength of the studs producing some of Australia’s best horses, noting that the top biggest sellers by gross were all local farms -- Yulong, Widden Victoria, Rosemont, Blue Gum and Gilgai.
And the locally buying bench was strong, four of the top five by aggregate being Victorians with a lovely group of yearlings heading to Yulong, Clinton McDonald, Dom Sutton and Lindsay Park.
Carrie Hu, Executive Officer of Thoroughbred Breeders Victoria (TBV), praised the strength of Victorian breeding shown at the sale.
“This sale showcased the quality of Victorian-bred horses. To see a Victorian-bred colt by a Victorian stallion top the sale at $1 million and multiple Victorian bred horses achieving exceptional results was truly incredible.”
“It’s fantastic to see buyers investing in progeny by emerging Victorian sires like Alabama Express and Lucky Vega as well. The strong figure reflects the confidence in our breeding sector.”
Inglis’ Sebastian Hutch was delighted with the sale which boasts figures that compare extremely well to twelve months ago which has not been the case with the other sales this year.
“Some of the results for particular horses were astonishing,” he said, pleased that the Victorian sale is being so well supported by locals.
“We have a lot of gratitude for those vendors who have chosen to bring their best horses to their local sale,” he said.
“And it was encouraging to see the variety of people participating, there were lots of different bidders and there was always a different underbidder which is a good sign for the market.”
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