In Search of the Golden Egg

IN SEARCH OF THE GOLDEN EGG 
By Kelsey Riley 
The Inglis Australian Easter Sale kicks off its three-day stand in Newmarket, Sydney Tuesday, with 555 lots set to go under the hammer. While the Easter Sale has represented the cream of the Australasian yearling crop since it was first conducted in 1917, it has risen in prominence internationally in recent years, and one certainly wouldn’t blame Inglis personnel if they were entering the week with a strong sense of optimism. The sale received a timely boost yesterday when Emirates Park’s Mossfun (Aus) (Mossman {Aus}), purchased here for just A$85,000 last year, won the A$3.5 million G1 Golden Slipper and pushed her career earnings to over A$2.5 million. 
It seems rather fitting that the 2014 Slipper winner should emerge from Inglis Easter, where records were smashed and history made 12 months ago. The previous Australian record for a yearling at public auction (A$3 million) was broken not just once, but twice in the space of three days, headed by the A$5 million sale of a Redoute’s Choice (Aus) half-brother to World Champion sprinter Black Caviar (Aus) (Bel Esprit {Aus}). These high-rolling transactions resulted in five-year highs for average (A$290,481) and median (A$200,000), up 44% and 25%, respectively, from 2012. Inglis Managing Director Mark Webster described last year’s sale at the time as a “correction and catch-up” from the Great Financial Crisis. 
This year’s renewal features the progeny of 31 Group 1 winners, and 125 half- or full-siblings to stakes winners, including 32 Group 1 winners. The sale is set to start with a bang, as lot 1, a colt by Street Cry (Ire), is the first foal out of Champion 3-Year-Old Filly and three-time Group 1 winner Faint Perfume (Aus) (Shamardal). 
“From start to finish there is an exciting young Thoroughbred for a wide range of budgets here at Easter,” said Jonathan D’Arcy, Inglis Bloodstock Director. “We have again compiled a strict catalogue of Australasia’s best bred and conformed yearlings and would expect the same high percentage of stakes winners to come from throughout the buying spectrum that is a hallmark of Easter.” 

The Fastnet Files… 
Coolmore’s Champion Sire Fastnet Rock (Aus), all the rage at Australasian sales in recent years, is the most represented sire in the sale with 55 catalogued. Fastnet Rock was last year responsible for four of the five top lots of the week, and this year he is represented by the likes of lot 80, a colt out of Laetitia (Aus) (Woodman) who is a full to Group 3 winner Stryker (Aus); lot 149, a colt out of Perfect Persuasion (Aus) (Encosta de Lago {Aus}) from the family of champion and four-time Group 1 winner Alinghi (Aus) (Encosta de Lago {Aus}), and lot 417, a colt out of GII Comely S. winner Dream Play (Hennessy), who was purchased by Kia Ora Stud for $460,000 at Fasig-Tipton’s November Sale in 2009. Lot 417 has enjoyed a significant recent update, as his full-brother Zululand (Aus), purchased for A$1,500,000 here last year, won the G2 VRC Sires’ Produce S. Mar. 8. 
“Fastnet Rock had a super year last year, and we had around 10 to 12 simply outstanding types, both colts and fillies by Fastnet Rock, with big pedigrees,” D’Arcy said. “We had the buyers in town that were desperate to buy Fastnet Rocks, and I think it was the perfect storm that it all came together, and we saw not only the [Redoute’s Choice {Aus}] half-brother to Black Caviar making $5 million, but we saw Fastnet Rocks making $4 million and $2.5 million and $2 million.” 
Redoute’s Choice (Aus), the sire of last year’s record-breaking topper, has already made sales headlines this year as the sire of the A$1 million topper at the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale in January, and he is represented by 36 youngsters, including lot 133, a colt out of National Colour (SAf) (National Assembly), a champion in South African and Britain, and lot 143, a full to listed winner High Esteem (Aus) from the family of dual Italian Group 1 winner Central Park (Ire) and G1 Dubai World Cup winner Moon Ballad (Ire). 
Snitzel (Aus) currently sits ahead of Fastnet Rock as Australia’s leading sire, and his lot 118 is expected to draw attention Tuesday. The colt is a full to five-time group stakes winner Snitzerland (Aus), second in the 2012 G1 Golden Slipper. The catalogue also includes the lone foal out Australian Horse of the Year Typhoon Tracy (Aus) (lot 263, a colt by Street Cry); a High Chaparral (Ire) colt out of three-time G1 Melbourne Cup heroine Makybe Diva (GB) (lot 95), and siblings to recent stars So You Think (NZ) (lot 259, a colt by Medaglia d’Oro), Starspangledbanner (Aus) (lot 27, a colt by Choisir {Aus}) and Sepoy (Aus) (lot 277, a colt by Lonhro {Aus}). 
These potential superstars will look to join a long list of Group 1 winning Inglis graduates that includes five-time Group 1 winner Mosheen (Aus) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}), G1 Cox Plate hero Shamus Award (Aus) (Snitzel {Aus}), four-time Group 1 winner All Too Hard (Aus) (Casino Prince {Aus}), G1 Blue Diamond S. winner Samaready (Aus) (More Than Ready), and Singapore champion Better Life (Aus) (Smarty Jones). 
D’Arcy noted that while he expects this year’s sale to be strong, especially in the A$200,000 to A$600,000 middle market, it may be overly optimistic to expect last year’s results to be matched. 
“I think we’ve got some very good yearlings by Fastnet Rock and a host of other stallions, but they just don’t quite match up [on pedigree and type] the same as they did last year,” he said. “There are plenty of opportunities to buy some good Fastnet Rocks, and horses like Snitzel, More Than Ready and High Chaparral have some very nice horses here. I think they’ll be stallions that sell particularly well.” 
The middle and lower market has proven fruitful for Easter buyers in recent years, with Mossfun’s Slipper score just one poignant example. Mosheen and Shamus Award were purchased for A$250,000 and A$230,000, respectively, and have both gone on to earn more than A$2 million. Samaready and Better Life were both picked up for A$150,000 and are now millionaires. Last weekend’s G1 Al Quoz Sprint winner Amber Sky (Aus) (Exceed and Excel {Aus}) was an A$80,000 purchase here in 2011. 

Down Under on the Upward Climb… 
The Easter sale has played host to an increasing number of international buyers in recent years, with shoppers from Asia and the Middle East playing a particularly strong role. Last year, David Redvers signed for eight lots for A$2.72 million on behalf of Qatari interests, while Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Maktoum bought four for A$1.5 million in addition to partnering with Emirates Park Stud–owned by Dubai-based businessman Nasser Lootah–on the A$4 million second topper. Hong Kong interests were ever-prominent, with George Moore Bloodstock, trainer Ricky Yiu and the Hong Kong Jockey Club signing for a combined 15 lots for A$4.05 million. 
D’Arcy noted that the trend of international buyers descending on Easter began to gain traction with the introduction of shuttle sires, particularly the breed-shaping Danehill, who first stood Down Under in 1990. 
“With the introduction of the shuttle stallions through the likes of Danehill, we started seeing a few Europeans coming down, because they knew Danehill as a source of good speed up there in the Northern Hemisphere, so the likes of Adrian Nicholl [with BBA Ireland] and Angus Gold [Racing Manager to Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum] led the charge,” D’Arcy said. D’Arcy noted that Gold and Sheikh Hamdan–who has for many years raced horses in Australia and won some of the country’s most important races, including the Melbourne Cup and the G1 Blue Diamond S.–have found the Easter sale to be a strong source for horses to export to South Africa, and later to Dubai. Easter graduate Mushreq (Aus) (Flying Spur {Aus}) won last year’s G2 Al Fahidi Fort and this year’s Listed Singspiel S. in the Hamdan blue and white at the Dubai Carnival. Sheikh Hamdan currently has a pair of promising 2013 Easter graduates in South Africa, both unbeaten in two starts: Majmu (Aus) (Redoute’s Choice {Aus}), purchased for A$300,000 here last year, most recently won the Mar. 29 G3 Pretty Polly S. by three lengths, while Banaadeer (Aus) (More Than Ready), an A$700,000 buy, took the Listed Storm Bird S. Mar. 8. 
Australia has long been a leading source of Group 1 winners in Asia, and that trend was driven home just a week ago when Amber Sky (Aus) (Exceed and Excel {Aus}) and Sterling City (Aus) (Nadeem {Aus})–both Easter graduates–provided Hong Kong with a Group 1 double in the Al Quoz Sprint and Golden Shaheen on the Dubai World Cup card. 
“Hong Kong is a melting pot for Thoroughbreds from around the world, and Australians dominate that market,” D’Arcy noted. “The Hong Kong Jockey Club has also been buying horses to resell at their sales from Easter for many years, and once again they’re in town to buy some good horses from the sale.” 
Australia has long traded bloodstock with New Zealand, its neighbor across the Tasman, and three Easter graduates have won Group 1 races in New Zealand in 2013-14: Bounding (Aus) (Lonhro {Aus}), Atlante (Aus) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}) and Southern Lord (Aus) (Stratum {Aus}). 
D’Arcy noted that Inglis coordinates strong marketing efforts to maintain and grow its international patronage. These initiatives include the annual Inglis picnic in the carpark after the first day of Royal Ascot, and extensive travel schedules for international representatives Simon Vivian and Paul Guy. There efforts have clearly paid dividends, and a strong international crowd will once again be on hand in Sydney next week to do battle for the chance to own racing’s future stars.