By Daithi Harvey
Inglis hosted the opening session of their three day Australian Weanling and Broodmare Sale on Monday with day one dedicated to weanlings. A healthy clearance rate of 85% saw 94 of the 111 offered weanlings change hands for an aggregate of A$2,427,000 and an average of A$21,864. Inglis Managing Director Mark Webster believed the statistics vindicated the decision to change the weanling selling schedule, by introducing The Chairman's Sale and bringing the Australian Broodmare and Weanling Sale forward to straight after the Easter Yearling Sale. “Despite offering fewer weanlings, an increase to those key financial indicators and getting better results for our clients is exactly what we were after,” Webster said. “If breeders in future can prepare weanlings earlier, the market is certainly willing to buy them at this time of year. The buyers are ready to jump in straight after Easter so it's great to be able to provide such outstanding quality to the market.”
The sale certainly didn't take long to heat up with two of the top three lots coming from the first two lots in the ring. The sale topper, lot 2 was a colt by Dissident (Aus) offered by Middlebrook Valley Lodge who was knocked down to Peter Ford Thoroughbreds for A$160,000. The colt comes from the family of the brilliant miler Solow (Fr) (Singspiel {Ire}). Middlebrook Valley Lodge enjoyed a highly satisfactory day of trade selling 19 of their 21 offered and they also provided the second highest weanling of the day, lot 17. This colt by More Than Ready was purchased by Musk Creek Farm for A$130,000 and is the third foal out of Byatt (Aus) (Encosat De Lago {Aus}), who is a half-sister to South African stakes performer Parachute Man (Aus) (High Chaparral {Ire}). Middlebrook's Vera Metcalfe was naturally delighted with her team's results and commented, “There's a really good buying bench here which has made all the difference. It's a very good sale. We love the Dissidents, they're great types, and the More Than Ready was a beautiful colt who deserved to be as popular as he proved to be.”
The other lot to reach the A$100k mark was the first lot that entered the ring. Lot 1 a filly by Sizzling (Aus) from Davali Thoroughbreds was snapped up by Aquanita Racing for A$100,000 and she is a half-sister to two winners from the family of Zac Spirit (Aus) (Flying Spur {Aus}) who was champion sprinter in Singapore in 2014 and 2016.
The sale resumes on Tuesday at 10 a.m. local time when 206 select race fillies and mares, select broodmares and supplementary races fillies and mares will be offered.
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