By Kelsey Riley
When it came to the major racing carnivals of 2016, the Inglis Classic Yearling Sale was rarely out of the news. The sale–which holds its 2017 renewal Feb. 11 to 13 at Newmarket in Sydney–enjoyed the publicity of five Group 1 performers, and three Group 1 winners, last year: Extreme Choice (Aus) (Not A Single Doubt {Aus}) got the ball rolling in the G1 Blue Diamond S. in February, and Yankee Rose (Aus) (All American {Aus}) stamped herself as something special when winning the G1 Sires' Produce S. at The Championships in April two weeks after finishing second in the G1 Golden Slipper. Extreme Choice was back in the spotlight when besting elders in the G1 Moir S. in the spring, and I Am A Star (NZ) (I Am Invincible {Aus}) provided a highlight at the Melbourne Cup carnival when winning the G1 Myer Classic. All three were graduates of the 2015 Classic sale purchased for A$100,000 or less.
Those results would give cause for celebration for any sale, let alone one that last year averaged A$57,053.
“Classic has become a must-attend event for the serious horse buyers of Australia and this region,” said Jonathan D'Arcy, Inglis's National Bloodstock Director. “Last year we had five Group 1 performers from the Classic sale headlined by Yankee Rose and Extreme Choice, and that was a great advertisement for a sale that averages under A$60,000.”
D'Arcy added, “We've seen the sale double its gross in just two years–from A$13 million to A$26 million–and over the last five years the sale has gone from averaging under A$30,000 to averaging just a touch shy of A$60,000. The growth has been tremendous.”
Why has the Classic sale experienced such great leaps over just a few years?
“I think a lot of that is down to the fact that a lot of our vendors are now sending better horses to the sale,” D'Arcy reasoned.
It could also be that the market for Australian yearlings is arguably strongest of anywhere in the world. With roughly one in every 300 Australians owning a share in racehorses that are running for healthy prize pots, there is demand for horses at all levels of the market.
“We're fortunate in Australia that we have a very solid base of prize money,” D'Arcy noted. “Here in Sydney we're racing for a minimum A$100,000 every Saturday of the year. In Victoria they've recently raised their minimum stake to A$100,000 for most of their metropolitan racing on a Saturday. So that gives everyone a very good return on their investment.”
“Syndication is such an important part of our industry here in Australia,” he added. “A lot of the syndicators have been working in that A$50,000 through to A$150,000 bracket; that's the strength of the Classic sale. And these horses are raised on the same studs that send yearlings to Easter and Magic Millions. The horses are getting exactly the same start to life, and I think that's why they perform on the racetrack.”
This year's 600-horse Classic catalogue includes the siblings to 51 stakes winners, and 20% of the catalogue are out of stakes-performed mares–a high for the sale. Among the eye-catching pages in the catalogue are lot 98, a full-brother to Group 3 winner and Magic Millions 2YO Classic winner Karuta Queen (Aus) (Not A Single Doubt {Aus}); lot 121, a Pierro (Aus) colt out of Group 1 winner and stakes producer Nova Star (Aus) (Iglesia); lot 169, a Choisir (Aus) colt out of a half-sister to world champion sprinter Starspangledbanner (Aus) (Choisir {Aus}); and lot 469, an I Am Invincible (Aus) colt out of a half-sister to that sire's champion colt Brazen Beau (Aus). I Am Invincible, the country's current leading sire, is well represented with 28 yearlings, and that bunch also includes lot 95, a bay colt out of Brave Choice (Aus) (Dr Fong) and lot 106, a filly out of the stakes-placed Family Crest (NZ) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}).
Champion sire Fastnet Rock (Aus) has five catalogued. Lot 143 is a regally bred daughter of the stakes-placed Perfect Persuasion (Aus) (Encosta de Lago {Aus}), making her a full-sister to the stakes-placed Lady Sharapova (Aus) and a half to stakes-placed Papillon (Aus) (Rock Of Gibraltar {Ire}). Lot 292 is a Fastnet Rock colt out of stakes winner Volcada (NZ) (Stravinsky) and a full-brother to stakes winner Kaepernick (Aus). Lot 573 is a Fastnet Rock daughter of stakes winner Laguna Lake (Odyle), who has produced the stakes winner Hot Butterfly (Aus) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}).
More Than Ready has six catalogued, including a New Zealand-bred grandson of Group 1 winner Stella Cadente (NZ) (Centaine {NZ}) (lot 241); Not A Single Doubt has 11 and his paternal half-brother Snitzel (Aus) 10. Their sire, Redoute's Choice (Aus), has one catalogued: lot 152, a filly who is the first foal out of Group 3 winner Pretty Pins (NZ) (Pins {Aus}).
D'Arcy explained that the 600 Classic yearlings were selected from a largest-ever entry of 1700 horses. The catalogue also includes strong representation from first-season sires like Camelot (GB), Dawn Approach (Ire), Declaration Of War, Dundeel (NZ), Epaulette (Aus), Eurozone (Aus), Fighting Sun (Aus), Shamus Award (Aus), Sizzling (Aus), Spirit Of Boom (Aus), The Factor, Unencumbered (Aus) and Zoustar (Aus).
D'Arcy explained that because the Classic sale operates at a level that allows unproven horses to have strong representation, the sale has often been a launching ground for successful sires.
“Classic has always been a sale that's launched the careers of a lot of young horses, because it's in a price range that some of the younger stallions can have multiple entries in,” he said. “Choisir started his career here at Classic, he was a Classic graduate and we were fortunate to sell a lot of his early runners and he's gone on to be a very successful stallion. I Am Invincible was the same. We were a sales company that really supported him and launched his career at the Classic sale. Brazen Beau, his top-class Group 1 winner, was a Classic graduate.”
Inglis is offering two new bonuses attached to its 2017 Classic sale. The first is a A$1-million bonus split between the breeder and vendor of any Classic graduate that can win next year's Golden Slipper. With Yankee Rose having finished second last year and the early 2017 favourite She Will Reign (Aus) (Manhattan Rain {Aus}) also being a Classic graduate, Inglis will have its hopes fairly high that it will be able to write that cheque next year.
The second new incentive is tied to the Classic sale's new Gold Riband session, which will open proceedings on the evening of Feb. 11 with 60 handpicked yearlings selected for precocity. A A$100,000 bonus will be split between the breeder and vendor of the first horse to win a stakes race out of the Gold Riband session.
Explaining the decision to implement bonuses for the sellers of yearlings, D'Arcy said, “We have a A$5-million race series for buyers at all our yearling sales, so buyers are extremely well catered for with regards to bonuses from the sales. We wanted to incentivize breeders to support the Classic sale, so for any yearling that is sold at the Classic sale and can go on and win the Golden Slipper, we're offering a million-dollar bonus to be split 50-50 between the supplier of the horse and the vendor. Last year we had Yankee Rose run second in the Golden Slipper and Extreme Choice ran as the favourite, so it's certainly possible to do.”
“For the Gold Riband session, we selected around 60 yearlings, about 10% of the catalogue, that we feel are suitable to be 2-year-olds that look precocious and ready to run early,” D'Arcy continued. “They're not necessarily the best horses in the catalogue, not necessarily the horses that will make the most money in the catalogue, but we wanted to differentiate some horses and put a little bonus on that session that once again incentivizes the breeders who support it. With the prize money levels here in Australia and the rich Inglis race series, buyers at the sale are looked after, but I think the breeders are sometimes forgotten in all the bonuses that sales companies offer. We thought it was time the breeders were recognized.”
With the momentum of a hat trick of Group 1 winners and some added incentives, the Inglis Classic Yearling Sale is a good bet to remain in the news for the foreseeable future.
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