A filly by Magnus (Aus) was the most expensive weanling traded on the opening day of the Inglis Australian Broodmare and Weanling Sale Sunday, selling for A$160,000 to Graeme and Barbara Gathercole who, with their agent Sheamus Mills, outbid Perth trainer Simon Miller.
“I love her breeding, I love the way she walked; I knew she was going to be mine,” said Barbara Gathercole. “I feel like she will make a lovely mare one day also. This will be the first horse by Magnus in the stable, but she had everything we look for.”
Lot 51 is out of the G2 Stocks S. winner Flowerdrum (Mister Baileys), who has produced the listed-placed Sang Choi Bao (Aus) (Bel Esprit {Aus}). She was consigned by Berkeley Park Stud, who certainly had a day to celebrate, with their 2012 Inglis Easter offering Chautauqua (Aus) (Encosta de Lago {Aus}) winning the G1 Chairman's Sprint Prize in Hong Kong. Chautauqua was bought back when failing to meet his A$400,000 reserve.
“We've done very well, all the horses have gone over their reserves, some well and truly, and we're really pleased,” said Berkeley Park Stud Manager Neale Bruce. “Inspections have been very busy, and it helps when the horses are the ones that buyers want.”
The Magnus filly was part of the Platinum session, which kicked off the sale and saw 88 of 107 offered sold at a clearance rate of 82% (compared to 85% last year). With 16 fewer sold than last year, the gross was down 24.8% to A$3,735,500. The average dropped 11.2% to A$42,449, and the median was down 19.4% to A$25,000.
The select and general weanling sessions that followed later in the day posted healthy clearance rates of 93% and 86%, respectively, making the overall clearance rate for the day 85%.
The highest-priced colt of the day was a son of Choisir (Aus) bought by Inglis as agent for A$150,000. Lot 37, offered by Davali Thoroughbreds, was bought as a pinhooking prospect for next year's Easter sale.
“We've sold five out of five of our weanlings,” said Davali's Alison Hush. “It's good, competitive buying here and it's great for the vendors to have such hot competition. We are delighted with our results. The Choisir colt in particular was immensely popular; he had paraded 40 times before lunch time yesterday.”
Group 1-winning sprinter Sizzling (Aus) (Snitzel {Aus}) and shuttler Declaration of War (War Front) featured among the first-season sires at the sale, and each of those recorded strong results, with youngsters sold for A$145,000 and A$140,000, respectively. Sizzling stands at Newgate Farm, and that operation's principal Henry Field snapped up the Sizzling filly (lot 23) from Rothwell Park, while Ampulla Lodge/Ascot Farm of New Zealand picked up the Declaration of War colt (lot 62), also from Rothwell.
New Zealand's Waterford Bloodstock was the leading buyer on day one, with eight weanlings bought for A$380,000, headed by a filly from the second crop of Pierro (Aus) (lot 71) for A$130,000. The Coolmore-consigned filly is the second foal out of the stakes-placed Light Express (Aus) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}).
“We found some really nice weanlings by a nice selection of new and proven stallions,” said Waterford Bloodstock's Mike Rennie, who revealed the agency's purchases would be pinhooked.
“The Pierro filly in particular was a really quality filly,” he said. “She's very athletic and very attractive and she'll be re-offered in 2017 along with our other purchases.”
The sale's focus moves to the broodmares Monday.
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