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Inglis reports strong increases across the board with records set while NSW and VIC-based buyers increase spend
A record-breaking three days of action at the 2021 Inglis Classic Yearling Sale came to a close on Tuesday, with the auction house reporting record increases across the board.
At the close of trade, Inglis reported that 501 yearlings sold during Book 1 at a clearance of 91 per cent, up from 86 per cent at the end of the 2020 edition of the sale when 484 yearlings were sold.
Meanwhile, the aggregate was $51,313,000, up 21 per cent on last year’s figure of $42,098,500 for 4 per cent more horses sold this year. The average of $102,421 is up 17 per cent on last year’s Book 1 sale average of $86,980, while the median was also up 7 per cent to $80,000, from $75,000 which was recorded at last year’s sale.
Inglis managing director Mark Webster was thrilled for all the clients at Riverside the past three days.
“This is a huge victory for the vendors and breeders who backed this sale and have been handsomely rewarded but Classic also continues to be a huge victory for the buyers when you see its graduates winning races like The Everest, the Melbourne Cup, the Golden Slipper, the Blue Diamond,’’ Webster said.
“It’s been the strongest of any of the sales so far this year - with 20 per cent growth in average and gross and a clearance rate in the early 90s, Classic has recorded more growth and a better clearance than any other sale held anywhere in the world in 2021 to date.
“There have been so many satisfying elements of this sale; the spread of buyers that in a sale grossing near $60 million, no one single buyer spent more than $1.5 million, the great individual results for some of the vendors and breeders and the phenomenal participation from international buyers online despite border closures keeping them away physically.
“I’d also like to thank and congratulate the Inglis staff, I’m very proud of all of them for the hard work they put in leading into the sale and the dedication shown to ensuring everybody had an enjoyable and successful Classic Sale the past three days.’’
It was a week in which records tumbled, with George Moore and Team Moore Racing handing the auction the highest priced yearling ever bought at the sale, when they secured a son of Capitalist (Written Tycoon) for $625,000 on day two of the sale. On Tuesday, a filly by Zoustar (Northern Meteor) became the highest price filly to be purchased at the sale, when Bruce MacKenzie paid $450,000 for a daughter of the Widden Stud-based sire.
Woodside Park Stud came to this year’s sale with the objective to leave the auction inside the top four leading vendors by average (with three or more lots sold) and they achieved their goal, finishing the sale with the best average, selling four yearlings for $880,000 at an average of $220,000. The Victorian-based farm’s average was well clear of the next best, with second-placed Devali Thoroughbreds finishing with a gross of $1,125,000 and an average of $187,500.
The leading vendor by aggregate at the Sydney sale was Newgate Farm, who sold 29 yearlings for an aggregate of $4,140,000 at an average of $142,759, while their resident sires Capitalist (Written Tycoon) and Deep Field (Northern Meteor) finished first and second respectively in the leading sires table by aggregate.
Capitalist was responsible for 17 yearlings sell for an aggregate of $3,520,000 which saw him finish with an average of $207,059, while 30 of Deep Field’s progeny sold for a gross of $3,272,500 at an average of $109,083 and Newgate Farm’s Henry Field was very pleased with the farm’s results over the three days of trade.
“It’s been an incredible sale, it’s been seriously well executed by the Inglis team, they put together a fantastic catalogue and they worked bloody hard to get so many buyers there to reward the vendors and seriously, you can’t ask for more than that as a vendor,’’ Field said.
“A fortnight ago there were closed borders and quarantine restrictions that Inglis had to navigate their way through but as is the case in our industry, dedication to the purpose at hand leads to deserving rewards and I think the hard work done by Inglis the past two-to-three weeks especially has rewarded all of us.
“It’s also been a phenomenal job by the Newgate team, headed by Jim Carey who has worked tirelessly to raise these horses and get them to the sale in such fantastic order.
“In the past three years we’ve intentionally targeted the Classic Sale as one of the major sales in the calendar year for Newgate and while it’s great to be leading vendor and have a big sale, more importantly for us is to be providing the marketplace with horses like Shadow Hero and Profiteer in our Classic drafts as we have the past couple of years.”
The sire with the best average (with three or more lots sold) after three days of trade was Cambridge Stud shuttler Almanzor (Wootton Bassett), who had six yearlings sell for a gross of $1,330,000 at an average of $221,667.
George Moore Bloodstock and Team Moore Racing were the leading buyers at the Inglis Classic Yearling Sale, outlying $1,440,000 for five colts and they marginally edged out Kavanagh Racing, who purchased 13 yearlings for total receipts of $1,430,000.
The overall statistics show the buoyancy of the market is being underpinned by domestic activity, with buyers in New South Wales and Victoria upping their spend at the Sydney Sale.
In 2020, buyers from New South Wales spent $20,999,000 at the Classic Sale, making up 50.01 per cent of the market share, compared with this week where buyers from the state spent $28,118,000 - up almost 5 per cent on 12 months ago, equating to 54.96 per cent of the market share.
It is the same story in terms of Victorian-based purchasers. At this year's sale Victorian purchasers increased 3.5 per cent from 21.7 per cent of turnover last year to 25.2 per cent this year. In 2020 they were responsible for 11.10 per cent of the market share and that shot up this year to 25.18 per cent.
Last year Hong Kong-based buyers spent $4,662,000 on 40 yearlings, resulting in buyers from this justriction being responsible for 11.10 per cent of the market - the same as Victorian buyers 12 months. However, this year the amount of money signed down to Hong Kong has only slightly dropped to $4,630,000 from $4,662,000, but the amount of yearlings heading East took a significant hit, with only 25 yearlings heading to the region, while Hong Kong purchasers market share dropped to 8.85 per cent.
Meanwhile, the deciles show gains across the board for both colts and fillies, with the biggest gains in the market being driven by the strong demand for top-end fillies.
