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Inglis optimistic ahead of final breeding stock sale of the year

The rescheduled two-day Inglis Great Southern Sale gets underway on Sunday morning and Inglis are optimistic that the 2021 renewal will be a success . A total of 280 lots have been catalogued for Day 1 - the Select Weanling section while another 117 weanlings go through on Monday - Day 2 - as the second part of the Select Weanling session. This is then followed by the General Weanlings, supplementary lots and then the broodmares. 

Victorian bloodstock manager James Price told Racing & Sports on Saturday that both vendors and buyers appear to be happy leading into the first day of selling. 

“I’m optimistic that we’ll get some good results over the next couple of days with the weanlings and then the breeding stock.” said Price.  

“Talking to vendors, they are pleased with the people who’ve come to the sale. They understand that there are a few people that they would like to see, but haven’t been able to get here but they are also aware that there are plenty of agents and Inglis staff working for a number of people, allowing them to participate without actually being here at Oaklands. 

“On the other hand, talking to buyers, they are very pleased with what they’ve found. Their short lists have a good number of horses on them and you’d hope for a fairly decent and positive result. We are quietly optimistic.” 

The earlier weanling and breeding stock sales in Sydney and on the Gold Coast were strong and Price believes there is no reason why this will not continue in Melbourne over the coming days. 

“Obviously we are in a good place,” he said.  

“The weanling sales in Sydney and on the Gold Coast have shown tremendous strength and despite the restrictions that we have faced with the delay of this sale and now COVID breakouts in other parts of the country, I think we are in a good spot.” 

Victorian buyers have been incredibly strong at both the yearling and breeding stock sale in 2021 and Price is confident that the optimism in the Victorian industry at the moment will only aid the sale. 

“I think there’s huge optimism in the Victorian industry at the moment, he said. 

“The last six months you’ve seen a real trend by Victorian participants to upgrade their broodmare and racing stocks, particularly at the top end with big spenders like Yulong and Rosemont, but also across the board, the middle market has seen plenty of participants get involved. 

“When we have optimism and confidence in a racing product, it then flows on to a breeding product. The stallions standing this year are the best line up that Victoria has seen, certainly in my time, and they will be supported by really strong broodmare portfolios of the studs where they stand and also the wider Victorian breeder community. So I think we are in a really good spot and hopefully that will be reflected in the sale over the next couple of days.” 

The sale gets underway on Sunday morning at 10am.