Crosbys Achieve Milestone With Written Tycoon Colt

The Inglis Classic Sale belied pre-auction pessimism to turnover more than AU$23 million (US$15,910,020) Feb. 12, the second-highest opening session ever achieved at the company's first yearling offering of the year.  

The biggest contributor to the level of trade, in a market which was still described as selective, was a Written Tycoon  colt (Lot 130) who sold for AU$550,000 (US$380,457), vindicating the decision by his NSW-based breeders Rob and Pam Crosby to bypass the bright lights of the Magic Millions and the prestige of Inglis Easter and instead target the Classic sale with their impressive yearling.

The first foal out of the Crosbys' dual stakes-winning mare Sylvia's Mother, the son of Yulong's champion sire captured the attention of at least two of the Australian industry's biggest investors, and it was Tony Fung Investments' Sally Williams who came out on top with a winning bid.

Yulong's Yuesheng Zhang, seated front and center at Riverside, was the underbidder.

To be trained by Annabel Neasham, who won the Inglis Millennium with Learning To Fly on Saturday, the colt was the most expensive of the eight yearlings to sell for AU$300,000 (US$207,522) or more during the eight hours of selling at Riverside Stables.

Berkeley Park Stud's Neale Bruce, who consigned the session-topping Written Tycoon yearling on behalf of the Crosbys, was not surprised by the price tag.

"That was what we were sort of hoping for, to get up around that figure, so we are delighted," said Bruce, who was handed the colt prior to the start of his yearling sale preparation. 

"He is just a nice colt, he's well put-together and everything was going right for him. The owners thought that maybe he'd stand out here and they've been rewarded with their result. 

"The Crosbys breed a lot of winners, so I am thankful that they put him with us."

The Tamworth-based Crosbys, who watched the sale online from their home, raced the group 3 scorer Sylvia's Mother with Team Hawkes and elected to retain the daughter of Snitzel  to continue to breed from the family, which also features stakes winners Bel Mer  and All Too Royal and the stakes-placed TFI-raced 3-year-old filly Midnight In Tokyo in the pedigree.

In 15 years of breeding, the AU$550,000 colt is the most expensive the Crosbys have sold. 

"We knew he'd do well, he's by the right sire and his mother was a little champion who we bred and raced, so it's full circle for us," said Rob Crosby, who has been breeding under the Kansas Livestock banner.

"When he went through the ring, he was the calmest horse that sold all day and people take note of that; temperament is so important with these colts. 

"I was a bit nervous, I was watching the Sale Day Live broadcast on our TV and I was a bit on edge, but that's only because we were expecting a top price, and we got a top price, so we couldn't be happier."

Hutch Happy with Opening Session 

Prior to the sale, Inglis Bloodstock chief executive Sebastian Hutch had urged vendors not to expect the same market appetite as was experienced in 2022, a forecast which proved correct yesterday, but trade on Day One still surpassed what was turned over on the same day two years ago.

Last night, Hutch said the opening day's trade had exceeded the company's expectations while also suggesting there was "a degree of selectivity to the market."

He added, "People have a pretty clear idea of what sort of horses they want to buy and if you don't quite land in that sweet spot, it is a bit harder, but evidently, if you land in the sweet spot there is an opportunity to get premiums for your stock and I think that's important for any market.

"I think every vendor would want an auction house to be apprehensive in advance of any sale because it keeps complacency from the door, and it means everyone is focused on doing a good job and what the objectives are.

"We were very clear about what we were trying to accomplish throughout the day, but I think most of us were very surprised by the nature of the competition and the depth of it.

"We are conscious of the (wider economic) circumstances, and it is something we are sensitive to, but by the same token we were very pleased by the quality of the horses that we had here. 

"We felt people coming to the sale could find lots of nice horses to buy and certainly on the evidence of today they found them and bid accordingly, which is great."

There were 204 horses sold yesterday at an average of AU$115,767 (US$80,080) and a median price of AU$90,000 (US$62,256) while the clearance rate was at 81%.

"Evidently, the figures point to the fact that there is a lot of money in the market. In the context of the Classic sale, I think somebody said it was the second strongest first day in the history of the Classic sale and by a big margin," Hutch said.

"The median and the average are down a little bit year-on-year, but they would be up on almost any other year. I know the format has changed slightly—there's no Saturday night session anymore—but it would be a positive start to this sale as there's even been other than 12 months ago."

He added: "We can expect a fairly consistent flow of results from here, I would think. The market's been established to a degree; there seems to be good demand for horses across a broad cross-section of people.

"A lot of people went home disappointed (Sunday) and hopefully, there will be horses for them to buy (Monday)." 

Day Two will start at 10 a.m. Monday.