Classic Sale Trade Still Strong, Amid Market Correction

This year's Inglis Classic may have shown signs of a market correction against the dizzying COVID-19-induced heights of 2022, but the auction house's opening yearling sale of the season still maintained a strong benchmark to post more than AU$61 million (US$42,308,258) in trade, the second-highest turnover in the auction's history.

Twenty-three horses sold for AU$300,000 or more, just two fewer than last year, but it was the middle to lower end of the market that saw demand fall more in line with buyers' 2021 levels of appetite to spend.

The 2023 Book 1 average closed at AU$103,041 ($71,467) Tuesday night while the median was at AU$80,000 ($55,486), with 552 Book 1 horses changing hands. The aggregate was AU$56,878,500 ($39,449,676), with the majority of vendors reacting to the changing market, ensuring a healthy clearance rate of 86%.

The Australian dollar as of Feb. 14 is equal to US$0.6936.

The Highway Session also turned over more than AU$4.5 million ($3,121,101).

The year-on-year decline, strongly forecast in the lead-up to this week's three-day sale by Inglis Bloodstock chief executive Sebastian Hutch, is demonstrated by the level of participation from those who "spec" yearlings to have on the shelf, so to speak, to on-sell to existing and new clients.

For example, trainers Mark and Levi Kavanagh, Gai Waterhouse, and Adrian Bott, syndicator Darby Racing, Annabel Neasham, and Bjorn Baker bought 47 yearlings combined at last year's Classic sale for a spend of AU$6.3 million.

At this week's corresponding sale, the cohort purchased a combined 24 yearlings from the Book 1 sale for an aggregate of AU$2,972,500.

Darby Racing, which sourced group 1-winning fillies Yankee Rose and She Will Reign from Classic sales in 2015 and 2016, bought six yearlings at last month's Magic Millions sale and half that number at this year's Inglis Riverside sale.

Syndicator Scott Darby, who sells mainly to "mums and dads and small business owners," said he and his team decided to take a circumspect approach at this year's yearling sales given the wider economic outlook.

He spent AU$1.14 million at last year's Classic and this year outlaid AU$210,000.

"I think everyone's a little bit cautious at the moment, just with these (rising) interest rates," Darby said yesterday. 

"When school went back, we noticed there was a real standstill in selling and that came right on the door of Inglis Classic. 

"We were always going to be a little bit quieter here, but we weren't sure how quiet, and we also believe that the old Classic where we had all our success is now more the HTBA May Sale these days.

"When we were having our success here, the average was around AU$30,000 to AU$40,000 and AU$50,000, and last year it was AU$120,000-plus."

He said Darby Racing's client base had been hit by the Reserve Bank's decision to continually increase interest rates, which had seen the level of inquiry "dry up."

"But we have got to work through that; we still have a business to run, so we have to sell shares in horses and win races," Darby said. 

"There's still plenty of prize money on offer and you have to remain positive, but we are just acting with a bit of caution."

While some buyers may have kept their powder dry and their hands in their pockets, agent Justin Bahen said the competition on the horses he and Newcastle-based trainer Kris Lees liked was as strong as ever.

The duo purchased three yearlings on the final day of the Classic sale, a Spirit Of Boom  colt (Lot 605) for AU$200,000, a Super Seth colt (Lot 678) for AU$170,000, and a son of I Am Invincible  for $400,000, the highest-priced lot in the final session.

The most expensive was the Yarraman Park-consigned colt (Lot 633) by its reigning champion sire and the second foal of the European-bred, U.S. stakes-placed mare Navajo Dreamer .

Bahen said barely a major metropolitan meeting goes by without I Am Invincible siring a winner of a major race and that his price tag "was where we thought we'd have to be as far as the spend was.

"I thought he might've ended up at a Magic Millions sale, but he's ended up here where he stands out," the Melbourne-based agent said. 

"In and around that money, I thought he was good buying for an I Am Invincible and a colt like him. He's sharp, but he might also take a little bit longer than normal. That said, I am happy to have a good horse at any age."

As for the market, Bahen said: "I think it's been strong enough. I found it difficult on the ones I've tried to buy. We've got three now."

The third of Bahen's purchases was an AU$310,000 Trapeze Artist colt (Lot 538) who was also signed for by Baystone Farm's Dean Harvey on Monday.

Yulong was active at the Classic for the first time in four years, spending AU$1.36 million on six yearlings. Mick Price and Mick Kent Jr. bought five for AU$1.09 million, while the leading buyer was another international investor, Bon Ho's Legend Racing, which spent AU$1.53 million on seven yearlings.

One of those purchases was the Silverdale Farm-bred and sold Deep Field colt (Lot 592), who made AU$360,000 early yesterday. Hong Kong-based Ho also paid AU$160,000 for a Pierro  colt (Lot 490) from the Steve Grant-owned stud on Day 2.

"We are thrilled with the continued support from Bon Ho, this (son of Deep Field) is the second horse he's bought from us at this sale," Silverdale Farm manager Rob Petith said. 

"We were also fortunate last year to sell a Vinnie (I Am Invincible) filly named Untouchable Legend to him down in Melbourne and she won a trial on Monday for Hawkes Racing, so hopefully that helped in his selection of these two nice colts this week." 

To be trained by Richard and Will Freedman at Rosehill, the Deep Field colt is the second and final foal out of New Zealand group 2-placed mare Marcellina, who was purchased by Silverdale Farm's Steve Grant and agent Andrew Williams for AU$200,000 at the 2019 Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale. She sadly died in July last year.

Her first foal, a filly by Smart Missile , sold for AU$150,000 at last year's Classic sale to Cranbourne-based trainers Robbie Griffiths and Mathew de Kock.

"It is a bittersweet situation because she was a beautiful quality mare and we were very sad to lose her after only a couple of foals, but she did a great job, including producing this beautiful colt and it is a wonderful result," Petith said.

"He is a tough colt and he has handled the sales in his stride. He is a good-moving horse who is very straightforward. We thought he would be around the AU$300,000 mark but wasn't sure where he'd go from there."

Petith said Silverdale had enjoyed a good sale, selling all eight yearlings offered for a total of AU$1.45 million, but at the same time, Classic was more of a buyers' market than it was in 2022.

"Reserves are important, and not getting carried away, but we do our best to bring a quality lineup of horses and we try to present them in the best possible way, and we have been rewarded with some good results, who are all going to good stables," he said.

Silverdale was third-leading vendor by average (three or more lots sold) at AU$186,875, just behind Kingstar Farm, which sold 10 lots at AU$187,200 each, and Tyreel Stud, which sold all six yearlings offered at an average of AU$187,200. 

Newgate Farm was the leading vendor by aggregate, selling 29 yearlings for a total of AU$3,746,000, while Sledmere Stud sold 31 yearlings for AU$3,257,500. 

Newgate's Henry Field thought the Classic sale was "excellent."

"We've been really pleased with our results, we've sold all the horses and we're really satisfied to be the leading vendor here again," Field said.

"We definitely target this sale with a proportion of really nice horses. It's a sale we've sold a lot of good racehorses in and it's a really important sale for Newgate. 

"We always have a draft we're proud of to parade and sell here and it's nice the buyers have rewarded us with a very good clearance rate.

"We were very busy, parades were very busy, we had good competition on most or all of the horses in the ring. We're very satisfied with the results."

Inglis Bloodstock chief executive Sebastian Hutch said this week's sale exceeded the company's expectations, but he stopped short of suggesting the trend of the Classic sale would follow suit at the upcoming yearling sales, including the Premier and Easter sales.

"We have come out of a sale, conducted in difficult enough circumstances, and we are very pleased," Hutch said. 

"The reality is the context of all of these sales will be given by subsequent sales, and it is very hard to give a singular judgment because we never know how the balance of the sales is going to play out. 

"There has been evidence of an area of selectivity to the market that hasn't been present to the same extent for the last number of years. 

"The nature of the market is changing all the time. We have spoken about it a lot that the digital sales have had a fairly significant effect on certain parts of the yearling market, particularly that value end. People shopping at that end have such an access to a broader level of stock and that does affect their demand for yearlings."

The hard work for Inglis has only just started, with Hutch and his bloodstock team's focus switching to the Premier sale.

"It's the beginning of a number of significant sales for us. We've got Premier in a couple of weeks and that is a very important sale for us, with a brilliant catalog, and that has a fantastic reputation as a source of great horses, and then obviously Easter is a few weeks after that," he said. 

"These are massive sales in the context of the calendar and they will give context to how the market is shaping up. There is very evidently still money in the market, it might be a case of vendors having to work a bit harder to get their horses sold, but ultimately the rewards are there."

Smart Missile Colt Tops Highway Session 

The top lot of the Highway Session—which followed the completion of Book 1 Tuesday afternoon—was a colt (Lot 729) by Smart Missile  out of Adagirl from the Tyreel Stud draft.

The colt will head to Japan to race after being purchased by prominent Japanese owner Yoshio Suzuki for AU$200,000.

Suzuki's agent, Yoshiomi Onizuka, was at Riverside for his first-ever Classic Sale and fell in love with the colt upon first seeing him. 

"It's not about the pedigree, but I loved how he moved and how softly he moved. Every time I saw the horse, I knew this was the one I really wanted to buy,'' Onizuka said.

"A long time ago I purchased a horse called Shinko Forest who became a group 1 winner and successful stallion, and this horse reminded me a lot of Shinko Forest.''

Linda Monds of Tyreel Stud—who ended the sale as leading vendor by average (for three or more sold)—was delighted with the result.

"He was a beautiful colt, very popular, and a lot of people had several looks at him, so we were very hopeful he would sell well,'' Monds said.

"We've had a wonderful sale, to be leading vendor by average is such a great result for the farm and all the staff and we couldn't be happier.''

The Highway Session grossed AU$4,533,000 ($3,143,989), a drop of 20% from a year ago from 13 fewer lots sold. The clearance rate stood at 80% at the close of trade Tuesday evening.