Supreme's Blue Point Colt Tops Melbourne Gold Auction

Buyers may look back at the opening day of this year's Inglis Premier sale a little more than eight weeks ago with a tinge of regret, having let Lot 4—a colt by Darley shuttler Blue Point —pass on by at an AU$80,000 reserve, with the same horse fetching AU$200,000 (US$132,776, AU$1.00=US$0.6638) to top the auction house's Melbourne Gold Yearling Sale at Oaklands May 14. 

For a third year in succession, a yearling offered by the Romsey-based Supreme Thoroughbreds operation emerged as the star of the show, with the Blue Point colt the only yearling knocked down for a six-figure price, as he became the joint second-highest-priced yearling ever sold at the sale. 

The colt, who is out of the veteran Strategic mare On The Loose, ended up in the hands of John Leek Jr, who struck for the winning bid after an engrossing bidding duel between the Pakenham-based handler and young Mornington-based trainer Kane Harris. 

The Inglis Gold sale again presented a reduced offering this year, with 172 Lots offered compared with 213 last year and 306 across two days in 2021. The sale's aggregate revenue dropped nearly 50% year-on-year to AU$1,823,700 ($1,210,718), with the average falling 25% to AU$15,198 ($10,089). 

Last year, Supreme Thoroughbreds topped the sale with a filly by Frosted   who sold for AU$150,000, while in 2021 they presented an Extreme Choice filly who made AU$260,000 and, although Supreme Thoroughbreds' Neil Shaw said this year's result surpassed their expectations, he felt the 'big, strong' Blue Point colt, whose reserve was slashed at Inglis Premier, reached his meritorious value in the ring. 

"The vendors were not prepared to take under AU$80,000 and today, they decided they just wanted their service fee back from the horse, and he was on (the market) at AU$40,000 and we let everyone know that, it was no secret," Shaw said.

Buyer John Leek, who had originally budgeted AU$100,000 for the colt, which was to be trained by his son, Mitchell, went far beyond that figure as he described the colt as one of the nicest horses he'd ever seen in his years as a trainer.

"I've had a lot of good horses over the years, some handy 2-year-olds that have been cheaper purchases and I've never paid anything like this for a horse," Leek said. 

"But that said, I've not seen a horse as nice as this for a long, long, long time, if ever. He's got a lot going for him, he's just an absolute standout."

The colt, cataloged as Lot 119, was bred by long-time Supreme Thoroughbreds client Shane Higgs and partners and is the 12th foal from his three-time-winning mare On The Loose. 

The mare, who was retired from breeding duties last year, has already produced Caulfield Guineas Prelude (G3) and H.D.F. McNeil Stakes (G3) placegetter Wazzenme and listed placegetter Free Of Doubt, who at the 2011 Premier sale became the most expensive yearling by Not A Single Doubt , at AU$260,000. 

She has as her final foal a weanling colt by Widden Stud's Russian Camelot. 

Much of the appeal towards the Blue Point colt can be attributed to the start his sire has made with his first-crop Northern Hemisphere juveniles. Since the colt first went through the Premier sale ring March 5, the Darley stallion has made a record-breaking start, producing six winners to date from 20 runners to be the leading first-season sire in Europe by winners. 

Aided by the sale-topping colt, dual Royal Ascot winner Blue Point ended the auction as the leading sire, with two yearlings sold for AU$206,000. 

"The mare's been with us for about 12 years, she was one of our foundation mares," Shaw said. "We've sold about 10 out of the mare, this being her second-to-last foal. 

"He might be out of an older mare, but you would not believe that. He was a Gold Coast type. He weighed in last week at 530 kilograms and is a big, forward, strapping colt."

Supreme Thoroughbreds, the leading vendors by aggregate and average, sold all six of their lots presented for sale; including an AU$50,000 daughter of Strasbourg, one of seven lots at the sale to reach that figure or more. 

James Price, Inglis' Victorian bloodstock manager, acknowledged the challenges faced by the sale, but expressed his delight at the sale of the 'standout' Blue Point colt. 

"It just highlights the importance of being the big fish in a small pond, which that horse certainly was. It was quite something to watch (when he went through the ring). He wasn't in the ring for very long, but the bids came thick and fast and it was a real two-horse race for a long way. We're delighted for Supreme and their clients to achieve that result.

"I think the sale very much still has a place on the calendar. Yes, the numbers have dwindled, but there was a good crowd at Oaklands."