Three Bring More Than $1 Million at Chairman's Sale

The decision by William Inglis & Son to add a sale of breeding prospects to its auction calendar following its annual Easter yearling sale was validated April 7 when the inaugural Chairman's Sale produced three horses sold for more than AU$1 million.

The Australian sales company reported 70 horses were sold during the auction that featured breeding prospects for AU$23,085,000 (US$17,431,700), an average price of AU$329,786 (US$249,025), and a median of AU$265,000 (US$200,104).

Victorian-based Three Bridges was active as a buyer and seller at the upper reaches of the market, obtaining sale-topper Provocative (through Paul Willetts Bloodstock Consultancy) for AU$1.2 million (US$906,132) and selling the mare Don't Doubt Mamma as agent for AU$1.1 million (US$830,621), the sale's second-highest price.

A 4-year-old daughter of Zabeel who won the group 1 Treasury Casino & Hotel Queensland Oaks, Provocative was sold in foal to young New Zealand stallion Tavistock. She was consigned by Newgate Farm.

"We sold a princess and bought a queen," said Peter Liston of Three Bridges. "Provocative is a young group 1-winning Zabeel mare on her first foal and we think over her life she'll be one of the foundation mares of our stud and hopefully our success going forward."

A three-time group stakes winner, Don't Doubt Mamma is a daughter of Australia's Not A Single Doubt and was purchased by Arrowfield on behalf of Katsumi Yoshida's Northern Farm in Japan.

"Don't Doubt Mamma was a great result for our clients and I'm so pleased for them that they got the price they were after and they entrusted us with achieving that for them," Liston said.

Arrowfield's Jon Freyer said the mare likely will be mated to Maurice, a Japanese stallion who will stand at Arrowfield this year.

"It's a family we love and she's by Not a Single Doubt, who has started out great as a broodmare sire," Freyer said. "We thought she was an outstanding physical and a filly that was unlucky in a few of the bigger races."

Newstar Parntership, an entity formed April 7 between Newgate, WinStar Farm, and Kingstar Farms, went to AU$1 million (US$755,110) to acquire Flame of Sydney, the 13-year-old Encosta De Lago mare in foal to Darley stallion Medaglia d'Oro  .

Consigned by Yulong Park, Flame of Sydney is the dam of group 2 winner Not Listenin'tome and Invader, who became a group 1 winner in the recent Inglis Sires' Produce Stakes.

"She is a relatively young mare for what she's done, and not many 13-year-old mares have produced two real horses, so we're very happy to buy her," said Newstar Partnership's Henry Field, adding the mare will likely be bred to Newgate's Capitalist.

The final sale conducted by Inglis at its Newmarket location in Sydney before relocating its auctions will be the April 10-12 broodmare and weanling sale.