Godolphin Steps Up as Action-Packed Inglis Book 1 Ends

Book 1 of the Inglis Melbourne premier yearling sale ended with a flurry March 6, with the sale's two top lots both coming on an action-packed afternoon at the Oaklands sale complex.

Godolphin Australia went to AU$500,000 (US$388,250) to acquire the sale-topping Lot 470, a Fastnet Rock (AUS) filly. Produced from the group 3-winning Artie Schiller mare Lady Melksham (AUS), the filly was offered by Rushton Park as agent.

Darren Weir Racing and John Foote Bloodstock purchased the second-highest priced offering, going to AU$450,000 ($348,818) for Lot 28, a Snitzel (AUS) colt produced from the group-placed Galileo (IRE) mare Miss With Attitude.

Those two results, along with a further six individual lots to sell for AU$300,000 ($232,545) or more during the closing session, saw the overall results for Book 1 finish on par with 2017.

Book 1 ended with a sale average of AU$118,333 ($91,726), median of AU$100,000 ($77,515), gross of AU$49,936,500 ($38,708,300) for 422 horses sold, and a clearance rate of 83%. Last year, 449 horses were sold for an aggregate $53,997,500, with a $120,262 average, a $100,000 median, and 88% clearance rate.

"Last year was the best premier yearling sale we have ever had and this year's version is right on par with that, so we must be satisfied with that,'' Inglis' Victorian bloodstock manager Simon Vivian said. "There were many fantastic results for many people, both vendors and buyers."

Woodside Park was leading vendor by aggregate at AU$3,945,000 ($3,057,970) just ahead of Supreme Thoroughbreds and Blue Gum Farm, while the leader by average was Yarraman Park Stud at AU$258,750 ($200,570).

"It showed that if you produce the product, the buyers are here, no matter what time of the sale it was,'' Woodside's Murray Tillett said. "This is our main sale of the year, we're a Victorian farm, this will always be where we try and sell the quality of the (Victorian Owners and Breeders Incentive Scheme) horses that we've got.''

The buying bench was diverse, with purchasers coming from all around Australia as well as Singapore, Hong Kong, China, Thailand, New Zealand, South Africa, and the United Kingdom.

McEvoy Mitchell Racing was leading buyer by aggregate, with a total AU$1,820,000 ($1,410,770), ahead of Yu Long Investments, who topped the most-buys list with 14 individual purchases.

Godolphin's top Lot of Day 3 was its second purchase of the sale and 16th yearling they have bought in 2018.

"She's a quality filly by a champion stallion out of a group 3-winning mare,'' Godolphin's racing and bloodstock manager Jason Walsh said of the Fastnet Rock filly. "One of the things we're trying to source this year is a bit of diversity and top-class racing prospects that can hopefully do it on the racecourse and ultimately join our broodmare program, and we thought she was a filly capable of doing both those things."

Book 2 of the Melbourne premier yearling sale begins March 7, with 206 lots cataloged.