A smaller catalogue of 450 lots will greet buyers at the 2019 Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale in Sydney on April 9 and 10 but the quality of the offering is of the highest order.
Staged at the Riverside Stables adjacent to Warwick Farm racecourse, this auction draws buyers from around the world looking for the best group of yearlings which can be assembled in Australia, most bred and reared in NSW so NSW breeders and the leading stud farms can rightly feel proud of the standard of the horses presented for the competition of buyers.
Recent graduates of the Australian Easter Yearling Sale include such Group 1 winners as The Autumn Sun (whose Not a Single Doubt three-parts brother sells as Lot 369 this year), Estijaab, Merchant Navy, Russian Revolution, Mossfun, Flying Artie and Pinot, several of which also have close relatives catalogued here.
Last year at Easter in Book 1 some 335 youngsters were sold for $116,457,500 to average $347,634 while the median price was $250,000 but there were many opportunities to buy nice horses in the $70,000 to $150,000 price range when the sale’s top seller, a brother to Shoals (Fastnet Rock – The Broken Shore) made $2,300,000.
This year the catalogue features siblings to 39 Group 1 winners and yearlings out of 34 Group 1-winning mares such as Brazilian Pulse, Hasna, River Dove, Our Egyptian Raine, Pear Tart, Rostova and Steps in Time.
Of the top stallions, twice champion sire Snitzel has the greatest representation with 37 entries while the recently deceased Sebring has 33 entries and both Fastnet Rock and I Am Invincible have 31 lots on offer.
Twice champion sire Redoute’s Choice has a team of 22, Zoustar has 21 lots, Medaglia d’Oro has 19 and So You Think has 18 yearlings catalogued.
First crop sires with large drafts are Vancouver with 25 and Pride of Dubai with 19 and to add spice for buyers there are lots by such renowned international sires as Deep Impact, Frankel, Tapit, Lord Kanaloa and Harbinger.
Arrowfield Stud leads the vendors with 55 Easter entries followed by Coolmore Stud with 43 and Kitchwin Hills with 23 lots.Historic Widden Stud and Segenhoe Stud will each present 22 yearlings.
A Choisir half-sister to brilliant Brisbane sprinter Zoustyle (Zoustar) will be the first yearling to enter the sale ring as Lot 1 while following her as Lot 2 will be Luskin Park Stud’s Redoute’s Choice colt, a half-brother to stakes winner Dublin Lass (O’Reilly) and smart performers Crafty Cop (Starcraft) and Mr. Manhattan (Manhattan Rain).
Other Redoute’s Choice lots to make strong appeal include Lot 6, a colt, the first foal of Group 1 winner Fenway (High Chaparral), Lot 237, a colt which is the first foal of multiple Group 2 winner Saavoya (Savabeel) and another colt, Lot 255, from MRC Oakleigh Plate winner Shamal Wind (Dubawi), a star of the Newgate Farm draft.
Tyreel Stud is selling a Redoute’s Choice half-brother to champion filly Delicacy (Al Maher) as Lot 268 and later in the sale Arrowfield Stud has a Redoute’s Choice half-brother to its exciting young sire Dundeel, catalogued as Lot 286.
Dundeel, enjoying a great run of late, has 14 lots coming to the Easter auction including a half-sister to Hong Kong star Contentment (Hussonet), listed as Lot 67, a half-brother to Colorado Claire and Moonovermanhattan (Lot 102) and a filly, Lot 256, from multiple stakes winner Sharnee Rose.
Hot young sire Brazen Beau has five Easter entries, among them Lot 73, a colt from stakes winner Just Discreet (Exceed and Excel).
Some of the Fastnet Rock lots to stand out are Lot 88, a brother to Merchant Navy and Jolie Bay, Lot 156, a filly from Group 1-winning two-year-old O’Marilyn (O’Reilly), Lot 173, a brother to stakes placed Italia Bella from Group 1 winner Pear Tart, and Lot 431, a sister to Age of Fire, a Group 1 winner in New Zealand.
Deceased sire Hinchinbrook’s Easter entries include Lot 199, a half-brother to stakes winner Caipirinha (Nicconi) and a half-brother to Oaks-placed Greysful Glamour which sells as Lot 221.
Among prolific winner getter I Am Invincible’s big Easter team are a colt from stakes winner Camporella (Exceed and Excel), Lot 395, and following him Lot 396, a brother to last spring’s ATC Gimcrack Stakes winner Catch Me.
Breeders will be interested to inspect Lot 163, the sister to ATC Australian Derby winner Jon Snow, by Iffraaj from Orinda (O’Reilly) whose dam is by Zabeel.
Champion racehorse and sire Lonhro is back in the spotlight following the Blue Diamond Stakes win of his daughter Lyre so two Lonhro fillies to see at Easter are Vinery’s Lot 324 from good Sydney winner Urban Rocker (Fastnet Rock) and Newhaven Park’s sister to Group 2 winner Heatherly, Lot 416.
Medaglia d’Oro no longer shuttles to Darley’s NSW farm from Kentucky but this outstanding international sire is well represented this Easter and among his progeny to make great appeal on pedigree are Lots 11 (colt), 14 (filly), 54 (filly), 119 (filly from a half-sister to Winx), 125 (colt), 287 (filly from Steps in Time) and 307, a half-brother to Shoals.
No Nay Never’s first runners performed sensationally in Europe last year so you should be sure to see his colts, Lot 112 (a half-brother to ATC Australian Oaks winner Unforgotten) and Lot 392, a half-brother to Mighty Boss, another Group 1 winner.
Mighty Boss is one of the best winners by Not a Single Doubt whose progeny on offer at Easter includes Lot 128, a brother to stakes winner Pretty Fast.
Champion Pierro has made a great start to his stud career and at Easter 14 of his stock will attract plenty of buyers, one to catch my eye being Lot 398, the Pierro half-sister to Group 1-winning star filly Catchy from stakes winner Cats Whisker (Fusaichi Pegasus).
One of the best credentialled new sires represented at Easter is Coolmore’s Pride of Dubai (Street Cry), a dual Group 1 winner at two years.Two of his lots to appeal on paper are Bylong Park Thoroughbreds’ half-sister to stakes winning sire Derryn from the Snippets family (Lot 142) and Cressfield’s filly, Lot 172, a half-sister to stakes winners Great Esteem and High Esteem.
Sebring’s death in February was a huge blow to NSW breeding and his home stud of Widden but Easter buyers have plenty of opportunities to acquire some beautifully bred yearlings by him, among them Lots 5 (filly), 77 (colt), 184 (a brother to stakes winners Seaburge and Catch a Fire), 267 (a colt closely related to Sebring’s best runner Criterion), 314 (a sister to Pretty in Pink), 390 (a brother to Hong Kong star Lucky Bubbles) and 414, a filly from the wonderful family of Redoute’s Choice.
Snitzel seems likely to win his third straight champion sire title in Australia this season so his stock will be in great demand at Easter.His big draft has many standouts on pedigree including fillies listed as Lots 7, 100 (from Lucky Raquie and 290 (a sister to Group 1 winner Summer Passage).Among Snitzel colts to appeal strongly are Lots 29, 45 (a brother to Thronum), 92 (half-brother to sires Shooting To Win and Deep Field), 261 (half-brother to Dear Demi) and 344 (half-brother to Zenalicious and Tip Top).
Deceased stallion Time For War has only one yearling on offer at Easter, a filly listed as Lot 412, but she is sure to bring big money as she is a sister to this season’s leading two-year-old Time To Reign and a half-sister to Golden Slipper winner She Will Reign and to the promising Rosina Kojonup.
Vancouver, unbeaten as a two-year-old when he won the Golden Slipper, is among the most exciting prospects of the new sires with their first yearlings on offer in 2019.This beautifully bred son of Medaglia d’Oro has an exceptionally strong Easter draft, including Lot 55, a half-brother to Thorondor from multiple stakes winner Impressive Eagle (Rubiton), Lot 101 (a colt from Luminous Harmony), Lot 110 (a colt from stakes winner Marianne), Lot 126 (a filly from New Zealand Oaks winner Miss Mossman) and Lot 144 (a half-sister to stakes winner Highlad from top class mare My Lady’s Chamber).
Late in the sale Holbrook Thoroughbreds, on behalf of Western Australia’s dominant owner/breeder Bob Peters, will offer two Vancouver colts, Lots 360 and 388 and a filly, Lot 361, all members of the outstanding family which has recently produced major winners Arcadia Queen, Arcadia Dream, Arcadia Prince and Action.
Victoria’s top sire Written Tycoon has a number of well related youngsters selling, among them Lot 46 (a half-brother to Group 2 winner Summer Sham), Lot 308 (a half-brother to It’s a Myth) and Lot 428, the half-brother to VRC Oaks winner Pinot and to Dizlago and other good winners.
Many buyers at Easter will be after the stock of young boom sire Zoustar with two lots high on every inspection list, the half-brother to star two-year-old Accession listed as Lot 210, and Lot 263, a half-sister to top Brisbane sprinter Havasay.
Article | Les Young – Thoroughbred Breeders NSW
