Buyers’ market predicted after two years of turbo-charged Inglis Classic sales

Turnover has exploded at the Inglis Classic over the past two years, with the total spend skyrocketing by A$25 million and the sale enjoying an unprecedented 55 per cent increase in trade over the past two years, but Sebastian Hutch has warned not to expect anything similar in 2023.

The Inglis Bloodstock chief executive’s statement, on the eve of Sunday's opening Classic session at Riverside Stables in Sydney, was pointed squarely at vendors as he declared this year’s three-day auction was likely to be a buyers’ market.

“There are plenty of opportunities for buyers to find nice horses in a market that just isn’t going to be as hot as what it was 12 months ago,” Hutch told ANZ Bloodstock News. 

“This is a sale that’s contextually grown nearly 55 per cent in two years and I just think it’s unreasonable to expect that the sale could continue to hit the heights it did last year but by the same token, independent of that, still run as a very, very good sale.

“The turnover of the sale grew A$25 million in two years with the same number of horses. That is unprecedented in terms of the value of the horses in Australia and I would say it’s unprecedented on a world scale. 

“It’s the single biggest growth sale in the world in that period of time.”

Last year’s Book 1 Classic sale achieved A$66,823,500 in turnover, up 30 per cent on 2021, at an average of A$122,612 and a median of A$100,000, which was up A$20,000 on the previous year.

“I just think we’ve got to be careful not to allow that [record growth] to distort reality. People have to be very conscious of the horses they are offering, the people they’re likely to sell them to and where they’re likely to see them sitting in terms of value in the context of the market,” Hutch said.

“As we’ve seen at sales for any number of years now, [the aim is to] try and get those horses on the market and give buyers confidence that if they bid they can buy and that’s ultimately when you get the best results for any sale.”

Burke Bloodstock’s David Burke, who bypassed the Magic Millions sale on the Gold Coast in January and will open his sale season at Classic, said inspections of his nine-lot draft had been solid, but added that the number of views does not always tell the true story.

“Like most sales these days, the good horses will sell well. There’s always people here to buy good horses and the lesser horses probably struggle to find homes at reasonable value, but it’s a case of vendors meeting the market and letting the market decide what they’re worth,” Burke said.

“You can have 1,000 people look at a horse but maybe only five of them are going to be interested in buying it. If it was only those five people who came and looked at them initially, you’d still be happy.

“Getting a lot of people to a sales ground doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s going to be a bonanza of buyers there, you just want the right people who are genuinely interested in the horses looking at them and they should then sell accordingly.”

While Hutch opined caution ahead of the Classic sale, he said this year’s 830-lot auction, which incorporates the Highway Session on Tuesday, provided buyers with high-quality racehorses and plenty of options, adding that there had been no shortage of inspections throughout the week.

“There is no doubt the racing economy is very healthy … but there are some concerns in the broader economy and some challenges that are likely to present over the six to 12 months and I think people looking to buy horses will be conscious of that and how they choose to approach the sale,” he said.

“Almost certainly, that will have an effect on the participation of some people and there will be others who recognise the opportunity to maybe buy some value and be stronger as a consequence. 

“It’ll be positive for some and more challenging for others, so hopefully at the end of the sale it’s one that’s generated good turnover and a strong clearance.”

One potential segment of the buying bench which may help offset any downswing from the domestic buyers is the inclusion of a bigger international presence at Riverside Stables.

“We have Japanese buyers, strong Hong Kong representation, Singapore and New Zealand, etc, so I think that’s an aspect of the sale that hasn’t been in place to quite the same extent due to the pandemic over the past two years,” Hutch said.

As for the quality of the Classic catalogue, Hutch held confidence that the 2023 edition will once again churn out an array of high-quality horses.

“It is tricky to identify any particular top lot in the catalogue but, certainly, as a group we feel this is the most consistent group of prospective racehorses we’ve put together,” he said.

“There are lots of well-conformed, nice looking, sound, athletic horses who are going to be factors in good races in 12, 24 or 36 months and beyond, which is certainly the objective of the sale.

“There are plenty of well credentialed horses in terms of sire power and there are excellent farms and breeders engaged, but I qualify all that by saying I think it’s very much going to be a buyers’ market.”

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