'He was the best colt here' - Crosbys achieve A$550,000 milestone with Written Tycoon colt

The Inglis Classic Sale belied pre-auction pessimism to turnover more than $23 million on Sunday, the second-highest opening session ever achieved at the company’s first yearling offering of the year.  

The biggest contributor to the level of trade, in a market which was still described as selective, was a Written Tycoon colt who sold for A$550,000, vindicating the decision by his NSW-based breeders Rob and Pam Crosby to bypass the bright lights of the Magic Millions and the prestige of Inglis Easter and instead target the Classic sale with their impressive yearling.

The first foal out of the Crosbys’ dual stakes-winning mare Sylvia’s Mother, the son of Yulong’s champion sire captured the attention of at least two of the Australian industry’s biggest investors and it was Tony Fung Investments’ Sally Williams who came out on top with a winning bid.

Yulong’s Yuesheng Zhang, seated front and centre at Riverside, was the under bidder.

To be trained by Annabel Neasham, who won the Inglis Millennium with Learning To Fly on Saturday, the colt was the most expensive of the eight yearlings to sell for A$300,000 or more during the eight hours of selling at Riverside Stables.

Berkeley Park Stud’s Neale Bruce, who consigned the session-topping Written Tycoon yearling on behalf of the Crosbys, was not surprised by the price tag.

“That was what we were sort of hoping for, to get up around that figure, so we are delighted,” said Bruce, who was handed the colt prior to the start of his yearling sale preparation. 

“He is just a nice colt, he’s well put-together and everything was going right for him. The owners thought that maybe he’d stand out here and they’ve been rewarded with their result. 

“The Crosbys breed a lot of winners, so I am thankful that they put him with us.”

The Tamworth-based Crosbys, who watched the sale online from their home, raced the Group 3 scorer Sylvia’s Mother with Team Hawkes and elected to retain the daughter of Snitzel to continue to breed from the family, which also features stakes winners Bel Mer and All Too Royal and the stakes-placed TFI-raced three-year-old filly Midnight In Tokyo in the pedigree.

In 15 years of breeding, the A$550,000 colt is the most expensive the Crosbys have sold. 

“We knew he’d do well, he’s by the right sire and his mother was a little champion who we bred and raced, so it’s full circle for us,” said Rob Crosby who has been breeding under the Kansas Livestock banner.

“When he went through the ring, he was the calmest horse that sold all day and people take note of that, temperament is so important with these colts. 

“I was a bit nervous, I was watching the Sale Day Live broadcast on our TV and I was a bit on edge, but that’s only because we were expecting a top price and we got a top price, so we couldn’t be happier.”

Williams said the colt was at the top of the Classic list as far as she was concerned.

“He is a lovely, athletic colt who is very well-balanced, he ticks every box really. He also has a lovely temperament, which is incredibly important with colts,” she said.

“In our opinion he was the best colt here at the sale so we were happy to pay the money for him. We loved him and really wanted to get him.

“It’s a great feeling, a relief, I can’t wait to get him home and see what he can do.’’

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