Nicconi and Zoustar colts shine at record-busting Inglis Melbourne Yearling Sale

Demand has surged at the Inglis Premier Yearling Sale in Melbourne, continuing the unprecedented spend on bloodstock in Australia this year, with trade up by nearly A$13 million year-on-year at the conclusion of Victoria’s main three-day market.

Two colts, by Zoustar and Nicconi, sold for $340,000 (£185,000/€222,000) each in the final Premier Session at Oaklands Junction on Tuesday to close out another record-setting yearling sale, the fifth to do so in 2022.

The extraordinary appetite for horses can be illustrated by the fact that 150 yearlings sold for A$200,000 or more, an increase of 63 compared to last year’s Melbourne sale, and that the figures were not diluted by an array of million-dollar lots.

An I Am Invincible colt sold for A$950,000 to Coolmore on day two to top this year’s Premier sale, while a further seven yearlings made between A$520,000 and A$675,000.

The depth of the market saw the average increase by 13 per cent to A$158,094, while the Book 1 aggregate jumped by 21 per cent to A$77.150m. The median was also up 33 per cent to A$140,000 and the clearance rate also steadily increased to 90 per cent by Tuesday night.

The combined Premier and Showcase Session aggregate of A$85,313,000 was also up 20 per cent.

“The sale was up 26 per cent last year and that's an extraordinary jump because we're talking about a sale with significant turnover," said Inglis Bloodstock chief executive Sebastian Hutch.

“The growth that has been achieved here is a massive number again. It's a great compliment to the support we've had from vendors, the confidence that buyers have in the market that we create here and the horses that vendors offer here.

“The important thing for us is the success of this sale has been built on the success of graduates and the quality of stock fundamentally.

“We feel like there were really nice horses here and hopefully those horses can go on and win good races.”

Nicconi colt sells for $340,000

Belmont Bloodstock’s Damon Gabbedy was hoping to receive a discount for a powerfully built Nicconi colt, the final offering of the Premier Session, but buyers did not miss the brother to Blue Diamond Stakes runner-up Lankan Star.

The Melbourne agent went to A$340,000 on day three for the Maluka Thoroughbreds-consigned colt, the fourth foal out of Clearwater Bay, a day later than the yearling was due to be offered for sale.

The 430-catalogued colt suffered a minor injury early on Monday which prevented him from going through the ring as scheduled, but it did not deter Gabbedy. who purchased the September-born colt on behalf of an undisclosed long-time client.

“There was a bit of bad luck that happened with him being cast in the box but it certainly didn’t seem to affect the price he brought, did it?” Gabbedy said.

“We like the proven mares and she’s had three to the races for three winners and Lankan Star is Group 1-placed, a full-relation, of course, and Nicconi is a great sire.

“He is a big, strong colt, much in the mould of Nature Strip, so we’ll be dreaming of him, of course.

“He is a big horse, he’d be 15.3 hands already and he is a beautiful mover, a really loose mover. I looked at him two or three times and he put his head down with a great attitude. He’s a bigger, stronger type of Nicconi.”

Nicconi: his colt out of Clearwater Bay was the other final-day topper at A$340,000Credit: Widden Stud

Vendor Luke Anderson was relieved to have the colt finally sold on behalf of Janahan Rajakulendran’s Monsoon Bay Pty Ltd.

“The team worked really hard to get him through the ring, so that was a great result,” said the Maluka Thoroughbreds principal.

"We were asked by the owners to prepare him for the sale and he's been with us since October. He's just one of those beautiful bombproof colts that dealt with everything so well.”

Clearwater Bay has a November 27-born Yes Yes Yes weanling colt but she was not covered in 2021.

There was also a sale ring drama with an Extreme Choice colt, another offered at the conclusion of the Premier Session after suffering a minor foot abscess on Monday.

The Musk Creek Farm-consigned colt by the boom Newgate Farm sire was eventually sold to Cranbourne trainer Lloyd Kennewell, agent Mathew Becker and H And H Bloodstock for A$280,000 but not before he was knocked down for A$300,000 to an unwitting bidder waving from afar.

Amid the confusion, and the bid held at A$260,000, Kennewell finally came out on top in the prolonged auction process at the A$280,000 figure.

“They’re sought after commodities, the Extreme Choices, there’s not many of them and I think he’s the last colt to go through a sale this year by that stallion and we liked him at a price,” Kennewell said.

“We tried to bring the price back a little bit after the dilemma but it was good to get him. Our vet went over him and he’s fine.

“The farm’s great, Musk Creek, they are guaranteeing him for 30 days, so they’ll take him home and make sure he is right, then we’ll get him broken in.”

A A$150,000 Inglis Great Southern Weanling Sale pinhook for Musk Creek Farm, who was catalogued as Lot 309, he is the first foal out of the Ocean Park mare Wahini Miss, herself a three-quarter sister to Wellington Guineas winner Sacred Park

Zoustar colt turns heads

During the 60-lot final Premier Session on Tuesday, which preceded the Showcase Session, Boomer Bloodstock’s Craig Rounsefell was also active, buying a Zoustar colt on behalf of the Hong Kong Jockey Club for A$340,000.

The third colt acquired by Rounsefell for the HKJC at this week’s sale, to go with a A$550,000 son of I Am Invincible and a colt by Magnus, the Widden Stud-offered colt is the third foal out of Pins mare Honey Rider, a Group 3 winner of four races in New Zealand. He was catalogued as lot 572.

Rounsefell said: “Melbourne always has quality horses here. We were focusing on the good farms, Widden has brought some nice horses down, particularly. Some nice horses come out of this sale, especially for Hong Kong.

“A lot of people are out here doing their homework and getting choosy on the good ones so you have to pay a bit more for those better types, but I think it continues on from what has been happening in Victoria.

“There's a lot of big farms supporting this sale, but there are these other stallion farms and boutique broodmare farms that are investing heavily, It’s good to see stallions like Written Tycoon standing down here now, I think it’s going to mean that for years to come this sale is going to only get better.”

Widden Stud crowned its expansion into Victoria by taking out the Premier Session’s leading vendor title, selling 27 yearlings for A$5,322,500 at an average of A$197,130, in its first Melbourne sale with a southern base.

Rick Jamieson’s Gilgai Farm sold eight yearlings for an average price of A$317,500 to be the leading vendor by average.

Ciaron Maher Racing bought 17 yearlings outright or in conjunction with partners in the Premier Session, Lindsay Park Bloodstock took home 14 yearlings and Mick Price and Mick Kent Jnr bought 13.

The training partnership of Robbie Griffiths and Mathew de Kock bought 13 yearlings with Peter Ford Thoroughbreds either outright or in partnership, including a A$300,000 Lean Mean Machine colt late in the Book 1 session.

The Showcase Session reached a new high, averaging A$51,340 from 159 horses sold, with the aggregate reaching A$8,163,000, eclipsing last year’s A$7,550,500.

The Inglis Classic and Magic Millions Gold Coast, Perth and Tasmanian yearling sales have all been record sales so far this year.

The New Zealand Bloodstock Karaka Yearling Sale starts on Monday, while the Magic Millions Adelaide Yearling Sale will be held on March 15 and 16.

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