Relief as world-renowned yearling sale is staged online and judged a success

The market held up better than expected in Tuesday's opening session of this year's 'virtual' Inglis Easter Yearling Sale – Australia's most prestigious auction of its kind but conducted online from an arena devoid of people and horses due to the coronavirus pandemic.

There were a significant number of withdrawals – including from leading consignor Arrowfield Stud, which opted to sell its lots by private treaty instead of in the online auction – but there were still three yearlings who broke the A$1 million (£502,910/€568,334) barrier.

View sale results on the Inglis website

The key indicators of market health for a sale that is being seen as a bellwether for the industry if more around the world have to be held in a digital format due to the coronavirus were that the average fell by 14 per cent from last year's overall figure to A$306,958 (£154,314/€174,403) and the median was $250,000 (£125,683/€142,000), down $10,000 on 2019.

Inglis managing director Mark Webster and his bloodstock team grappled with the best way to conduct the Easter Sale while under strict government-imposed restrictions due to Covid-19 and late last week they switched to a virtual auction, a move that appeared to have so far been welcomed by vendors and buyers alike.

“If you offered this sort of result a week ago I would have grabbed you with both hands and run down the street,” Webster said. “We weren’t expecting the market to be as good as it was.

“Obviously, it’s not last year; it’s not a typical year, but the results are pretty good, taking into account the global crisis we're all living through at the moment.

“The average is remarkable and so is the median at $250,000. The average is down 15 per cent, which under the conditions is fantastic. I also didn’t think we’d sell a yearling for a million dollars, but we've sold three at that level.”

Inglis Easter Yearling Sale

Average A$306,958 (down 14 per cent)
Median A$250,000 (down A$10,000)

The first session joint-top lots at A$1.1m were a Zoustar brother to Group 1-winning sprinter Sunlight – consigned by Widden Stud and purchased by Hawkes Racing – and a So You Think half-brother to Group 2 scorers Aethero and Classique Legend from Tyreel Stud who sold to Bon Ho’s Legend Racing, owner of Classique Legend.

“For Tyreel Stud, the staff that put so much time and effort into these horses, this is the grand final,” Tyreel Stud's Linda Monds said. “This means everything to us and this colt out of Pinocchio was just sensational from the outset.

“We’re just over the moon with the result. It’s so good for the farm and the family. From a vendor’s perspective, the virtual sale was always going to be daunting as it’s never been done before, but full credit goes to Inglis for pulling this off.”

A weekend of inspections by John and Michael Hawkes led them to their purchase of Sunlight's brother.

“Michael rang me and said ‘we’ve found the colt’,’’ Wayne Hawkes said after the successful bid.

“He just said he’s an absolute A, a perfect A in dad’s opinion, and John Hawkes does not hand out many As at a sale in any year.

“Plus the cross works – Sunlight is an iron horse and this bloke only needs to be half as good as her. It would be great if he could go and stand at Widden Stud one day.’’

The A$1.1m Zoustar brother to champion Sunlight bought by Hawkes RacingCredit: Inglis

Widden's Antony Thompson always knew the colt was a seven-figure lot but, given the circumstances of the sale, was anxious in the lead-up.

“We hoped for $1m for that colt from the moment he was born; throughout his life as he grew up you became more and more confident but the past couple of weeks obviously it was a bit of a rollercoaster,’’ he said.

“For him to make $1.1m in these circumstances is a stunning result so we’re thrilled.

“It’s been a turbulent time where things have changed so much so often but to piece the sale together the way they have is a real credit to the whole team at Inglis. To all the buyers who have got behind the sale from all around the world and around Australia, well done to them too – a huge effort.’’

The day’s third seven-figure lot was the leading filly, a daughter of I Am Invincible and the dual Group 1-winning Dubawi mare Srikandi bought by Andrew Williams Bloodstock from Kitchwin Hills for A$1m.

Williams described the filly as “one of my favourites from the on-farm inspections’’, a process he said he enjoyed.

“The order was an outcross filly free of Danehill and this one just made so much sense; I thought she was so well balanced, a quality individual who looks fast,’’ he said.

“We’ve clocked up the kilometres, looked at horses two, three, four times but you know what? There’s no difference doing it this way, we’ve got to be a step ahead of the game and if that means being in the car all day, so be it.

“You do your homework, you can sit and bid away from anywhere in the world really. It’s been a good experience, a unique experience and it’s good to be involved in this market.’’

Kitchwin’s Mick Malone added: “It’s been an amazing sale for us, beyond our expectations. For that filly to make $1m is extremely rewarding for all the staff who have prepped her under extremely strange conditions and hopefully conditions we never see again.’’

Webster reported “phenomenal” website traffic for the sale.

“We've had people watching our Sale Day Live coverage from 99 different countries on six continents and buyers coming from all around the globe as well, as well as almost 150,000 visitors to the website today alone,” he said.

“That side of things has been very satisfying because our vendors put in a tremendous amount of work under arguably some of the most challenging conditions of their lives and to be able to even conduct a sale under the circumstances for them has been a great team effort.

“Looking back on it, it’s been a very good start to a sale under very challenging conditions for everybody in our industry."

The second and final day of the Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale starts online at inglis.com.au on Wednesday at 10am local time (1am BST).

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