Senior figures in Europe greet resilient Inglis opener with cautious optimism

Senior figures in the British and Irish sales industry have reacted with cautious optimism to Tuesday's surprisingly buoyant opening session of the Inglis Easter Yearling Sale – Australia's most prestigious auction of its kind but forced online this year with no horses on site due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Although turnover will drop significantly at the two-day sale due to a high number of withdrawals – with leading nursery Arrowfield Stud opting to remove its entire draft and sell by private treaty instead – the average price fell by just 14 per cent to around £154,000/€174,000 and the median of around £126,000/€142,000 was down only marginally on last year's overall figures.

Furthermore, three yearlings broke the A$1 million (£503,000/€568,000) barrier, with two A$1.1m joint-top lots: 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; and a Zoustar brother to Group 1-winning sprinter Sunlight consigned by Widden Stud and purchased by Hawkes Racing.

David Redvers, usually a regular visitor to Inglis and also a leading vendor and buyer in Europe in his dual roles as owner of Tweenhills Stud and manager of Qatar Racing, welcomed the positive results but warned that the unique nature of Australian sales meant that they might not be able to be replicated if a similar event took place in Britain and Ireland.

“There are two major factors in Australia that contributed to the online yearling sale being a success: first, they're still racing and so there's demand for the product,” he said. “The concern in Britain and Ireland is that there'll be no racing in any shape or form for the next month and maybe even longer.

“The second key reason is the different culture of pre-sale inspections in Australia; the yearlings we were involved in selling at Inglis had been seen more than 40 times on the farm. The big farms in the Hunter Valley hold regular viewings of their sales stock and all the agents and trainers will have inspected the yearlings. That helps a lot.

“Against that backdrop, it doesn't matter so much that the actual bidding is done remotely, even if watching a yearling walk into the ring can give you more confidence, as seeing how they react to what can be a stressful environment gives a clue as to their future behaviour on the racecourse.”

Redvers added that while he is cool on the idea of buying untried stock through online auctions, the format could be of value for other types of sales if needs must.

“I still have the concern that most professionals would feel they have to see a yearling in the flesh,” he said.

“You get an almost subliminal feeling with horses that you can't get from videos – particularly from inferior videos, and it's worth saying that the standard can differ dramatically from farm to farm. Some didn't even show head-on views.

“That said, I think an online auction is a medium that could work very well in the current circumstances for breeze-up sales as there's so much more information to go on – you could see videos of the horses at walk, trot and gallop, sectional times, full veterinary transparency, details of weight and height and so on.

“Obviously holding the auctions at the racecourse and sales house would be far more preferable but it's a format that could work well if we get in serious mire.”

Goffs group chief executive Henry Beeby echoed the praise for the Inglis sale with the caveat that the culture of Australian pre-sale inspections was a contributory factor in its success.

“I'd like to congratulate Inglis on moving so quickly to provide a marketplace for yearlings in such difficult circumstances; I'm full of admiration for the company and their vendors who have made it work,” he said.

“We'll analyse the successful elements of the sale closely so that Goffs and Goffs UK will be ready to enact a similar option if we are forced to by an extended lockdown in future, and we continue to accelerate work on online technologies we were developing already.

“It's probably given us all up here a bit of encouragement, although it should be remembered that part of the success of Inglis was the modus operandi in Australia whereby there are far more pre-sale visits of farms, and while we could replicate that to a certain extent in Britain and Ireland, our yearling sales come one after another very quickly in the summer and autumn so it would be a challenge for agents and trainers to see all the horses.

“Nevertheless, the bloodstock business is nothing if not resilient and Goffs on both sides of the Irish Sea will continue to work with our clients to develop ideas.”

Tattersalls marketing director Jimmy George also sounded a positive note while keeping his feet on the ground.

“I don’t think anyone would dispute that the conventional bloodstock sales model is very much the preferred one, particularly for yearlings of the quality to be found at the Inglis Easter Sale,” he said.

“But the virtual sale they conducted on Tuesday has clearly demonstrated that bloodstock sales can adapt and be conducted successfully under very different and challenging circumstances.

“We have a very close relationship with Inglis and we're delighted not only that day one of the sale went as well as it did, but also that it has given out such a positive message as regards the possible options available to the industry when facing unprecedented challenges.”

Read our Life in Lockdown Q&As with industry figures

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Richard Venn: 'The French are in a good position to get back racing sooner'

Tim Kent: 'It's difficult to plan when we don't know when racing will resume'

Russell Ferris: 'Weatherbys had contingency plans that we activated at once'

Grant and Tom Pritchard-Gordon: 'Inglis Easter has kept us busy since January'

Peter Hockenhull: 'The social side of meeting and chatting to breeders is gone'

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Richard Lancaster: 'We're fortunate that some Shadwell staff live on site'