As a concept which broadens racing's public appeal, celebrates what makes the Australian thoroughbred great and gives owners a dream of winning the richest race on turf, it is little wonder The Everest is an event that Inglis would want to be involved in.

Inglis' ongoing success as a bloodstock sales and auction business relies on more people being engaged in the sport. It relies on those who get involved having an experience which makes them want to come back, and it relies on the increasing value of the Australian-bred racehorse.

For Managing Director Mark Webster, becoming a slot holder in The Everest meant Inglis could be part of something that would change the game.

"I think sometimes in our industry we can be hamstrung by tradition and that makes people reluctant to embrace change," he told TDN Aus NZ.

"This is not tradition, it is really changing it up, and finding a new way to engage and having a model which is completely different to what people expect."

"We thought we should support that, rather than just applauding,"

Australia's best on show

Less than 18 months later, Webster feels the decision to invest as one of the original slotholders was an important one for the company, both for their current clients and for prospective ones.

He's come to realise that not only has it achieved significant cut-through with the general public and significant opportunity for his client base, but it has put a focus on the great strength of the Australian racing and breeding industry.

"It is a race that celebrates what we produce here in Australia. We produce sprinters and it's very different to the traditional races that the general public would engage with," he said.

"With the Melbourne Cup, the runners from that race are predominantly from overseas and the public don’t have that strong connection with them."

"It's a wonderful race, no disrespect to it, but it’s not a race which showcases what we produce here in Australia. It’s more an international race where people come from far afield to compete. The Everest is a race which really showcases the best of what we produce."

The Inglis Graduates

Four of the ten horses locked in for The Everest so far are graduates of Inglis, including last year's winner Redzel (Snitzel {Aus}) who was sold as weanling through the company before selling again through Magic Millions as a yearling.

All graduates of Inglis are eligible for their slot, with expressions of interest closing in April. Three of those horses, Redzel, (Yu Long Investments), In Her Time (Time Thief {Aus}) (TAB) and current favourite Trapeze Artist (Snitzel {Aus}) (Aquis) were locked up by other slot holders before Inglis was ready to make a decision.

"It's just another good reason to be talking to our clients. As long as they get in there, whether it be through our slot or someone else's, we are happy to have them there," Webster said.

"What we decided this year was that we would wait until the end of the Brisbane carnival. Obviously last year's winner came through the Brisbane carnival, so although we had discussions, we held off finalising anything until then."

It proved a savvy decision with an Inglis graduate, Santa Ana Lane (Lope De Vega {Ire}) winning the two late-season feature G1 sprints, The Goodwood and The Stradbroke.

"With Santa Ana Lane running so well in Adelaide and backing that up in Brisbane, two Group 1s in a row, we thought it was a horse on the improve," Webster said.

Selling the dream

The other key aspect in Santa Ana Lane's favour was his ownership structure. The William St Syndicate in the horse features 30 individual owners, linked together through The Australian Club in Melbourne.

"Last year (with Fell Swoop) we got behind a syndicate of owners from Canberra. This year we’ve got behind a syndicate of friends and business colleagues," he said.

"We tie that in with the marketing that we do. We are trying to get more people involved in racing, and we like the idea of a syndicate of winners. That's really what is going to drive racing forward."

"It's about getting more people engaged, whether they be friends, family members or work colleagues, and buying a horse together and chasing their dreams. That's what you see with Santa Ana Lane and that syndicate."

Santa Ana Lane resumed at Caulfield over 1100m last Saturday, charging home to finish fifth, beaten less than 1.5l. Webster and his team at Inglis were interested observers.

"It was 1100m, he was carrying 60kgs and I think he did very well to flash home in that race," he said. "I don’t think the trainer (Anthony Freedman) was necessarily trying to win, that wasn't the prize."

A Premier ambassador

As an $80,000 yearling purchase who has now won over $2.2 million, Santa Ana Lane is also a wonderful ambassador for Inglis' Melbourne Premier Yearling Sale.

"The horse came out of our Melbourne sale, which puts that sale back in the spotlight," Webster said.

"It was there for many years with Black Caviar coming out of the sale in Melbourne, it’s good to see another top-level sprinter as a Melbourne graduate"

But The Everest has not just been a great marketing opportunity for Inglis. Webster said the success of the concept has been the way it has been able to be leveraged to market the entire industry.

"Giving the power to slotholders to pick and choose horses that represent them is a novelty," he said.

"It basically means you don’t have to spend any money on marketing, because the marketing is the whole negotiation process of the field in the six-month period ahead of the race. It's brilliant marketing, and it costs nothing."

Where to now for the Everest runners?

Trapeze Artist (Aquis): G2 Theo Marks (1300m) - Warwick Farm - September 8

In Her Time (TAB): Trial at Newcastle, September 19, Resumes in G2 Premiere S, Randwick - September 29

Vega Magic (James Harron): Straight to The Everest - October 13

English (Damion Flower): G2 The Shorts (1100m), Randwick - September 15

Shoals (The Star): G2 McEwen S, Moonee Valley - September 8

Santa Ana Lane (Inglis): Likely to G2 The Shorts (1100m), Randwick - September 15

Brave Smash (Chris Waller Racing): TBC

US Navy Flag (Coolmore): Straight to The Everest - October 13

Invincible Star (GPI Racing): G2 The Shorts (1100m), Randwick - September 15

Redzel (Yulong Investments): G2 The Shorts (1100m), Randwick - September 15

KR: A constant debate in Australia is whether it's best to use shuttlers or colonially-raced horses. In a recent interview you said you thought some shuttlers could be accessed at “bargain” fees Down Under because they have more to prove in that market. What qualities--physical, pedigree and racing style--do you think a shuttler needs to succeed in Australia?

JB: I think we over-emphasise the supposed gulf between turf and dirt horses. As MV Magnier pointed out recently [speaking after buying a yearling by American Pharoah at Arqana], his grandfather Vincent O’Brien and father John Magnier, along with Robert Sangster, “built Ballydoyle and Coolmore on the back of the American ‘dirt’ horse.” Northern Dancer--as well as son Sadler’s Wells and grandsons Galileo and Danehill, and lately, War Front, as well as fifth-generation descendent Scat Daddy--have been the mainstay of those legendary operations since Nijinsky himself.

Australia’s best sire ever, Danehill, was by the epitome of a dirt horse in Northern Dancer’s son Danzig.

Australia’s best racehorse--ever?--is Winx, by American dirt sire Street Cry, son of Mr Prospector and sire in Australia also of top-class 2-year-old Pride Of Dubai, Group 1 Guineas winners Whobegotyou, Long John and Stay With Me and even Melbourne Cup winner Shocking.

Golden Slipper-winning 2-year-old Vancouver and Golden Rose hero Astern are by American dirt horse Medaglia d’Oro, while American dirt horse More Than Ready has been a leading sire in both Australia and the U.S., with any number of champions and sire-sons in both hemispheres.

All of those sires differed so markedly in physique, pedigree, racing style and distance aptitude that I wouldn’t venture to prescribe specific qualities required for success in Australia. That said, the Australian commercial market would certainly favour qualities like successful 2-year-old form, speed, class, soundness and what might be termed a turf action--all of which qualities American Pharoah boasts in abundance.

KR: The pendulum for sire success in Australia seems to have swung back towards horses that raced locally, after favouring shuttlers for a number of years. Why do you think this is, and could it ever swing back?

JB: Scorpions sting; pendula swing--it’s in their nature.

Danehill swung the pendulum from Star Kingdom to shuttle sires and then his sons Danzero, Flying Spur and Redoute’s Choice--followed by his sons Snitzel, Stratum and Not A Single Doubt-- swung it back in favour of locally-raced colonial sires.

Reason is simple: Danehill and descendents nicked wonderfully well with broodmares by Star Kingdom-line sires like Biscay, Bletchingly, Marscay and with mares by Sir Tristam and his son Zabeel. Einstein not required to figure out that the next waves of sire-success will come from outcross sirelines who nick best with the Danehill-line broodmares that proliferate in Australia.

So, whilst there is plenty of life yet in the Danehill sireline, the answer is yes, the pendulum will swing back. To Storm Cat? To Galileo? To complete outliers like American Pharoah? Time will tell, but anyone not expecting a swing is going to get a nasty bump on the head when that pendulum changes direction.

KR: There is much discussion about the fact that the Australian breed has become so focused on speed. What is your take on this? Is this a good thing, a bad thing?

JB: In my view the Australian breed is far too focused on speed and precocity. This all started with the importation of Star Kingdom and the creation of what many see as a ridiculously rich race for 2-year-olds, the Golden Slipper. This is no longer even balanced by the Melbourne Cup, which is now a ridiculously rich race for imported and visiting stayers.

There is very little incentive to breed ‘Classic’ horses as those battle in the yearling sale ring, despite still good prize money out there for Oaks and Derby events. Even winners of the Cox Plate, our weight-for-age championship of Australia, battle to find support at stud and buyers of their progeny at sales.

It is what it is and it’s not going to change, which is a pity, I think, as Australia has shot itself in the foot with this obsessive mania for Magic Millions [2-year-old Classic], Blue Diamond and Golden Slipper 2-year-olds, the vast majority of which fail to train on as 3-year-olds but still command big prices for stud and over-the-top service fees.

KR: Could the success of young horses like Pierro and So You Think perhaps prompt a swing back to Australians breeding more stayers?

JB: Before Pierro and So You Think, who are both the future of Guineas, Oaks and Derby horses in Australia, there was Zabeel, High Chaparral, and there still is, Savabeel, etc. They were super sires of Classic horses but made little difference to the speed-oriented character of Australian racing and breeding.

So no, I doubt they’ll prompt a swing but they certainly are immensely popular amongst breeders and buyers focused on that Classic horse.

KR: The Australian sales marketplace is one of the healthier ones worldwide at the moment. With prices rising across the board in recent years, how do you find value and stick to a budget?

JB: As with any sales, anywhere, there is always value to be found. Rising prices are not necessarily driven by expertise; they tend often to be driven by sire-mania, especially, and by black type.

But it’s racehorses I’m after, not paper tigers with fancy labels and pages. So as long as I keep focusing on type-- physique and athleticism--I can still find the right animals under budget. I’ve bought enough--and been burned enough by-- over-priced must-have and mug's horses in my time!

KR: You've been involved with the purchase of a number of high-class mares from America for Australia over the years. Of course they're all individuals, but as a group why do you think these mares work? Are European mares also effective Down Under?

JB: I think those mares I’ve bought from America, whose progeny have both sold and raced well here, have worked because they were athletes, bought off the track on type and high-class performance, with very little emphasis on catalogue page. The selection criteria were performance and physique, though any and all black type is always still welcomed.

European mares are also effective Down Under, though the same client for whom I bought those American mares had no luck with his European venture, primarily because his advisers at the time were focusing not on physique and performance but on the weak and useless close relatives to good performers.

KR: So you’d rather focus on the good mares themselves rather than going for their sisters or other relatives?

JB: Black cats have black kittens and I don’t want to breed a sales yearling that looks like an ugly, weak, useless mother--odds are it’ll more likely perform like her than like her close relatives, however much black-type they’ve splashed across the page.

It’s not always the case, as genes work in mysterious ways, but I’ve found it holds true more often than not. An exception I do make, however, is for a well-conformed, athletic ‘princess’ that looks like she should have performed but may have been compromised by factors outside of physical type.

We long ago, worldwide, gave up breeding for soundness--ability is everything--and I can’t see our ever changing that. We work them, run them and hope they last long enough to win a big race. And even if they don’t, we send them to stud anyway.

KR: What do you think are the main strengths of the Australian industry, and subsequently, the challenges?

JB: Prize money, possible through our TAB-funded system rather than bookmakers, and a very wide base of ownership, possible through our fabulous syndication system, are key elements of the Australian racing industry’s success.

Anyone can own a piece of a horse and nearly everyone knows someone who does, so there is great exposure via all forms of media and social interaction. There is very little ‘elitism’ in Australian racing; betting outlets are generally clean, well-run outfits and nearly every pub has a TAB facility.

Challenges in this day and age include competition from general sports betting and keeping on the right side of the animal welfare issue but we currently have, especially in New South Wales, outstanding administrators who are generating unprecedented interest in the sport via concepts like The Everest and The Kosciusco and providing great prize money incentives across the spectrum, from major races down to grass-roots country level.