The full catalogue for the iconic Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale, featuring 514 yearlings, and to be held on April 7 and 8, has been released with the usual array of deep pedigrees set to be backed up by the elite physical types by 58 different stallions.

A focus this year for Inglis, according to General Manager of Bloodstock Sales and Marketing Sebastian Hutch, was to ensure a growth in the diversity of vendors. This has been achieved with 61 to sell in 2020, up from 50 in 2019.

"We’ve been very conscious of the expectations of what the Easter Yearling Sale will be in terms of both the perspective of vendors and buyers," Hutch told TDN AusNZ.

"Vendors expect it to be attended by investors at every level, not just domestically, but internationally, and achieve outstanding results. Fortunately, that was very much the case for the 2019 renewal.

"We were also very keen to make sure we retained a diversified group of vendors. Growing the group of vendors at the sale significantly was an important objective for us, which we’ve achieved."

Hutch said that while returns to vendors is a key metric for success, so too is the ongoing performances of the sale's graduates, something which the substantial reputation of Easter has been built upon.

"Buyers expect to buy the best racehorses here, year in, year out and fortunately, that's been borne out by the results of the past two years. Easter has produced more Group 1 winning graduates than any other Australasian yearling sale since the start of 2018," Hutch said.

"We are very conscious of the status of the sale and we are really delighted with how the 2020 renewal has come together, noting that we set out with a very specific objective to retain the two-day format, growing the numbers, while having regard for the subtleties of balancing demand with the number of horses in the sale."

Numbers grow but quality retained

Indeed, the numbers in the catalogue have grown from 450 last year, but with still a strong focus on quality.

The catalogue contains siblings to 181 stakes winners, a list that contains 52 Group 1 winners, including the likes of The Autumn Sun (Redoute's Choice), Sunlight (Zoustar), Loving Gaby (I Am Invincible), Estijaab (Snitzel) and More Joyous (NZ) (More Than Ready {USA}), while there are also the progeny of 170 stakes winning mares including More Joyous, Srikandi (Dubawi {Ire}), First Seal (Fastnet Rock), Miss Finland (Redoute's Choice), Fenway (High Chaparral {Ire}), Plucky Belle (Mossman), Princess Coup (Encosta De Lago) and Snitzerland (Snitzel).

Hutch said that while the pages of the 514 yearlings on offer will further the Easter reputation for elite pedigrees, the depth of the catalogue very much flows through to the physical product on offer.

"There's an expectation that the pedigrees at Easter will be the best pedigrees that you will see in any yearling catalogue in Australasia and even in terms of an international context, the quality and depth of the pedigrees over a two-day format, would be as strong as you’d find at a sale anywhere in the world," he said.

"Similarly, we are conscious of presenting a physical product that appeals to the market. While pedigree is important, we have identified any number of what we perceive to be really nice horses that might not have what is said to be a traditional Easter pedigree, but we feel can sell very well in the market at Easter.

"We are in a fortunate position that the timing of the sale is suitable for a significant number of yearlings. The early part of the market may cater very well for those early maturing horses, but there are horses that benefit from some additional time to mature.

"They go to Easter and they have had an extra few months in the paddock and they present as more rounded, more mature yearlings, and that allows the buying bench to make an even more informed decision than what they would make earlier in the year."

Table: Vendor numbers

Value proven through graduate success

While million-dollar yearlings make the headline - there were 19 at last year's sale or over 5.4 per cent of those sold, Hutch said Inglis takes as much pride in those horses that can go on and perform at the top level off a much lower price point.

Gallery: Group 1 winners sold for $80,000 at the Inglis Easter Yearling Sale

"As we have been at pains to stress for the last 12 months, Easter is not just about expensive yearlings and big prices. It’s also about identifying nice horses at value. There have been three Group 1 winners since 2018 who have been sold for $80,000 apiece in Aristia, Funstar and Land of Plenty," he said.

"There is fantastic value to be found at the Sale. It's not just about identifying the yearlings that can go and make the most money. It’s about trying to find nice horses that there is going to be demand for right across the board and we feel we've done that."

International stallions drive cosmopolitan catalogue

The demand for international pedigrees has rarely been so strong in the Australian market, and indeed the sale-topper from the recent Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale was a colt by Deep Impact (Jpn), which sold for $1.9 million.

The international flavour will be strong at Easter as well, with four yearlings by Deep Impact, nine by Frankel (GB), two by Siyouni (Fr), three by Lord Kanaloa (Jpn), two by Into Mischief (USA) and one by Kitten's Joy (USA).

"There's been a lot written about the importance of the diversity of the gene pool recently. That's an issue for breeders right around the world," Hutch said.

Hutch pointed out that Australian breeders have demonstrated an appetite to travel and identify the best sirelines and best pedigrees to bring back to Australia, whether that is through Australian mares mated to international stallions, or mares sourced internationally.

"Any efforts those breeders make in terms of trying to diversify the gene pool must be perceived as positive," he said.

"We are in a great position to be able to facilitate that during Easter, whether that be through Deep Impact or Frankel, Lord Kanaloa or Siyouni. There is also a positive response to those new stallions which have 'outcross pedigrees' already, horses like American Pharoah or Shalaa, they are all stallions well-represented at Easter."

Table: Sires' numbers

Strong crop of freshmen set to pique interest

The demand for the progeny of the new crop of stallions drove record results on the Gold Coast, where they were 29 freshmen represented. It is a more select first season offering of 15 at Easter, making up exactly 100, or 19.4 per cent, of the catalogue, which Hutch says is what the quality of stock demanded.

"We appraise all the stock from the latter parts of the winter, through the spring and into the early summer, trying to identify the horses that we feel, in conjunction with the breeders, will sell well at Easter. We look at what is put in front of us," Hutch said.

"It happens that this is a crop where first season stallions, and rightly so given their quality, were exceptionally well-patronised by Australasian breeders and as a consequence, we looked at a lot of yearlings by young stallions."

Hutch said it was inevitable that Australia's next generation of leading sires will emerge out of the current group of young stallions.

"I think people can look at these horses with a level of confidence that they are going to produce good racehorses," he said. "In terms of Easter, we want the sale to continue to produce good racehorses and if breeders feel like they have the right horses for Easter and we agree, we are happy to have them here."

Optimism flows

With that mixture of international pedigrees, fresh stallions, and a massive flow of prizemoney across the industry over recent years, Hutch said there is every reason to be positive about what the market may do at Easter.

"There are an extraordinary number of reasons to be very optimistic about horse ownership in Australia. There are over 60 $1 million-plus races to be run in Australia in 2020, which is really quite extraordinary when you view that in an international context," he said.

"Returns to owners have never been so great and it's borne out by how the yearling market has begun the season. We are quietly optimistic that we are in line for a very positive yearling sales season, but by the same token, we are not complacent about the work that has to be done to ensure that vendors are given every opportunity to achieve good results with their stock."

People talk of a horse of a lifetime, but few could speak of the influence one horse could have over his part-owner than the 17-year journey Not A Single Doubt has taken Ron Finemore on since he purchased a quarter share of him as a yearling.

"He's meant everything to me. He has funded my whole racing investment. I follow every Not A Single Doubt runner and he's been the key thing in my whole involvement in racing for the past 17 years," Finemore said.

The bay yearling son of Redoute's Choice, purchased by Graeme Rogerson for $230,000 at the 2003 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale, was notable for his white blaze. As he built an amazing stallion career from the ground up, and as Finemore continued to breed with him, that was the feature, along with his athleticism, that he kept passing on to his progeny.

"The significant thing was that white blaze. Most of them had a white blaze on their face," Finemore said.

The transport magnate has bred countless horses by his stallion over the years so is well-placed to assess his legacy, but the day after it was announced that the stallion would be retired due to an ongoing pulmonary issue, Finemore still feels a sense of lost opportunity.

"It feels like I haven't bred enough of them now. but I couldn't tell you how many I've bred from him off the top of my head. I've never really kept a record," he said.

"I've got three mares in foal to him this year which are pretty special and we’ve kept a couple of 2-year-olds to race and a yearling we bought back at the Gold Coast recently.

"We’ve also got one to go to Easter which I’d love to stay in on."

There was certainly a sense that Not A Single Doubt has been lost to breeders in his prime. His 2019 service fee of $110,000 (inc GST) was a career-high, while he has produced four Group 1 winners in the past 12 months and five stakes winners in the past three months.

He is third on the 2YO Sires' Table in Australia and had 32 of his current crop of yearlings sell for an average of $344,531 at the recent Magic Millions Gold Coast Sale.

"I feel the best is still to come as well, because of the mares he has had in the past couple of years," Finemore said. "He is third on the 2-year-old sires currently, without big numbers, and they sold well at the Gold Coast. He only had a few mares in foal this year but there are still some very good progeny to hit the track."

Getting in early

Bred by the Arrowleave Joint Venture, Not A Single Doubt was offered by Arrowfield Stud at the Magic Millions, who stayed in the ownership after Rogerson purchased him.

Finemore was also involved with a 25 per cent share and he knew they had a smart 2-year-old on their hands when Not A Single Doubt became Redoute's Choice's first stakes winner in the 2003 Canonbury S., his third win to start his career.

"He then ran second in the Magic Millions to a champion horse in Dance Hero by a very small margin," Finemore recalls.

"He went on and Graeme Rogerson was preparing him at that time and he ran a very fast time in a track gallop and it was too fast a time, because he pulled up with a problem after that and didn’t get to the Slipper. "

Ahead of his 3-year-old campaign, Arrowfield increased its interest in the colt, securing shares from Rogerson and Bruce Reid, before he joined the Tony Vasil stable.

He would win another stakes race, the Listed Zeditave S. at Caulfield, but would be retired after his autumn 3-year-old prep with four wins from 10 starts.

"He always showed a heap of ability and he was an exciting horse," Finemore said.

Making a stallion

While he didn't get that Group 1 on his resume, Arrowfield put Not A Single Doubt to stud later that year on a first-season service fee of $13,750 (inc GST) as the first of Redoute's Choice's sons to stand at the iconic Hunter Valley operation.

Along for the ride, Finemore supported the stallion with his own mares and always had faith that he would make it, with Arrowfield ensuring he got good numbers of over 100 in all but one of his first five seasons at stud.

Watch: Not A Single Doubt

In 2010, the stakes wins started to flow with Doubtful Jack getting his sire off the mark, while less than three years later, Not A Single Doubt had his first Group 1 winner with Miracles Of Life.

Not A Single Doubt's star has risen at an amazing rate over the past decade, with his service fee jumping to $24,750 in 2011, $33,000 in 2013, then $71,500 in 2016, $88,000 in 2017, $99,000 in 2018 and into six figures last year.

As it currently stands, he is the sire of 69 stakes winners, including 11 Group 1 winners, and was fifth on the Australian General Sires Table in 2018/19.

Not A Single Doubt's position among the top echelon of Australian stallions has been hard earned, and according to Finemore owes a lot to Arrowfield's vision and persistence.

"John Messara is a very optimistic individual and it is doubtful anybody else would have stood him at that stage," Finemore said. "I'd say they had hoped he could make a good stallion, but we couldn't have thought he would be the champion that he has been.

"He never got good mares early on and he had to make it himself. He's done it the hard way."

Calling time

With such momentum in his breeding career, it made the decision to retire him a difficult, albeit necessary step, which was fully supported by Finemore.

"His problem is that he's sick and he's not well enough to serve. He couldn't do it," he said.

"They stopped during the year and we were hoping with the treatment he would improve, but unfortunately that hasn't happened."

Gallery: Not A Single Doubt's sons at stud in Australia

Not A Single Doubt is well positioned to continue to make his mark beyond the end of his own stud career with two sons, Extreme Choice and Squamosa, standing in Australia, while he is having an influence as a broodmare sire, with his mares producing four stakes winners to date including the Hong Kong Group 1 winner Seasons Bloom (Captain Sonador).

"He's earned his stripes the hard way," Finemore said. "It's sad to see him the way he is at this point in his career, but Arrowfield will ensure that he is looked after in the best manner possible."

Post his halcyon Cambridge Stud days which saw him the leading vendor at Karaka for an extraordinary 31 consecutive years, Sir Patrick has kept his hand in with a number of broodmares and racehorses he has interests in based at his 200 acre Monarch Farm.

Loyalty has always come with a capital 'L' for Sir Patrick, whose Australian-based mares are with another "old boy" Mike Fleming at Bhima Thoroughbreds, and staffers to have benefitted from stints when he was at the helm of his famously successful nursery continue to be recipients of his support.

“Mum and Dad used to live down the road from Cambridge Stud so I started holiday work on the farm when I was about 12, just doing anything really,” Carlaw Park’s Nick Fairweather said. “Then I did a few yearling preps for Patrick before I did my own thing.

“Marcus Corban put us forward to Patrick and he asked us to do some of his yearlings. Patrick is very loyal and we’ve got five for him.

“He has been a supporter of mine ever since I was young. To continue that association and having Patrick's horses in our draft is pretty special.”

With his partner Nicole Brown, Fairweather now operates Carlaw Park on the outskirts of Cambridge and will be selling at Karaka for the third time. He has a couple of favourites to present for Sir Patrick.

“I’d single out the Reliable Man colt out of Diamaint. He’s the first foal of a Cape Blanco mare, it’s the Tristalove family, and he’s a real classic type,” he said.

“He really is a lovely colt with a lot of length and scope about him and carries himself well.”

Watch: Lot 543 - Reliable Man (GB) x Diamaint (colt)

To be offered as Lot 543, the youngster’s dam is a half-sister to the G2 Lowland S. and G3 Eulogy S. winner Queen Of Diamonds (NZ) (Savabeel).

“The Tavistock filly out of Sara Ann has a lot of quality and class about her. She’s a sister to Tavago and a family Patrick has had a lot of success with,” Fairweather said.

The filly is Lot 250 and her second dam is Tricia Ann (NZ) (Zabeel {NZ}), a sister to the multiple Group 1 winner and successful sire Grosvenor (NZ) (Sir Tristram {Ire}) and the former Australian Horse of the Year Lankan Rupee (Redoute’s Choice) also appears on the pedigree page.

Watch: Lot 250 - Tavistock (NZ) x Sara Ann (filly)

“You have to be positive going into sales. You put your trust and faith in New Zealand Bloodstock to have the buyers there,” Fairweather said. “The parades have all been very solid and we’re looking forward to it.”

Adrian Stanley, of Woburn Farm, also completed yearling preparations during his time at Cambridge Stud.

“I worked for Sir Patrick for a couple of years. What I wanted to achieve was to pick his brains and learn from the best,” he said. “It’s a privilege to be looking after his bloodstock, it’s a major honour for me.”

He will present a quartet of yearlings for Sir Patrick and has particularly high expectations for a pair of Tavistock (NZ) youngsters.

“I’ve got four for Patrick and Justine that are foal shares and partnerships. I really like the Tavistock out of Joy’s Choice, she’s got substance and is a really strong filly,” he said.

To be presented as Lot 5, Joy’s Choice (Redoute’s Choice) was a multiple winner and stakes performer and is a half-sister to the G2 Tatt’s Winter S. winner La Sizeranne (NZ) (Stravinsky {USA}).

“The Tavistock colt out of Cinnadream has got a lovely shape to him. He was a November foal and he’s going to develop into a ripping type as a 2 and 3-year-old,” Stanley said.

“I’m positive about the sale and we’ve got a draft to fit everybody’s price brackets. The draft is looking great. We’ve done the best we can do and we’re confident we’ve got a horse for everyone.”