Cover image courtesy of Inglis
The Great Southern Sale will open on Sunday with a strong catalogue of weanlings on offer and continue through to Monday with a quality book of broodmares to go under the hammer.
New South Wales has been grappling with a growing number of COVID cases for the past few weeks, following an outbreak in Sydney and other borders have been closed, but experience has taught Inglis to successfully overcome barriers.
“We are used to the ups and downs of COVID from both personal and industry points of view and how we deal with it,” Inglis’ Victorian Bloodstock Manager, James Price, said.
“It’s made us as a sales company, and for buyers and vendors, to be more agile and flexible with what we do and how we market horses.
“The industry is in fantastic shape, more so than ever and while it has been a bit tricky, we can hopefully get good results for the vendors.
“The industry is in fantastic shape, more so than ever, and while it has been a bit tricky, we can hopefully get good results for the vendors.” – James Price
“With some buyers unable to be here in person, it may provide excellent opportunities for those that are here when looking for value.”
James Price | Image courtesy of Inglis
Price said there was a positive vibe around the Oaklands complex ahead of the opening session of trade.
“The vendors are very pleased to have a live auction and, from the people I have spoken to here, they are also pleased with what they have seen to have a crack at on Sunday morning.
“All-in-all, it’s shaping up as a very positive Sale and I really hope we can have a satisfactory outcome, and we feel we can, particularly for those Victorian vendors who use the Great Southern Sale for their cash flow for the year.
“We’re very grateful for the support of the vendors in a tricky time, having had to postpone the Sale for three weeks. We have found the most suitable spot, and while it’s not ideal with various restrictions, we remain confident of a good outcome.”
Proven track record
With recent graduates including Group 1 winners Gytrash (Lope De Vega {Ire}), Montefilia (Kermadec {NZ}), Behemoth (All Too Hard) and On The Bubbles (Brazen Beau), the Great Southern Sale continues to assert itself as one of the leading breeding stock sales in the country for end users and pinhookers alike.
Weanlings will be offered by leading stallions including Capitalist, Exceed And Excel, More Than Ready (USA), Zoustar, Maurice (Jpn), Written Tycoon, Street Boss (USA), So You Think (NZ), Pierro, Deep Field, Brazen Beau, Extreme Choice, Flying Artie, Frosted (USA), Toronado (Ire), Lonhro, Dundeel (NZ) and Ocean Park (NZ).
First-season sires represented include Trapeze Artist, Grunt (NZ), Written By, Brave Smash (Jpn), Harry Angel (Ire), National Defense (GB), Sioux Nation (USA), Mendelssohn (USA), Lean Mean Machine, Showtime, Villermont and Boom Time.
Rare commodity
Also among the stallion newcomers to be represented is Justify (USA), whose son will be offered as Lot 262 by Yarran Thoroughbreds.
He is a unique character in more ways than one as he is the only representative of Justify in the Sale and also the only colt by the Coolmore stallion out of a Group 1-winning mare to be sold in Australia this year.
The weanling was bred by New Zealanders Alan Groves and partner Kay de Malmanche, who have a foal share agreement with Coolmore.
“The colt has come on quite quickly and looks precocious, quite a few of the Justifys are. He’s a gorgeous horse and far more like his sire,” Groves said.
“The colt (Lot 262) has come on quite quickly and looks precocious, quite a few of the Justifys are. He’s a gorgeous horse and far more like his sire." - Alan Groves
“He’s very athletic and well put together with great balance. He’s quite striking so we put him in the Sale to see what interest there is.”
Lot 262 - Justify (USA) x Aide Memoire (NZ) (colt)
Yarran Thoroughbreds, at Seymour, is managed by John Docherty, who has also been impressed by the colt.
“He’s quite excited about his prospects and he’s got clean x-rays,” Groves said.
The colt's dam Aide Memoire (NZ) became the only Group 1 winner for her sire Remind (USA), a stakes-winning son of Deputy Minister (USA), when she was successful in the Captain Cook S. at Trentham. She was also runner-up in the G1 Tarzino Trophy.
“Her first foal by Caravaggio is being broken in at the moment,” Groves said. “We sent the mare to Street Boss and she’s safely in foal to him.”
Group 3-winning mare
Race fillies and breeding stock includes multiple Group 3 winner Delectation Girl (GB) (Delegator {GB}), Lot 583, while Lot 448 is Ra Ra Epic (Drumbeats), who is in foal to Yes Yes Yes and a half-sister to the boom stayer Incentivise (Shamus Award).
Lot 575 is the six-time winner and Group performer Too Good Too Hard (All Too Hard), offered as a racing and breeding proposition while mares in foal to the stallions including Extreme Choice, Zoustar, Yes Yes Yes, Frosted and Exceedance are also featured.
Lot 564 - Lady Blakeney (GB) offered in foal to Night Of Thunder (Ire)
The supplementary mares’ catalogue includes Shamardal (USA) mare Lady Blakeney (GB) as Lot 564 and is in foal to Night Of Thunder (Ire), whose only Australian crop of racing age is responsible for five stakes winners from just 36 runners to date, including the recent Group 1 winner Kukeracha (NZ).
“The numbers are obviously down on last year and that’s no surprise given the strength of the digital market, but we are particularly happy with the quality the vendors have put in,” Price said.
