Cover image courtesy of The Image Is Everything
It was a racehorse extravaganza on Wednesday for the Inglis Digital October (Late) Online Sale, which featured a number of prolific tried horses in its 201-lot catalogue.
Best of the bunch was a 10 per cent share in the Melbourne Cup candidate Future History (GB) (Showcasing {GB}), who topped proceedings as a 6-year-old gelding when his share was sold to prominent owner Adam Carney for $205,000. It values the horse at $2,050,000.
Adam Carney | Image courtesy of Airfoil
Future History is trained from Cranbourne by Ciaron Maher and David Eustace. Up to Wednesday, he was owned by a trio that included Peter Trainor, who had bought him in partnership for 140,000gns (AU$282,226) at last year’s Tattersalls Autumn Horses in Training Sale (ongoing this week).
In Europe, the horse had shown remarkable consistency, winning at Clairefontaine and Deauville before transferring to Australia last December. Since, he has been one of the sharpest imports for the Maher-Eustace yard, winning two races and being second in a total of five starts.
Significantly though, he was a winner of the G3 The Bart Cummings at his last start on October 7, sailing him into the Melbourne Cup next month ballot-free.
It made Future History’s 10 per cent offering on Wednesday very attractive, and the share attracted 57 individual bids before finally going the way of Adam Carney at $205,000.
Carney is well-known in ownership circles, primarily for his involvement in Pierata, for whom he was managing owner. He bought into that horse, who now stands at Yulong, as a birthday present for his wife, and the horse’s subsequent journey was a five-time Group-winning saga.
The Sydney businessman has been involved with horses for a long time, particularly alongside Greg Hickman. He was also in Eleven Eleven (Fastnet Rock), and, with 10 per cent of Future History now added to his portfolio, it puts Carney’s number of shares at around a dozen in various Sydney-placed horses.
“I’ve been lucky to share in a lot of success with racehorses,” he said, speaking to The Thoroughbred Report. “It’s been on my bucket list to have a runner in the Melbourne Cup, and a good friend of mine and a good colleague, Mark De Stoop, has gone into partnership with me for this 10 per cent.”
“It’s been on my bucket list to have a runner in the Melbourne Cup, and a good friend of mine and a good colleague, Mark De Stoop, has gone into partnership with me for this 10 per cent.” - Adam Carney
Mark De Stoop and wife Lindy own Parsons Creek in the Lower Hunter, an emerging farm that counts Mazu (Maurice {Jpn}) among its homebred stars.
“I contacted Mark last Thursday or Friday, whenever it was the Inglis catalogue came out, and I asked him if he wanted a Melbourne Cup runner,” Carney said. “We said we’d give it a crack and here we are, and it will be really good to share the experience with Mark.”
Future History attracted spirited bidding early on Wednesday, which was noticeable to Carney and De Stoop. They watched as the figure climbed north of $200,000, but at a final price of $205,000, Carney believes it’s about right in the current market.
“The way I perceive it, I’ve bought a lot of horses over the years and a lot of owners out there buy horses on potential,” he said. “They can pay $1 million and more for horses that go through a sale, and I thought this horse represented value for a horse that is qualified for the Melbourne Cup.
“He’s only lightly raced and he’s only been in Australia a short time. I thought that, beyond this Melbourne Cup, he’s got a very bright future and he’s a horse that will probably progress even further as he gets a bit older. There is plenty of upside with him.”
“I thought that, beyond this Melbourne Cup, he’s (Future History) got a very bright future and he’s a horse that will probably progress even further as he gets a bit older. There is plenty of upside with him.” - Adam Carney
The share in Future History was offered this week by Peter Trainor, the horse's primary owner, who is based in Ireland.
“This is the first horse I’ve raced in Australia and I wanted to test the waters, and I was encouraged to do so via Inglis Digital and it’s been perfect,’’ Trainor told Inglis. “I’m looking forward to meeting the new owners. I see Adam is having his birthday next week so hopefully we can catch up for a couple of beers and win a Melbourne Cup together.’’
Future History will be the first time that Carney has raced a horse with Ciaron Maher and David Eustace, and the uniqueness of Wednesday’s purchase is that he doesn’t have to wait too long for the fruits of the exercise.
“The Melbourne Cup is on our doorstep, literally around the corner,” Carney said. “He’s qualified and I think he’s got a very good chance. He’s got 50kg in the Cup and I like the way he stuck on over 2500 metres in The Bart Cummings. He was going away on the line which tells me that he will get 3200 metres.
“The lure of the Melbourne Cup contributes to his overall value at this point, if it’s sitting at around $2 million. You can go to Inglis or Magic Millions and buy an I Am Invincible for that money and they’re relatively untried. In the case of Future History then, I think that $2 million value is fairly reasonable.”
A 10 per cent share in Future History (GB) was purchased by Adam Carney for $205,000 | Image courtesy of Racing Photos
Timing is everything
In Wednesday’s sale, Future History was hotly followed by two significant horses – the 4-year-old gelding Kote (Chosir) and the 7-year-old gelding Superium (Verrazano {USA}). Both were being sold outright.
Kote made $195,000 when selling to Ravenswood Bloodstock, and this Listed winner, trained by Anthony Cummings at Leilani Lodge, was raced in the Trilogy colours. He has already collected over $350,000 in prizemoney and was last seen in the million-dollar Silver Eagle a fortnight ago.
Kote was purchased by Ravenswood Bloodstock for $195,000 | Image courtesy of Ashlea Brennan
However, it was Lot 17, Superium, who created an interesting buzz when selling in this catalogue alongside Future History because, like Future History, he was selling with a big ticket to his name. He is qualified for the $3 million The Big Dance at Randwick on Melbourne Cup Day courtesy of his Port Macquarie Cup victory on October 6, his most recent start.
Superium, currently trained by Team Hawkes at Rosehill, was bought by Kingstar Farm for $150,000. For Sebastian Hutch, CEO of Inglis Bloodstock, both Superium and Future History represented a tactical pattern for Inglis Digital this week.
Superium was purchased by Kingstar Farm for $150,000 | Image courtesy of Inglis Digital
“In the case of those two horses, who have sold particularly well, it’s almost self-explanatory,” Hutch said, speaking to The Thoroughbred Report. “Superium is qualified for The Big Dance, making it a very timely opportunity, and Future History is qualified for the Melbourne Cup.
“Owners (vendors) in that instance have identified the opportunity to take advantage of that, and very evidently there has been a very strong market in the case of both of those horses.”
“In the case of those two horses, who have sold particularly well, it’s almost self-explanatory. Superium is qualified for The Big Dance, making it a very timely opportunity, and Future History is qualified for the Melbourne Cup.” - Sebastian Hutch
The timing of these tried horses going into Inglis Digital is logical. It’s a case of meeting demand at a timely time, in this case with big-ticket temptations.
On Wednesday, the top six to sell in the October (Late) Online Sale were all tried horses, and grouping them into a timely catalogue is a deliberate tactic on the part of Inglis.
“It’s an opportunity to offer particular profiles of horses at particular times of the year, noting that demand is likely to be more pronounced for certain categories of stock at certain times,” Hutch said. “But it’s really only in the last couple of years that patterns have started to establish themselves.
“Ultimately, in the prior years, a lot of what went on was distorted by the pandemic, whereas in 2022 and 2023, we’ve been able to build a profile of when certain horses might be effectively placed.”
“It’s an opportunity to offer particular profiles of horses at particular times of the year, noting that demand is likely to be more pronounced for certain categories of stock at certain times.” - Sebastian Hutch
In Wednesday’s catalogue, Future History, Kote and Superium were the sole six-figure lots by close of trade. The rest of the catalogue included such highlights as a five per cent share in the Rich Enuff filly Abounding, which made $27,500 when selling to Frank Carnovale, and the 3-year-old grey colt Barker (Snitzel), who fetched $80,000 when bought by Noel Fuller Holdings.
Ranch Hand (Fastnet Rock), who had sold on this platform for $600,000 last year, was sold again, this time for $30,000 to Peachester Lodge. He comes with a lot of promise in the right hands.
Ranch Hand was purchased by Peachester Lodge for $30,000 after selling through the Inglis Digital platform last year for $600,000 | Image courtesy of Inglis Digital
“We have any number of people looking for the best market at the best time of year, whether it be with tried horses, yearlings, weanlings or breeding stock,” Hutch said. “People evaluate circumstances and then evaluate the timing accordingly.”
Wednesday’s online sale grossed $1,636,500 with an average of $10,696. The clearance rate was just under 79 per cent, with over half of the catalogue represented by racing options.
