Cover image courtesy of Inglis
This year's Inglis Easter Yearling sale was anticipated to be another bumper edition of the prestigious event. While the sale of Winx's (Street Cry {Ire}) $10,000,000 filly garnered significant attention, the overall auction displayed notable resilience in the face of economic challenges.
Even without considering the extraordinary Winx filly sale, the average price remained robust, exceeding $400,000, setting a new benchmark for the sale's history.
Similarly, the median price maintained its strength at $300,000, echoing the outstanding performance of the 2022 edition, which stands as the highest-grossing version to date. Despite a slight decrease in the clearance rate to 79 per cent (and still rising), compared to last year's 85 per cent, generally speaking, other measures proved stable to positive.
| 2024 | $300,000 |
| 2023 | $280,000 |
| 2022 | $300,000 |
| 2021 | $280,000 |
| 2020 | $250,000 |
Table: The median price at the past five Inglis Easter Yearling Sales
Looking at the median prices over the past five Inglis Easter Yearling Sales, the market has remained steady with periods of fluctuation.
Not counting the downturn in 2020 due to the pandemic, the median price for an Inglis Easter Yearling has fluctuated between $280,000 and $300,000 over the past five years. Despite experiencing a slight decline in median price last year, the market has rebounded this year, matching the figures from the prosperous 2022 edition.
This year, the total number of buyers increased to 212 participants in the sale, up by 16 from the previous year.
This surge indicates a growing interest and activity in the market, even without the notable participation of Yulong. At the top end, the distribution of buyers remained consistent, with 59 unique buyers acquiring the top 25 per cent of yearlings, highlighting stability in buyer engagement and investment.
Notably, the Newgate, China Horse Club / Newgate Farm / Go Bloodstock / Trilogy partnership group emerged as the most active, securing nine yearlings in the top quartile. Dean Hawthorne Bloodstock and Gai Waterhouse / Adrian Bott & Kestrel Thoroughbreds also made significant contributions with seven and three yearlings, respectively.
| 2024 | $977,179 |
| 2023 | $829,667 |
| 2022 | $850,638 |
| 2021 | $802,253 |
| 2020 | $654,259 |
Table: The average price amongst the top 25 per cent of horses sold at the past five Inglis Easter Yearling Sales
Analysing the average prices among the top 25 per cent of horses sold over the past five Inglis Easter Yearling Sales reveals a notable growth trend. Excluding the pandemic years, the average price of top-tier yearlings has increased by almost 15 per cent, reaching an all-time high this year following a surge post-pandemic in 2022.
Even without considering the Winx filly, the average price of top-tier yearlings rose by almost four percent compared to last year.
| 2024 | $135,234 |
| 2023 | $130,233 |
| 2022 | $135,920 |
| 2021 | $102,143 |
| 2020 | $95,188 |
Table: The average price amongst the bottom 25 per cent of horses sold at the past five Inglis Easter Yearling Sales
While there has been some growth in the bottom 25 per cent of the market, it hasn't mirrored that of the top end, indicating a relative decline in enthusiasm for that part of the market, possibly due to a decrease in disposable income.
Aside from the pandemic years, the average price of the bottom 25 per cent has hovered around $135,000. While the average price of the lower end isn't necesarily increasing at a rapid rate, the good news is that it hasn't declined and is remaining steady for the time being.
| 2024 | 46% | 54% |
| 2023 | 48% | 52% |
| 2022 | 46% | 54% |
| 2021 | 38% | 62% |
| 2020 | 43% | 57% |
Table: The proportion of colts vs fillies in the top 25 per cent of horses sold at the past five Inglis Easter Yearling sale
A notable trend in the market is the rising demand for fillies compared to colts overall, contrasted by increased demand for colts in the upper tier of the sale. Since 2021, the average price of fillies has steadily outpaced that of colts, rising by 26 per cent compared to the colts' 13 per cent increase.
However, when considering the average price of the top 25 per cent of yearlings sold, colts have consistently been slightly more popular, accounting for approximately 54 per cent of the highest-priced Easter graduates since the pandemic years. This trend is likely driven by the significant presence of investors joining forces to identify the next potential stallion prospect.
