By Nathan Exelby
Cover image courtesy of Inglis
Inglis Managing Director Mark Webster backed a winner on his recent recruitment mission in Kentucky, resulting in a near instant windfall for a handful of breeders and vendors at Easter and possibly more widespread investment into the future.
Holding a mobile phone closely to his ear, Mark Webster stood in a corner of the Inglis Riverside complex mid-afternoon on Monday, to the far left of auctioneer Jonathan D’Arcy.
On the other end of the phone was the bullish American John Stewart, living up to his promise of wanting to buy the Pierro x Winx filly, having caused a social media storm with his matter of factness in the days leading up to the sale.
Webster, Inglis’ Managing Director, calmly relayed the bids from the other side of the world to bid spotters and a watchful D’Arcy.
Mark Webster | Image courtesy of Inglis
The rapid-fire process was over in a couple of minutes and Webster’s caller ultimately missed out on his intended target.
At $9 million, Stewart had made his final bid and conceded defeat.
“He was matter of fact. He just said ‘that’s enough’. He didn’t know who had bought it at the time, but later he said to me that he was just happy the horse has stayed in Australia,” Webster said.
“He got to his limit and moved on.”
“He (John Stewart) got to his limit (for Lot 391) and moved on.” - Mark Webster
But the role Stewart’s Resolute Racing and Webster played on Monday should not be underestimated. It was those phone bids that compelled Debbie Kepitis’ Woppitt Bloodstock to make the staggering $10 million successful bid.
Less than two hours later, Stewart used some of the unused Winx filly funds to buy the I Am Invincible x Booker (Written Tycoon) filly from Coolmore for $3 million.
That brought to six the Resolute Racing haul from Easter. He had earlier bought a Wootton Bassett (GB) colt for $900,000 from the Coolmore draft, which followed a $650,000 I Am Invincible filly from Ridgmont, a $425,000 Lope De Vega (Ire) filly out of the Yarraman draft, a $240,000 Dundeel (NZ) colt from Arrowfield and a $225,000 Street Boss (USA) filly from Newgate Farm.
So what prompted John Stewart and Resolute Racing to be one of the leading players at Easter 2024?
“A few weeks ago I went over to Kentucky recruiting buyers,” Webster said.
“He’s obviously new to the industry and I just took him to dinner really to find out more about him. He started buying (at) Keeneland last September and started buying some nice mares.
John Stewart | Image courtesy of Keeneland
“I just wanted to find out more about him more than anything, we weren’t expecting to get him down here.
“But of course over dinner, the conversation raised the Winx filly. She’s a collector’s item and it sparked his interest. I did happen to have a copy of the catalogue there with me and some videos on my phone.
“... we weren’t expecting to get him (John Stewart) down here. But of course over dinner, the conversation raised the Winx filly. She’s a collector’s item and it sparked his interest.” - Mark Webster
“I just think seeing some of the videos of Winx winning so many great races and videos of the filly looking so much like her mum … the pedigree being Street Cry, it resonated with him and it really sparked his interest.
“He came down for the (Golden) Slipper and while he was here he was able to go and look at some yearlings.
“He came out here to the (Inglis Riverside) complex, he was interested in seeing the facility. We had dinner in the restaurant, talked about the sale in general and about racing in Australia.
“After attending the races here, I think that impressed him as well. The quality of horses we have here, it’s quite exciting.
“After attending the races here, I think that impressed him (John Stewart) as well. The quality of horses we have here, it’s quite exciting.” - Mark Webster
“We just stayed connected and he made a decision that he really wanted that Winx filly, but he also wanted to buy some others.
“He’s bought six and spent more than $5 million.”
Tom Magnier | Image courtesy of Inglis
One of Stewart’s stopovers in Australia was with Tom Magnier at Coolmore Stud.
Stewart noted the hospitality Magnier had afforded him in a post-sale social media post on Monday evening, claiming he had “no intention of buying horses” when he came to Australia, but ended up buying six!
“He said ‘wow’ this is where I want to race. It shows how exciting and how vibrant racing is in Australia and how good the prizemoney is,” Magnier said.
“He (John Stewart) said ‘wow’ this is where I want to race. It shows how exciting and how vibrant racing is in Australia and how good the prizemoney is.” - Tom Magnier
“It’s great to have a guy like John Stewart recognise the significance of Winx in Australia.
“One thing he said when we had lunch at the farm was that he wouldn’t take this horse out of Australia.
“He was going to keep to his words, I think that’s great.
“We just have to find more John Stewarts!”
Stewart further endeared himself to Australian punters on Tuesday, asking the question of who should train the six horses he had purchased.
To Thursday afternoon, the question had elicited almost 300 responses and sparked several debates.
Stewart's arrival into the Australian bloodstock market has been meteoric. Breeders will be hoping it's not fleeting and the initial fond impression of racing here will last for a number of years to come.
