Cover image courtesy of Inglis

An extreme sale

Bidding opened at $800,000 and quickly escalated for the G1 VRC Oaks and G1 Champagne S. winner She’s Extreme (Extreme Choice) who gave the impression that she knew she was a star of the show as she strutted around the ring.

It was the quietest the auditorium had been all night as bidding progressed to and beyond $3 million, Coolmore Stud putting in the winning bid of $3.4 million.

A $275,000 Easter yearling who retired as the winner of over $1.6 million in stakes, the sale topper is, said the stud’s Tom Moore, the perfect fit for Coolmore.

“As a Group 1 winner at two and three she put herself in elite company and she is a rare offering.”

“She is everything we look for and we are delighted to have her,” he said, adding that she was purchased for an international Coolmore partnership with the view of “supporting one of our young up-and-coming stallions.”

“Horses like Home Affairs and Wootton Bassett are in the mix for her, we will sit down over the next few years and decide.”

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The Autumn Sun

A big night for Coolmore

Coolmore’s big night did not end with She’s Extreme, Tom Magnier also putting his hand up for the G2 Silver Shadow S. and G3 Black Opal S. winner Autumn Ballet (The Autumn Sun) and the G1 Coolmore Stud S. runner C’est Magique (Zoustar).

The former will head to stud whilst the latter - a half-sister to Widden Stud’s G1 Blue Diamond S. winner Written By - will continue her racing career under the care of Chris Waller.

It took $1.6 million to secure Autumn Ballet from the Newgate draft with Coolmore’s Brian McGuire noting that “we like to breed the best to the best to get the best and she fits that criteria well.”

“She is a fantastic type and we are very fortunate to have got her.”

The stud’s Colm Santry said much the same about C’est Magique - “she is a fabulous looking mare with size, scope and quality.”

“She was in our top three picks so we are delighted to have got here. We did have to go a bit higher than we thought but there are a lot of people playing at the top end of the market here which puts probably 30 per cent onto their value.”

Santry noted a certain attachment to the mare who ran second in the race the stud proudly gives it name to, noting that “it takes a very good filly to perform well against the males in that race.”

“And we have bought her from a fantastic breeder - Neville Begg has been doing this for a long time and knows more about this game than most!”

Coolmore have enjoyed plenty of luck at the Chairman’s Sale - in 2020 securing for $1.8 million the dual Group 1 winner Samaready (More Than Ready {USA}) in foal with the G1 Golden Slipper S. winner Shinzo as well as the G1 Oakleigh Plate winner Booker (Written Tycoon) whose first two foals (both by I Am Invincible) between them have sold for $5.5 million.

Resolute Racing making their mark

John Stewart has certainly been making racing waves in recent time and it was that American’s Resolute Racing who took home the night’s second highest seller - Tutta La Vita (The Autumn Sun) closing of the sale with a bang fetching $3.2 million.

The three-time Group 1 placed 3-year-old - a $300,000 Classic graduate - is a three-quarter sister to the G1 Robert Sangster S. winner Secret Agenda (Not A Single Doubt) out of a daughter of the G1 Champagne S. winner Euphoria (Marauding {NZ}), granddaughter of the wonderful mare Denise’s Joy (Seventh Hussar {Fr}).

Venturing into the local market when spending $5.44 million on six yearlings at Inglis Easter, Stewart will race Tutta La Vita on, keeping her in the Chris Waller stable as she heads towards the G1 Queensland Oaks.

“We met Chris when we were in Australia for the G1 Golden Slipper,” Stewart told TTR AusNZ, “and knowing that he trained her and how he feels about her was one of the reasons we decided to buy her.”

Admitting to be “very competitive” by nature, Stewart said “I had one horse in September and now I have over a hundred in America.”

“We are constantly evaluating the top fillies and mares globally, it is something we are really dedicated to understanding and there were a lot of impressive mares in this sale and we really thought that Tutta La Vita with her pedigree and accomplishments fits into our program long term.

Stewart discovered after the sale that he was bidding against Tom Magnier which increased his confidence in his purchase.

“We have a good relationship with Coolmore and Tom texted me after we bought her and that's how I found out that they were actually on her as well,” Stewart said. “That makes me even more confident in the purchase because I view them as a very good judge of horses, especially of this caliber and on the breeding side.”

Australia may see Stewart here soon - “I have to organise getting my colours down there and I look forward to seeing her race in Queensland,’ he said, adding that he is “looking to make a long term investment in Australian racing and I hope that Australians will join us in cheering her on when she races next.”

Of long-term plans for the filly, Stewart said, “We haven't really talked about breeding yet. Everything is on the table. We have breeding operations in America, of course. We are a breed-to-race operation and we are looking to make a long-term investment in Australia. It's very possible she could end up staying in Australia as well. We are just really excited about this purchase and excited to make more of an investment in Australian racing. We hope the Australian racing fans will join us in cheering her on when she races next.”

Kimochi lights up the ring

Bidding opened at $500,000 for Lot 4, the G2 Light Fingers S. winning 3-year-old Kimochi (Brave Smash {Jpn}) who was sold as a racing and breeding prospect - her record of two wins and nine placings from 13 starts suggesting that she still has plenty to offer.

The hammer went down on the daughter of the I Am Invincible mare Summer Fun for $2.2 million with Islay Vale landing the winning blow for the Panthalassa Syndicate.

Keeping a close eye nearby was Kimochi’s trainer Gary Portelli who was keen to let the filly’s new owners know that he would gladly welcome her back into his stable.

“I’ve put my hat in the ring,” he said, adding that he has trained a couple for Yulong - “so they have my number!” he joked.

Buying a few more of the Brave Smash breed on the back of the ability Kimochi has always displayed, Portelli talked about her early career - noting that she was not always easy.

“She was a bit hot and could get upset over little things,” he recalled, “but she had a good track rider who had her handling things better.”

“It still took a few runs for her to start to relax,” he said, thanking his staff for the great job they had done with her - “if she does go to another stable everyone will be sad to see her go,” he said.

Enjoying his first Chairman’s Sale - “I live across the road and would you believe I have never been to a broodmare sale here!” - Portelli said he’d had Kimochi’s owner Leo To on the phone, saying that “he was quite emotional.”

“He is still pretty new to racing but he knows getting a horse like Kimochi is a big thing,” Portelli said, noting that the winner of over $1 million in stakes cost just $21,000 at the 2021 Inglis Australian Weanling Sale.

“With the G1 1000 Guineas now run in November it meant that she hardly had a break between her Melbourne and Sydney campaigns,” Portelli said - “and I think that with the benefit of a spell she is going to come back all the better for her new owners.”

The Panthalassa Syndicate also purchased for $1.6 million the G1 ATC Oaks and G1 New Zealand Oaks heroine Pennyweka (NZ) (Santono Aladdin {Jpn}).

It is understood that both Kimochi and Pennyweka will continue their racing careers with trainers yet to be decided.

Also purchased by the Panthalassa Syndicate was Lot 44, the dual Group winner Steinem (GB) (Frankel {GB}) for $800,000 and Lot 52, the Listed winner Vespertine (Epaulette) for $275,000.

Gallery: Some of the high priced purchases made by the Panthalassa Syndicate at the Inglis Chairman's Sale

New home for Pinocchio

The third seven-figure mare for the evening was Lot 22, the high-achieving grey Pinocchio (Encosta De Lago) - the Tyreel Stud mare who has done such a great job producing the dual Group 2 winner Classique Legend (Not A Single Doubt) as her second foal and the Group 2 sprinter Aethero (Sebring) as her third.

$1.15 million (the highest price for a proven broodmare) secured the 14-year-old who is in foal to Champion Sire I Am Invincible - Bromfield Park the winning bidders.

The sale provided Tyreel’s Linda Monds with mixed emotions - “to be honest it is a bit surreal as she was one of the very first mares we bought so she has always been part of the farm; it was not a decision made lightly.”

“If I could I’d keep every horse I buy and breed but unfortunately in business you have to make these decisions and a farm like ours needs to keep things young - and we do have two lovely fillies out of her at home and we will race both of those.”

The first is the Candlewick (Pierro), a 2-year-old who has just gone back into work with John O’Shea, the second an I Am Invincible foaled last August.

Monds was full of praise for Pinocchio’s latest foal - describing her as a filly “with all the attributes you look for in early running sprinting-type.”

A star to Widden

The G1 Tattersall’s Tiara winner Startantes (Star Turn) joins her sire at Widden Stud who went to $1.15 million to take home the tough six-time winner who was bred by her trainer Robert Heathcote.

“We stood Star Witness and bred Star Turn so obviously we know all about the sire line,” Widden’s Antony Thompson said, “and everything else is there on the page.”

“She was a gun 2-year-old who was able to beat the older mares at three and she is from a family whose members don’t just win one race - you look down the page and they have won eight, 10, 12 races.”

“Robert Heathcote has done a great job building this family up over the years and we hope we do as well as he has.”

Thompson has already chosen a mate for Startantes - “we can’t wait to see the Zoustar-Startantes foal,” he said, saying that “she will really suit him.”

“Not all of our stallions are ideal for her being on the small side but he puts leg and scope into them and he has done a good job with similar mares.”

Noting that he has won “70-odd” races with the family, Heathcote said that whilst he’d hoped for a little more he “has to be delighted.”

“She won nearly a million on the track and now she has earned us another million. I’ve still got so many members of the family at home,” he said, showing a video on his phone he received just today of Startantes’ full brother being broken in.

In foal to Jacquinot after foaling a Pierata filly last spring, Startantes’ dam Funtantes (Easy Rocking) won the G2 Champagne Classic and two Listed events with Heathcote also training her city-winning dam Cantantes (Just Awesome).

“I have Startantes’ half-sister Ekaterina (Russian Revolution) in a Listed race on Saturday,” Heathcote said, “and hopefully I will be back here in a few year’s time with her!”

Hutch sums up

“A celebration of mares” is how Sebastian Hutch described the Chairman’s Sale, one which he said the Inglis team work hard on not just in the immediate lead-up, but all year round.

“Two months ago we started to talk to people about mares for the 2025 sale,” he said, happy to see such a great group of “high end mares” together in one place for sale.

Aside from the obvious commercial success of this sales concept, Hutch enjoyed the atmosphere that a special occasion evening sale provides whilst also deriving great satisfaction from seeing how much pleasure participants and spectators took from it.

“You saw spontaneous outbursts of applause for the good mares,” he said, noting that “these are mares who performed well on the track and people realise that this is the last time they are going to see them in the public domain.”

Excitement akin to winning a race was also on display with some connections - such as the owners of the Listed winner Extremist (Extreme Choice), the $35,000 yearling who was sold by the Robert Heathcote stable to Silverdale Farm and Andrew Williams Bloodstock for $625,000.

“It was very satisfying to see people like that enjoy the moment,” Hutch said - “and we had quite a few moments like that.”

Hutch admitted that the sale is not yet perfect; an early run of pass-ins a disappointing aspect to the sale - but he is confident that there it has been getting better each year with further improvements to come.

“One of the challenging aspects is balancing the expectations of the vendors and the buyers but I think overall we did a good job - a lot of people went home happy.”

Including, he said “one particularly tough judge who said we’d done a good job - I took that as the ultimate compliment!”

Top lots

Top buyers

Vendors by aggregate

Vendors by average (2 or more sold)

Sires by aggregate

Sires by average (2 or more sold)

Cover image courtesy of Inglis

Lot 86: Pierossa (Pierro x Edwina Georgie {Testa Rossa}) - $210,000

Buyer: Rich Hill Thoroughbreds

Vendor: Yarraman Park Stud (As agent for Triple Crown Syndications)

Pierossa (Pierro) sold by Yarraman Park Stud as agent for Triple Crown Syndications to Rich Hill Thoroughbreds for $210,000.

Bred by Miller Thoroughbreds and C Landale, Pierossa originally changed hands for $120,000 at the 2021 Inglis Classic Yearling Sale.

Racing 17 times for the Peter and Paul Snowden stable, she won three races including the Group 3 Spring S. at Newcastle - and it was that win which caught the attention of Rich Hill Thoroughbreds’ John Thompson.

“It is always a good form race,” he said, noting that Rich Hill’s high-achieving young stallion Proisir won that same race in 2012.

Taken by Pierossa’s race record - noting that she also showed talent enough to run fourth in elite company (a fast finishing fourth in the G1 Vinery Stud S. won by Proisir’s daughter Prowess {NZ}) - Thompson was also happy with Pierossa as a type.

“She is a nice big mare with plenty of scope,” he said, adding that “physically she will suit a couple of our stallions” with Proisir her likely first mate.

Pierossa is one of her sire’s 38 stakes winners and he is already making his mark as a broodmare sire with his daughters producing five stakes winners amongst the first 35 winners - including the dual Group 1 winner Jacquinot.

She is a half-sister to the Listed winning juvenile Ploverset (Street Boss {USA}) out of the winner Edwina Georgie (Testa Rossa) from the family of the G1 Oakleigh Plate winner Uncommon James (Cable Bay {Ire}).

Cover image courtesy of Ashlea Brennan

Times are changing, and regardless of personal views, animal welfare has become a crucial issue worldwide in our increasingly aware and digital society. Campaigns such as “Nup to the Cup” and the ABC’s 7:30 Report segment “The Final Race,” have previously instigated significant attention on the thoroughbred industry, and all for the wrong reasons.

As leading industry figure Vin Cox puts it, “Welfare is hugely problematic for our social licence,” and while some may view society as becoming overly sensitive, the shift in expectations is generally a sign of progress, especially when it pertains to the welfare of horses.

Currently, there are no national welfare standards and guidelines that encompass all horse breeds, including thoroughbreds. However, with the federal government’s recent announcement of a $5 million investment to overhaul the Animal Welfare Strategy (AAWS), there is potential for significant reforms. The government has called for public and stakeholder input to help shape this revamped strategy.

The Role of Industry Professionals

Participants within the thoroughbred industry are crucial to shaping the revised animal welfare strategy. While Racing Australia and the Principal Racing Authorities (PRAs) are already involved due to their regulatory roles, broader industry input is vital. Participants are encouraged to contribute to the strategy by providing their insights through the “Have Your Say” survey. Such input is invaluable, as government agencies rely heavily on industry data to draft informed and effective animal welfare policies.

Karen Day, Racing Australia’s General Manager of Equine Welfare and Traceability, stresses the importance of the industry’s input. “Racing Australia and the PRA’s participate from a regulatory standpoint, but it’s the government’s role to represent the people,” Day explains.

“Government agencies who compile these documents rely on industry information to collate and draft the requirements. The most valuable information they can receive in developing such proposals is from people who work with animals and in this case, horses.”

Day also notes that while state and territory governments primarily handle animal welfare responsibilities, the Agricultural Ministers have endorsed a national approach as the best way forward for shaping the strategy. The proposed animal welfare strategy is strategic rather than implementational at this stage. However, if the thoroughbred industry does not actively participate in shaping this strategy, it risks missing an opportunity to leverage change it has been crying out for.

“This document is not the implementation piece but the strategic approach prior to the implementation process but if the thoroughbred industry does not lend it’s voice to the strategy, it is missing an opportunity to ensure that the expertise that exists in this industry contributes to the overall development of how animals are protected in our society,” she adds.

An opportunity to lead

In December 2021, the industry-led Thoroughbred Aftercare Welfare Working Group (TAWWG) published it’s comprehensive final report, ‘The Most Important Participant,’ which provided a framework for enhancing thoroughbred welfare in Australia. The report, which included 46 recommendations, urged the government and industry to develop national standards and a traceability register for all horses, alongside setting industry minimum standards specifically for thoroughbreds involved in racing and breeding. These recommendations are closely aligned with the intentions of the revised animal welfare strategy.

Progress has been made on these recommendations, with high-level discussions continuing and an update expected soon. Vin Cox, a member of the seven-person TAWWG steering committee, acknowledges the slow and burdensome nature of change due to the fragmented structure of the industry but does not see this as a valid excuse for lack of change.

“It’s all very well for us in the industry to be aware of the nuances between the relationships of each jurisdiction. But to the outsider, they really couldn’t care less about state boundaries, all they care about is animal welfare and the optics around it.”

He advocates for a national approach to lobbying government bodies about equine welfare to present a unified and organised industry image. “I think there’s got to be a national approach to advocating to the relevant government bodies regarding equine welfare, so that it looks like we’re an industry that isn’t fragmented and can’t get its house in order.

“I think there’s an opportunity there as well for Racing Australia to have conversations with other equine organisations and perhaps develop a national equine body that promotes horses across the board because we can’t be just narrow-minded that welfare is isolated to just thoroughbreds.”

Karen Day supports this perspective, highlighting that the thoroughbred industry should set an example for other equine sectors. “While it is easy to isolate ourselves as the thoroughbred industry, I think we need to view it as all horses. The thoroughbred industry provides the voice for all horses when it comes to equine welfare. Racing due to wagering and our media profile has a very public persona that the other horse sports just don’t have,” she explained.

The risks of silence

The potential consequences of the thoroughbred industry not participating in welfare discussions could be significant, given the industry’s high public visibility and its link to wagering. A failure to engage could lead to narratives that don’t accurately represent the specific needs or realities of equine welfare, possibly resulting in policies that overlook the unique aspects of thoroughbreds and other sport horses.

Moreover, inaction could leave a gap that might be filled by individuals who are less knowledgeable or even opposed to racing and other equine sports. It is essential for the industry to effectively advocate for horses, ensuring that any new strategies or legislation are informed by those who interact with these animals on a daily basis.

Karen Day highlighted the risks of not participating: “The people who are tasked with drafting policy are experts in policy not equine welfare. If we don’t participate, we create a vacuum for people who perhaps don’t like racing, or are using animals for sport to fill that gap and if we don’t stand up for horses and their welfare no one else is going to do it for us.”

Call to action

It’s a common misconception that providing feedback should be left solely to the PRAs. While these authorities offer a regulatory perspective and possess expertise in welfare standards, their insights might lack the day-to-day nuances of horse care experienced by those on the ground — the trainers, stable hands, and farm operators.

National standards and guidelines are based on science and evidence. They take into account practicalities and costs to industry. They are also underpinned by stakeholder engagement. As policy drafters often specialise in policy rather than equine welfare, the more comprehensive the industry feedback, the better informed and effective the animal welfare strategies will be. Remember, it is the government’s responsibility to listen to its citizens, and without the voice of those directly involved with horses, how can considered and balanced decisions be made?

“You have to remember when regulators respond we are coming at it from a regulatory perspective and while every PRA has experienced and well-qualified people representing the industry, especially in the welfare sector, we are also policy makers, we are not in the stables every day, we are not on the farms every day, we have a disconnect and while we have a voice, the more voices that contribute the better as it forms the opinion.

“The Government’s job is to listen to the people and if they don’t hear from horse people, how can they make educated decisions about what priorities they should consider when thinking about horses,” Day stresses.

By contributing, we can ensure that the future of horse welfare is shaped by those who know it best, safeguarding the well-being of horses across the nation and reinforcing the industry’s commitment to ethical and responsible horse welfare.

To have your say:

Share your views through the online survey:

Responses can be provided through the following link, with the survey open until 4pm AEST on Sunday, June 30, 2024.