Set your calendars for the 2025 Inglis Sale season

Image courtesy of Inglis

After a successful 2024 season, Inglis revealed on Sunday that entries for the 2025 Inglis Yearling Sale Series are now open. There are no significant changes to the schedule with the four yearling sales following a similar format to the 2024 Inglis Yearling Sale Series.

This season of selling will be unforgettable for Inglis staff and those present at the Riverside complex, especially when the hammer fell at $10 million for the Pierro filly out of the legendary mare Winx (Street Cry {Ire}) at the Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale.

Despite challenges, including a sticky middle and lower-end market, Inglis managed to sell the three highest-priced yearlings in Australasia in 2024, including the world-record price for the daughter of Winx.

Gold for Easter

In addition to the $10 million filly at the 2024 Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale, a further 17 yearlings fetched $1 million or more at the April showpiece. This event also marked the emergence of North American-based John Stewart's Resolute Racing in Australian racing. Under the Resolute Racing banner, Stewart paid $3 million for the I Am Invincible filly out of Group 1 winner Booker (Written Tycoon) from the draft of Coolmore.

A filly by Zoustar from the G1 Tattersall's Tiara victress Prompt Response (Beneteau) was sold for $2.2 million to James Harron Bloodstock and has now been named Plaintiff, while a Zoustar colt from the Group 1-placed Fundamentalist (Not A Single Doubt) was purchased by T Magnier for $1.9 million.

The clearance rate was recorded at 80 per cent, with an average sale price of $426,447 and a median of $300,000.

Inglis Bloodstock CEO Sebastian Hutch told The Thoroughbred Report, “The Winx filly was something special because it was something our whole team across the board had an involvement in. In particular, the marketing team contributed hugely, with many little steps leading to the success of that sale. For the whole team to be involved in achieving a world-record price was extraordinary.

“I think it is fair to say that was probably the highlight of a very satisfying year. The expectation was that the market would take a step back, potentially a fairly significant one.

“To have an average of $400,000 and a median of $280,000 was fantastic. It’s a strong figure for that sale, and there was excellent participation. Of course, it was great to have people like John Stewart participating in the market.

“We’re excited to see how his investments fare over the next couple of years, and we hope he continues his investments in Australia, potentially attracting further international investment.”

Table: 2024 Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale - $1 million plus yearlings

Premier holds strong

The 2024 Inglis Premier Sale in March at Oaklands in Melbourne had plenty to cheer about despite a challenging market. The sale achieved a top price of $925,000, paid by Dean Hawthorne Bloodstock for a filly presented by Blue Gum Farm. The filly was by Snitzel out of the Lonhro mare Jestajingle.

She was followed by another daughter of Arrowfield Stud’s four-time Champion Sire, Snitzel, from the Blue Gum Farm draft. This filly, out of Charleston Dancer (Lonhro), was sold for $650,000 to Moody Racing.

A filly by Zoustar from Swiss Rose (NZ) (Thorn Park) matched this price, selling to O Koolman. Overall, eight yearlings made $500,000 or more at the Inglis Premier Yearling Sale.

Table: 2024 Inglis Premier Yearling Sale - $500,000 plus lots

The Inglis Classic Yearling Sale saw a top price of $600,000 for a filly by Too Darn Hot (GB) out of Hell It’s Hot (Zedative), who is the dam of the star sprinter In Her Time (Time Thief).

Inglis pleased across the board

Hutch expressed satisfaction with the results across all Inglis live sales this season. The Inglis yearlings averaged $154,047 across the four live sales for yearlings. Additionally, 56 individual vendors grossed $1 million or more through the Inglis Yearling Sale Series, while 53 individual buyers spent $1 million or more.

The Inglis Classic Yearling Sale, Inglis Premier Yearling Sale, and the Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale averaged 59 buyers per 100 horses sold. International participation also increased, with an expenditure of $53,805,500.

“The market was more challenging, but the figures illustrate a healthy market with good buyer participation both domestically and internationally. There was good competition for nice horses, and while the market faced some difficulties, that's the reality and nature of any functioning market.

Asked about the goals for 2025, Hutch said, “We just want to try and put ourselves in a position where we’re providing the best service to our vendors and helping as many of them achieve optimum results as much as we possibly can.

“It’s a very simple and clear objective, and one that’s going to be at the forefront of our minds in 2025.

“But across the board at each of the sales, we’re very pleased with the buyer engagement. We had a strong racing season with our graduates from these sales, which I think boosts buyer confidence.

“Inglis wants to sell good horses, but we also want to achieve good results for vendors to keep them coming back. I think we did that in 2024, and people have a reason to be confident that we can do it again in 2025.

“Inglis is the most active auction house in the world in terms of market participation. We know the market better than anyone else because we are engaged with it all day, every day, right throughout the year.”

The Inglis Digital Online auctions have also been a significant venue for selling and have provided much satisfaction to Inglis, vendors, and buyers. “In the past 12 months, Inglis has conducted 35 live or digital auctions, selling 9450 lots to almost 4500 individual buyers.”

“Our sales series delivered healthy results for our clients in what was a challenging market in 2024, and our team is motivated to work hard to deliver optimum results for clients in 2025.”

Table: Inglis 2025 Yearling Sale dates, subject to change