Cover image courtesy of Inglis
Lot 183 - Wootton Bassett (GB) x Elegant Air (So You Think {NZ}), colt - $400,000
With a couple of youngsters high up in G1 Golden Slipper Stakes markets, it is little wonder that the Wootton Bassett (GB) breed are in demand and it took McEvoy Mitchell Racing and Belmont Bloodstock (FBAA) $400,000 to secure Lot 183, his colt out of the unraced Elegant Air (So You Think {NZ}).
Lot 183 - Wootton Bassett (GB) x Elegant Air (colt) | Image courtesy of Inglis
“Quality is expensive,” said a delighted Tony McEvoy who described the well-related colt as “a beautifully balanced horse.”
“Movement is a big thing for me, they've got to be able to move. He is a little bit back at the knee which doesn't bother me at all; I trained many stakes winners by Danehill and they were all back at the knee. It didn't bother them and it won't bother him.”
“He walks so fluently with it, so balanced. He is a quality colt who I looked at four or five times and he kept growing on me every time, I am so pleased to have him.”
“Movement is a big thing for me, they've got to be able to move... He (Lot 183) walks so fluently with it, so balanced. He is a quality colt who I looked at four or five times and he kept growing on me every time, I am so pleased to have him.” - Tony McEvoy
“Wootton Bassett is a leading international stallion and they are a hot ticket item here in Australia. I knew it was not going to be easy to purchase him though Damon (Gabbedy) valued him at a bit more than that and I'd say by the time Easter comes around he will have proven to be good shopping.”
Bred by Langdown Park Thoroughbreds and sold by Willow Park Stud, the colt is a half-brother to the triple city winner Cadetship (Merchant Navy) out of a daughter of the outstanding broodmare Elegant Eagle (NZ) (Zabeel {NZ}).
Lot 183 with Willow Park Stud's Glenn Burrows and Adam Rumsby | Image courtesy of Inglis
Seven of that mare's eight foals to race are winners including the G1 ATC Champagne Stakes winner Go Indy Go (Bernardini {USA}) and the Group 3 winners Air Assault (Justify {USA}) and Essay Raider (Bernardini {USA}).
Hailing from the same family as the G1 Caulfield Cup winner Southern Speed (Southern Image {USA}), Elegant Air was served by Exceedance last spring.
This colt boasts duplications of the outstanding mares Somethingroyal (USA) (Princequillo {Ire}), Special (USA) (Forli {Arg}), Natalma (USA) (Native Dancer {USA}) and Flaming Page (USA) (Bull Page {USA}).
Lot 114 - I Am Invincible x Choose (Starcraft {NZ}), filly - $360,000
“We thought we had to have her,” Calvin McEvoy said of the only I Am Invincible filly in the sale; Lot 114 purchased by McEvoy Mitchell Racing and Belmont Bloodstock (FBAA) for $360,000.
Calvin McEvoy and Damon Gabbedy | Image courtesy of Inglis
“We are really excited,” McEvoy said, “those I Am Invincible fillies; everyone is trying to get their hands on them, they are so good.”
“She has plenty of black-type in her family and we are really excited, we loved her. She has great purpose and everything we like. She is a lovely walker and she is sharp but she looks like she is really going to improve.”
“She (Lot 114) has plenty of black-type in her family and we are really excited, we loved her. She has great purpose and everything we like. She is a lovely walker and she is sharp but she looks like she is really going to improve.”
“She is off a great farm (Yarraman Park) and you can't go wrong buying off good farms.”
The McEvoy stable have enjoyed good Classic Sale success, also buying through this ring the G1 George Ryder Stakes winner Veight (Grunt {NZ}) for $220,000 and the G1 South Australian Derby winner Coco Sun (The Autumn Sun) for $250,000.
"We pride ourselves on doing the work, we look at every horse," McEvoy said.
This filly, bred by Yarraman, is the fifth I Am Invincible foal produced by the three-time Group-placed multiple city winner Choose (Starcraft {NZ}) whose $500,000 daughter I Choose You (I Am Invincible) is also a three-time Group-placed metropolitan winner.
Lot 114 - I Am Invincible x Choose (filly) | Image courtesy of Inglis
Choose, whose dam Choices Are (Redoute's Choice) is a half-sister to the dual Group 1 winner Bawalaksana (NZ) (Straight Strike {USA}), foaled a Brave Smash (Jpn) colt last spring and was again served by that Yarraman Park-based stallion.
Lot 122 - Star Turn x Cocoexcel (Exceed And Excel), colt - $350,000
It was a great result for Vinery Stud's Star Turn with Lot 122, who has a real look of his sire fetching $350,000, sold by Vinery to Ricky Yiu.
That Hong Kong-based trainer is a fan of the Star Turn breed, noting that “I think he is an up-and-coming stallion, especially for Hong Kong.”
“I think he (Star Turn) is an up-and-coming stallion, especially for Hong Kong.” - Ricky Yiu
Nine of the 12 Star Turn runners in Hong Kong have been winners including the G3 Shatin Vase winner Cordyceps Six.
Ricky Yiu | Image courtesy of Inglis
Bred by Encompass International Pty Ltd, Kia Ora Stud, Mr D Paradice and Werrett Bloodstock, this colt impressed Yiu who said that “he is a real athletic type, a runner.”
“I've had a bit of luck in this sale,” he added, recalling his purchase for $380,000 of the triple Group 1 winner Voyage Bubble (Deep Field).
This colt is the fifth dam for his dam Cocoexcel (Exceed And Excel), a $600,000 Inglis Australian Easter graduate whose first three three foals are all winners including the Hong Kong-based four-time winner Beauty Destiny.
Lot 122 - Star Turn x Cocoexcel (colt) | Image courtesy of Inglis
Also by Star Turn, that 5-year-old is in great form winning three of his last four starts including a Happy Valley contest three weeks ago.
Served last spring by Hawaii Five Oh after foaling a Captivant filly, Cocoexcel won three of her 10 starts (two in town) and she is out of the metropolitan winner Perfect Hostess (Dehere {USA}) whose Listed Talindert Stakes-winning dam Eire Hostess (NZ) (O'Reilly {NZ}) is also grandam of the dual Group 2 winner Brando (NZ) (Savabeel).
Lot 88 - Portland Sky x Cailini (Smart Missile), colt - $320,000
A member of the debut crop of Portland Sky, Lot 88 caught the eye of Kurrinda Bloodstock and Doyle Racing who went to $320,000 to secure him.
Sean Driver | Image courtesy of Inglis
“We really think Portland Sky can do they job,” Kurrinda's Sean Driver said, noting that the stock of Widden Stud's G1 Oakleigh Plate winner “resemble Deep Field, and he was a superstar.”
“A pure athlete with a beautiful head,” was how Nathan Doyle, who trains Kurrinda's exciting 3-year-old Private Harry (Harry Angel {Ire}), described the colt with Widden's Matt Comerford also a massive fan of the bay who he said had been “an outstanding individual from day one.”
“He has developed into a lovely horse, he has great strength about him and good quality. I think where were five or six people on him over $200,000 and that was no surprise. The stallion is doing a good job, his foals are of exceptional quality and they will run, no doubt.”
“I think where were five or six people on him (Lot 88) over $200,000 and that was no surprise. The stallion (Portland Sky) is doing a good job, his foals are of exceptional quality and they will run, no doubt.” - Matt Comerford
“This colt was bred by a couple of really good guys who have been great supporters of the farm and this is a great mating.”
Bred in Queensland by Double R Thoroughbreds, he is the second foal for the city-placed two-time winner Cailini (Smart Meteor) who produced another Portland Sky colt last spring and is again served by him.
The mating is certainly an interesting one with Portland Sky's high-achieving grandsire Northern Meteor being a half-brother to the dam of Cailini's sire Smart Missile, providing for a 4 X 4 cross of the stakes-placed classy broodmare Explosive (USA) (Fappiano {USA}).
Lot 88 - Portland Sky x Cailini (colt) | Image courtesy of Inglis
Cailini, whose first foal Bold Design (Calyx {GB}) is a yet to race 3-year-old member of the Mark Minervini stable, is one of the six winners for the imported Estatuilla (Arg) (Southern Halo {USA}).
That four-time Group 3 winner is a half-sister to the Argentine Champion Sprinter Estambul (Arg) who stood at stud in Victoria.
Lot 67 - I Am Invincible x Black Champagne (Denman), colt - $270,000
It was a link to the past that made Lot 67 such a satisfying purchase for Kearney Racing and/Daniel Springfield, the Hawkesbury-based trainer Desiree Kearney having ridden the colt's superstar sire I Am Invincible in track work.
“I used to ride him in pre-training,” she recalled, “and this colt actually reminded me so much of him to look at.”
“I have always been a lover of the I Am Invincibles and I have always wanted one and now it has happened!”
“I have always been a lover of the I Am Invincibles and I have always wanted one and now it has happened!” - Desiree Kearney
Kearney had her eye on the son of the city-placed winner Black Champagne (Denman) from the moment the $270,000 purchase arrived at the sales.
“We came here and looked at him on Monday and Tuesday,” she said. “He walked around with a lot of presence. He has good, strong bone and is a ready-made racehorse really.”
Bred by Gall Bloodstock, whose Ray Gall raced I Am Invincible, the colt is the last of only three foals produced by his dam who died young last year.
Lot 67 - I Am Invincible x Black Champagne (colt) | Image courtesy of Inglis
Her first foal, a Capitalist filly who sold at this sale for $160,000 in 2023 died without making it to the track whilst Gall has retained her 2-year-old Bottleofbubbly (I Am Invincible), a Ron Quinton-trained filly who trialled behind O'Ole (Ole Kirk) at Kensington last November.
Black Champagne is a full sister to the stakes-placed Piacenza Denman) out of the stakes-placed Pachanga (Redoute's Choice) whose dam Foxtrot (Rory's Jester) was also stakes-placed. This is the family of the stakes winners Any Rhythm (Western Symphony {USA}), Bella Martini (Stratum), Upbeat (Strategic) and Humma (Iglesia).
Lot 144 - The Autumn Sun x Dawned (NZ) (One Cool Cat {USA}), filly - $260,000
McEvoy Mitchell Racing/Belmont Bloodstock were again in action purchasing, for $260,000, a filly by The Autumn Sun from Arrowfield Stud.
Lot 144 bred on the same The Autumn Sun/Storm Cat (USA) cross as last year's dual Group winner Autumn Glow is out of the proven broodmare Dawned (NZ) (One Cool Cat {USA}) whose three winners include the Group 2 mare Dawn Dawn (All Too Hard) whose daughter Fly Fly (Trapeze Artist) was second in last year's G2 Sweet Embrace Stakes and G3 Magic Night Stakes.
Served last spring by Hitotsu after foaling another The Autumn Sun filly, she also has a 3-year-old by that stallion; Perfect Dawn who raced twice last year for the Chris Anderson stable, on both occasions doing his best work late off slow starts; recently trialling at Doomben.
Lot 144 - The Autumn Sun x Dawned (NZ) (filly) | Image courtesy of Inglis
A $420,000 yearling, the city-placed Dawned is one of the five winners produced by the metropolitan winner Dawn Run (NZ) (Sir Tristram {Ire}), also dam of the G2 Emancipation Stakes winner Beat The Fade (NZ) (Maroof {USA}) and the G3 Cuddle Stakes winner Dawn Till Dusk (NZ) (Manntari {Ire}) and grandam of the Singapore Horse Of The Year Infantry (NZ) (Tavistock {NZ}).
“She is a beautiful filly,” Calvin McEvoy enthused, noting that "we have had good success with The Autumn Sun and we just love the way this filly moves."
“She has a great pedigree and is from a great farm. She is not as heavy as Coco Sun but she has the same swagger and the same excellent attitude. We love her!”
Lot 84 - Farnan x Bulle de Champagne (Ire) (Hurricane Run {Ire}), colt - $260,000
Riverstone Lodge's Nick Taylor declared himself “ecstatic” with the sale for $260,000 of Lot 84, a bay colt to the stable of Hong Kong trainer Francis Lui.
Purchased for $180,000 by Riverstone Lodge with Suman Hedge Bloodstock (FBAA) and Paul Willetts Bloodstock Consultancy at last year's Inglis Sydney Weanling Sale, the son of Farnan was chased with the Classic sale in mind.
Nick Taylor and Willie Leung | Image courtesy of Inglis
“We were targeting colts with good actions to bring to the Classic Sale,” Taylor explained. “We had a good sale here last year and we want to again be strong.”
Taylor said that he was “really excited” to see the colt go to “such a great judge,” adding that “he has a great mind and he will suit going up to Hong Kong.”
“He (Lot 84) has a great mind and he will suit going up to Hong Kong.” - Nick Taylor
Noting that his pedigree is a mixture of speed and middle distance influences, Taylor said that “he is a really nice blend of both; sharp enough as a later 2-year-old type with the scope and a great action to go on as a 3-year-old and older horse.”
From the second crop of his Kia Ora based G1 Golden Slipper Stakes-winning sire, he has a 2-year-old full brother called Fasvara, a $160,000 weanling, in the Kris Lees stable; that promising sort trialling nicely last spring.
His imported dam Bulle De Champagne (Ire) (Hurricane Run {Ire]) is a half-sister to the Australian Champion Miler Contributer (Ire) and to the dam of the in-form Japanese galloper Sunrise Zinpangu (Jpn) (Kizuna {Jpn}), a Group 3 and dual Listed winner from his first 14 starts.
Lot 84 - Farnan x Bulle de Champagne (Ire) (colt) | Image courtesy of Inglis
Bred on a 5 X 4 cross of the stakes-winning high-class broodmare Coup De Folie (USA) (Halo {USA}) via her high-achieving sons Machiavellian (USA) and Exit To Nowhere (USA), the colt has another full brother foaled last year, Bulle De Champagne subsequently served by Acrobat.
Lot 60 - The Autumn Sun x Belladini (Bernardini {USA}), colt - $240,000
“Happy to get him at the price,” said Ben Hayes after Lindsay Park Racing teamed with Dean Hawthorne Bloodstock (BAFNZ) to secure Lot 60, a particuarly handsome son of The Autumn Sun.
Ben Hayes | Image courtesy of Inglis
He is the eighth foal of a proven broodmare, the city-placed $440,000 Inglis Australian Easter yearling Belladini (Bernardini {USA}) who has been represented by four winners amongst her first six runners including the stakes-placed city winner Balaabel (Not A Single Doubt).
Served last spring by Vancouver after foaling a colt by St Mark's Basilica (Fr), she has already had a runner by The Autumn Sun; the placed Cape Size who sold for $500,000 at the 2022 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale.
Belladini is one of the seven winners for the unraced Dora Maar (Royal Academy {USA}), also dam of the Listed winner Mrs Kipling (Exceed And Excel) and grandam of the G3 South Australian Fillies Classic winner Ana Royale (Anacheeva).
Lot 60 - The Autumn Sun x Belladini | Image courtesy of Inglis
Dora Maar is a daughter of the wonderful broodmare Twiglet (Twig Moss {Fr}) whose eight winners include the big race winners Fairy King Prawn (Danehill {USA}) and Easy Rocking.
“We have got a couple of nice The Autumn Suns at home,” Hayes said, noting that Entrusting won in strong fashion at Sandown on February 1 whilst the promising stakes-placed Flemington winner Sneaky Sunrise is due to resume in stakes company next weekend.
“We like the stallion and this is a colt who Dean (Hawthorne) and Josh (Rix, Lindsay Park Bloodstock Manager) really liked.”
“He is a big, good-looking, almost black colt who moves well and who has kept moving well throughout the sales.”
“He (Lot 60) is a big, good-looking, almost black colt who moves well and who has kept moving well throughout the sales.” - Ben Hayes
“We have bought off a great farm,” he said of the colt's breeders Milburn Creek Stud.
“You look at the records of farms with continued success and it just gives you a bit more confidence.”
Hayes has been enjoying the sales circuit, saying that the research put in by the team is paying dividends. “We have a good process and place and we are very comfortable about it getting nice results.”
Top 10 lots
| 183 | C | Wootton Bassett | Elegant Air | Willow Park Stud | McEvoy Mitchell Racing / Belmont Bloodstock (FBAA) | $400,000 |
| 114 | F | I Am Invincible | Choose | Yarraman Park Stud | McEvoy Mitchell Racing / Belmont Bloodstock (FBAA) | $360,000 |
| 122 | C | Star Turn | Cocoexcel | Vinery Stud | R Yiu | $350,000 |
| 88 | C | Portland Sky | Cailini | Widden Stud | Kurrinda Bloodstock/Doyle Racing | $320,000 |
| 67 | C | I Am Invincible | Black Champagne | Yarraman Park Stud | Kearney Racing/D Springfield | $270,000 |
| 84 | C | Farnan | Bulle de Champagne | Riverstone Lodge | F Lui | $260,000 |
| 144 | F | The Autumn Sun | Dawned | Arrowfield Stud | McEvoy Mitchell Racing / Belmont Bloodstock (FBAA) | $260,000 |
| 60 | C | The Autumn Sun | Belladini | Milburn Creek | Lindsay Park Racing/Dean Hawthorne Bloodstock (BAFNZ) | $240,000 |
| 159 | C | Proisir | Diamond Delight | Yulong | Mitchell Bloodstock (FBAA) | $240,000 |
| 253 | C | Savabeel | Glistening | Waikato Stud | Ellerslie Lodge/B Heys | $230,000 |
