Cover image courtesy of Inglis

It is Melbourne’s turn to take centre stage in the yearling sales calendar, and the Inglis Melbourne Premier Yearling Sale kicks off on Sunday for three days of selling at the Oaklands Junction complex. A total 803 lots have been catalogued across the Premier and Showcase sessions, to be sold by 66 individual vendors, from across four states and New Zealand.

The catalogue is fairly evenly split between 396 fillies and 407 colts, with progeny on offer by 119 sires. There are 14 first season sires with their debut crops heading through the sales rings this season, including offspring from Rosemont Stud’s Extreme Warrior and Swettenham Stud’s shuttler Wooded (Ire).

Yulong will again offer the largest draft in the sale with 87 yearlings catalogued - 10 more than last year - that represent 24 stallions, including international superstars Frankel (GB), Justify (USA), and Lord Kanaloa (Jpn).

Table: Vendors with 20 or more yearlings in catalogue, by size of draft

Last year’s top lot was a full sister to Widden Stud Victoria’s Group 3-winning stallion Bruckner, who sold for $925,000 to Dean Hawthorne Bloodstock from the draft of Blue Gum Farm. This was the fifth highest-priced lot in the history of the sale; seven-time winner and Group 2 Schillaci Stakes placegetter Octane (I Am Invincible) was a $1.4 million purchase in the 2017 edition of the sale, where he was purchased by Ciaron Maher Bloodstock from Gilgai Farm.

Notable recent graduates of Melbourne’s banner sale include Vinery Stud’s hot stallion Ole Kirk, G1 Queensland Oaks winner $23 million earner Bella Nipotina (Pride Of Dubai), G1 The Goodwood winner Benedetta (Hellbent), and G1 Caulfield Guineas victor Griff (Trapeze Artist).

Oaklands well prepared for softening market

The market boom hasn’t lasted quite as long in Victoria as in the states north of it; while the aggregate, average, and clearance rate all peaked in 2022 there has been a faster return to the status quo over the last two editions of the sale.

Table: Performance comparison across the last five editions of the Inglis Melbourne Premier Yearling Sale

Last year’s sale was very comparable to the performance of the 2020 sale across the board, the latter also being the catalogue that was topped by the $725,000 purchase of Bruckner himself, again from Blue Gum Farm.

The average (combining both books) has not sunk beneath six figures at either end of this time period - the record high in 2022 was over 25 per cent higher than the average lot price at either end of the scale, and that translated to over $27 million in revenue more than the sale that took place two years beforehand. It is worth noting that eight of the 14 Group 1-winning graduates from the sale since 2018 were sold for under the sale average.

Chart: Sale aggregate comparison across the last five editions of the Inglis Melbourne Premier Yearling Sale

Given the performance of other Australasian sales so far this year, the Inglis team will be well prepared for a possible further softening in the market, but the correction should not be so severe. Clearance rates over the last two sales have consistently sat around 80 per cent, which sits in line with the performance of the Inglis Classic Yearling Sale earlier this year, which now reports a clearance of 82 per cent.

Victorian sires dominating the catalogue

The top five sires most represented in the catalogue are all locals to the Premier sale; Rosemont Stud’s Hanseatic leads the way with 28 entrants in the catalogue, accounting for 22.8 per cent of his second crop of foals. His first juveniles hit the track this racing season and the G3 Blue Diamond Prelude (colts & geldings) winner has proved to be a source of precocious racehorses; from 13 runners to date, he has two winners and two stakes performers, with daughter Rohesia running third in the R. Listed Inglis Banner 2YO Stakes and son Bermondsey placing in the Listed Blue Diamond Preview (colts & geldings).

He is followed by Yulong’s Tagaloa, who pipped Hanseatic to the post in the G1 Blue Diamond Stakes and has 25 accepted into this year’s catalogue. The only son of Lord Kanaloa standing in Australia, he has had 10 offspring to race from his first crop, with four placegetters so far.

The following three top spots are taken by well established and incredibly well credentialled Victorian stallions; Shamus Award has one more in the book than Toronado (Ire) and Written Tycoon, who tie with 22 apiece. In fact, across the 11 most represented sires, eight are locals - and between that eight, they have a share of 182 yearlings or 22.6 per cent of the entire catalogue.

Table: Top 11 sires by number of offspring in catalogue

Yulong have heavily supported their flagship sire Written Tycoon with some of their best mares, and the results are evident in the catalogue; amongst his entries in their draft are Lot 68 - a half-brother to Champion Australian Stayer and Brighthill Farm-based stallion Preferment (NZ) - and Lot 389 - a daughter of a three-quarter-sire to Aquis Farm’s Invader.

Rosemont Stud likewise bring the best for resident Shamus Award; they will offer Lot 516, a son of Argentinian-Australian stakes performer Tahanee (Arg) (Stormy Atlantic {USA}), and Lot 355, the first foal from Listed World Horse Racing Stakes winner No Restriction (Unencumbered).

There is a bevy of international stallions on offer and not just amongst the shuttlers; as well as the aforementioned Frankel and company, buyers will have access to the last two yearlings by Group 1-producing New Bay (GB) to be offered in Australia this year, in the draft of Penfolds Thoroughbreds, as well as sons of Northern Hemisphere heavy hitters Kingman (GB) and Camelot (GB). Rosemont Stud will offer the only yearling from Starspangledbanner (USA) bred on Southern Hemisphere time available in the country this year, as Lot 41.

First Southern Hemisphere yearlings from Wooded set to delight

While Newgate Farm’s Stay Inside and Coolmore Stud’s Home Affairs continue lead the first season sires rankings by number of yearlings catalogued, Victorian local Wooded will have the best of his first Southern Hemisphere bred yearlings take the stage at Oaklands this weekend. The G1 Prix de L’Abbaye winner has shuttled to Swettenham Stud for the last few seasons and is hoping to follow in the footsteps of Toronado, who has been a permanent resident at Swettenham since the 2022 season. From a handful of runners in the Northern Hemisphere, Wooded has recorded 16 winners at the time of writing, 12 of which scored their first wins as juveniles.

Chart: Top five first season sires by number of offspring catalogued

With nine yearlings in the catalogue, representing 16.1 per cent of his first crop of foals, Wooded has plenty to offer. This is mainland Australia’s first real opportunity to purchase one of his yearlings; two sold at the recent Magic Millions Tasmanian Yearling Sale for an average of $47,500, and his single offering at the New Zealand Bloodstock National Yearling Sale was purchased for NZ$200,000 by the TAB Racing Club.

Vincent & Field Bloodstock will offer Lot 709, the second foal from Our Fun (Dundeel {NZ}), who was fourth in the Listed Australia Day Cup and is a close relation to top fillies Mossfun (Mossman), Sassy Boom (Spirit Of Boom), and Cat D’Antibes (Tale Of The Cat {USA}). Crossley Thoroughbreds present Lot 379, a colt from the family of G1 VRC Oaks winner Personal (Fastnet Rock) and G1 Caulfield Guineas-placed stallion Time Thief.

Last year’s most popular first season sire Hanseatic - who had 30 yearlings catalogued, of which 20 sold - averaged $66,650 across his offspring sold, with a return of investment of 4.2 times his service fee (excluding GST).

Yulong leading the charge with deep female families

With 87 yearlings catalogued at their local sale, it is no surprise that there is a wide variety of pedigrees on offer in Yulong’s Premier draft this year.

Lot 242 by Kingman is an immediate standout as a descendant from the famous Aga Khan ‘K’ family. Her dam, the juvenile winner Kesariya (Fr) (Exceed And Excel), was a €150,000 ($251,000) purchase for BBA Ireland and Yulong at Arqana in 2022, and is a daughter of Listed winner Kerasona (Oasis Dream {GB}), half-sister to G3 Prix du Bois winner Keratiya (Fr) (Iron Mask {USA}). This family originates in Aga Khan foundational mare But Lovely (Ire) (Sayajirao {GB}), a Group 3 winner in the fifties whose notable descendants to visit Australia include Kalapour (Ire) (War Command {USA}), Singspiel (Ire), and Gold Trip (Fr).

Another Aga Khan family can be found in the pedigree of Lot 119; this colt’s family is already familiar to Australia via close relation dual Group 2-winning Four Moves Ahead (Snitzel), but his damline is the Aga Khan’s ‘D’ family, with his third dam being a half-sister to former shuttle sire Dalakhani (Ire), a homebred success for the Aga Khan Stud by Darshaan (GB). This line traces back to G2 Prix du Conseil Municipal-winning foundation mare Astana (Fr) (Arbar {Fr}), who also appears in the pedigree of Coolmore's champion City Of Troy (USA), and is otherwise a rare occurrence outside of Europe and Japan.

Gallery: Some of the yearlings that Yulong will offer at the 2025 Inglis Melbourne Premier Yearling Sale, images courtesy of Inglis

Closer to home, many will recognise the page of Lot 129 out of G1 VRC Oaks winner Dear Demi (Dehere {USA}), who descends from G1 Golden Slipper Stakes winner Merlene (Danehill {USA}). They will also offer a family very much in the spotlight over the last few years; Lot 408 is a colt out of a full sister to rising star sire Alabama Express, and thus features Champion Sprinter Giga Kick (Scissor Kick) close in the pedigree.

His strong male pedigree is bolstered by the appearance of Seasonal Pickup (USA) (The Minstrel {Can}), from whom also descends the top Hong Kong performer Designs On Rome (Ire) (Holy Roman Emperor {Ire}) and Australian stakes-performing Al Galayel (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}). The pedigree-savvy buyer will not have to look far to find a gem.