Cover image courtesy of Inglis
The 2025 Inglis Ready2Race sale has a lot to live up with last year achieving a $1 million lot for the first time, and the median hitting the $100,000 mark for the first time. This year’s catalogue is timed slightly differently, coming in second on the sales calendar after the Magic Millions Horses In Training Sale. Until this year, Inglis opened the trio of under-saddle sales in October and November.
The 2025 sale has 224 horses catalogued with 58 withdrawals, leaving 166 horses to walk through the ring on Thursday.
“We’ve always been the same week as the Everest,” said Inglis CEO Sebastian Hutch.
Sebastian Hutch | Image courtesy of Inglis
“The only thing we changed is the day, from Tuesday to Thursday, with the rationale being primarily based on feedback from buyers. To have the sale day in close proximity to the weekend is more advantageous for guests coming from Hong Kong.
“It’s interesting in that we’ve had some feedback that we have good attendance due to the proximity to the Everest. It’s potentially an added benefit to the sale, but it’s more correlation than causation. We invest a lot of money in getting buyers here, it’s more a coincidence that people stay for the Everest.
“People come here for the catalogue, not for the Everest.”
“People come here for the catalogue, not for the Everest.” - Sebastian Hutch
Impressive growth of the sale
With their first seven figure sale last year, and the median reaching $100,000, there are big hopes for this year with an even better catalogue compiled by Inglis and vendors.
“This is genuinely the best group of horses we’ve had at this sale in my time, and I don’t say that for every sale,” Hutch jokingly referred to the implication often made by sales companies that every sale is better than the one before.
If so, the 2025 Inglis Ready2Race Sale has some big shoes to fill given the quality of last year, not just in sales, but now with the top two lots already showing plenty of stakes quality promise.
Last year’s $1 million filly Signature Scent (Written Tycoon) came out flying, winning both her starts at two for trainer Ciaron Maher and owner Yulong. This season at three, in her only two starts to date, she’s run two good fourths in the G3 Quezette Stakes and Listed Cap d’Antibes Stakes.
Signature Scent | Image courtesy of Racing Photos
“She’ll be an even better horse in the autumn,” said Hutch.
The second topped price in 2024 was $750,000 paid for Rosberg (Deep Field) who was impressive in winning the Listed Mitchell McKenzie Stakes on debut for trainer Clinton McDonald. He pulled up shin sore after his second start, the G2 Danehill Stakes, and will be spelled for eight weeks.
A deliberately compiled catalogue
Long ago are the days when the 2-year-old sales were seen as the last chance for farms to sell horses who hadn’t quite made the grade. In the past decade, this sale format has boomed with buyers coming to understand that a horse under saddle still has plenty of improvement to come, and vendors specifically targeting the sale with the type of horse that buyers want.
“If you scrutinise the auction history of (the catalogue), over 80% of the horses have been purchased publicly and specifically for this sale. They aren’t horses who’ve passed in as yearlings and need to be moved on. They are sourced specifically for this format and there’s a lot of nice horses on the ground here,” said Hutch.
“As a business, we’ve invested significantly in supporting our vendors to buy the right type of horses to bring here. This sale is growing for us, there’s a market for horses to sell really well.
“As a business, we’ve invested significantly in supporting our vendors to buy the right type of horses to bring here.” - Sebastian Hutch
“This format is an opportunity for people to buy well managed, well educated horses who are developed by experienced horse people. There will also be value in the second part of the market, and we are nicely placed to service every part of the market.
“We haven’t paid lip service to the format. We’ve worked hard to cultivate a buying bench, and have spent the last six or seven years marketing the different vendors to educate the market on who they are, and we’ve spent effort to teach people how the process works.”
“We’ve worked hard to cultivate a buying bench, and have spent the last six or seven years marketing the different vendors to educate the market on who they are.” - Sebastian Hutch
Graduates are the benchmark
As well as Rosberg and Signature Scent, the level of racetrack excellence has been shining from this sale with several stakes winners last season including G2 Ajax Stakes winner Democracy Manifest (Flying Artie), G2 Victory Stakes winner Libertad (Russian Revolution) and Hong Kong’s Listed Classic Cup winner Rubylot (Rubick). Listed Straight Six winner Titlefighter (Lean Mean Machine) joined them as a standout graduate in the last racing season.
“The criteria people want to see met is very specific, and this sale gives people more information on the horse than any other sale format. You can see the horse in full flight, athletically. The horse is subject to even more scrutiny and many of the buyers are looking for the same type of horse, hence why the clearance rate isn’t close to what we achieve at the yearling market.
“On the other hand, there are so many factors. If a horse pulled up shin sore after their gallop or if they weren’t as forward as others, or even if they weren’t ridden as well as others.
One of the slowest breeze ups we ever had was Nettoyer and she’s a Group 1 winner,” said Hutch.
Nettoyer (Sebring) passed in at the 2015 Inglis Ready2Race Sale having completed her 200 metre gallop in 11.65 seconds. She won the 2021 G1 Queen Of The Turf and was later sold as a broodmare for $1.3 million to Trilogy.
Nettoyer | Image courtesy of Sportpix
“We have the buyers here if vendors are willing to meet the market. We’ve buyers here that we haven’t seen at this type of sale in the past, metro trainers like Mick Price and Adrian Bott have been out inspecting today. We’ve delegates from the Hong Kong Jockey Club and Hong Kong Owners' Association. We have the China Horse Owners Alliance here, who we’ve recently partnered with. There are buyers from Macau and we expect to have significant online interest.”
“There’s some really cool horses here. It’s a nicely balanced catalogue with some nice horses early, and some big horses at the end, especially in the last 30 lots.”
“There’s some really cool horses here. It’s a nicely balanced catalogue with some nice horses early, and some big horses at the end, especially in the last 30 lots.” - Sebastian Hutch
Sire power in this year’s catalogue
Inglis have collated a strong catalogue for the sale with vendors putting up lots by Champion Sires. Reigning Champion Sire Zoustar has three lots in the sale led by Lot 89 now named Rachini who ran fifth on debut in Wednesday’s Listed Debutant Stakes. Lot 81 is a colt bred on the same Zoustar / Not A Single Doubt cross as Group 1 winner and sire Schwarz, while Lot 96 is a Zoustar filly from the family of Group 1 winner Calveen (NZ) (Canny Lad).
Exceed And Excel won Australian Champion Sire in 2012/13, retiring from stud duties in 2024. He has three colts in the sale including Lot 2, the first foal of Listed winner East Asia (NZ) (Swiss Ace), and Lot 202, the first foal of dual Listed winner Chantrea (Puissance Du Lune {Ire}). Champion Sire Fastnet Rock has a colt, Lot 35 from I See Fire (NZ) (Encosta De Lago) who is a closely related to Group 1 winner Sherwood Forest (Fastnet Rock).
Exceed And Excel | Image courtesy of Darley
Three-time Champion Sire I Am Invincible, whose titles came in 2021/22, 2022/23 and 2023/24, has one colt in the sale, Lot 68, a full brother to Listed Merson Cooper Stakes winner Ebhaar, from the family of Merchant Navy.
Champion Sire Written Tycoon, who sired last year’s $1 million sale topper, is represented by two colts and two fillies in this sale. Lot 218 is a colt out of stakes placed Snitzel mare Dinnigan, and this cross is responsible for three Group 1 winners already.
Written Tycoon | Standing at Yulong Investments
Other outstanding proven sires who are represented include Toronado (Ire), Lord Kanaloa (Jpn), Per Incanto (USA), The Autumn Sun, Capitalist, Hellbent, Dundeel (NZ), Too Darn Hot (GB), Wootton Bassett (GB), Proisir, Alabama Express, Brave Smash (Jpn), Harry Angel (Ire), Super Seth, Brutal (NZ), Satono Aladdin (Jpn), Star Turn, and Shamus Award. Rubylot’s sire Rubick has a strong cohort of juveniles with five colts represented. All Too Hard is well represented in the sale with nine youngsters on show.
Among the second season sires whose two and 3-year-olds have already shown their talent on track are the likes of Ole Kirk, Bivouac, Farnan, Cool Aza Beel (NZ), Dirty Work, King’s Legacy, Peltzer, Hanseatic, Ghaiyyath (Ire), Tagaloa, and Lucky Vega (Ire).
Stay Inside | Standing at Newgate
Stay Inside was the first of the first season sires to achieve a stakes winner with Incognito, and he leads a strong cohort of first season sires with juveniles catalogued here. His pair of colts is led by a half-brother, Lot 26, to Saturday’s Group 1 winner Transatlantic (Snitzel) who is out of Group 1 winner Gust Of Wind (NZ) (Darci Brahma {NZ}).
Home Affairs has been popular with his first crop yearlings, and he has three entries in the sale. The other first season sires represented are Aclaim (Ire), Acrobat, Palace Pier (GB), Pinatubo (Ire), Portland Sky, Profiteer, St Mark’s Basilica (Fr), Tiger of Malay, Wild Ruler, and Wooded (Ire).
Home Affairs | Standing at Coolmore
