Cover image courtesy of Ridgmont
Light Up The Room (So You Think {NZ}) added another chapter to her broodmare record today at the Inglis Classic Yearling Sale, when her Too Darn Hot (GB) colt was secured by Bennett Racing for $200,000.
Raised at Ridgmont and consigned through Newgate, the colt stood out to buyers for his temperament, physical balance and familiarity of type - it was a result that spoke not just to the mare, but to the conditions in which her progeny have been raised.
Lot 138 - Too Darn Hot (GB) x Light Up the Room colt | Image courtesy of Inglis
Purchased by John Foote Bloodstock and Gollan Racing from Torryburn Stud for $120,000 at the 2017 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale, Light Up The Room was never a headline act on the racetrack. But she was genuine and consistent, a filly who competed through her Brisbane classic year and managed several stakes placings - the sort whose value tends to emerge over time rather than all at once.
“Light Up The Room is my mother's mare and she holds enormous sentimental value to us all,” said Mitch Cunningham, founding director of Ridgmont.
“She was the first racehorse we bought, and she’s by So You Think. While she didn't reach great heights she was a very consistent filly in Brisbane during her classic year and managed a few stakes placings.”
When she retired, the focus shifted from racing to long-term opportunity.
“We loved watching her race as a family, she brought us so much enjoyment and we wanted to breed from her once she retired. She has only had one to race and he has been a winner (Apollo Ridge).”
“We loved watching her (light Up The Room) race as a family, she brought us so much enjoyment and we wanted to breed from her once she retired.” - Mitch Cunningham
Nathan Bennett, who secured the Too Darn Hot (GB) colt, said temperament was the quality that stood out immediately.
“We loved the colt, the main thing that shone through for us was his temperament, he has a fantastic temperament and nothing bothered him. He has the same shape as Tornado Valley, a real dead ringer, with the same chest and girth and by the same sire, and Tornado Valley goes very well.”
“He has a powerful walk and big reach in front and we are big believers in that, everything was spot on about him.
Nathan Bennett | Image courtesy of Racing Photos
When asked about the importance of familiarity with sires and proven farms, Bennett was emphatic, “He comes from a great farm in Ridgmont.”
“We love buying off good farms and breeders and that's what Ridgmont is, and obviously Newgate is a great vendor. It is very important and we know these guys do a great job, it is important for these horses to have a good start in life.”
Ridgmont results in the ring
While Ridgmont horses are now presented through the Newgate draft, the outcomes in the ring continue to reflect the environment in which they were raised - a pattern that was clearly evident across the farm’s sales results last year.
Last year's results were highlighted by a $400,000 sale at Inglis Classic and a significant milestone at Easter, where two colts by the late Wootton Bassett (GB) featured prominently.
My Sydney (Wootton Bassett {GB}), out of Monegal (Lope De Vega {Ire}), emerged as a successful Classic graduate. The major landmark came with the sale of a Wootton Bassett colt out of Egyptian Missile (Smart Missile), who realised $1.2 million at the Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale when purchased by Tom Magnier.
Named Vatican, the colt debuted in December, running a solid fifth behind Where’s The Circus (Trapeze Artist) in the R.Listed Inglis Nursery.
Vatican as a yearling | Image courtesy of Inglis
“It was a very proud moment, selling the Wootton Bassett colt to Coolmore for $1.2 million, we were very confident in our draft and we ended up having the best average we have had by some margin.”
“We had two stakes winners in To Cap It All and Scenic Point in the same week as we sold our draft, so the timing was great.”
Cunningham believes much of that consistency comes back to land and long-term investment.
“What attracted us to buying the farm in the first place is the fact that it's located in what is described as the Golden Triangle in the Hunter Valley - the land that delivers the best producing graduates in the country. It's unrivalled land in Australia.”
But potential alone was not enough.
“But we knew that there was a necessary investment to be made in the farm to extract full value from our parcel of land there, so we invested heavily in fully irrigating the property.”
Mitch Cunningham | Image courtesy of Ridgmont
“As well as partnering with the best agriculturists in the country to assess the pasture profile and identify areas we could improve on. We did this early on in the ownership, lifecycle of the farm, and it very quickly started (having an impact).”
The impact of that work became evident across the stock.
“We very quickly started seeing the fruit of that investment and you could see it in the horses, and you could see it in the stock, and you could see it in all areas.
“The buyers who were buying off the farm - from Chris Waller and Guy Mulcaster to John Foote, it rapidly became true that we were selling to the top trainers in the country, which was a huge vindication for the investment we made in improving the land.”
The special mare behind the story
Light Up The Room, however, has importance to the family extends well beyond results.
“She means so much to mum that she even has a huge painting of her at her home in the Sunshine Coast that Nicole Slater painted.”
Light Up The Room painting | Image supplied
Light Up The Room has been a commercial producer, including a Lonhro colt selling for $450,000 to Annabel Neasham Racing at the 2023 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale, a Capitalist colt for $280,000 to Chris and Dan Meagher Racing and Herron Racing in 2024, and a Zoustar colt secured for $180,000 by Michael Guerin and Riversley Park in 2025.
Yet for all the commercial success, the mare’s place in the story remains personal, and the Too Darn Hot was a particularly favoured mating.
“We have been huge fans of Too Darn Hot, and have had great success both breeding and buying them.”
“We have been huge fans of Too Darn Hot, and have had great success both breeding and buying them.” - Mitch Cunningham
“With the mating to this colt, we thought it was a great match as she is a bigger kind of mare but with good quality. The stallion goes really good with these kind of mares and she left a lovely colt for us.”
“He was born and raised at Ridgmont, and we have loved him from the moment he was born. Some of his best qualities, apart from being a great type, are his brain and his constitution.”
By the time he entered the Newgate draft, confidence was high.
“Newgate have done a great job with him putting the finishing touches on him, as they always do, so we headed to Classic with confidence and we got a solid result with $200,000.”
“Classic may not have the quality of Easter but it is a very good sale and sending him here gave him his very best chance.”
