Cover image courtesy of Inglis
Lot 668 - Ghaiyyath (Ire) x Berg En Dal (NZ) (Dehere {USA}), colt - $625,000
It was the Ghaiyyath (Ire) colt presented by Wentwood Grange, near Cambridge in New Zealand, that topped the entire 2026 Inglis Classic Yearling Sale when knocked down for $625,000 to McEvoy Racing and Belmont Bloodstock.
The colt was record-breaking in several ways. He became Wentwood Grange’s most expensive yearling sale result, surpassing the NZ$600,000 paid by Bjorn Baker Racing, Clarke Bloodstock (FBAA) and Ridgmont for an Anamoe colt out of Easifar (Pride Of Dubai) at the New Zealand Bloodstock National Sale only a matter ofweeks earlier. He also set a new benchmark as the highest-priced Ghaiyyath yearling sold in the Southern Hemisphere.
New co-trainer Calvin McEvoy was understandably delighted to secure the colt alongside his father Tony and spoke warmly of his admiration for the stallion.
Lot 668 - Ghaiyyath (Ire) x Berg en Dal (NZ) colt | Image courtesy of Inglis
“We love the stallion. He’s doing very good things, isn’t he? He’s got everyone very excited,” McEvoy commented.
“We tried to buy a few in New Zealand but unfortunately we weren’t strong enough. But this is a colt that we’ve been really trying to piece together since I saw him on Tuesday last week.
“He’s just a beautiful walker, a good strong colt off a great farm, a farm with very good statistics, so I knew we’d have to be strong. I Didn’t know I’d have to be that strong, but we’re pleased to have him.
“He’s (Lot 668) just a beautiful walker, a good strong colt off a great farm, a farm with very good statistics, so I knew we’d have to be strong.” - Calvin McEvoy
“He’s going to be a lovely 3-year-old, no doubt about that, but he just had the best attitude. We haven’t had many go through the door, but I’ve been watching them and they seem to have great temperaments. They obviously can be there at two, back-end two, and can be there at three over multiple distances.
When asked about the stallion and the need to have horses of all profiles within the stable.
Calvin McEvoy | Image courtesy of Inglis
“He’s so well bred, the stallion, and it’s nice to have one. It’s about what you can get in the stable. We try to buy all sorts of different styles of horses - sharp, early 2-year-olds and Classic 3-year-olds.
“We’ve bought a Derby winner from this sale, a Group 1-winning 1500m horse from this sale. It’s been a good sale for us and we came here with a bit of confidence. I’m pleased because he was the one horse we wanted to leave here with.”
“It’s been a good sale for us and we came here with a bit of confidence. I’m pleased because he was the one horse we wanted to leave here with.” - Calvin McEvoy
Wentwood Grange’s Dean Hawkins reflected on the stud’s landmark result.
“That was unbelievable. He has been a great mover the whole week and the staff have done a terrific job,” Hawkins said.
“He was on the market at $150,000, he was here to not go home. But he walked so well here. You always get nervous before a sale, but I was stoked.”
“That was unbelievable. He (Lot 668) has been a great mover the whole week and the staff have done a terrific job.” - Dean Hawkins
When asked about sharing the moment with Inglis’ Brett Gilding, Hawkins added.
“Yeah, Brett’s worked hard. We showed him to them in October and he played a big part in us bringing him over.
“Let’s hope he goes on and becomes another good one. It’s an auction, so you can never get too confident, and I haven’t got my brothers here because they are back home running the farm, so I haven’t had them to bounce everything off.
Dean Hawkins | Image courtesy of Inglis
“But Mitch, Brooke and Ryan have been fantastic, and earlier in the week, Windsor Park and Woburn have kept my feet on the ground.”
The outstanding colt is the fifth foal out of the dual New Zealand-winning mare Berg En Dal (NZ) (Dehere {NZ}), a half-sister to G3 Cuddle Stakes winner Leigh Valley (NZ) (Bianconi {USA}).
Leigh Valley is the dam of G1 Herbie Dyke Stakes winner Valley Girl (NZ) (Mastercraftsman {Ire}), whose Anamoe yearling filly sold for $200,000 to Liam Howley Racing Pty Ltd earlier in the same sale.
Lot 592 - Home Affairs x You Rang (Sebring), filly - $380,000
Bryce Heys of Ellerslie Lodge added further depth to his buying spree, backing up the Castelvecchio colt purchased for $390,000 out of Panzerfaust (Redoute’s Choice), by securing a striking Home Affairs filly for $380,000 from the Mullaglass Stud draft on Day 3.
The Warwick Farm-based trainer also picked up a Wild Ruler filly and a Brutal (NZ) colt during the sale.
“She rated really high and would have slotted into any sale,” Heys said of the Home Affairs filly.
Lot 592 - Home Affairs x You Rang filly | Image courtesy of Inglis
“The pedigree adds to the package. I love seeing very good Sydney form on the page, and Rise Of The Masses was favourite for the Slipper before she got scratched.
“Firstly, physically, she rated really highly and I felt she would have slotted into any sale, really.
“Firstly, physically, she rated really highly and I felt she would have slotted into any sale, really.” - Bryce Heys
“I had a lot of conviction on her, given the way she presented physically, and just loved her. So you combine that with Ruud Awakening’s great 2-year-old record, it looks great. But most of all, physically, I thought she was outstanding.”
The filly is the third foal out of the dual-winning Sebring mare You Rang, a half-sister to G3 Pago Pago Stakes winner Rise Of The Masses (Russian Revolution) and the Group-placed Kundalini (I Am Invincible).
Bryce Heys | Image courtesy of Inglis
She hails from the family of former New Zealand juvenile star Ruud Awakening (Bernardini {USA}), winner of the G1 Diamond Stakes, the R. Listed Karaka Million 2YO and the Listed Wellesley Stakes, all as a 2-year-old.
Lot 732 - Too Darn Hot (GB) x Courtyard Circle (Anabaa {USA}), colt - $375,000
Ryan Fownes landed the winning bid at $375,000 for Lot 732, a Too Darn Hot (GB) colt from the Lime Country Thoroughbreds draft - a type that caught the eye as a potential Hong Kong prospect with scope to develop, particularly given he was born in early November.
“He’s a lovely, athletic type and a great walker. Looking a little bit on the smaller side, but we’re looking for what he’s going to look like another year’s time instead of now, and hopefully he will fill that frame up.” purchaser Fownes said.
“Looking a little bit on the smaller side, but we’re looking for what he’s (Lot 732) going to look like another year’s time instead of now.” - Ryan Fownes
“He’s not the finished article yet. What we’re seeing, even his attitude during the week, was everything that you need for what we want. I thought he’d be quite popular, so he was out of the box a fair bit and could be expected to be a little bit naughty, but I really believe in the stallion and I just hope we got it right.
“You always need a bit of luck in this game. It’s been a good sale. We’ll be coming back again - I think there’s value here and it’s certainly a good sale to come to.”
Lot 732 - Too Darn Hot (GB) x Courtyard Circle colt | Image courtesy of Inglis
When asked whether the colt was destined for a Hong Kong client, Fownes explained:
“We’ve got clients all over. It’s a case of whether we keep the horse here for a preparation in Australia, or if he comes up to Hong Kong as a late 2-year-old or not.”
Courtyard Circle (Anabaa {USA}) was a four-time winner and has proven a reliable producer, leaving four winners including Dream Circle (Dream Ahead {USA}) and Bold Circle (Bernardini {USA}), six and three time winners respectively, with both being Listed placed. This is also the family of Listed winner Key Bar Nights (Anabaa {USA}) and her Listed-winning daughter Barbed (Canny Lad). Since producing this colt, Courtyard Circle has been served by Barbaric.
Ryan Fownes | Image courtesy of Inglis
Lot 621 - Extreme Choice x Altair’s Glow (Encosta De Lago), colt - $360,000
Mick Price knows Extreme Choice well, having trained the dual Group 1 winner, and he was delighted to secure a son of the elite stallion for what he regarded as outstanding value at $360,000 from the Newgate Farm draft.
“There are a few things here. Newgate are amazing breeders. Gooree are amazing breeders. Northern Meteor is sitting there on the page, and these good colts, these Extreme Choices - I know there’s some in Melbourne Premier, and you may get a really hot market. They’re going to have a one million or two million in front of them.
Mick Price | Image courtesy of Inglis
“So I think what I’ve paid for a beautiful, strong chestnut, lively colt is fantastic. You go shopping for these good colts at Sydney Easter with all the colt syndicates on them - there won’t be $360s. There’ll be one million and 360, you know what I mean?
“So I think what I’ve paid for a beautiful, strong chestnut, lively colt is fantastic.” - Mick Price
“So I thought he was a beauty. I thought he was athletic, a strong runner. He showed himself off well, has plenty of spunk about him and, obviously, I trained his father and, you know, what an amazing stallion - the best strike rate on getting horses into Group races.”
Asked how many times he inspected the colt, Price replied:
“Maybe twice. I look at them once and then do a short list. They don’t change after the fourth and fifth look. I don’t know what that stuff is, but I know when I have a final look out here in the parade ring. I’m either on them or off them.”
Lot 621 - Extreme Choice x Altair's Glow colt | Image courtesy of Inglis
Altair’s Glow (Encosta De Lago) was unraced but boasts a powerful pedigree as a full sister to the ill-fated stallion Northern Meteor and is closely related to numerous Group winners, including Smart Missile, Group 1 winner Palaisipan (So You Think {NZ}), Sure Knee (Snitzel) and the exciting Tornado Valley (Too Darn Hot {GB}).
Altair’s Glow left an In The Congo colt foal before sadly passing away not long after foaling.
Lot 780 - I Am Invincible x Elusive Nature (Sepoy), colt - $300,000
Lot 780, the striking I Am Invincible colt out of Elusive Nature (Sepoy) from Bhima Thoroughbreds, will carry the famous purple colours of Star Thoroughbreds after Star Thoroughbreds Pty Ltd and Vin Cox Bloodstock signed for him at $300,000.
“His sire is a superstar, as we well know, and he is just a very good-looking colt that looks like he will certainly stand up to the rigours of racing and hopefully be at the front end of most fields,” Vin Cox said.
Lot 780 - I Am Invincible x Elusive Nature colt | Image courtesy of Inglis
“We’re pretty excited to get him and delighted with the price.
“Mum could run a bit and, being by the sire, you just know you’re going to get every chance. He gets a lot of winners and a lot of high-end winners, so we are delighted to get him at the price.”
“We’re pretty excited to get him (Lot 780) and delighted with the price.” - Vin Cox
The colt is the third foal out of the four-time winning mare Elusive Nature. Her only runner to date is the two-time winner Southby (So You Think {NZ}). This is the extended family of G1 winner Summer Passage and Group winners Shania Dane (Danehill {USA}), Head Of State (American Pharoah {USA}) and Man From Uncle (Uncle Mo {USA}).
Elusive Nature has since produced another colt by I Am Invincible and was subsequently served by The Autumn Sun.
Vin Cox | Image courtesy of Inglis
Lot 628 - Home Affairs x Anjeo (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), colt - $280,000
Home Affairs enjoyed a strong Day 3 at the Inglis Classic Yearling Sale, and Lot 628 was another colt to catch the eye selling to MG Price Racing & Breeding Pty Ltd for $280,000 from the Coolmore Stud draft.
It was a combination of knowing the breed and sensing similarities with the promising 2-year-old Guest House, also by Home Affairs that played a key role in Mick Price's purchase.
“I had some very good notes on him from the start. Guest House is a big, strong bay colt, as his father was, as this horse is, and he comes from a great farm with a very good pedigree - how could you not buy it?” Price said.
“He comes from a great farm with a very good pedigree - how could you not buy it?” - Mick Price
“I mean, if the horse was at the Sydney Easter Sale, he would be double that. The horse doesn’t know what sale he’s landed in.
“He is strong, a beautiful mover and he has a great brain on him, and I think he might make a 2-year-old, but regardless, he is an absolute quality colt and I am very happy to be taking him home.”
Lot 628 - Home Affairs x Anjeo (Ire) colt | Image courtesy of Inglis
This strong colt comes from a lovely international family, his dam Anjeo (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) was unraced, but is a full-sister to Great House (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) who has been successful in the G3 Hotham handicap and the G3 Newcastle Gold Cup and a half-sister to the French Group 3 and Listed winner Aboulie (Ire) (Exceed And Excel).
Since producing this colt, Anjeo has produced a King’s Legacy filly foal, and was served by Switzerland last spring.
