Cover image courtesy of Noorilim Park
Noorilim Park sold G1 Australian Guineas runner Onavuitton (Castelvecchio) at the Inglis Premier Yearling Sale for $70,000 in 2024, and the G2 VRC Sires’ Produce Stakes-placed winner is one of three stakes horses sold by Noorilim Park in that year’s draft.
Their 2024 draft included Listed winner Highvol (Microphone), Onavuitton, and Group 3-placed Beyond Question (Russian Camelot {Ire}).
Times are changing at Noorilim Park
After several years offering around 15-20 yearlings at the Inglis Premier Yearling Sale, Noorilim Park brings smaller draft of five yearlings in 2026.
“At this stage, we are selling the farm. We’ve had it for sale since October. Not a lot of interest but at the end of the day, it’s not the right time to be selling with this weather," owner Peter Carrick said.
“The farm looks great in the photos, but it’s so dry at the moment. It will happen, but what we’ve decided to do is shut down a lot of our racing and concentrate on breeding. We had 25 broodmares and we’ll probably get down to a dozen and concentrate on that.
Peter Carrick | Image courtesy of Inglis
“I retired three years ago, and not having my key business operational, the money drops off. I had 35 horses in work at one time, which is a lot of horses to maintain, as well as breeding with so many mares. Time has changed. I’m moving on and getting a bit older.”
Recent Inglis Premier Yearling Sale graduates off the Noorilim Park pastures including Group 2 winner Arctic Glamour (Frosted {USA}), and Group 3 winners Bossy Nic (Nicconi), Miss Rosieano (Exceed And Excel), and Watchme Win (Harry Angel {Ire})
Onavuitton is a Guineas worthy contender
Lightly racing Onavuitton ran sixth on debut as a February 2-year-old before his third in the G2 VRC Sires’ Produce Stakes, won by Vinrock (I Am Invincible). It was nearly ten months before he was seen again, winning a maiden at Cranbourne on January 10 this year. He was fourth last start in the G2 Autumn Stakes, won by G1 Australian Guineas favourite Observer (Ghaiyyath {Ire}).
“He’s going really well. He just missed that spring so he’s not quite seasoned. He’ll run pretty well (on Saturday). He was good in the leadup although was a bit underdone, so he will have big improvement,” said trainer Simon Zahra.
“He (Onavuitton) was good in the leadup although was a bit underdone, so he will have big improvement.” - Simon Zahra
At $70,000, Onavuitton was the cheapest of the three foals from his dam Vuitton (NZ) (Rothesay) to go to the sales. The older two, who are both winners, sold for $120,000 and $100,000 respectively.
“He was always an exciting young 2-year-old with Zahra. It’s funny because I met the owners who bought him when we were watching him trial. It was a very good trial, and he said to me, ‘Oh gee, I’m happy with my horse there’, and I said, ‘Yeah, I know, I bred it’,” said Carrick.
Onavuitton as a yearling | Image courtesy of Inglis
“Vuitton has been a very good broodmare for us.” She foaled a Nicconi colt in 2025, her first live foal since Onavuitton. Vuitton is a half-sister to Group 2 winner and sire Eurozone, and to Group 2 winner Miss Marielle (Encosta De Lago) who is the dam of Group 1 winner Peeping (Redoute’s Choice) and her Listed winning full brother France.
Plan B for Noorilim Park
With the farm sitting on the market for several months now, Peter Carrick outlined a Plan B for the property.
“With the farm, we’re going to harvest the whole property and crop that, and we're getting heavily into cattle with a plan to get to 1000 head of cattle. The cattle are easier to manage and we’ve got all the equipment for harvesting. Once we’ve done the cropping, that’s when it’ll probably sell because it’ll look so good,” Carrick said.
But it’s not all moving away from horses, just a shift in quality over quantity.
Cattle at Noorilim Park | Image courtesy of Noorilim Park
“The key is to get to a dozen good quality mares and sell privately or put them in other people’s drafts. It’s hard to keep good staff (for yearling preparations). We have great managers at the moment, but I’ve dropped from having 200 plus horses on the farm to about 50,” said Carrick.
“We’ve had a couple of good times, with a mare called Special Lover whose yearling sold for $1.1 million and broke the record at Inglis and her next foal, two years later, sold for $500,000. She only gets in foal every two years, she looks after herself. We’ll just concentrate on those quality mares and the ones we want to stay in (to race with partners), or we’ll turn them over for a bit of income.”
Special Lover (NZ) (Pins), who placed in the Listed SAJC Hill Smith Stakes, doesn’t have a yearling this year having missed, but foaled a filly by Shinzo in 2025. Her second foal, Miss Roseiano (Exceed And Excel) was sold by Noorilim Park for $300,000 at the 2021 Inglis Premier Yearling Sale. She won the G3 Blue Diamond Preview (f) and was on-sold as a broodmare for $1.275 million to Tom Magnier.
Special Lover | Image courtesy of New Zealand Bloodstock
In 2023, the $1.1 million yearling Socrazyinlove (I Am Invincible) was the highest priced filly, at the time, to sell at the Inglis Premier Yearling Sale and she won three of her eight starts before being sold for $550,000 at a broodmare prospect in 2025. She was covered by Ole Kirk in 2025 with her first foal due in the spring of 2026. The $500,000 yearling is currently an unraced 2-year-old Lady Sabalenka (I Am Invincible).
Community is key for the Carrick family
Peter Carrick’s son Glen is the business manager at the farm. During the recent bushfires at Longwood, Noorilim Park pitched in to help in a no fuss way. The farm is about 25 minutes drive north of where the worst of the fires were located.
“We took on about 45 horses from (other farms), so it was all hands on deck,” said Glen Carrick.
“We had the same help (from others) when it flooded. We had that big flood about five or six years ago.”
Glen Carrick | Image courtesy of Inglis
Glen recalls Onavuitton as a yearling and wished the ownership group all the best for Saturday’s run.
“It’s exciting. He was a lovely yearling. Chris Kent prepped our draft that year. He was one of his favourite yearlings for the year, actually. He did love him,” said Glen Carrick.
“It’s exciting. He (Onavuitton) was a lovely yearling. Chris Kent prepped our draft that year. He was one of his favourite yearlings for the year, actually. He did love him.” - Glen Carrick
“Castelvecchio was not as popular then. I probably gave him away a little unders, but it is what it is. We had a great draft that year.” With Onavuitton, Highvol, and the promising Beyond Question, it’s certainly proven to be worthy on the racetrack.
The 2026 draft of five yearlings
After several years of bringing drafts of around 15-20 yearlings to the Inglis Premier Yearling Sale, Noorilim Park will present a draft of five in 2026.
“This year, we have a nice Jacquinot colt from the same family as Lankan Rupee. His half-sister ran fourth in the Oaks in the spring and was quite unlucky. She’s just been sold and the new ownership are pointing her at the Oaks in Sydney. She had a jump out on Wednesday at Caulfield and went quite nicely,” said Glen Carrick.
Lot 160 is the second foal of unraced Lankan Gold (Dundeel {NZ}), a half-sister to Listed winner Manhattan Street (Manhattan Rain), from the family of Horse Of The Year and five-time Group 1 winner Lankan Rupee (Redoute’s Choice). Lankan Gold’s first foal, 3-year-old filly Classic Gem (Maurice {Jpn}) placed behind stakes winner Yum (Ghaiyyath {Ire}) in a maiden in the early spring before running fourth in both the G3 Ethereal Stakes and G1 Victoria Oaks.
Gallery: Noorilim Park 2026 Inglis Premier Yearling Sale draft, images courtesy of Inglis
Glen Carrick also picked out two fillies as nice types.
“The Toronado filly is a good moving filly who gets along well, and she’ll be popular.” Lot 473 is a half-sister to Listed Atlantic Jewel Stakes winner Troach (Epaulette) out of G3 Kindergarten Stakes winner Anise (General Nediym) from the family of Hong Kong’s hero Fairy King Prawn (Danehill {USA}).
“I like the filly out of Crystalised is a half to Crystal Bound, who came second in the Percy Sykes as a 2-year-old and went on to win a Listed race at three.” Lot 577 is a Russian Revolution filly from Crystalised (NZ) (Zabeel {NZ}), and the yearling is a half-sister to Listed Cap D’Antibes Stakes winner Crystal Bound (Not A Single Doubt) and three other winners. Crystalised won twice and was fourth in the G3 South Australian Fillies Classic, and is a half-sister to three stakes winners including dual Group 1 winner Zarita (NZ) (Pentire {GB}).
