Cover image courtesy of Inglis

On Sunday morning, the selling action moves to the Oaklands sales complex in Melbourne for the three-day Inglis Premier Yearling Sale, where 814 yearlings have been catalogued to go under the hammer in Victoria’s flagship bloodstock sale.

Sixty four vendors have come together from across Victoria and interstate - and from across the Tasman - to offer stock at the venue, with progeny of 110 individual stallions to be sold, including stock from 11 first season sires.

Amongst last year’s graduates are G1 Blue Diamond Stakes winner Streisand (Magnus), Listed Lonhro Plate winner Agrarian Girl (Tassort), and a further five stakes performers.

Metrics growing year on year

The 2025 Premier Sale bucked the trend of the early part of last year’s sales season by generally raising metrics across the board from the 2024 edition of the sale. The average rose almost back to 2023 levels and the clearance rate was nearly the same as 2024, while the sale itself garnered $1.5 million more in gross from a similar amount of lots sold.

Table: Key metrics across the last five Inglis Premier Yearling Sales

The Premier Sale has always been one of the highest performers in the country for clearance rate, and has posted three straight years of healthy clearance.

“When we reflect on 2025, I think the reason we saw rises across key metrics is perhaps because, prior to 2025, some felt that the Premier sale wasn't the most desirable place to sell horses,” said Victorian Bloodstock Manager James Price.

“Vendors and breeders looked at other options to sell their best horses. But what changed in 2025 is that the graduates coming out of the sale started to really perform on the track, and people started to see how extremely hard we were working with the buying bench to get a very broad section of buyers at the sale.

“So therefore, vendors were willing to trust us and sell their better stock at the 2025 edition of Premier. Since the 2025 sale, we have had three juvenile Group 1 winners come out of Premier, no other sale has achieved that.”

Alongside Streisand, Premier graduates Vinrock (I Am Invincible) and Nepotism (Brutal {NZ}) won their juvenile Group 1s in the months after the 2025 sale.

“The results on the track and in the ring in 2025 have led to greater confidence in the vendors and breeders, who have supported the 2026 sale with a higher level of stock again,” said Price. “I think we're in a really good spot to have a very productive positive 2026 edition, and that is certainly the feeling we have had during this week of inspections.”

Vendors converge on Oaklands to sell in the south

Local vendors Yulong again bring the biggest draft to the Premier sale, with 87 yearlings catalogued - the same amount they brought last year - and Widden Stud brings the next biggest draft of 50 yearlings, followed by Blue Gum Farm with 35 catalogued.

Table: Vendors with 20 or more yearlings catalogued in the 2026 Inglis Premier Yearling Sale

“The sale's always been supported by interstate vendors,” Price said. “If we take New South Wales as the Hunter Valley as the key breeding ground for farms outside of Victoria, they've always seen it as a sale to sell, but this year, I feel the quality of those drafts have gone to a very good level.

“All credit to Yarraman Park Stud, they have participated in this sale for many years and have always brought top-end stock, and we thank them for their consistent support of this sale. I feel like that has shown some of the other vendors in New South Wales that they can come here and sell good quality stock for good prices. When you've got an international breeder such as Coolmore recognising the quality of the sale and the opportunities that it presents, that is fantastic for everyone involved.”

For the first time since 2016, Coolmore Stud will offer a draft under their own banner and have catalogued 18 yearlings.

“Newgate have brought a very strong draft this year," Price said. "They had great results last year, and they have come with an even better draft this year. Emirates Park have sold here for a couple of years under their own name and they sold a stakes winner last year in Agrarian Girl.

"We also have the leading breeder in Tasmania, Armidale Stud, here with two colts. These are proper colts who are going to be very, very well found and hopefully they will be very popular in the sales ring.”

Million dollar magic

Predictably Yulong were the leading vendors by gross in 2025, followed by Rosemont Stud who offered the joint top lot of the sale when selling a Frankel (GB) colt to Resolute Racing, McEvoy Mitchell Racing, and Belmont Bloodstock (FBAA) for $1 million.

The other million dollar lot was a son of Toronado (Ire), who was offered by Gilgai Farm and knocked down to Andrew Williams Bloodstock (FBAA) and Hong Kong Bloodstock. This pushed Gilgai Farm into second top spot by average (two or more sold) in Book 1, behind Yabby Dam Farms who sold two yearlings for an average of $300,000. Both studs had 100% clearance for their 2025 Book 1 drafts presented at the sale.

Gallery: The two million dollar top lots at the 2025 Inglis Premier Yearling Sale

“We had two million dollar lots sell last year within 10 minutes of one another,” Price said. “That might not happen again in 2026, but my goodness, the middle market is going to be competitive.”

The 2026 catalogue was initially 806 yearlings, but eight lots have been supplemented into the catalogue since, and will go through the ring in alphabetical order. Yulong and Twin Hills Stud will offer two each, while the other four will be offered by Newgate Farm, Coolmore Stud, Balius Farm, and Blue Gum Farm.

“The addition of supplementary lots to our select yearling sales at Classic and Premier is a new move for us, but it worked well at Classic and our expectation is that these horses will be well received here,” Price added.

2025 results creating 2026 desirability

Given the strength of his 2025 results where he was the leading sire by aggregate with more than $1.5 million to the next stallion, Toronado tops the catalogue for greatest volume of progeny, with 38 yearlings accepted for the sale. Hot on his heels is Alabama Express with 31.

Table: Top 11 sires in the 2026 Inglis Premier Yearling Sale by number of progeny catalogued

Of the 11 first season sires with representation, Jacquinot is the best presented with 19 in the catalogue. Joining him with double digits of offspring on offer are two other sires that have been in high demand over the past sales of 2026; Diatonic (Jpn) and Anamoe.

Chart: Five most represented first season sires in the 2026 Inglis Premier Yearling Sale catalogue

In addition to local and shuttle sires, there will be yearlings on offer by Kingman (GB), Lope De Vega (Ire), Lord Kanaloa (Jpn), No Nay Never (USA), Siyouni (Fr), and Frankel again. Price agreed that vendors felt confident that, by bringing internationally bred horses to the sale, they would get the right results for these horses.

“There is no bias to this sale any more, there is no feeling that a horse is too good to sell at Premier,” he said. “With the results we have been having, Premier is no longer a sale just for one type of horse. Mark my words, given the quality of horse I've seen on the grounds, there will be multiple Group 1 winners coming out of this sale again.”

A positive feeling on complex

Price and the Inglis team are looking forward to selling kicking off at 10am on Sunday, March 1, and he is pleased with the depth of the buying bench accrued for the sale.

“There's a very strong cross-section of buyers at the sale both locally and internationally,” he said. “It's always been a sale that our Hong Kong clientele have been drawn to, so they will be there in good numbers again. There will be some participation from mainland China as well as Malaysia, and then we also expect the New Zealanders to be strong again, buying both to race and to breeze up. From talking to buyers on the ground, they're really pleased with what they've seen.

“The amount of foot traffic is very positive. Certainly from the perspective of booking hotel rooms, we are feeling very optimistic about the buying bench that will appear on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday.”