Find the next Well Written: Entries open for Inglis Weanling Sale Series

Cover image courtesy of Inglis

Entries are open for the Inglis weanling sale series. The Australian Weanling Sale will be held at Riverside on May 4 and 5, while the Great Southern Weanling Sale will take place at Oaklands on June 12.

Vendors looking for a quick return

For a long time, weanling sales have provided breeders with a good way to get a faster return on their breeding outlay, while stallion owners use the sales to showcase the stock of their new season horses.

And what better way to get a return than to enter into Australia’s most lucrative weanling sales series, via the Inglis Great Southern Sale and the Inglis Australian Weanling Sale. Over the past five years, the pair of sales has grown from a total gross of $19 million to over $29 million, putting cash back into the pockets of breeders at a crucial time of year.

“The Inglis Yearling Sales Series is going well again this year and I’m confident that we can continue that momentum into the weanling sales, we just need to be given the opportunity with better quality stock,” said Inglis CEO Sebastian Hutch.

Australia’s two highest-priced weanlings of the year in 2025 were sold through the Inglis Australian Weanling Sale. A Too Darn Hot (GB) colt topped the sale when Equine Growth Fund splashed out $775,000 for the full brother to Group 2 winner Too Darn Lizzy. The second top lot was a Stay Inside filly who was purchased by Belmont Bloodstock (FBAA) for $650,000. She is the second foal of G1 Oakleigh Plate winner Sheidel (Holy Roman Emperor {Ire}).

Meanwhile, the sale topper at the Inglis Great Southern Sale of 2025 was the fifth top priced weanling sold last year. The Ole Kirk filly was purchased by Wilrace for $475,000 from Lemrac Lodge. She is a half-sister to Group 3 winner Vegadaze (Lope De Vega {Ire}).

Table: Gross and average of the Inglis Great Southern Sale and Inglis Australian Weanling Sale

Growing demand from pinhookers

With the pinhooking success of Well Written (Written Tycoon) and many others, buyers will out in force again in 2026. Group 1 winning 3-year-old filly Well Written was sold by Lemrac Lodge in 2023 for $32,500 to Foxhill Thoroughbreds. They on-sold her for NZ$80,000 at the New Zealand Bloodstock Online Yearling Sale to trainer Stephen Marsh and Dylan Johnson Bloodstock. She’s since been sold privately to Yulong.

“If we had one regret at the conclusion of what was a hugely successful set of weanling sales last year, it was that we didn’t have enough really good foals to satisfy the demand of pinhookers in particular,” said Inglis CEO Sebastian Hutch.

“There is no arguing that the buying bench Inglis assembles for our weanling sales is without peer – last year alone there was not only exceptionally strong domestic participation but also buyers from New Zealand, Hong Kong, the UK, Ireland, China, Japan, South Africa, the Philippines etc.”

At this week’s Inglis Premier Yearling Sale, Bell River Thoroughbreds sold a Toronado (Ire) colt to Lucky Owners in Hong Kong for $375,000 having purchased him for $160,000 at the Great Southern Sale in 2025. Also popular at the Premier sale this week was Miburn Creek’s Toronado colt who was purchased by Hong Kong’s Akaya Success for $350,000, having originally been a $200,000 Australian Weanling Sale buy.

Northmore Thoroughbreds turned a $16,000 Australian Weanling Sale purchase in 2025 by Peltzer into a $100,000 Premier yearling in 2026 with Paul Moroney and Catheryne Bruggeman putting up their hands for the filly. She’s the first foal of winning Shalaa (Ire) mare Queen Of Nations.

Showcasing young sire talent

Weanling sales give everyone in the industry a first proper look at the progeny of first season sires. Last year, nine-time Group 1 winner Anamoe was the number one on ground, and his success has continued through into this year’s yearling sales.

“Our weanling sales series gets better year after year and I’m especially excited for it this year, with the opportunity to showcase the progeny of what looks a strong group of first season sires like Shinzo, Cylinder, Ozzmosis, King’s Gambit, Mo’unga, Native Trail etc,” said Hutch.

The first season sire cohort for the upcoming weanling sales includes nine individual Group 1 winners while all three placegetters in the G1 Golden Slipper of 2023 will be represented with their first crop weanlings.

Naturally, many racing and breeding fans are excited about the first crop of G1 Golden Slipper winner Shinzo. Having won the sire making race and with a pedigree to bolster him to the top of the tree being by Snitzel from dual Group 1 winning mare Samaready (More Than Ready {USA}), his stock will have many eyes on them. Second to Shinzo in the Slipper was Cylinder, who went on to win the G1 Newmarket Handicap at three, while third placed King’s Gambit won the Listed Debutant Stakes and trained on at three to win the G2 Roman Consul Stakes.

G1 Coolmore Stud Stakes winner Ozzmosis has plenty to recommend him, given the sire making reputation of that race, while juvenile G1 JJ Atkins Plate winner King Colorado brings an international pedigree to the table as well.

For those who want toughness, the first crop of Mo’unga (NZ), who was a Group 1 winner at three, four, and five, should be highly sought after. And fans of a stayer can’t go past G1 Melbourne Cup winner Gold Trip (Fr) or globe trotting dual Group 1 winner Panthalassa (Jpn). Or perhaps there will be a smokey among the other first season sires... It's almost time for the good judges to take a look and make a declaration.