Inglis Easter filled with full circle moments for Coolmore

Cover image courtesy of The Image Is Everything

Coolmore Stud’s long term approach to buying and selling at the Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale is all about the depth of pedigree on offer at this top end sale. The model is evidenced by Home Affairs, who they purchased from Torryburn Stud for $875,000 in 2020. He’s now the sire of G1 Golden Slipper Stakes winner Guest House from his first crop.

It is those results that bring the Coolmore team back to the Riverside Stables sale complex every Easter with the clear intention of replicating the feat.

“The depth of pedigree on offer at Easter, year after year, is unrivalled and it’s no different this year. When we are buying at Easter, we take a long term view in that we want to be presenting yearlings out of the fillies we buy here such as Personal, or offering yearlings by stallions we buy here such as Home Affairs, who sired a Golden Slipper winner with his first crop, or Switzerland who stood his first season at stud last year,” said Coolmore’s Tom Moore.

Home Affairs kicked off colts syndicate with a bang

Coolmore will offer six yearlings by Home Affairs at this year’s Inglis Easter Yearling Sale, bringing them full circle back to where they bought him. It’s the cycle that they plan for when they purchase colts each year at this sale.

“He was the first year of the Coolmore colt syndicate, in a year that was plagued by COVID, so we were lucky to secure him when Inglis set up an online version of Easter,” said Coolmore’s Racing and Bloodstock Manager John Kennedy.

"He came from a fantastic nursery at Torryburn. The Cornish family loved him and he was highly recommended, which gave us confidence to buy him during that uncertain time."

Home Affairs won the G2 Silver Slipper Stakes and was third in the G2 Todman Stakes behind Anamoe and Profiteer, before finishing mid-field in Stay Inside’s Golden Slipper at just his fourth start.

“He was a talented juvenile, but it was a wet track for the Golden Slipper that year and he didn’t like the going,” Kennedy said.

But Home Affairs would blossom into the horse his Silver Slipper win promised he would be the next spring, and victories in the G1 Coolmore Stud Stakes - by a commanding three lengths - and the G1 Lightning Stakes, beating Nature Strip (Nicconi), ensured he was immensely popular in his first season at stud, covering a book of 203 mares.

“He was the busiest first season sire, and when his foals hit the ground, he was fully booked again due to what breeders were seeing in his progeny," said Kennedy. “He’s an amazing horse, he has a great temperament, he’s easy to manage, he gets great stock and everyone wants one.”

And on leaving a Golden Slipper winner in his first crop…

“Danehill did it, of course, and Extreme Choice is the most recent sire to do it,” said Kennedy.

Lofty company indeed. Danehill (USA) sired Danzero with his first crop, then won the Golden Slipper again in the next two years with Flying Spur and Merlene. Extreme Choice is the sire of Stay Inside with his first crop.

More stallion prospects in waiting

The model of buying expensive colts to create stallions has been a good one for Coolmore for a long time. Even when a purchase doesn’t meet the stringent requirements for a stallion career, they can still show plenty on the track.

In 2022, Coolmore purchased Cap Ferrat (Snitzel) for $1.4 million at this sale as a yearling and when he needed to be gelded, he was on-sold to Hong Kong interests where he has since won the Listed Hong Kong Derby.

Caballus (I Am Invincible) cost $1 million from Bhima Thoroughbreds’ draft at this sale in the same year as Cap Ferrat. He was on-sold via Inglis Digital to Darby Racing for $315,000 and recently won the G1 Newmarket Handicap to take his earnings over $2.2 million.

Sometimes they run, but they aren’t stallion material. It’s a tricky game, but when you get Home Affairs or fellow G1 Coolmore Stud Stakes winner Switzerland, it makes the risks worthwhile.

Last year, Coolmore’s Tom Magnier purchased six seven figure yearlings at the Inglis Easter Yearling Sale and all of them have been named. Both Defensemen (Wootton Bassett {GB}) and Vatican (Wootton Bassett {GB}) have run fifths in stakes company recently.

“We have a couple who are really exciting us that haven’t raced yet. St Gotthard, the full brother to Switzerland, has impressed in two trials and Chris (Waller) and the team think he’s one to keep an eye on,” said Kennedy.

St Gotthard (Snitzel) was a $2.7 million buy from Arrowfield Stud’s draft at this sale last year.

Gallery: Some of Coolmore's seven figure purchases at the Inglis Easter Yearling Sale, images courtesy of Inglis

“One that we are definitely looking forward to seeing on the track is Whitehall. He’s out of the Winx family.”

Whitehall (I Am Invincible) is the first live foal of Covent Garden (Exceed And Excel), who is a half-sister to the mighty champion mare Winx (Street Cry {Ire}), as well as Group 3 winners El Divino (Snitzel) and City Of Lights (Deep Impact {Jpn}). He was a $1.8 million buy from Segenhoe Stud.

Among the glamour colts bought last year is a filly who was purchased for $300,000. Named Jacaranda (Home Affairs), she was a winner on debut before running fifth in both the R. Listed Inglis Millennium and Listed TAB 2YO Plate.

“She’s the best example of a filly who can be well bought at any level at this sale. She has showed a lot of ability with Lindsay Park. They also had Home Affairs’ first stakes winner, Gin Twist.

“Jacaranda was a filly who was bought very well, a beautiful pedigree and keeps improving. She’ll be one to watch at three.”

Returning full circle with yearling purchases

Two of the yearlings that Coolmore will sell this year are out of mares that they purchased at this sale as yearlings. Lot 15 is an I Am Invincible filly from Group 1 winner Personal (Fastnet Rock) who Coolmore bought in 2021 at Easter from Cressfield.

“Personal was a $640,000 purchase. She has that magic Fastnet Rock / Galileo cross, and it’s that Procrastinate family. She impressed us from the start. She broke her maiden at Flemington as a 2-year-old, then went on to be Group 1-placed in the Blue Diamond at only her third start. She ran in the Golden Slipper, then after a string of seconds at three, she took out the Group 1 Oaks at Flemington,” said Kennedy.

“This is her second foal. She rewarded her owners with a So You Think filly who sold for big money and is with Lindsay Park. It’s great when they get off to a good start with two foals like this.”

Personal’s 2-year-old filly Chacha Saperavi (So You Think {NZ}) sold for $1.15 million at this sale last year to Glentree Thoroughbreds and Badgers Bloodstock.

“She’s the gift that keeps on giving. We raced her in partnership with a great group of clients of the farm, and she’s a beautiful mare to go forward with.”

Lot 174 is a Wootton Bassett (GB) filly from G3 Maribyrnong Plate winner Vinicunca (I Am Invincible). She was a $600,000 yearling purchase from Attunga Stud by BBA Ireland, Tom Magnier, and Flaxland Ireland.

“Her name means the mountain of seven colours. It’s a place in Peru. We bought her the year previous to Personal in partnership with Lindsay Maxsted and the Niarchos family,” said Kennedy.

“She was an extremely early type. She won the Maribyrnong Plate on debut then ran second in a lead up to the Blue Diamond to Lyre who won the Blue Diamond. She’s a beautiful mare and has a very nice Wootton Bassett filly here this week.”

There's value in selling too

Buying horses away from the top few lots at this sale can provide plenty of value because these are the horses with the best pedigrees in the country. That depth means that every horse in the sale has residual value, particularly the fillies.

Last year, Coolmore Stud sold G3 Canonbury Stakes victor Hidrix (Extreme Choice) for $1.7 million to B2B Racing and Chris Waller, while stakes placed Central Europe (Frankel {GB}), Free Flying (Snitzel), and La Gitana (Home Affairs) sold here by the Jerry's Plains nursery for $750,000, $750,000 and $400,000 respectively.

“And the yearlings (sold here) don’t necessarily have to be those expensive horses. We sold well-bred fillies such as Pinot and Catchy who went on to win Group 1 races and they were sold for $200,000 and $220,000 respectively,” said Moore.

Pinot (Pierro), a $200,000 purchase by Eclipse, is a daughter of Group 1 winner Dizelle (Zabeel {NZ}), and won the G1 Victoria Oaks and over $700,000 on the track. Her first two Australian-born foals are both winners, and then she was exported to Japan where she has 3-year-old colt Black Olympia (Jpn) (Kitasan Black {Jpn}) who is a winner, and an unraced 2-year-old filly by Kizuna (Jpn).

Catchy (Fastnet Rock) was bought by Dorrington Farm for $220,000 from Coolmore. Winner of her first four starts in succession including the G1 Blue Diamond Stakes, she trained on to win twice more as a 3-year-old, with both wins at Group 2 level. She earned $1.9 million on the track, and her first foal, three-time city winner Dakota Vroom (I Am Invincible) sold for $1.2 million. Her second foal is Group 2 winner Floozie (Zoustar).

Coolmore also sold dual Group 2 winner Formality (Fastnet Rock) at Easter for $120,000, and bought back into her later. Now the dam of $1.7 million earner and Group 3 winner Pray For Mir (Justify {USA}), she has Lot 320, an I Am Invincible filly in this year’s draft.

Listed winner Lake Geneva (Fastnet Rock) was sold by Coolmore to Hawkes Racing for $1 million in 2014, and the G1 Golden Slipper-placed Listed winner has Lot 384, a Home Affairs filly in the sale. She’s been a bit unlucky at stud recently with only two live foals in the last six years, but it is the wonderful Hips Don’t Lie (NZ) (Stravinsky {USA}) who always sell well every year, so a filly from that family is an offering with plenty of depth.

Gallery: Lots from mares that Coolmore sold as yearlings at the Inglis Easter Yearling Sale, images courtesy of Inglis

Buying into Easter pedigrees with proven race records

Coolmore’s Tom Magnier is well known on the broodmare purchasing circuit and several of the yearlings in Coolmore’s draft were former Inglis yearlings that the farm purchased after their illustrious racing careers. Spending up big on proven racemares with strong pedigrees has one simple goal.

“When Coolmore buy these types of mares, we hope to breed a stallion out of her,” said Colm Santry.

A highlight lot in the catalogue is Lot 467, a Snitzel colt who is the first foal of G1 Queen Of The Turf Stakes winner Nimalee (So You Think {NZ}). She was purchased by Colm Santry Bloodstock and Coolmore Australia for $3.6 million at the Inglis Chairman’s Sale, and had previously been a $270,000 yearling when bought by Randwick Bloodstock (FBAA) from MIllford Thoroughbreds at the Inglis Premier Yearling Sale.

“He’s a stallion prospect. He’s a fabulous first foal, and is a very highly rated horse in our draft. So You Think is doing a wonderful job as a broodmare sire and what a great tough mare she was. The toughness is coming through from her second damsire Zabeel. We felt (at Chairman’s) that she was one of the mares of the year, and Coolmore invested heavily in this foal by going to Snitzel.”

Snitzel filly, Lot 445, is another out of an expensive mare, the Group 1 winner Mizzy (Zoustar) who Coolmore bought for $2.2 million at the Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale.

“She was an Easter graduate and we bought her after she raced for $2.2 million. She’s a beautiful mare,” said Kennedy.

“She was a Group 2 winner when we bought her, then was awarded the Group 1 afterwards. Her yearling filly has been extremely popular so far this week.”

Two others in the draft who are out of mares who were themselves Easter graduates are Lot 10, a Snitzel filly from G2 Percy Sykes Stakes winner Paris Dior (Pierro) who was passed in by Marquee Stud and raced by S Wilde and W Hilton, before Coolmore purchased her for $1.6 million as a broodmare prospect.

Stakes placed Dubai Star (Pride Of Dubai), whose Lot 275 is a Justify (USA) colt, was sold by Segenhoe Stud for $320,000 at this sale to Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott. After her racing career, she was bought by James Bester Bloodstock for $370,000 at the Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale.

Closely related to the talk of the town

Lot 26, Lime Country Thoroughbreds’ Extreme Choice colt out of dual Group 2 winner Pretty Brazen (Brazen Beau) is getting plenty of attention, and Coolmore’s John Kennedy couldn’t help but remind readers that the lot before him in the sale is from their draft and the same family.

“Lot 26 is being talked about as a potential sale topper, and is getting huge exposure. Lot 25 is the same family, with both their dams being daughters of Pretty Penny,” said Kennedy.

Only two of the 10 named foals out of stakes-placed Pretty Penny (Encosta De Lago) don’t have black type, and one of those is unraced. Yes, this means that the broodmare Pretty Penny has nine runners for eight black type horses! The other is three-time city winning 4-year-old gelding Pretty Powerful (Yes Yes Yes).

“Almost ever foal out of Pretty Penny is a black type horse, and all are by different stallions. The last one, Pretty Powerful, has been back in work for a few weeks with Chris Waller and is being aimed at a stakes race in Brisbane over winter.

“This is the best family in the book, and Lot 25 is a beautiful filly with a massive pedigree. She’s the only Yes Yes Yes in the sale and will attract attention with the page she has. She could be good value buying, being the lot prior to the Extreme Choice.”

Lot 25 is the first foal of Pretty Penny's daughter Pretty Amazing (American Pharoah {USA}) who won the G3 Kembla Grange Classic and four other races.

Unsurprisingly, given the brilliant win of Guest House (Home Affairs) in the G1 Golden Slipper and now his acquisition by the farm, there's an air of excitment among the Coolmore team.

“It’s been exceptionally busy the last couple of days. There are a lot of people who have been positive about the sale, and everyone I’ve talked to on the ground are saying the same thing,” said Kennedy.

Whatever the result of the Inglis Easter Yearling Sale, one thing is true. Coolmore will sell at least one stakes winner from their draft, and they'll buy another from someone else. It's the full circle of bloodstock management that has resulted in Guest House.