Cover image courtesy of Inglis
The cream of the crop prepares to go under the hammer this weekend as the Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale kicks off at the Riverside Stables sales complex on Sunday, March 29. With 472 yearlings by 64 stallions catalogued in the drafts of 46 vendors, bidding will begin at 11am sharp as the sales season comes to a crescendo.
A sale in its own sphere
The Inglis Easter sale’s metric trends follow a similar pattern to the bulk of the other sales each season, but has been immune to some of the bigger dips in the market that have affected others. Last year’s sale saw the clearance rate return to 88% after a five-year low of 80% in 2024.
| Aggregate | $151,815,000 | $151,815,000 | $139,290,000 | $153,085,000 | $134,665,000 |
| Average | $447,832 | $426,447 | $386,917 | $399,700 | $368,945 |
| Catalogued | 421 | 500 | 457 | 487 | 466 |
| Withdrawn | 35 | 55 | 35 | 49 | 60 |
| Passed In | 47 | 89 | 62 | 55 | 41 |
| Sold | 339 | 356 | 360 | 383 | 365 |
| Seven figure lots | 25 | 18 | 26 | 20 | 23 |
| Clearance Rate | 88% | 80% | 85% | 87% | 90% |
Table: Key metrics from the last five editions of the Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale
Interestingly, the aggregate was exactly the same at the last two editions of the sale, while 17 less yearlings changing hands in 2025 enabled the average price to rise by over $20,000 year on year.
Inglis Bloodstock CEO Sebastian Hutch expressed understandable apprehension ahead of the 2026 edition of the sale, given the current conflict in the Middle East and the economic uncertainty brought with it.
Sebastian Hutch | Image courtesy of Inglis
“It is not the set of conditions that I would have chosen for the sale, had I the choice,” he said. “We are very grateful for the fact that we've been supported with what appears to be a particularly strong group of horses for the sale. Obviously, with great opportunity comes great expectations, and we have been working hard to try and do the best we can to meet the expectations of our vendors.
"We are very grateful for the fact that we've been supported with what appears to be a particularly strong group of horses for the sale." - Sebastian Hutch
“Hopefully we can get to the end of the sale and have facilitated an outcome that has people pleased.”
Chart: Number of seven-figure yearlings sold at the last five editions of the Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale
The Inglis Sales season so far has been a series of successes for the Inglis team, a theme that Hutch hopes will continue over the two days of selling this weekend.
“The Classic sale gross was up $3 million, the Premier sale was up $9 million,” he said. “It's not to say that there haven’t been challenges in the marketplace, but the demand for a quality type of horse across those two sales has been very good. My feeling right the way through has been that we have developed a particularly good Easter sale catalogue and under ordinary circumstances, I'd be very confident in running a really good sale, but it's not as simple as that.”
"It's not to say that there haven’t been challenges in the marketplace, but the demand for a quality type of horse across those two sales (Classic and Premier) has been very good." - Sebastian Hutch
Last year’s leading vendors Arrowfield Stud return with a bumper draft of 65 yearlings,- and only one withdrawal - up from 42 yearlings they catalogued last year. The stud were the leading vendors by aggregate at both the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale and the Inglis Classic Yearling Sale earlier in the season.
| Arrowfield Stud | 65 |
| Yulong | 43 |
| Coolmore Stud | 37 |
| Widden Stud | 28 |
| Sledmere Stud | 27 |
Table: Top five vendors by size of draft in the 2026 Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale
They are by far the largest draft, with Yulong bringing a draft of 43 and Coolmore hot on their heels with 37 entered.
Champions control lion’s share of market
Understandably, it is champions who dominate the catalogue, with Champion Sires Snitzel, I Am Invincible, and Zoustar the most represented stallions. The late Snitzel just edges out I Am Invincible for most yearlings catalogued with 43, but I Am Invincible has the greatest share of his crop in the catalogue with 41% of his 2024 foals making the cut. It’s the greatest percentage for any sire in the sale.
| Snitzel | 43 | 39.5% |
| I Am Invincible | 41 | 41% |
| Zoustar | 35 | 32.7% |
| Dundeel | 25 | 20.8% |
| Anamoe | 21 | 18% |
| Maurice | 20 | 18.3% |
| Justify | 19 | 15.7% |
| Home Affairs | 17 | 12.1% |
| Wootton Bassett | 17 | 25.4% |
| Too Darn Hot | 14 | 16.1% |
Table: Top 10 sires by amount of representation in the 2026 Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale catalogue
It is no surprise either to see those same sires dominate the top prices. Of the 25 seven-figure yearlings sold at Inglis Easter in 2025, Snitzel sired seven, Zoustar sired four, and I Am Invincible sired three.
Snitzel provided the $2.5 million sales topper in 2021, Zoustar topped the sale the year after with a $3 million lot, and I Am Invincible provided the second top lot in 2024 for $3 million - the stakes-performed Ernaux - after the $10 million Pierro daughter of Winx (Street Cry {Ire}).
Pierro x Winx filly | Image courtesy of Inglis
I Am Invincible’s son Home Affairs, who looks set to claim the Champion First Season Sire crown this season after the G1 Golden Slipper Stakes exploits of Guest House last Saturday, produced the $3 million sale topper in 2025, while unbeaten multiple Group 1 winner Autumn Glow (The Autumn Sun) topped the sale in 2023, when purchased by Arrowfield Stud and Hermitage Thoroughbreds for $1.8 million.
Dundeel (NZ) is next in the sires’ list, and multiple champion racehorse Anamoe rounds out the top five stallions.
No doubt hoping to maintain his momentum from the earlier sales in the season, Anamoe leads the way for the first season sires, and is the only one of the six who has double figures of yearlings in the catalogue. He has done well to have 18% of his first crop of foals make the catalogue.
| Anamoe | 21 | $121,000 |
| Diatonic | 4 | $13,750 |
| Baaeed | 1 | $170,000 |
| State Of Rest | 1 | $44,000 |
| Artorius | 1 | $27,500 |
| Hitotsu | 1 | $22,000 |
Table: First season sires with offspring catalogued in the 2026 Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale
Anamoe would be the most expensive first season sire by fee save for the presence of Shadwell Stud’s Baaeed (GB) who stood his first season in 2023 for £80,000 (exc GST), the equivalent of $170,000 once £8000 GST has been factored into the price. Of his six 2024 foals born in Australia, one has been entered in the catalogue by Yulong, who will present Lot 290, a filly out of a half-sister to G1 Sydney Cup winner Gallante (Ire) (Montjeu {Ire}).
Season on season success
Four stakes winners have already emerged from last year’s sale, all from different vendors. Willow Park Stud sold G2 Silver Slipper Stakes winner Stretan Ruler (Wild Ruler), while Coolmore Stud sold G3 Canonbury Stakes winner Hidrix (Extreme Choice) for $1.7 million. R. Listed Inglis 2YO Millennium winner Fireball (Snitzel) was sold by Yarraman Park Stud, and The Chase’s Aurum Belle (Snitzel) added her name to the list last weekend when winning the Listed Supremacy Stakes.
The 2024 sale has turned out 15 stakes winners to date, including multiple Group 1 performer My Gladiola (I Am Invincible), who was sold by Kia Ora Stud. Widden Stud sold the most stakes winners that year, with three emerging to date from their draft, while Arrowfield Stud, Ridgmont, and Newgate Farm sold two each.
Chart: Number of stakes-winning graduates from the last five Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sales
The 2023 sale has produced 22 stakes winners, four of whom are Group 1 winners - capped of course by Autumn Glow, joined by Lady Shenandoah (Snitzel), Femminile (Dundeel {NZ}), and Switzerland. Vinery Stud were the vendors to produce the most stakes winners that year, with their trio of graduates including G1 South Australian Derby winner Femminile, Yulong stallion Growing Empire, and Listed winner Gatsby’s (Snitzel).
Autumn Glow’s triumph in the G1 George Ryder Stakes last Saturday topped off a day that was heavily tied to the graduates from the Easter catalogue.
Autumn Glow winning the G1 George Ryder Stakes | Image courtesy of The Image Is Everything
“I think that last Saturday’s Rosehill meeting encapsulates very effectively the merit of this sale,” said Hutch. “You had Autumn Glow winning her eleventh straight race - she was a Easter yearling sale topper and a very special filly, and she is the daughter of an Easter yearling sale graduate in The Autumn Sun.
"Last Saturday’s Rosehill meeting encapsulates very effectively the merit of this sale." - Sebastian Hutch
“The Autumn Sun also sired two Group 1 winners on the card, with Autumn Boy winning the G1 Rosehill Guineas like his father. He was a five-time Group 1 winner and now he’s a leading sire.
“And then on the same card, you have Home Affairs siring a Golden Slipper winner in his first crop. He was one of the most fated graduates of the sale in recent years; a dual Group 1 winner, and now a Group 1-producing sire. Three of the most consequential races on the day featured graduates of Easter.”
Value to be found
At least four Group 1 winners a year have emerged from the catalogues of each of the previous three Inglis Easter sales, including $12 million earner and dual G1 Winterbottom Stakes winner Overpass (Vancouver), who Hutch points to as a supreme example of the value to be found in the catalogue.
“The high-priced horses are those that traditionally garner the headlines, and understandably so,” Hutch said. “But there are also a lot of horses sold at Easter for good value. I think the common consensus is that the best buying of the year is over the two days of Easter, and you only have to look for a horse like Overpass as an example. A $75,000 yearling who has earned more than $12 million in prizemoney, and has been a showcase horse for Darby Racing for several seasons.
"I think the common consensus is that the best buying of the year is over the two days of Easter." - Sebastian Hutch
Overpass | Image courtesy of Western Racepix
“Femminile is another example. She was a $150,000 yearling, and this time last year we were celebrating her South Australian Derby win before she was sold for $1.5 million, which is an incredible return for her connections, OTI.”
The headline acts on the day of selling may be the seven-figure yearlings, but the headline acts of the future can come from anywhere within the catalogue.
