Cover image courtesy of Inglis
The last yearling sale on the Inglis calendar, the Inglis HTBA Yearling Sale will take place on Sunday, April 19, where a smaller catalogue of 216 yearlings are slated to go through the ring. The auction kicks off at 10am on Sunday at the Riverside Stables Sales Complex, which will next host the breeding stock sales series in May.
Consistency is key
The Inglis HTBA Yearling Sale has remained a reasonably consistent selling venue in recent years; the 2025 average of $21,953 was a healthy increase on the year before with 44 more horses selling in the ring.
| Aggregate | $4,522,300 | $3,034,500 | $4,500,500 | $5,582,250 | $5,247,250 |
| Average | $21,953 | $18,731 | $20,550 | $25,033 | $18,807 |
| Median | $15,000 | $10,000 | $12,000 | $17,000 | $10,000 |
| Catalogued | 299 | 224 | 300 | 287 | 358 |
| Withdrawals | 52 | 22 | 32 | 30 | 30 |
| Passed In | 41 | 40 | 49 | 34 | 49 |
| Sold | 206 | 162 | 219 | 233 | 279 |
| Clearance | 83.4 | 80.2 | 81.7 | 87.3 | 85.1 |
Table: Key metrics across the last five Inglis HTBA Yearling Sales
The catalogue offered in 2026 is the smallest in the sale’s recent history, but the second smallest was in 2024 before a rebound in catalogue size in 2025. The fluctuation in catalogue size doesn’t concern Inglis Bloodstock CEO Sebastian Hutch too much when considering the broader picture of the sales season.
“I think it tends to ebb and flow a bit each year,” he said. “Last year's catalogue was a significantly bigger catalogue than the year prior. I don't think there's a set pattern for this sale. Most of our sales this year have been bigger catalogues, and there were less horses offered on the Gold Coast in January, but more in March. It evens out.
Sebastian Hutch | Image courtesy of Inglis
“Obviously, more horses typically brings more opportunities for people, but we have over 100 colts and over 100 fillies in the catalogue for Sunday, so there is plenty for everyone. I’m perfectly comfortable with the size of the sale.”
"We have over 100 colts and over 100 fillies in the catalogue for Sunday, so there is plenty for everyone." - Sebastian Hutch
Thirty five vendors will offer yearlings at the 2026 sale, led by Widden Stud, who will offer a draft of 35 horses. This is more than double the 13 horses they catalogued in 2025. Last year’s leading vendor by aggregate Kingstar Farm will return with a smaller draft of 10 horses, down from 16, to sit just outside of the five largest drafts.
| Widden Stud | 35 |
| Riversdale | 19 |
| Vinery Stud | 18 |
| Glenbeigh Farm | 13 |
| Fernrigg Farm | 12 |
Table: Top five vendors by size of draft
Top performers and new opportunities
The progeny of 81 stallions have made it into the 2026 catalogue, including lots by Justify (USA), Toronado (Ire), Super Seth, Anamoe, and So You Think (NZ). That number includes eight first season sires.
Chart: Top five sires by number of progeny drafted
Trapeze Artist is the most represented sire in the 2026 catalogue with 11 yearlings to his name, one ahead of Acrobat, whose first 2-year-olds hit the track this year. Trapeze Artist sits within the top 20 Australian sires by winners and is joint second by individual stakes winners, tying with Zoustar and I Am Invincible with eight winners apiece behind only Snitzel.
Trapeze Artist | Standing at Widden Stud
Capitalist fits into the top five with eight representatives in the catalogue, and has been enjoying a particularly good season where he is yet again in the top 10 sires by earnings at the moment, for the third year in a row. He is currently the leading sire by winners in Australia, with six individual stakes winners amongst his 143 winners on Australian soil.
He is also the leading active sire by winners in Hong Kong, exceeded only by the pensioned Deep Field, and is also in the top 10 for prizemoney in the jurisdiction.
Artorius is the most well-represented first season sire, and his yearlings have averaged $77,465 at the sales so far this year.
| Artorius | 9 |
| Jacquinot | 7 |
| State Of Rest | 5 |
| Best Of Bordeaux | 3 |
| Bruckner | 2 |
| In The Congo | 2 |
| Anamoe | 1 |
| Hitotsu | 1 |
Table: First season sires represented in the catalogue
“There's no disguising the fact that we're talking about the value end of the yearling market here,” said Hutch when reviewing the spread of stallions represented in the catalogue.
“It is a non-select sale. Saying that, there are some horses here that were selected for earlier sales in the year, but for various reasons will be sold here instead, so I can say with confidence that there are a lot of nice horses at the sale.”
"I can say with confidence that there are a lot of nice horses at the sale." - Sebastian Hutch
Varied buying bench
Last year’s buyers came from all across Australia and New Zealand, as well as Hong Kong, Taiwan, and the Philippines. The latter country was responsible for the most prolific buyer at the sales, Labd-v Racing and Farms, who purchased six. The buying bench that comes to the HTBA sale every year finds value for both end use and trade, with other top buyers being Tal Nolen, who spent the most at the 2025 sale, Darby Racing, and Sparta Racing.
For local end users, 190 of the yearlings are eligible for BOBS. while the remaining 26 are either VOBIS or QTIS qualified. Graduates of the sale are eligible for a 50% discount on entry to the $12 million Inglis race series.
“This sale provides an important opportunity for a few people to bring horses to a live auction, and a good opportunity for people to shop at the value end of the market as the sales season draws to a close,” said Hutch.
"This sale provides... a good opportunity for people to shop at the value end of the market." - Sebastuan Hutch
“We are obviously guarded with our expectations of the market, given the circumstances and our experiences of the last month, but vendors have brought some nice horses here and there is likely to be decent demand for them.
“Hopefully we can clear well on Sunday and have people looking forward to the weanling sales in May.”
