Vendor behaviour forces Inglis to rethink the broodmare sale model

Cover image courtesy of The Image Is Everything

Thursday evening will be the final moments for bidding on the Inglis Digital platform for session two of the April (late) Online Sale. The session signals a deliberate change in the way broodmares are traded at this time of year for Inglis, with the traditional Australian Broodmare Sale removed from their sales calendar and shifted online.

The only physical sale of breeding stock for Inglis in 2026 will be the Chairman’s Sale, which targets the top of the commercial end of the market.

An evidence-based decision

The Inglis April (late) Online Sale will be held over two sessions this week. The regular digital sale, of 210 lots, will end as usual on Wednesday evening, and the race fillies and broodmare sale of 267 lots will end on Thursday evening. Both sales are currently open for bidding on the Inglis Digital platform.

“From an Inglis point of view, we are responding to the preferences and trends of the market. On a basic level in the case of the Great Southern Broodmare Sale, we catalogued a very small number of mares for the sale two years ago. There simply wasn't an appetite amongst vendors for it,” said Inglis CEO Sebastian Hutch.

“And in the case of the Australian Broodmare Sale, we ran what we thought was quite a good sale in 2024 where we catalogued just over 200 lots.

“That session had a good feel to it, but the following year, a number of people we traditionally would have called the mainstay vendors at that sale, let us know their preference was to offer their stock online, which meant that we catalogued just in excess of 100 lots (in 2025). For those mares offered, the results were perfectly reasonable.”

In 2023, the Australian Broodmare Sale sold 108 mares at a 76% clearance rate, averaging $74,500. Victoria was thinner, with just 29 of 47 mares sold.

By 2024, the average price had fallen 20% to $59,729 and clearance eased to 70%. Victoria remained weak, with 35 mares sold at $31,500.

By 2025, the contraction was clear. Victoria dropped off the calendar entirely, and Sydney volumes halved - down 59% from 2024 - to just 54 mares, with clearance slipping again to 65%. The average recovered slightly to $69,000, but on far less depth.

“The evidence was there,” said Hutch.

“When the number of lots catalogued for your sale is halving year on year on the back of what we felt was a good sale, it tells you that there isn’t the demand in the market for the service.

“We haven’t mandated the cessation of live broodmare sales. We're responding to market feedback and market trends. If the market overwhelmingly wanted a live broodmare sale, we'd be running a live sale. Relatively speaking, we have a big catalogue for our Chairman’s Sale.”

The Inglis Chairman’s Sale on Thursday May 7 consists of 115 lots, up from 96 lots in 2025 and 88 in 2024. The Chairman’s Sale follows the two-day Inglis Australian Weanling Sale on May 5 and 6.

Since the market has shifted their behaviour towards online sales, particularly for breeding stock at the middle and lower end of the market, the option was obvious.

“We examined ways in which we could offer an alternative to vendors, and what I would stress is we feel like the digital market has become a true and fair market for the sale and purchase of bloodstock. It's become a consistent, reliable market that people become very comfortable with,” said Hutch.

A move with the times

One of the most successful long term vendors of broodmares, Willow Park Stud, have joined the sale with ten mares on offer. Willow Park Stud has now sold the dams of 15 Group 1 winners through broodmare sales, and their online brochure lists all the results at the 2026 yearling sale from mares they sold in 2024.

Leading the bunch is Crowned Princess (Star Witness) who was sold in foal to All Too Hard for $47,500. The resulting colt foal sold at the New Zealand Bloodstock National Yearling Sale for NZ$380,000.

“Now that it’s defunct, Sebastian said they’d have a proper go with their digital site, so I thought we’d have a go. It’s a first for us,” said Glen Burrows of Willow Park Stud.

“The stats of the yearlings that have sold this year from mares I’ve sold looks good if you are a buyer. I see them and I throw up, but that’s the business model. My biggest win has been an inadvertent one with Warrior Woman. About three weeks after I passed her in, her first foal which I had to keep, won and now she’s won three. It’s funny how things work out sometimes.”

Warrior Woman (Declaration Of War {USA}) is the dam of Brave Xena (Saxon Warrior {Jpn}) who won her first three in succession before running in the G3 PJ Bell Stakes at her fourth, and most recent, start.

“It’s got its positives for sure. Inglis are very dominant with their digital sale in the Southern Hemisphere. I’ve purchased from Fasig-Tipton’s digital sales in America and it’s marvellous too. You have to move with the times. It’ll be interesting to see the results once it’s done and dusted.”

Inglis Digital launched in 2017 and have had several upgrades in technology since then in response to feedback from both vendors and buyers.

“This is a selling medium that's been well embraced by a very broad class section of the market, and a lot of people have been have enjoyed tremendous success doing it. I don't think we have a major client that hasn't participated on our digital platform,” said Hutch.

“It's very much a whole of market move toward digital sales as a preference because it's more cost efficient. Ultimately our vendors feel like they get the same or better results online than what they do at a live sale, and our buyers enjoy the time efficiency of the format.”

As to the expected outcome of the 267 lot breeding stock sale on Thursday, Hutch was cautious.

“There's obviously a speculative element to it, whenever you try something new. We are confident that it’s going to work, and we are confident that it will deliver a better outcome, but until you know the outcome, it’s hard to say what will happen.”

Broodmare welfare upside

One of the benefits of a digital sale, particularly for older or pregnant breeding stock, is the lack of travel. Race fillies are accustomed to being on trucks and heading to a sale ground is part of their normal existence. Broodmares, especially those who have had several foals, live on the same farm for most of their days, only travelling to get served once a year. There is also a significant cost saving associated with less transport.

“It's certainly better for the stock, especially for pregnant mares in particular,” said Hutch. “Not having to travel unnecessarily to the sale ground, then parade for a couple of days before travelling again.”

Linda Monds at Tyreel Stud agrees with the sentiment, and has catalogued a small draft of three mares for Thursday’s session.

“I think it is the best thing that the industry could possibly do. I absolutely love my mares and have always found it difficult to take a pregnant mare to a live sale,” Monds said.

“We want to look after the pregnancy and we do everything on the farm to protect them, so it’s about welfare. I like to keep them in a calm relaxed environment. It’s perfect because they don’t have to leave the farm, and we know that they receive the highest level of care until they leave us. Anyone is welcome to come to the farm and inspect them.”

Glen Burrows agreed. “We haven’t changed anything in the preparation. We still have them rugged and we are getting some people viewing them at the farm. It’s lot less stressful than taking in foal mares to sale. Being able to have them still here in their home environment and chances they only have to travel around the corner if bought locally.”

Tyreel Stud's draft is led by G2 Caulfield Sprint winner and G1 Oakleigh Plate-placed Snitty Kitty (Snitzel) who is Lot 314 and is in foal to Maurice (Jpn).

“We are only on 100 acres, so it’s hard to keep mares as a collectable. We have a few race fillies retiring this year, so are making room for them. The three lots are beautiful mares and we wanted to sell them while they are still very commercial with upside for the buyers,” said Monds.

“Snitty Kitty is a beautiful mare, she’s everything that you’d want. She has the speed, pedigree, and is a gorgeous physical. She’s got some (foals) to still race for her, so there’s plenty of upside there.” Snitty Kitty’s oldest foal is two-time winning 4-year-old mare Zoucat (Zoustar), while her 3-year-old gelding Knuckle Duster (Capitalist) is unraced, as is her 2-year-old gelding Adrenalize (Zoustar).

Splitting out the online sale over two days

Inglis have split this week’s sale into two sessions. Session one closes on Wednesday and is the typical fortnightly online sale with racehorses, young stock, shares and this week includes a share in Zoustar. Session Two for race fillies and breeding stock closes on Thursday.

“The development of the Inglis digital platform over the last year has allowed us to spread a sale out over two or more days. Once we decided to effectively coin the idea of the Australian Broodmare Sale in Inglis Digital, we split this sale into two days,” said Hutch.

“It allows for an extra day of evaluation and consolidates all the breeding stock in one very clearly defined session.

“Typically we haven’t had edited pedigrees for Inglis Digital, and it’s not a dramatic step but all horses on Thursday will have edited pedigrees, as opposed to the long form digital pedigrees. We feel it makes the session more consistent with what would have been the expectations and a traditional live sale.

“The advantage of having run the platform for a long time is that Nick Melmeth and Stephanie Carruthers and the wider bloodstock team have been consolidating a huge amount of feedback and the current Inglis Digital platform operates in response to that user feedback. It’s a collaborative consultative process.”

Willow Park sells all ten unreserved

The benefits of online selling are not lost of Willow Park Stud and they’ve had to make some adjustments to their old ways of doing things to meet the market conditions.

“You reach a very wide audience, not only local but also internationally. More so than the old days of the live sale, where I think your market back then was pretty restricted. We try and provide all the information we can, with proper videos and heights and any extra information,” said Burrows.

Hutch concurs, and with data going back to 2017, Inglis are aware of the correlation between good vendor data and strong results.

“We encourage users to take personal responsibility for the presentation of their stock. We check the relevant information (uploaded by vendors) to make sure all the data is accurate,” said Hutch.

“We’ve found that the people who are very transparent and who deliver better quality content, be it photos, videos, et cetera, get better results selling. There’s a positive correlation between people doing that and selling well because it’s about buyer confidence.”

One of the key differences for a vendor is that a reserve at a live sale doesn’t have to be declared until the horse walks into the ring and is often adjusted by the vendor as the physical auction progresses.

“Setting the reserve with the entry is very different to a live sale. Because this is my first time, I’ve elected to see everything unreserved, to give the buyers confidence to bid up and see how that works. Maybe I’ll change that next time,” said Burrows.

It was Lot 311, Sinaia (NZ) (Tavistock {NZ}), who helped set the scene for an unreserved sale. She is being offered on behalf of long term clients Lyn and Gary Witters who decided to sell her unreserved. The Witters family bred Samantha Miss (Redoute’s Choice), who won three Group 1 races and is a half-sister to Sinaia.

“When they wanted to sell unreserved, I thought I’d do the same with all of them for this year. When I’m looking to buy I find it frustrating when you are bidding and a horse is not on the market yet. When they are on the market, you really focus then and give it your best shot. At live sale, I always yell out that it’s on the market, and often people hang back until they hear that.

“I’m very happy about the number of stakes winners our mares have subsequently thrown after selling. It makes sense to buy a young mare in foal, as she’s proven she’s fertile and you don’t have to wait as long for a result (compared to a race filly).

“I have bought a lot of horses online but selling is a new experience. I’ve got confidence in Inglis and the way they are quite proactive in assessing the horses and trying to get buyers for them. That’s comforting to know they are doing their bit.”

Coolmore’s quartet of quality

Coolmore as agent are selling four beautifully bred mares. Vinicunca (I Am Invincible) in foal to Switzerland is Lot 346. Winner of the G3 Maribyrnong Plate, Vinicunca’s first foal, 5-year-old gelding Tom Cruising (American Pharoah {USA}) has won four races. Her next foal is an unraced So You Think (NZ) 2-year-old colt, followed by two Wootton Bassett (GB) progeny.

Horse Of The Year Lankan Rupee (Redoute’s Choice)’s stakes placed half-sister Art Collection (Fastnet Rock) is being offered as Lot 364 in foal of Home Affairs. Written Tycoon mare Lot 447, Liuselli, is a half-sister to Vinery stallion Star Turn, and is offered in foal to Jacquinot.

Gallery: Coolmore's offerings for the Inglis April (late) Online Sale, Images courtesy of Inglis

One mare that is likely to be sought after is Lot 367, a full sister to triple Group 1 winner Russian Emperor (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}). Atlantic Emerald (Ire) is in foal to G1 Golden Slipper winner Shinzo.

The unraced mare is the only daughter of Champion 3YO Filly and four-time Group 1 winner Atlantic Jewel (Fastnet Rock). Group 1 winners I Am Excited (I Am Invincible) and Commanding Jewel (Commands) also feature in this pedigree.