From humble Hellbent to hot Home Affairs: The stallions everyone is talking about

Cover image courtesy of The Image Is Everything

There’s a good vibe at Riverside ahead of Tuesday’s Inglis Australian Weanling Sales with a nice sunny day on Sunday and plenty of inspections happening. TTR spoke to several vendors who don’t stand stallions to get a vibe-check on the recent fee announcements.

Home Affairs gets people talking

Lime Country Thoroughbreds sold Saturday’s VOBIS Gold Rush winner Marffiano (Home Affairs) and was bullish about his sire’s future.

“We've supported Home Affairs in the past, and we've sold some very nice horses by him. We took two colts by Home Affairs to the Magic Millions Gold Coast. One was out of Tell Your Mama, a tough American mare who is from Home Affairs own family, and Marffiano,” Lime Country Thoroughbreds’ Jo Griffin said.

Marffiano sold for $475,000 to Laurel Oak Bloodstock (FBAA) and Lindsay Park Racing, while the Tell Your Mama colt sold for $550,000 to James Harron Colts and TFI, and has been named Gangster.

“Home Affairs is a big horse, and there's often plenty of talk about the size and scope of his progeny, but both of those colts were neat to mid-sized. Marffiano was selected by James Bester (as a weanling) who clearly picks good horses year on year and we were lucky enough to be able to prepare him for a group of clients that included Parsons Creek, and on-sold him to Louis Mihalyka (Laurel Oak), who is obviously a very good judge and a mad pedigree fan.

“The Hayes boys have only spoken highly of him ever since his very first trial. I think he came out, won a trial early, went shinny and was put away, and he's certainly shown something right from his first run along.”

Home Affairs stood for $82,500 inc GST for his third season, when these weanlings were conceived, and in 2026 has had a boost to $176,000 inc GST after siring G1 Golden Slipper winner Guest House in his first crop.

“Looking at Home Affairs, things could fall either way, and it’s the same with Stay Inside. Come the end of September, they could be on an even footing. They are both exciting young stallions,” said Griffin.

Fairhill Farm are well known for selling their entire foal crop as weanlings and have three weanling colts by Home Affairs in this year’s draft, and while he didn’t necessarily call him good value, O’Donnell picked him out as a star of future.

“Home Affairs is a bit hard pricewise for us now, but he might be the second coming, you never know,” O’Donnell said.

Lot 3 is the second foal of three-time winning mare Sahra (Hinchinbrook), while Lot 261 is out of G1 Vinery Stud Stakes victrix Fenway (High Chaparral {Ire})’s half-sister winning mare Fly Lightly (More Than Ready {USA}). Lot 234 is a half-brother to G1 Levin Classic winner Age Of Fire (Fastnet Rock).

Gallery: A selection of the Home Affairs progeny on offer at the Inglis Australian Weanling Sale, images courtesy of Inglis

Plenty to choose from

Lime Country Thoroughbreds’ Jo Griffin clarified that we talked while Griffin was driving from Scone to the sale ground at Inglis. “I’m without my notes, so odds are I’ll miss someone important who we’ve already booked to,” said Griffin.

“I think Stay Inside at that price is good value, Bivouac also. Tentyris is value at his fee but I’m a big Street Cry and Street Boss fan of that line of stallions.

“We took a breeding right in Traffic Warden last year, because I thought that he was great value and we will support him again this year. The second season is always that high risk, high reward play. I'm a little risk adverse myself and I'd rather go to a proven sire and pay the tax, but I guess that depends on the mares you've got in the paddock and what the goal is.

“We're looking at Delacroix. You have to take him into account at $38,500. Having Ghaiyyath with the same profile will help, but he probably doesn’t need the help looking at his pedigree and race record.”

Across their weanling draft of nine yearlings, there were a couple of horses who stood out for Griffin.

“We are selling a bunch for Makybe and Tony has some very nice foals in the draft, and we’ve got some other nice stock for clients,” said Griffin.

“One of the interesting ones is the All Too Hard x Star Progeny colt. We sold his full sister at this sale last year, she made $180,000 and then was traded as a pinhook for $420,000.” The yearling filly was purchased by Boomer Bloodstock (FBAA) and Murray Thoroughbreds from Bell River Thoroughbreds’ Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale.

“It's always exciting when you get to be part of a story where somebody else gets to enjoy success. Those clients are new breeders, and it's a foal share again with Kia Ora for this year’s colt.” Lot 48 is the third foal of unraced Star Progeny (Star Turn) from the family of Group 1 winner Danestorm (Danehill {USA}).

“Maykbe’s Starspangledbanner colt is a sharp looking colt and his sire is always in demand. I’m sure plenty of pinhookers or end users would be looking at him as a target horse for Hong Kong.” Lot 120 is a half-brother to G3 Chairmans’ Stakes-placed Tacito (Showtime) from the Redoute’s Choice family.

Hellbent stands clear as great value

Fernrigg Farm have a strong draft of 16 weanlings with plenty of stallions from the middle of market represented, but it was Yarraman Park Stud’s Group 1 sire Hellbent who was Rae-Louise Kelly’s immediate choice when it came to good value for the upcoming season.

“Yarraman have been very humble with Hellbent. He’ll get you a racehorse and he’ll get you a sale horse and I think his fee is very realistic in the current market. There’s a lot of first and second season sires around the same money, so for a proven horse who can do it all, he’s probably the best value,” said Kelly.

Yarraman Park Stud will offer three weanlings by their resident sire Hellbent, while their draft includes one of the standout lots of the sale, being Lot 428, an I Am Invincible half-brother to recent G3 Kindergarten Stakes winner Blue Door (Stay Inside).

Willow Park Stud’s Glenn Burrows is another Hellbent fan.

“We're leaning towards proven stallions. Hellbent is good value and as a consequence I'll be sending quite a number of names there. He's obviously proven with his colts and fillies and also in Hong Kong with the Derby winner recently,” said Burrows.

First season sire Shinzo impresses

Many eyes will be on the first crop of G1 Golden Slipper winner Shinzo and he has 13 weanlings catalogued for the sale. Jo Griffin of Lime Country is a big fan of him.

“Shinzo is an interesting horse. I look at that big deep pedigree of Shinzo, and I think he's an interesting stallion with that page behind him,” said Griffin.

“The Shinzo filly that we've got is the first foal out of one of our broodmare partnership mares, a very tough American mare. She's just a very forward, early born, well-balanced, good style of filly, and we thought we'd take her here and see how she goes.” Lot 331 is a filly who is the first foal from nine-time winner Kela’s Turn (USA) (Kela {USA}) who won four times at Listed level.

Fernrigg are thrilled with their Shinzo colt too. Lot 12 is a colt from Group 3-placed Seewhatshebrings (Sebring) who is a half-sister to three stakes winners in Olentia (Zoustar), Wandabaa (Wandjina) and Malkovich (Choisir).

“We have a really good Shinzo colt. The Shinzo’s are very nice in general. This horse is a good combination of the mare and sire. She’s an absolutely stunning mare with a proper family, and the Shinzo has that masculine body and really good head,” said Kelly.

Yulong’s shift to NSW to add competition

Both Fernrigg Farm and Alma Vale Thoroughbreds were thrilled by Yulong’s announcement of a Hunter Valley branch.

“It’s good for Yulong to be coming up here. They are sending a couple of their good stallions. I think Alabama Express is a very good stallion. Hopefully it’ll make the other farms come back with their fees a bit,” said Verna Metcalfe from Alma Vale.

“Some of the fees are ridiculous! I love payment on Live Foal, that’s where the industry has to go, especially when there is so much risk now. I’ve found buyers are actually looking at horses a lot better now. They're not just looking at the book and ruling horses out. They're inspecting them all on type.”

But while that risk makes it tougher for breeders, it also gives horses who are athletes more of a chance. And good looking is a big factor.

“Alabama Express will get you a good-looking horse as well as a solid racehorse.” Fernrigg Farm’s draft has Lot 140, a filly by Harry Angel (Ire) whose Group 1-winning son Private Harry will stand his first season at Yulong’s newly announced Hunter Valley base. And the weanling filly is out of I Am Invincible mare Abu Simbel, who was a winner over 1400 metres.

Alma Vale picked out several other stallions as good value from across the Hunter Valley and down into Victoria.

“Capitalist is good value, I like Ozzmosis and Traffic Warden, and I’m going to use Broadsiding and Anamoe again this year.

“We've got a couple of good Ozzmosis colts in our draft. There’s a cracking colt from Mrs Orb, and we also have a lovely Zoustar filly who is athletic, light on her feet and very well-balanced and feminine.”

Ozzmosis colt Lot 407 is the second foal of triple Listed winner Mrs Orb (USA) (Orb {USA}), while the draft has two Zoustar fillies being Lot 92 from stakes-placed Too Good Too Hard (All Too Hard) and Lot 115 from stakes-placed Wedgie (Foxwedge).

Good value in the middle

Saturday’s G3 Hawkesbury Gold Cup winner Churchill’s Choice (Churchill {Ire}) was foaled and raised at Fairhill Farm for owner/breeder Kevin Hill, giving the farm a good boost ahead of Tuesday’s weanling sale.

“Zousain is good value. There are some nice ones here. We have two including the half to Napoleonic who is lovely. They’ve been very popular and he had another Group 3 winner the other day,” O’Donnell said.

“The stallion is the first thing people look at, and they care less about the pedigree. For our Zousain, they don’t always see that she’s a half to Napoleonic.”

Lot 323 is a half-sister to G3 Red Anchor Stakes winner Napoleonic (Wootton Bassett {GB}) and G3 Thoroughbred Breeders’ Stakes winner Ready Set Sail (More Than Ready {USA}) so she has plenty of residual value. Fairhill Farm’s other Zousain is Lot 255, a half-sister to dual Group 2-placed 3-year-old filly Born To Be Royal (King’s Legacy). This is the family of King’s Legacy and Not A Single Doubt.

Another to give a shout-out to Widden Stud was Glenn Burrows.

“Widden been very good at giving breeders a chance to make a dollar and with Trapeze Artist, Written By and Zousain are all horses that breeders can make money out of so credit to Widden there,” said Burrows.

“Mare numbers are still dropping so the stallion farms will have to be very careful with their pricing and negotiating because there's just so many less breeders now looking to get into the game. There will be a number of stallions twiddling their thumbs for a proportion of the season.”

Of the younger brigade, Burrows picked out three prospects.

“The Coolmore horse Delacroix looks great value at $38,500. He was a really good racehorse by the right sire out of a champion mare who has been a wonderful producer. Tentyris is perceivably a lot of money at $88,000, I would like to send a couple of mares to him as well. I've applied for a breeding right so hopefully I can get that.

“Storm Boy is the type of horse who should leave 2-year-olds, so if you mate to him this year, you’ve got a yearling when his first crop are out running and there’s a good chance that he might kick a couple of early goals.

But it’s the proven horses who dominate Willow Park Stud’s draft of seven weanlings.

“I've always been a Capitalist fan. I think that he's doing a super job with his runners and we've had good sales with them over the last couple of years. Cosmic Force is another who is good value.” The draft has three Capitalist colts. Lot 24 is out of unraced Sinaia (NZ) (Tavistock {NZ}), a half-sister to Samantha Miss, while Lot 89 is the first foal of stakes-placed Tivaan Warrior (NZ) (Swiss Ace). Lot 274, from Gemini Miss (Encosta De Lago) is from the family of Group 1 winner Penny Gem (NZ) (Pentire {GB}).

“I've got a really good Brutal colt. Brutal is doing a nice job. He's a terrific type and been very well admired. It’s a good even bunch of colts, and I’m sure there’ll be money to be made when they are re-sold as yearlings.” Lot 16 is the second foal of Sharpest (Husson {Arg}) who is a half-sister to Listed winner See The World (Danzero).

Gallery: A selection of the Capitalist progeny on offer at the Inglis Australian Weanling Sale, images courtesy of Inglis

Stonehouse excited for Victorian offerings

Ryan Arnel of Stonehouse Thoroughbreds was thrilled with Saturday’s Listed Golden Mile victory by Von Hauke (NZ) (Savabeel) who they sold at the Inglis Premier Yearling Sale draft for $190,000 to trainer Cliff Brown.

“I'm actually a Bendigo boy so it was good to win the Golden Mile with one of our graduates. Waikato Stud bred the horse and we sold him at Premier to Cliff. We’re very passionate Victorians so it was good to win a good Victorian race with a horse out of a Victorian draft,” said Arnel.

It’s all about Victorian stallions when Arnel is thinking about good value too.

“It’s good to see Observer coming in and Ghaiyyath coming back, although obviously he has gone up in price, but it’s great to see him back. Yulong is obviously very strong down here and they have got Vinrock and I'm sure they'll get a lot of support around him.

“We will start looking at some of the second season sires who will be a bit of good value, like Rosemont’s Henry Longfellow.”

Their draft of four weanlings for this year’s sale has two Victorian-based stallions and two others.

“We've brought four up here who are very handy types. Because we are coming up from Victoria, we try and bring some of our nicer ones who all pass a clean bill of health and x-rays before they come up, so we know we’ve got a good product.

“We've got a lovely Tornado filly. He’s obviously one of the best stallions down there in Victoria. She presents herself well, and we have one by first season sire Cylinder who is a good type and a good representation of what the stallion is.”

Toronado (Ire) filly, Lot 427 is out of stakes-placed Nothin’ On Me (NZ) (Not A Single Doubt) and the Cylinder colt, Lot 174 is the first foal of Belledonne (Kingman {GB}) from an imported European family.

Gallery: Some of Stonehouse Thoroughbreds weanlings on offer at the Inglis Australian Weanling Sale, images courtesy of Inglis

The only one in the sale

There are 27 stallions with only one lot in the Inglis Australian Weanling Sale, and only four of them are first season sires being Don Corleone, Doull, Mo’Unga, Panthalassa.

Stonehouse Thoroughbreds have Lot 244, a filly by Group 1-placed Don Corleone from four-time winning mare Epsilon (Sequalo).

“The Don Corleone filly is by a Queensland first season sire and I believe she's the only one here. She’s a real good type who is a good representation of what he's throwing in his first season,” said Arnel.

Rosemont Stud’s Group 2 winner Doull is a son of Snitzel, who has Lot 355, a colt from unraced Let’s Wing It (Alpine Eagle) in the Fernrigg Farm draft.

“The Doull is a bit of a left field choice. He's the only one in the sale,” said Fernrigg Farm’s Rae-Louise Kelly.

“He's an absolutely outstanding mover. He's actually blown me away here. Obviously I see them every day on the farm but just watching him parade here, it’s obvious that the horse can move. He’s really athletic, just switched on with a great temperament. He’s one to watch down the line as a racehorse.”

Eternity Bloodstock offer Lot 71, a filly by Mo’Unga from three-time winning Flying Spur mare Tennessee Fling, and Noorilim Park will offer the only Panthalassa in the sale. Lot 42 is a colt from unraced Southern Link (Desert King {Ire}).