Cover image courtesy of Inglis
The crescendo in the bidding at the Inglis Australian Weanling Sale came early in the day when Lot 43, the third foal by G1 Golden Slipper Stakes winner Shinzo to walk through a physical sales ring arrived in front of the auctioneer’s rostrum at the Riverside Stables sales complex.
The fifth foal, a filly, from Listed performer Special Lover (NZ) (Pins) attracted a furious back and forth between bidders, before Stefan Pardi’s SP Bloodstock prevailed with a winning bid of $600,000.
After the hammer fell, Pardi commented that it was more than he wanted to pay for the filly - but the price is further proof to Noorilim Park’s owner Peter Carrick that Special Lover more than lives up to her name.
A very special mare
The Shinzo filly is the second time Special Lover’s offspring have topped a sale, and Carrick shared his excitement over achieving the feat again, at a different venue.
“I've said to a number of people, ‘she's never let me down," he said. “We've broken a few records now and here we are again. I did expect it today, and I hope she holds out as the top again.”
Carrick’s opinion of the filly was such that he would have been just as happy to walk away from the complex without selling her at all. In the end, he had to settle for keeping a small percentage after discussion with Pardi.
"We put her (Lot 127) on the market at $500,000, and if we weren’t going to get it, we were taking her home to race." - Peter Carrick
Lot 43 - Shinzo x Special Lover (NZ) filly | Image courtesy of Inglis
“We put her on the market at $500,000, and if we weren’t going to get it, we were taking her home to race,” he said. “Glen (Carrick) said, ‘she’s definitely for sale’, and I said, ‘she might not be’. So $600,000 is a really good result.”
The signs had been there early on that the filly was going to be popular amongst buyers at the sale.
“She’s got so much character about herself,” Carrick said. “When we foaled her down on the farm, her nature was always just amazing, and I said, ‘this is probably the best foal I have ever had’.”
A sentiment echoed by the buying bench.
“She has 190 inspections, and quite a few repeat inspections, which was very good. I think that set up the expectation that we were going to do well. I was pretty happy when I saw Coolmore come to look at her three times.”
"I was pretty happy when I saw Coolmore come to look at her three times." - Peter Carrick
Peter Carrick | Image courtesy of Inglis
The result sets Noorilim Park as the leading vendor by average (two or more sold) and the second top vendor by gross at the end of the first day of the sale. The stud finished the 2025 sale in the sale position, having sold the highest priced fillies with a $650,000 Stay Inside filly and achieved a median price of $110,000.
The farm’s operations have shrunk in scale in recent years, but a quality crop remains at the centre of their operations.
“The farm’s still the same size, but it’s been coming down a bit,” he said. “We will maintain a herd of 10 or so broodmares - including Special Lover - and we will keep breeding and racing our own. We have a few more to sell this year here at Inglis, and we only bring our best to this sale.”
A producer from the start
Bred by Sir Patrick and Lady Hogan, Special Lover was a $160,000 purchase for Carrick as a yearling, and while she wasn’t a winner in her four starts, she did manage a placing in the Listed Hill Smith Stakes at Morphettville.
“Sir Patrick said when I bought her, ‘she’ll pay for your farm," said Carrick. “And she has done an amazing job.”
"Sir Patrick said when I bought her (Special Lover), ‘she’ll pay for your farm’." - Peter Carrick
In the breeding barn is where Special Lover has really shone. From three foals to race, she had produced three winners, with her first foal Easy Single (Not A Single Doubt) debuting second in the $27,000 Silver Apple for 2-year-olds and accumulating five wins and over $325,000 in prizemoney in a career spanning four seasons and three states.
The best of those winners has been Miss Roseiano (Exceed And Excel), a $300,000 Inglis Premier Yearling Sale graduate when sold to Gelagotis Racing, James Bester, and Osher Group.
Miss Roseiano | Image courtesy of The Image Is Everything
Her dam’s second foal, Miss Roseiano hit the ground running with a debut victory in the G3 Blue Diamond Preview (fillies). Lining up in the G2 Blue Diamond Prelude (fillies) at her next start, she was beaten into second by Revolutionary Miss (Russian Revolution), and while she was 10th in the G1 Blue Diamond Stakes itself, she was only beaten three and a quarter lengths by Daumier.
The recordbreaker
The following year, foal number three walked through the Premier ring and Miss Roseiano’s precocity was still fresh enough in the minds of bidders that Socrazyinlove (I Am Invincible) set a new sale record when selling for $1.1 million to TFI.
Later in 2023, Miss Roseiano caused a further splash on the Inglis Digital platform when selling for $1.275 million to Tom Magnier, with four bidders still in play above the $1 million mark.
She has a yearling colt by Justify (USA) and a weanling filly by Wootton Bassett (GB) that will potentially continue the Special Lover story in the sales ring and on the track, and she visited City of Troy (USA) in 2025.
Socrazyinlove | Image courtesy of Magic Millions
A winner of three starts from eight and fourth in the Listed Mode Plate, Socrazyinlove also garnered a lot of attention when selling for $550,000 to Belmont Bloodstock (FBAA) at last year’s Magic Millions Gold Coast National Broodmare Sale. She visited Ole Kirk in October.
In 2025, the legacy continued when Noorilim Park took Special Lover’s now 2-year-old Lady Sabalenka (I Am Invincible) to the same venue as her sisters, and the filly realised $500,000 to the bid of Riverstone Lodge, Julian Blaxland Bloodstock (FBAA), and Anthony and Sam Freedman.
“It’s a shame that she (Special Lover) didn’t get to race a bit more herself,” Carrick reflected. “But sometimes it works the other way, and in balance, she has been better in the breeding barn.”
“It’s a shame that she (Special Lover) didn’t get to race a bit more herself. But... she has been better in the breeding barn.” - Peter Carrick
A family legacy
Upon reflection, $160,000 looks like a steal for the daughter of Pins, who is one of four stakes performers for her dam Special Diamond (NZ) (Zabeel {NZ}), an unraced full sister to G1 Australian Derby winner Don Eduardo (NZ) and G2 Lightfingers Stakes winner Peruzzi (NZ), herself the dam of Listed The Nivison winner Lucida (Danehill {USA}).
One does not have to peel back many layers to see just how good the family is. Special Diamond is also a three-quarter-sister to Tristalove (NZ) (Sir Tristram {Ire}), dual Group 1 winner and dam to four stakes winners, amongst four stakes-winning close relations. Another is Antwerp (NZ) (Sir Tristram {Ire}), the Listed-winning dam of dual Group 1 winner Viscount.
Just creeping onto the page is the presence of Kaapstad (NZ) and Octagonal (NZ) himself, cementing the potency of Special Lover’s family. The family is rooted in Sir Hogan's great mare Eight Carat (GB) (Pieces Of Eight {Ire}).
Special Lover produced her weanling Shinzo filly after missing the season before, and has yet to go in foal two years in a row. True to form, she visited Stay Inside three times in 2025 with no luck either.
"She (Special Lover) is a mare who looks after herself." - Peter Carrick
“Don’t ask me where we are going this year, we don’t know yet,” said Carrick, although he did hint that The Autumn Sun was on his mind. “But it will be a top end stallion. I only get a foal from her every second year, she is a mare who looks after herself.”
