Cover image courtesy of Inglis
At A Glance:
The Inglis Digital May (Late) Sale grossed $2,951,500 with an 71.9% clearance rate.
Five-year-old mare Fiorenza (Kingman {GB}), a half-sister to four-time Grade I winner In Italian (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}), topped the sale when bought by Arrowfield Stud for $325,000.
Group 2-winning West Of Swindon (Wootton Bassett {GB}) topped the racehorse section when selling for $310,000 to Pure Bloodstock.
Shares in To Cap It All (Capitalist) and Queensland sire Better Than Ready proved popular, with 10% in the stakes-winning filly selling for $60,000 and 1.25% in the stallion selling for $40,000.
Fiorenza tops Inglis Late May sale
A winning daughter of Kingman (GB), 5-year-old Fiorenza topped the Inglis Digital Late May Sale on Thursday when selling to Arrowfield Stud for $325,000. The mare originally passed in, before a deal was finalised on Thursday evening with the Hunter Valley nursery.
Fiorenza | Image courtesy of Inglis
“At the end of the day. you’ve got to meet the market and they find their value and she’s found hers, and we’re really happy,’’ said Mark Towell, owner of vendor GT Park Spelling Farm.
“At the end of the day. you’ve got to meet the market and they find their value and she’s found hers, and we’re really happy.’’ - Mark Towell
“(Inglis Bloodstock Sales Manager) Harry (Bailey) has done an amazing job right the way through, he’s taken the reins with this not only today in working extremely hard to match her with a buyer, but through the whole process to get the deal done.’’
“We were very happy to buy her, we liked the family and recognise its international appeal,’’ Arrowfield’s Jon Freyer said. “I’d seen the half sister (In Italian) race in America a few times and held her in high regard so we were keen to get her.
“We were very happy to buy her, we liked the family and recognise its international appeal.’’ - Jon Freyer
“She’s a mare we bought to go to Lead Artist, he’s obviously by Dubawi and she’s a Kingman mare, and we think Kingman mares will suit him well.’’
Fiorenza is a half-sister to four-time Grade I winner In Italian (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) out of Group 3 winner Florentina (Redoute’s Choice). The family also includes G1 Queensland Oaks winner You Wahng (So You Think {NZ}) and her Listed-winning full sister Street Gossip.
West Of Swindon tops racehorse section
G2 Stutt Stakes winner West Of Swindon (Wootton Bassett {GB}) attracted significant interest in Thursday’s Inglis Digital sale, with a prolonged bidding duel that stretched over an hour past the projected finish time before going the way of Hong Kong-based Pure Bloodstock for a final figure of $310,000. He was offered by Ciaron Maher Racing on behalf of his ownership group, headed up by Qatar Bloodstock.
Will Bourne | Image courtesy of Tattersalls
“We’re thrilled with the result,’’ Maher’s Head of Bloodstock Will Bourne said. “There were substantial enquiries in the lead-up to the sale, the Inglis Digital team do a great job marketing these horses.
“There was significant domestic and international interest, which I think is thoroughly deserved because I have no doubt there’s a strong future on the racetrack for West of Swindon still.
“He’s been a quality horse for his connections.’’
A $350,000 yearling, the now 3-year-old colt was second on debut in the $1 million Golden Gift and followed it up with running second in the G2 Silver Slipper Stakes to Beiwacht (Bivouac), before an unplaced run in the G1 Golden Slipper Stakes. In the spring, he added a second placing behind Vinrock in the Listed Exford Plate before his Stutt Stakes victory, becoming the first stakes winner for his late sire Wootton Bassett (GB).
West Of Swindon | Image courtesy of The Image Is Everything
Since then, he has run highly credible races at Group level, including fourth in the G3 Carbine Club Stakes and being beaten only two and a half lengths in the G1 Australian Guineas by Observer.
West Of Swindon’s dam Fife (Starcraft {NZ}) is a winning half-sister to triple Group 1 winner Fawkner (Reset) and triple Group 2 winner Tanby (Galileo {Ire}). Descended from G1 VRC Oaks victress Taj Eclipse (Taj Rossi), his family also features G1 Kenilworth Cape Guineas winner Noah From Goa (SAf) (Tiger Ridge {USA}).
To Cap It All valued at $600,000
A 10% share in Stephen Marsh’s Listed Wellesley Stakes winner To Cap It All (Capitalist) was offered in Thursday’s Inglis Digital sale and was knocked down to RA Carter for $60,000, valuing the 3-year-old filly at $600,000.
A $280,000 graduate of the Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale out of a half-sister to young sire Barbaric, To Cap It All won the Wellesley on debut before being beaten just half a length in the G2 Matamata Breeders’ Stakes at her very next start by La Dorada (NZ) (Super Seth). She was then third to the unbeaten Return To Conquer at her next start in the G1 Sistema Stakes.
To Cap It All | Image courtesy of Inglis
Since resuming as a 3-year-old, she has run three second placings, including in the G2 James & Annie Sarten Memorial Stakes and the G3 Bonecrusher Stakes, and has run strong races at Group level, including a fifth placing in the G1 Telegraph Stakes at the start of the year.
In addition, a 1.25% stallion share in leading Queensland sire Better Than Ready was sold for $40,000 to R Kay, placing a value on the stallion of $3.2 million. He will stand for $27,500 (inc GST) in 2026 at Lyndhurst Stud.
Alabama Express pregnancy heads west
Queen Ouija (Street Cry {Ire}), offered in foal to Yulong flagship stallion Alabama Express, topped the broodmare section of this week’s Inglis Digital sale when selling for $120,000 to Western Australian operation Ridgeport. She was offered by Rikki McDonald, who also owns the mare’s Listed Port Adelaide Guineas winner Mcwoody (Alabama Express).
“I’m thrilled,’’ McDonald said. “(Inglis Bloodstock Sales Manager) Will (Stott) has been pivotal, he’s been a fantastic support and frankly I couldn’t have done it without him. He’s been magnificent all the way along, he’s dealt with potential buyers for me and worked really hard on the PR process.
“All I had to do was list her online, which was very simple and boom, a week later the mare is sold and it’s a fantastic result.’’
Queen Ouija | Image courtesy of Inglis
A four-time winner on the track herself, Queen Ouija is a half-sister to the Danehill Dancer (Ire) Group performers Queen Mira and Umgiyo, from the immediate family of Group 1-winning sire Alberto Giacometti (Ire). From her three foals to make it to the track, she has had an excellent strike rate, producing Mcwoody as well as Listed St Leger winner Dunwoody (NZ) (Preferment {NZ}).
The recent pedigree update courtesy of 3-year-old Mcwoody has led to an exceptional increase in Queen Ouija’s value, who was last sold a year ago on Inglis Digital for $600 to the Divitia Syndicate. Her Diatonic (Jpn) yearling has been retained by former owners Yulong.
Alabama Express will stand for a fee of $66,000 (inc GST) in 2026 at Yulong's newly acquired New South Wales base.
