The Tron Bolt effect: Newgate backs growth at the Ready2Race Sale

Cover image courtesy of Inglis

The 2025 Inglis Ready2Race Sale had the perfect result when sale topper Tron Bolt (Toronado {Ire}) came out and won the G1 JJ Atkins Plate at the tail end of his juvenile season. That sale has had three stakes winners and 17 winners, and with the graduates only just turned three, there should be more to come.

“We strongly feel that of all the segments in the Australian bloodstock marketplace, that the Ready2Race Sale has got the greatest potential for growth,” Newgate Farm’s Henry Field said. He will bring a debut draft of five 2-year-old geldings to the 2026 sale in October.

“This concept has worked incredibly effectively in Europe, North America and New Zealand, and it's never really quite taken off in Australia. However, we've observed in the last few years that the level of consigner has improved exponentially and the quality of horsemen getting these horses ready to sell is very high.

“We felt that there was a great opportunity to add a new arm to our business by putting our toe in the water in this space.”

It's not all roses with improvements to be made

Field would like to see the breeze-ups held on site with all horses shown on the same day. This is how it’s done in North America and he believes we can learn from them.

“There is one change required for the market to go to the next level. All the horses need to be breezed on the one track on the one day. That allows buyers to watch horses pre and post breeze. They can hear them breathe, see how they recover,” Field said.

“I'm very close with a couple of the biggest breeze-up buyers in North America, and when I talk to them about the concept, they can't understand why it’s so scattered. North America pioneered the breeze-up concept, and they can't understand how it's even feasible to buy a horse when horses are being breezed all over Australasia.”

Inglis has a stabling facility beside Warwick Farm racecourse, so the concept is very doable. It's one that Inglis have considered for the future but don't feel is necessary to do immediately.

“We've had quality graduates emerge from each of the jurisdictions and on each of the tracks in which we breeze. Libertad breezed on the synthetic at Seymour, Tron Bolt breezed on the grass in New South Wales, and Hard Kick breezed on the synthetic in New South Wales. This year, weather dependant, we will have every breeze on turf this year,” Inglis CEO Sebastian Hutch said.

“I think it's a moot point because these are talented horse people preparing the horses in appropriate facilities and breezing the horses in very credible locations.

“It would be our preference from an operational point of view to try and breeze in one location, and that's something that we're working towards over time. We would be doing this for operationally convenient reasons, not because we think there’s a great advantage or disadvantage for the horses involved.”

Field approaches this from a buyer point of view, not just as a vendor.

“If you want to compare apples with apples, which you need when you're comparing every horse in the catalogue, you want them to breeze on the same surface and in the same conditions,” Field said.

“The actual breeze itself is only a part of the equation. The proper professionals globally. They’re watching every part, from when the horses walk out of the track, through to the 200 metres itself, how fast they're going into the start of the breeze, to how well they're galloping out. How hard they're being pushed through the line, and how they recover, as well as their temperament in the whole process. There are so many variances as a buyer, and we’re limited in Australia as buyers.

“It's also nonsense having horses gallop in pairs. Nowhere in the major breeze up markets of the USA, UK or Europe does that. If we want to take this market seriously, we need to have the best global principles to attract the best global buyers.

“I think Inglis are doing an amazing job but there’s still work to do. And the wonderful thing with that is there's so much opportunity to keep improving this market and that’s the exciting part of it for us.

“The impressive thing about the team at Inglis is they're such progressive thinkers, they'll be thinking already how they can make this sale better for their buyers this year and next.”

Improving graduate list is the key

For Newgate Farm, their key reason to back this sale is the improving level of quality and this is most noticeable on the racetrack. The winning post is the ultimate measure of success in racing and seeing Tron Bolt, Hard Kick (All Too Hard) and Queen Regent (Wild Ruler) all win stakes races at two has been core to Field’s reasoning.

It’s not just about joining the sale as a vendor, Field will be active as a buyer. And that comes purely down to buyer’s regret.

“We will certainly be working the sale as a buyer from our colt syndicate's perspective. We've missed a very important horse last year, Tron Bolt, by not working the sale and we won’t be making that mistake a second time," Field said.

“The most important thing is that the proof is in the pudding.

“If you look breeze up sales in recent years the quality of vendor has increased astronomically. We also saw a better quality of stock in the market last year, we saw Tron Bolt who looks like a superstar.

Hard Kick who is an incredibly talented, multiple stakes winning horse. And Blake Ryan's Wild Ruler filly, Queen Regent, who won a Listed race at Scone, and the sale is producing some really good horses up in Hong Kong.

“And given the phenomenal results that have come out of last year's sale, any serious Australian domestic player that isn’t giving this market full consideration and not working the sale is doing themselves and their clients a massive disservice.”

Hand-picked for this sale

Hard Kick had already won the Listed Talindert Stakes on debut in February, so there was enough happening when vendors were planning to buy yearlings for this sale in preparation.

“Inglis approached us a year ago with an appetite to build the market and like Inglis, we agree that there’s a huge amount of upside in the market. There’s absolutely no reason why Australia should not have the pre-eminent breeze-up style sale in the Southern Hemisphere,” Field said.

“We've handpicked five horses and gelded every one of them. I want to be clear that these horses were bought specifically for this sale.” The five geldings are by Bivouac, Brave Smash (Jpn), Capitalist, Cosmic Force and Russian Revolution.

“It’s been done with purpose. They were broken in by Blair Richardson, who is one of Australia's most exceptional breakers and horsemen, and prepared for the breeze up by Stephen O’Halloran, who is one of the best horsemen in this space in NSW. Every part of the process, we’ve aimed for best practice.”

But it’s the long term that has Field most excited.

“If we break even, that’s okay, but my goal with this draft in year one is to sell a good horse. That’s how I’ll quantify success. I'm genuinely more interested selling a good horse than I am in making money initially, because we’ll make the money in five years if we can sell a good horse.”

Inglis are thrilled with the catalogue brought by vendors and hope buyers see the rising quality too.

“We looked to put together the most athletic catalogue that we could. Nearly 75% of the catalogue was sourced specifically for this sale at auction. Inglis has invested a huge amount of time and money in the format and they believe that it can progress," Inglis CEO Sebastian Hutch said.

“And there’s evidence in that with two Group 1 winning colts in the past racing season with Tron Bolt and Libertad, and a host of other high-class performers. The timing of the sale is excellent in proximity to the Everest, and I think people have confidence in how we run the sale.”

The Everest race week is another big part of the drawcard for Newgate Farm.

“Sydney has got the facilities, the expertise, the finances, the buying bench, the domestic racing, plus the timing with the Everest race week as a showpiece. Everest week in Sydney is one of the greatest times to be involved in any type of Sydney sport. It’s a good experience for interstate and overseas buyers to be in Sydney,” Field said.

“But the thing that will move the needle on this market is when the domestic buyers take it really seriously, like they do in North America and Europe.”

And America is a market that Field understands well with several clients of Newgate Farm based there.

Consigners new and established

Newgate Farm are not the only newcomer to the vendor list for this sale.

“Inglis have put together the most creditable consigners in the market. The only way this market works is if the consigners have integrity and credibility, and the more blue chip consigners in the sale, the better that is for everyone,” Field said.

Other first time drafts for the Inglis Ready2Race Sale are Cohenia Racing, Embrace Farm, Hazel Park Racing, McKinnon Racing & Breaking, Synergy Racing, Wadari Stables, and Woodlow Equine. Three new vendors are also coming from New Zealand, and all three are experienced in this space being BMD Bloodstock, Highden Park and Pertab Racing.

“We have an established group of core vendors and these are supplemented by some strong new vendors, both locally and internationally. We have some New Zealand based vendors in the sale who have recognised the success and want to be part of it, and we have some new Australian-based participants who want to be more involved. Some of those people are choosing to participate through existing vendors and others of them are having their own draft like Newgate Farm,” Hutch said.

Woodlow Equine’s Sam Woods and Shenae Lowings have a draft of three juveniles in their inaugural offering and they come with strong equine experience.

“We are based out of Teresa Park, just near Camden. We started about three years ago, breaking in, pre-training, spelling, and rehabilitation,” said Lowings.

“Sam was with Shane Rose for eight years, he was his head breaker there, and he’s very good at what he does. We are both Five-Star event riders. I’ve been to the Olympic Games and we've both been to the World Championships.”

Their Home Affairs colt, Lot 149, is the third foal of Group 3 winner Think Bleue (So You Think {NZ}) and he cost $170,000 at the Inglis Classic Yearling Sale. This is the family of Flying Spur and Encosta De Lago. The other two in the draft are a Portland Sky colt from winning mare Promada (NZ) (Proisir) and a Wild Ruler colt out of stakes placed Icebomb (NZ) (Darci Brahma {NZ}).

“We liked the look of this Home Affairs colt, so we bought him at the Classic sale and did all the work with him. He’s in at the track now learning to gallop, and we’ve added a couple more to make a draft around him.

“He's a stunning type. He's strong and really athletic. He's got enough sharpness about him and is the stamp of Home Affairs.”

Hunter’s Lodge are back with 25 lots in their second draft, and all eyes will be on them after selling Tron Bolt, who sold for $900,000 to Hermitage Thoroughbreds.

“It was nice to top the sale, but it was more important that he came out and did what he did,” Cade Hunter said.

“It gives people confidence that our system works and we aren’t just producing a horse that can breeze quickly before the sale day. We put an emphasis on preparing them for a career and to have Tron Bolt win a Group 1 gives buyers a reason to come back.

“We’ve got a big draft this year, and there’s a few very nice horses that are putting their hand up. We’ve got a nice spread of horses to suit different budgets, with several of them looking like they’ll hit the top five percent of lots sold.”

With Tron Bolt headlining last year’s sale and Group 1 winner Libertad now retired to his first season at Blue Gum Farm, there are plenty of reasons to attend the sale and see what all the excitement is about.