Toronado (Ire) led the sire’s table at Inglis Premier across both books with gross sales of $3.7 million for his 14 yearlings sold. His sale topper, Lot 197, was sold for $1 million by Gilgai Farm to Andrew Williams Bloodstock (FBAA) and Hong Kong Bloodstock.
“It’s a discerning market currently and buyers are selective in what they are pursuing. The biggest difference between Classic and Premier was that we had more sire power at Premier,” said Hutch.
The sire power was apparent with three yearlings by global sensation Frankel (GB) making over $1.5 million, at an average of $520,000. Proven sires were the most popular with the top nine stallions by average all being proven sires, and the tenth, Lucky Vega (Ire), has performed well with his juveniles so far this season.
|
sire
|
lots catalogued
|
withdrawn
|
sold
|
aggregate
|
average
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Toronado (IRE) | 21 | 2 | 14 | $ 3,735,000 | $ 266,786 |
| Zoustar | 14 | 3 | 7 | $ 2,180,000 | $ 311,429 |
| Written Tycoon | 22 | 6 | 9 | $ 2,160,000 | $ 240,000 |
| Wootton Bassett (GB) | 13 | 3 | 9 | $ 2,085,000 | $ 231,667 |
| Ole Kirk | 13 | 2 | 10 | $ 1,725,000 | $ 172,500 |
| The Autumn Sun | 14 | 10 | $ 1,620,000 | $ 162,000 | |
| I Am Invincible | 11 | 4 | 6 | $ 1,570,000 | $ 261,667 |
| Pinatubo (IRE) | 12 | 10 | $ 1,565,000 | $ 156,500 | |
| Frankel (GB) | 7 | 1 | 3 | $ 1,560,000 | $ 520,000 |
| Home Affairs | 14 | 2 | 10 | $ 1,550,000 | $ 155,000 |
Table: Inglis Premier (Book 1 and 2) sires by aggregate
“Toronado’s first million dollar yearling was an incredible result. This is the first crop off an $80,000 fee, his 2-year-olds are off a $45,000 fee, and the rest were at that $20,000 or lower.
“With each increase in fee, the quality of mares has increased too. It’s not just better mares, but also a different type of breeder. He started out with breed to race mares, but now breeders are spending $80,000 they are sending more commercial mares and looking to take the stock to the sales,” said Swettenham Stud’s Sam Matthews.
“Written Tycoon is probably the closest comparison, he really kicked along and got sons at stud once he hit an $80,000 fee. We also capped his book to ensure that breeders could get into the sales they wanted. Toronado can handle more mares, but we felt it was the right thing to do for our clients, if they are spending that much, we want to give them the best chance to get a return on investment. It’s the making sure the quality is there, and quality over quantity.
|
sire
|
lots catalogued
|
withdrawn
|
sold
|
aggregate
|
average
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frankel (GB) | 7 | 1 | 3 | $ 1,560,000 | $ 520,000 |
| Zoustar | 14 | 3 | 7 | $ 2,180,000 | $ 311,429 |
| Toronado (IRE) | 21 | 2 | 14 | $ 3,735,000 | $ 266,786 |
| I Am Invincible | 11 | 4 | 6 | $ 1,570,000 | $ 261,667 |
| Written Tycoon | 22 | 6 | 9 | $ 2,160,000 | $ 240,000 |
| Wootton Bassett (GB) | 13 | 3 | 9 | $ 2,085,000 | $ 231,667 |
| Extreme Choice | 3 | 3 | $ 675,000 | $ 225,000 | |
| Too Darn Hot (GB) | 6 | 2 | 4 | $ 840,000 | $ 210,000 |
| Snitzel | 8 | 4 | 4 | $ 820,000 | $ 205,000 |
| Lucky Vega (IRE) | 13 | 3 | 6 | $ 1,140,000 | $ 190,000 |
Table: Inglis Premier (Book 1 and 2) sires by average (3 or more sold)
“His colts are easy to sell, even though his fillies are slight better, but there’s a market perception that he only leaves colts. His last three Australian stakes winners are fillies.”
Gilgai Farm, who sold the seven figure colt, also bred Toronado’s debut crop G1 William Reid Stakes winner Masked Crusader. Toronado’s last three Australia stakes winners are Listed Stutt Stakes winning 3-year-old filly Suntora, Listed Scenic Blast Stakes winner Twain’s Angel, and Listed Black Pearl Stakes winner Romantic Choice.
Five first-season sires—St Mark’s Basilica (Fr), Stay Inside, Pinatubo (Ire), Home Affairs, and Wild Ruler—achieved an average sale price exceeding the overall Book 1 average.
|
sire
|
lots catalogued
|
withdrawn
|
sold
|
aggregate
|
average
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St Mark’s Basilica (FR) | 4 | 4 | $ 720,000 | $ 180,000 | |
| Stay Inside | 14 | 4 | 7 | $ 1,152,500 | $ 164,643 |
| Pinatubo (IRE) | 12 | 10 | $ 1,565,000 | $ 156,500 | |
| Home Affairs | 14 | 2 | 10 | $ 1,550,000 | $ 155,000 |
| Wild Ruler | 8 | 2 | 6 | $ 920,000 | $ 153,333 |
| Wooded (IRE) | 9 | 1 | 6 | $ 562,000 | $ 93,667 |
| Portland Sky | 7 | 1 | 6 | $ 460,000 | $ 76,667 |
| Palace Pier (GB) | 7 | 1 | 6 | $ 400,000 | $ 66,667 |
| Sword of State | 1 | 1 | $ 65,000 | $ 65,000 | |
| Extreme Warrior | 2 | 1 | $ 60,000 | $ 60,000 | |
| Captivant | 3 | 1 | 1 | $ 55,000 | $ 55,000 |
| Tiger of Malay | 5 | 4 | $ 193,000 | $ 48,250 | |
| Acrobat | 5 | 2 | 3 | $ 80,000 | $ 26,667 |
| Profiteer | 3 | 1 | $ 20,000 | $ 20,000 |
Table: Inglis premier (Book 1 and 2) first season sires by average
“Wooded was incredible. I was over the moon to see him go so well and using his multiplier of fee, he led the first season sires. He’s had exceptional support from buyers, and they were bought by good judges. It validates that he is the right sort of horse for Australia. People understand who he is and what he offers, and for me, his return on investment was as exciting as it was to see Toronado’s results.”
Wooded (Ire) stood his first season for $20,000 plus GST and he achieved an average of $93,700 for six yearlings sold at Inglis Premier.
“I Am Immortal had his record price with Widden selling a filly for $160,000. She’s a full sister to a recent debut winner. And I Am Immortal has a strong hand in the Showdown.” Lot 354 was purchased by Busuttin Racing, and her full brother 2-year-old gelding McGaw won on debut at the end of January for trainers Emma-Lee and David Browne.
Lot 354 – I Am Immortal x Niki Piki Milo (NZ) (colt) | Image courtesy of Inglis
Swettenham Stud haven’t had a draft at the yearling sales for the last five years.
“It was the best decision we ever made. It allows us to support our clients at the sales, without being stuck at our barn with our own horses. Our clients know that we’ll be at the sales promoting our stallions and their progeny.
Sam Matthews and Hannah Penfold | Image courtesy of Inglis
“We have around 35 broodmares and we race all the fillies through leases, and sell the colts across all the different sales through other people’s drafts. We had only one yearling in Premier, and it wasn’t by one of our stallions,” said Matthews.
And on the sale itself. “It felt that people were nervous at the start, but then once horses were on the market, they were easy to sell and many made overs.”
View the full article here: https://www.ttrausnz.com.au/edition/2025-03-06/inglis-premier-sale-analysis-median-and-aggregate-rises-defy-the-overall-sale-market-in-2025
