Breaking Records and Defying Trends: Inglis Premier Yearling Sale Surpasses Expectations in 2025

After a succession of yearling sales recorded negative growth in a bloodstock market facing pressure from the prevailing economic conditions, the Inglis Premier Yearling Sale in Melbourne broke ranks posting solid numbers. For the first time in the sale’s history two horses made seven figure amounts and in another departure from what has been the norm in the early 2025 sales colts dominated the top of the market.

The very final numbers are yet to be put to bed however the current published Book One average figure of $135,944 represents a rise of 6.5% on the same sale in 2024. But let’s add a touch of context – last year’s sale had a significant fall in all the metrics.

A better comparison might be with the numbers from the 2023 sale where a comparable clearance rate, 81% versus this week’s 80%, saw the average come in at $134,770. On that basis the Melbourne market has climbed 0.8% over two years which doesn’t look great, but outstrips the early year sales by some margin.

For me the more telling metric from Oaklands Junction was the median which returned to the 2023 mark of $100,000 having dropped to $90,000 last year. Averages can be affected by turnover rates, or in the case of last Australian Easter and the $10 million Winx filly, sale outliers, but a resilient median suggests the majority of the buying bench have found something to purchase.

In all the years and its various guises, the Premier Sale has only ever had three horses make $1 million or more. It was somewhat ironic then that on Sunday two came along in the space of just ten minutes. Both colts, and both fetching the seven million, the first is likely to make his way to Asia having been purchased by agent Andy Williams for Anthony Fan of Hong Kong Bloodstock.

Hong Kong’s thirst for seemingly anything by Toronado remains unquenchable and this colt was another earmarked for the island. Sent to market by Rick Jamieson’s Gilgai Stud, the colt is out of the All Too Hard mare Hardly Surprising who was good enough to run third at Gr.3 level at Moonee Valley. Look far enough down the page and Lindsay Smith’s grand Gr.1 winner Tuvalu (Kermadec) appears as does the brilliant sprinter and highly successful sire Anabaa (Danzig) and Gr.1 Epsom Derby winner Adayar (Frankel).

As Williams explained he and Fan had to be remarkably patient before snaring this colt. “We’d been waiting for this horse. We purposely didn’t buy at Magic Millions, purposely didn’t buy in New Zealand, we just waited for this horse. James Price (from Inglis) told us to wait and when we saw him, we knew he was right. He’s just an unbelievably forward horse, a lot of strength about him, fantastic head and an unbelievable temperament. They’re hard horses to buy.’’

The other seven figure yearling had a pedigree that would have gotten him into any major sale across the globe, but Anthony Mithen of Victoria’s Rosemont Farm chose to support their local sale and were rewarded handsomely.

Conceived in England at Banstead Manor Stud, the colt is a son of European superstar stallion Frankel out of the American bred Heavenly Curlin, a Grade 3 winner in Canada, who, as her name suggests, is a daughter of another star of the Northern Hemisphere market in Curlin. But from there down the pedigree page is all Aussie and packed to the rafters with black type.

Heavenly Curlin’s dam Taste Of Heaven (Encosta De Lago) is out of the grand matron Shantha’s Choice (Canny Lad) making her a half-sister to quadruple Gr.1 winner and three-time Champion Sire Redoute’s Choice, his Danehill full brother and Gr.1 winner Platinum Scissors, their Gr.1 winning half-brother Manhattan Rain (Encosta De Lago) who sired a Golden Slipper winner in She Will Reign, and the dams of Gr.1 winner Shoals (Fastnet Rock) and Gr.2 winner and sire Rubick (Encosta De Lago). The colt would be considered bred ‘in the purple’ even if dad wasn’t Frankel and grandad happened to be Curlin.

Trainers Tony and Calvin McEvoy put a deal together with John Stewart of Resolute Racing in America to buy the colt with respected agent Damon Gabbedy doing the legwork. In a quieter moment when the colt was back in his box, McEvoy senior told the media “It’s very exciting. He’s a beautiful Frankel colt with a fabulous pedigree.

He ticked a lot of boxes for us but it appears that was the case for plenty of other hopeful buyers too because $1 million is a heck of a lot of money. I’m not much of a mathematician but if he can win a Stakes race, you’d need a fair bit of ink in the pen to write what he’d be worth!’’

On the other side of the fence Mithen was excited saying, “You never expect $1 million. I thought he was a $500,000 horse but you’ve got to let the market tell you and we got told today in the most emphatic way.” Fair play to Mithen and his team, Rosemont have consistently sent mares to the best stallions in Europe and haven’t always been justly rewarded. It was nice to see them hit pay dirt this week.

Over the two days, fourteen horses made figures upwards from $400,000 but in contrast to other recent results only one was a filly. At $500,000 Lot 487, a daughter of reigning Champion Sire I Am Invincible out of the Pins mare Special Lover, went to Nick Taylor of Riverstone Lodge at Blandford in the Hunter Valley buying with Anthony and Sam Freedman and agent Julian Blaxland.

Dam of the Gr.3 winner as a juvenile on debut Miss Roseiano (Exceed And Excel), Special Lover comes from the Eight Carat dynasty, the family of even greater significance to the New Zealand Stud Book through the deeds of Octagonal, Kaapstad, Marquise, Danewin and co as Shantha’s Choice is to Australian breeding.

As could be expected the majority of the cash spent came from the domestic market but the international buying bench ensured trade on a large number of yearlings was strong. Hong Kong buyers took home 36 horses, the same number as in 2024 but at a gross total of $6.4 million they spent just over $200,000 more this year, although that was offset by a smaller spend from Japan.

It was good to see the return of investment from Mongolia with Ganbaatar Dagvadorj buying out of Melbourne for the first time. Through his representatives Mr Dagvadorj took a liking for the stock of Ghaiyyath spending $70,000 for a colt out of Book One and then snared the Book Two top seller by the same sire for $260,000.

The market also benefitted from a strong presence from New Zealand buyers, in particular those looking to fill orders for the NZB Ready To Run Breeze Up in November.

There is no doubt the various metrics have landed far higher than what anyone might reasonably have expected leading into the sale.

Overall the market is still soft and there are challenges breeders must face up to particularly when it comes to making their 2025 mating plans.

This crop of yearlings were conceived when the market, and consequently stallion fees, were at a peak. Factor in increases in the various production costs and we are dealing with the most expensive horses ever bred in this country and they are being sold at a time when the volume of buyers in the market is shrinking. The amount of money around to buy stock appears to be falling only slightly, but there is no getting away from the fact it is more concentrated on horses at the top end of the market.

Inglis, along with Magic Millions, is keenly aware of the current market conditions. Their only option is to keep encouraging vendors to enter their horses into the sales that offer the best opportunity for profit, which is exactly what the auction house achieved this week.

Inglis CEO Bloodstock Sebastian Hutch explained, “We are very conscious of our responsibility to facilitate the best market that we possibly can for our vendors who work tirelessly to produce quality stock for this sale. The support of this sale by the leading Victorian breeders with quality stock is crucial to its success and I think the results here should give breeders confidence that they can bring their best yearlings to this sale and achieve optimum results. To have the clearance rate at 80% and climbing for Book 1 is a positive reflection on the depth of a buying bench which has seen incredible local and international participation.”

With next week’s Magic Millions March Yearling Sale rescheduled for a fortnight later thanks to Cyclone Albert’s imminent arrival, the next stop for the buyer’s caravan is now the Magic Millions Adelaide Yearling Sale set to go on Monday 17th and Tuesday the 18th of March.