International Buyers and Promising Young Stallions Highlight Inglis Day One

Inglis CEO Sebastian Hutch shared their insights on the first day of the Inglis Classic Sale, expressing overall satisfaction with the proceedings. They were pleased with the quality of the horses on offer, the strong group of buyers present, and the positive atmosphere, leading to optimism about the sale's overall success.

A key highlight was the solid clearance rate of 72%, considered particularly encouraging given the current market climate. The demand for quality horses remained strong, demonstrating the resilience of the market for top-tier prospects.

The presence of international buyers was another pleasing aspect, with representatives from Hong Kong and Malaysia in particular noted as a reward for the efforts made to attract overseas participation.

Hutch observed tremendous competition for many horses, indicating a healthy level of activity among buyers eager to secure their desired purchases. He also noted that vendors appeared to have a good understanding of the current market challenges and the importance of putting their horses on the market to attract bids. This understanding, he felt, was reflected in the solid clearance rate achieved so far, which they hoped to build upon in the following days.

Discussion turned to trends within the market, highlighting the diverse range of buyers present. The sale catered to a wide spectrum of participants, from those seeking race fillies for future broodmares with interest from tradies to syndicators, to high-end buyers, represented by figures like James Harron and TFI.

This diverse participation underscored the sale's aim to provide opportunities for all sectors of the market. "We’ve marketed the sale on the basis of that can help people achieve whatever their objective is", Hutch says.

While acknowledging that "stallion power" might not be a dominant feature of this year's sale, they pointed out the significant presence of younger stallions in the catalogue and the strong buyer support they were receiving. Wooton Bassett was mentioned specifically as a popular and promising younger stallion.

Topping the highest sale was Lot 183, a Wootton Bassett (GB) x Elegant Air for $400,000 and sold to McEvoy Mitchell Racing and Belmont Bloodstock (FBAA) from the Willow Park Stud draft.

"It was interesting talking to Tony McEvoy about Wootton Bassett, very fond of that horse really beautiful horse great moving, moving body horse and the opportunities that Tony said, for a guy like him to buy a horse like that, just might become very scarce down the next 6 -12 months trying to take advantage of this opportunity."

176 lots were sold totalling $17,646,500 with an average of $100,264.