There are few more exciting events each year than the arrival of the Australian Easter Yearling Sale catalogue.
Inglis has long marketed the sale – this year to be held at the stunning Riverside stables complex at Warwick Farm on April 5 and 6 – as the Best Of The Best, and for good reason.
These are the best yearlings to be offered at public auction year in year out.
“They have the best pedigrees and are the best physicals, the sale produces the best results and for those who do their due diligence, it can also be the source of the best value for buyers”, Inglis Bloodstock chief executive Sebastian Hutch points out.
“While the top end of the market is always strong at Easter, there is also so much value at this auction year in year out as well that buyers can enjoy. In recent years the sale has produced a host of Group 1 winners that could have been bought for $200,000 or less like Exceedance and Funstar and Nettoyer etc, so there’s something for everyone’s budget at Easter.”
“This year I have no doubt will be no different – the top of the market should be very strong but there will be countless outstanding opportunities for buyers in the middle and lower ends of the market as well.
“The pedigrees catalogued this year are exceptional, as they always are at Easter, and the physicals are there to match.’’
“We are genuinely humbled by the support Australasia’s best breeders and vendors have given this sale, it truly is a special catalogue.
“The results from the Easter Sale speak for themselves – it is statistically the best yearling sale in the Southern Hemisphere and the sale where you are most likely to find a top-class horse, year after year.
“The pedigrees catalogued this year are exceptional, as they always are at Easter, and the physicals are there to match.’’
A total of 487 lots have been catalogued for the sale, which has long been regarded as the best in the Southern Hemisphere for not only racetrack success but also stallion-makers and champion fillies-turned-broodmares.
In what can only be described as a mouth-watering collation of blueblood yearlings, there are relations to 152 Stakes winners at Easter this year including 40 G1 winners, and progeny of 178 Stakes-winning mares, 37 of whom were G1 winners themselves.
Among a plethora of highlights are siblings to the likes of star gallopers such as Home Affairs, Estijaab, Funstar, Shadow Hero, Wild Ruler, Mossfun, She Will Reign, Classique Legend, Lost And Running, Aethero, Captivant, Vow And Declare, Artorius, I’m Thunderstruck, Profondo, Loving Gaby, Stronger, King’s Legacy, Sunlight, Beauty Generation, Avantage, Anders, Zoustyle, Away Game, Eleven Eleven etc just to name a few.
Take a moment to read over that list again – and that’s only the start!
There are also sons and daughters of star mares including Catchy, Lucia Valentina, Spright, Srikandi, Kenedna, Rising Romance, Suavito, Pinot, Samantha Miss, Dear Demi, Atlantic Jewel, Secret Admirer, Maid Of Heaven, Norzita, Princess Coup, O’Marilyn etc.
Of the catalogued lots, 408 – or 84% – are BOBS Eligible.
There are progeny by 60 individual sires at Easter including all the expected big names such as I Am Invincible, Snitzel, Fastnet Rock, Written Tycoon, Exceed And Excel, Not A Single Doubt, Lonhro, Pierro, Savabeel, So You Think, Zoustar, Capitalist etc as well as an exciting crop of first season sires Justify, The Autumn Sun, Written By, Trapeze Artist, Harry Angel and U S Navy Flag.
There are also a range of international sires represented including Frankel, Kingman, Medaglia d’Oro, Into Mischief, Lope de Vega, Lord Kanaloa and Night Of Thunder amongst others.
“The bloodstock team here at Inglis has worked exceptionally hard for many months to put this catalogue together and we really couldn’t be happier with what we will offer the market at Riverside in April,’’ Hutch said.
“The whole week will be fabulous, it’s always a great atmosphere at Riverside not only on sale days but also the inspection days, big crowds, plenty of activity, it’s just such a great time to be in Sydney with The Championships and everything else going on around the Easter Sale.’’
The Easter Sale is arguably the most potent source of top-class racehorses of any yearling sale in the world.
Since 2018, Easter has produced 28 G1 winners including colts such as Home Affairs, In The Congo, Wild Ruler, The Autumn Sun, Trapeze Artist, Merchant Navy, Russian Revolution, Exceedance, Super Seth, Stronger, Alabama Express etc and the best race fillies and mares like Estijaab, Personal, Loving Gaby, Funstar, Nettoyer, Aristia etc.
Easter yearlings have won Stakes races in 10 different countries in recent years also – Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Japan, South Africa, Macau, Ireland, England, Korea and Singapore.
And now we wait to see what stars of the turf the 2022 catalogue will produce – and there will no doubt be many!