The Easter Yearling Sale further cemented itself as the Southern Hemisphere’s No.1 yearling auction when brilliant colt In The Congo led all the way to win the stallion-making G1 Golden Rose.
Against the best of his age group in the land, In The Congo proved himself the toughest 3YO in the race that mattered most, securing himself a future at stud for his connections.
His win capped off a monumental 24 hours for his owners Newgate Farm and China Horse Club, who also teamed up to buy Friday night’s G1 Moir Stakes winner Wild Ruler.
Both colts were bought at Inglis Easter, with Winstar Farm also involved in the Wild Ruler purchase.
Following their respective G1 wins this weekend, In The Congo and Wild Ruler will eventually retire to stud at Newgate Farm in the Hunter Valley, remarkably joining a plethora of fellow Inglis graduates there in Flying Artie, Russian Revolution, Extreme Choice, Deep Field, North Pacific and Cosmic Force.
In The Congo, who broke the Golden Rose race record by four tenths of a second, becomes the fourth Inglis graduate to win the G1 feature in the past five years following the successes of Ole Kirk (2020), The Autumn Sun (2018) and Trapeze Artist (2017).
The Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott-trained galloper also became the 64th G1-winning Inglis graduate since 2018.
China Horse Club and Newgate teamed up to purchase In The Congo for $350,000 at last year’s ‘Virtual’ Easter Sale, where he was offered by Newhaven Park, whose partners bred the horse.
In The Congo has now raced six times for three wins and three seconds for $784,000 in prizemoney.
Michael Wallace of China Horse Club described the past 24 hours as “unbelievable’’.
“It’s a big deal for us, it’s hard to win a Group 1 anywhere but to win two in 24 hours, both with Easter colts who will now find their way to the stallion barn in time, it’s what we all set out to do when buying these colts,’’ Wallace said.
“Both came from Easter, it’s been a very kind sale to us, we love buying at Easter and we’ve been lucky enough to pluck some really nice colts out of the sale over the years that ultimately haven’t cost us crazy money.
“In The Congo, we always thought he’d be a runner, he was well raised at Newhaven and always showed signs of being a lovely colt and he’s proven that now in the race that counts.’’
Newhaven’s John Kelly said In The Congo’s victory was such a big result for so many people.
“Our clients who bred the horse, who bought the horse, all of our staff here on the farm, we all want to breed and raise good horses and when you get a good one like this bloke, it makes it all worthwhile,’’ Kelly said.
“He was a beautiful foal when he was born here, was an absolutely magnificent yearling and now he’s a star racehorse.
“He’s an exciting horse to watch too, he gets out in front and gives them all a chance to run him down but they rarely can and thankfully they couldn’t today.’’
Winning co-trainer Gai Waterhouse was elated with the result.
“It’s simply marvellous, a dream come true with him,’’ Waterhouse said.
“As a young horse he was a bit highly strung which is why we took our time with him but as he’s matured and raced, he’s been able to transmit that natural electric energy into being a very focused racehorse.
“He didn’t miss a beat this week going into the race, every single day he just did that little bit more that makes you say ‘boy, this is the horse to fight the finish out on Saturday and lo and behold, he showed them who was boss!’’
In The Congo was one of three Inglis-sold Stakes winners on Golden Rose Day.
Like In The Congo, fellow Easter 3YO Home Affairs (I Am Invincible) led his rivals a merry dance with an all-the-way win in the Listed Heritage Stakes.
The Chris Waller-trained colt was having his first run of the spring and may have raced himself into Coolmore’s Everest slot, such was the dominance of the victory.
Coolmore purchased Home Affairs for $875,000 at the Easter Yearling Sale, where he was offered by his breeders Torryburn Stud.
Coolmore is one of just two remaining Everest slot holders yet to announce their runner in the $15m The Everest in three weeks, with Home Affairs now a genuine candidate.
And talented Inglis Premier Yearling Sale graduate Entente (Dundeel) ticked the mile-and-a-half box with a strong win in today’s G3 Colin Stephen Quality.
It’s a sixth career win at start No.20 for the Waterhouse and Bott-trained 5YO and takes his career earnings to more than $670,000.
It’s a fabulous return on investment, with Entente being a $105,000 Premier buy for Shaun Dwyer from Bombora Downs.
Entente, who will now likely back up in Saturday’s G1 The Metropolitan at Randwick, is bred by Philip Bennett & his daughter Steph Bansemer-Brown.
