For Team Hawkes, it was the simplest of decisions - When a Victorian farm has bred and sold horses such as All Too Hard, Ole Kirk and Masked Crusader to you that have gone onto G1 glory, buying off them again is smart play.
And so it was on Day 1 at the Premier Yearling Sale at Oaklands today when Team Hawkes bought the top lot – a Written Tycoon x Soorena colt (lot 251) from Gilgai Farm – for $675,000.
The Soorena colt was the standout on a day where the insatiable appetite for thoroughbred yearlings continued to surge.
All key financial indicators were significantly increased from the corresponding day last year (average up 13% to $162,980, median up 27% to $140,000 and the gross of $32,270,000 is a record day of trade for the Premier Sale), while 62 lots sold for $200,000 or more, a stunning 47% increase from the 42 lots of Day 1 a year ago.
Gilgai Farm ended the day as leading vendor by average (all four they offered, sold, at an average of $370,000), to the delight of manager Kelly Skillecorn.
“It’s been an awesome day,’’ Skillecorn said.
“It’s just bloody good to have our best horses back here. We went north for a few years and lost our way but now we’re back. It feels good to be home.’’
On the top lot Soorena colt, Skillecorn added: “We’re delighted, two of the best trainers in the country were on him which really justifies the opinion we had of the colt and it’s great to see him end up in the hands of the Hawkes’.
“He’s a gorgeous horse, the last from the mare and I always thought the best of the mare.
“He’s a tremendous colt, that’s as good as we can breed.’’
Wayne Hawkes is certainly hoping Skillecorn’s prediction that the colt will prove to be the best of the Soorena progeny – already a multiple Stakes-producing mare – rings true.
“It’s not very often you see a mare throw more than two black type horses, you look at that and you look at the quality of this colt and you look at the breeder, do I need to say anything more about what he’s done for my stable?’’ Wayne Hawkes said.
“You’re talking Ole Kirk and All Too Hard and Masked Crusader and the like. When I got here I saw that [Gilgai owner] Rick [Jamieson] has had 149 yearlings go through for 14 Group 1 winners, he’s a pretty special breeder.
“He's a lovely horse this colt by a great stallion off a great farm, what more can we want really?’’
The day’s second-top lot honours were shared – the Hong Kong Jockey Club purchased an I Am Invincible x Mark Two colt from Yarraman Park while Willow Park Stud sold a Snitzel x Reply Churlish colt to Bon Ho’s Legend Racing.
Both colts realised $550,000.
Yarraman’s Harry Mitchell was thrilled with the Mark Two colt’s price.
“It was a great result. We thought he’d be one of the star lots here, that’s why we bought him to Melbourne and that’s exactly how it’s turned out to be. It’s a very healthy market, we’re extremely satisfied with the price and he’s gone to a great judge’’ Mitchell said.
“Inglis has done a very good job, there’s all the buyers here.
“I bring nice horses here, there’s no point coming from NSW and not bringing nice horses, and I’m so far very, very satisfied with how the horses have sold.’’
Craig Rounsefell, who outbid Guy Mulcaster to purchase the yearling on behalf of the HKJC, described both the colt and the overall Premier catalogue as “quality’’.
“We’re really focusing on proven stallions and strong female lines,’’ Rounsefell said.
“We’re looking for horses who will excel at three, four or five, not as 2YOs like a lot of other buyers are. We’re focusing on quality and there’s lots of quality here at Inglis Premier.’’
The Snitzel x Reply Churlish colt purchased by Bon Ho will remain in Australia and be trained by Lloyd Kennewell at Cranbourne.
“A lot of people, including Jonathan [D’Arcy] recommended this colt for me but Lloyd really liked him so he will train him and hopefully be another great horse for Legend racing,’’ Mr Ho said.
“I like Snitzel as a stallion, he has been very good for a long time and I think this horse will be very good for me.
“He was a standout conformation for me, arguably one of the best colts in the sale I believe.’’
Willow Park’s Glenn Burrows added: “I didn’t expect that price but it’s a pleasant surprise. The colt was very heavily inspected, we came here thinking he might have been a $350,000 to $400,000 colt, so to get $550,000 is fantastic.
“I have got to give James Price a rap here, he convinced us to come down here. We were going to go to Classic with the colt and the little bit of extra time did him the world of good and it certainly paid dividends today.
“I just can’t believe it. I keep the stats as everyone knows and they have just been fantastic. We thought the Classic sale was unbelievable with inspections but pound for pound we’ve actually had more traffic through here and we’ve sold three out of three so far. There just seemed like there was action everywhere.
“I don’t know how many were bidding on him but it felt like, from the box, that there were five or six well over the reserve.”
Inglis’ Victorian Bloodstock Manager James Price described the record day of action at Oaklands as “memorable’’.
“There has been a great buzz around the complex all week and it was fantastic to see it translate to competitive bidding through the day,’’ Price said.
“The volume of buyers that got involved, or tried to get involved, through the day was incredible and it is hard to recall a day at this sale that featured participation from pretty much all of Australia’s major trainers, owners, agents and syndicators as it did today.
“There are still so many opportunities for buyers to get involved over the next two days, there will be some incredible shopping to be done and we’re looking forward to what’s still to come.’’
To watch the Day 1 Review Show from our Sale Day Live broadcast, CLICK HERE.
To enquire about a Passed In lot from today’s action, contact Will Stott from the Inglis Bloodstock team on 0408 126 952.
The remaining two days of the 2022 Premier Yearling Sale will begin at 10am at Oaklands and will again be broadcast live on the Inglis website and Facebook page via our Sale Day Live coverage from 9.30am both days.
The Premier Session (Book 2) is on Tuesday following the completion of the main book.
To view the catalogue, CLICK HERE.
DAY 1 STATISTICS (2021 Day 1 statistics in brackets)
Lots sold: 198 (193)
Clearance Rate: 82% (83%)
Average Price: $162,980 ($144,109)
Median Price: $140,000 ($110,000)
Top Price: $675,000 ($1,100,000)
Gross: $32,270,000 ($27,813,000)
