Dean Hawkins of Wentwood Grange couldn’t believe what he was witnessing when their Ghaiyyath colt sold for a sale-high $625,000 on the third and final day of the Classic Yearling Sale at Riverside this afternoon.
On a day that saw the sale end with increases across all metrics, including a $3.47m (6%) increase in gross, it was lot 668 that stole the show, becoming the most expensive yearling ever sold by famed nursery Wentwood Grange, eventually knocked down to Tony and Calvin McEvoy and Damon Gabbedy’s Belmont Bloodstock.
Dean Hawkins, who runs the family farm with his brother Sean and Leigh, described the result as “unbelievable’’.
“He was on the market at $150,000 – he’s not here to go home – you always get nervous beforehand but I was absolutely stoked with the result because if he’d have made $200,000 we would have been chuffed,’’ Hawkins said.
“This really is an unbelievable result. He’s been a great mover the whole week, the staff have done a terrific job with him and we’re just absolutely thrilled.
“It’s an auction so you never, ever know… but the team has been fantastic. This is our 10th or 11th year with a Classic draft, we love it and we’ll keep coming back.’’
Co-buyer Calvin McEvoy said he wasn’t leaving Riverside without the colt (pictured).
“We loved him from the first time we saw him, which you really need to when you spend that sort of money,’’ McEvoy said.
“This is a colt we pinpointed early and every time we went back to look for something wrong with him, we couldn’t find it. For that reason we knew we had to be strong and we’re very excited that we’re able to take him home.
“I thought he was the standout in the sale. I knew he’d be around that price but maybe not quite that mark, maybe a bid or two less but I heard there was a very good judge as under bidder so that gives us even more confidence.
“We’ve got a lot of confidence in this sale, we’ve bought a couple of Group 1 winners out of the sale recently and if you do the hard work, you can find a bit of value and we felt like we’ve shopped around that value and this was the big standout colt we wanted to take home.’’
Today’s second-top lot was a Mullaglass Stud-offered Home Affairs x You Rang filly, which sold to trainer Bryce Heys and Ellerslie Lodge for $380,000.
It capped off a huge sale for Dr Richard and Kim McClenahan of Mullaglass, who sold 16 of their 17 offerings for more than $1.9m.
“We’ve had a fantastic sale, definitely well above what we expected when we came down here,’’ Dr Richard McClenahan said.
“The parades were massive, our staff never sat down all week really and it’s just been a great week.
“The result with this filly was fantastic, we’re delighted. She was really popular all week and sold well over our expectations.
“She was very, very busy, the busiest horse we’ve ever had at this sale. We put her on the market at $150,000, were sort of hoping she’d make $250,000 and everything after that was a great result.’’
Heys added: “We rated her highly physically and with her overall quality, she could have been at any sale so we were really attracted to her and had a lot of conviction on her as a result.
“I’m always a massive rap on the Classic Sale because I’m a big believer that our game is made for all shapes and sizes and this sale fits that bill.
“From the selling side, if breeders want to sell a horse they can sell a horse here and get a good result and as a buyer, it doesn’t have to be conventional, the sales results speak for themselves in terms of the horses that are here each year.’’
At the conclusion of Day 3 the sale’s gross sits at $57,573,500 with an improved clearance rate of 84%, up from 80% last year and increased average and median figures.
For the second consecutive year Arrowfield Stud ended the sale as leading vendor – selling 32 horses for $3.72m – while on the buyer front, Mick Price and Michael Kent Jr (with partners) ended as the biggest spenders at $1,470,000 and John Foote (with partners) purchased the most individual lots with 11.
Inglis Bloodstock CEO Sebastian Hutch was thrilled with the sale.
“That was a lot of fun! The sale has had a good feel to it since inspections began last week and ultimately we have had a strong sale, with a lot of vendors and buyers going home happy,” Hutch said.
“We ran a good sale 12 months ago and the support of vendors on the back of that meant we felt we were well positioned to run a better sale in 2026 and so it has transpired.
“We catalogued a similar number of yearlings to 12 months ago, but with scratchings, have ultimately offered fewer yearlings than what we did last year but still managed to post a significantly improved gross figure and a markedly improved clearance rate, all while increasing both average and median.’’
“There were so many pleasing aspects about the past few days. To have a buying bench that includes participation from China, Hong Kong, Japan, Indonesia, New Zealand, South Korea, Taiwan, Philippines, Europe etc and all over Australia is a testament to the work that is done throughout the year to promote the Inglis Yearling Sales Series.
“We’ve had 20 yearlings make $300,000 or more, by 17 different stallions, offered by 16 different vendors and bought by 18 different listed buyers, which is fantastic.
“There is no disguising that there are challenges in the market, particularly in the bottom quartile, but we are working hard to facilitate the best market we possibly can for vendors and I’m proud that we have been able to deliver an improved market for vendors when results from other sales show that is not an easy thing to do.
“As always, we are eternally grateful to the vendors and breeders who continue to support Inglis and wish all buyers ever success with their purchases.”
To enquire about any passed in lot from this year’s Classic Sale, contact Will Gardner on 0480 515 694.
Attention now turns to Inglis Digital for the February (Late) Online auction, for which entries close next Wednesday, February 18.
The sale runs from February 20-25.
To enter CLICK HERE.
It’s then off to Melbourne for the Premier Yearling Sale, which will be held at Oaklands on March 1-3.
On-site inspections at Oaklands begin on Tuesday February 24, showcasing the progeny of Extreme Choice (9 lots catalogued), Ghaiyyath (18), Harry Angel (11), Home Affairs (16), Too Darn Hot (10), and Toronado (38) amongst others.
Advertising opportunities for our Sale Day Live broadcast of the Premier Yearling Sale will be made available in the next 48 hours.
To view the Premier catalogue, CLICK HERE.
2026 CLASSIC YEARLING SALE STATS (2025 in brackets)
Sold: 592 (574)
Clearance: 84% (80%)
Average: $97,253 ($94,257)
Median: $75,000 ($70,000)
Gross: $57,573,500 ($54,103,500)
