An extraordinary day for leading Victorian nursery Gilgai Farm capped off a Premier Sale Book 1 for the ages, which ended with significant increases in all key fiscal metrics.
Gilgai sold the top two lots – and four of the top six – on Day 2 at Oaklands, ensuring they ended Book 1 as leading vendor with another incredible set of results.
At the conclusion of Book 1, the sale gross sits at $60,707,000 – a 15% year-on-year increase at the corresponding time – with a median of $120,000 (up 20%) and average of $146,990 (up 5%).
The Day 2 top lot was a Too Darn Hot x Baveno colt (lot 499) of Gilgai, which sold to X Bloodstock for $750,000.
Gilgai’s Kelly Skillecorn knew the colt would sell well but even he was blown away by the action in the ring.
“Ever since he was a foal we’ve had people turning up trying to buy him but we’ve wrapped him up for here at Inglis Premier. It’s a lot of money, we’re most grateful,’’ Skillecorn said.
“I cannot tell people enough that if they have a good horse, just lob it here [at Premier]. [Two Bay Farms owner] Ross Ferris has been asking us questions for the past couple of years and he’s lobbed on and he brought his best horse here and got top dollar yesterday (a sale-high $850,000). It’s just a sale that people want to go shopping at and they’ll find good horses here.
“This sale just keeps going forward. It was the only sale that this time last year went forward and it’s just kept going forward in leaps and bounds again this year. The results are there every year with Group 1 winners coming out of the sale so there’s no doubts as to why they’re coming here.
“I want to thank James Price because he found X Bloodstock, a new player and they’ve spent over $1m with us at this sale. That’s the difference with selling with Inglis, you’re just finding new people every year and the market expands and it’s all the hard work your staff is putting in behind the scenes. You do a marvellous job, the best.’’
X Bloodstock signed for four lots during Book 1 – all colts – which was exactly their goal leading into the sale.
"It has been a long-term plan to attend Inglis Premier and I gave [Inglis' Victorian Bloodstock Manager] James Price a specific brief of what we wanted and that was to see the best colts in the sale. I worked with James to identify those types of colts specifically and we have been able to buy four,’’ an X Bloodstock spokesperson said.
"The four we got are two from Gilgai, one from Mill Park and one from Segenhoe. That was our plan and we have achieved that.
"Lot 499, he was just an absolute athlete. He had scope, he had size and strength, he had an amazing temperament.''
Today’s second-top lot was Gilgai’s Kermadec x Turaath filly (lot 419), which sold to Astute Bloodstock and Ciaron Maher Racing for $625,000.
Astute also bought the prior lot – again off Gilgai – a Written By x Tune Doubt filly for $450,000.
Astute’s Louis Le Metayer revealed his strategy this year was to target the best fillies available.
“Part of our strategy is to be buying elite fillies that we can win Stakes races with and put back through our consignment at the broodmare sales,’’ Le Metayer said.
“We’ve looked at thousands of fillies all year and I think she’s the best athlete we’ve seen all year, from an exceptional farm who have bred elite horses year in year out, often by obscure stallions. Their mating strategy is exceptional.
“When you’re buying an elite horse from a farm like that, you know you’ve got a better chance.
“I would have liked for it to have been $200,000 cheaper but at the end of the day, it’s the outcome that matters, we’re not looking for value, we’re looking for elite athletes.’’
Skillecorn added: “She’s a gorgeous filly, Louis told me they were the two best fillies in the sale and I couldn’t disagree with him.
“He’s one of the top judges in the industry and he tells me they’re both going to Ciaron so it’s onwards and upwards for them.’’
Inglis Bloodstock CEO Sebastian Hutch described the past two days as “plenty of fun and exceptionally rewarding’’.
“As I said yesterday, we were always of the belief in the lead-up to the sale that we were being supported with a really strong catalogue and worked hard to recruit a large and diverse buying bench and I think a combination of those two things created a fantastic atmosphere which led to strong and consistent bidding over the past two days,’’ Hutch said.
“All the key metrics have improved markedly – the gross is up over $8.1m on the same stage last year, the clearance is up, the average is up and the median is up.
“A lot of people have commented on the diversity of the buying bench here and you only need to look at the buyer sheet to understand why, with participation from Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand, South Africa, Vietnam etc and of course all around Australia.
“We have worked hard over a number of years to give vendors and breeders confidence that we can deliver the best results. In the context of this sale, there is a particular focus on getting the support of local breeders with their best horses and hopefully the results this year create a platform for us to progress this sale even further in the years to come.
“I know there are plenty of buyers that have left the complex today disappointed they were unable to acquire the stock they wanted and there are plenty of opportunities to fill those orders in Book 2 tomorrow.’’
To enquire about a passed in lot from today’s action, contact Britt Hussey from the Inglis Bloodstock team on 0409 333 823.
The Premier Yearling Sale concludes tomorrow with 227 lots catalogued for Book 2, with selling beginning at 10am.
If you can’t be at Oaklands, all the action will again be broadcast live on the Inglis website - and X and Facebook pages - via our Sale Day Live coverage from 9.30am with hosts Emma Freedman and Brent Zerafa.
To view the catalogue, CLICK HERE.
PREMIER BOOK 1 STATS (2025 in brackets)
Offered: 525 (495)
Sold: 413 (376)
Clearance: 79% (76%)
Average: $146,990 ($139,759)
Median: $120,000 ($100,000)
Gross: $60,707,000 ($52,549,500)
