Lustre Lodge’s broodmare band gained two outstanding additions today as Peter Colley purchased the two top lots of the Inglis Digital November (Early) Online Sale.
Colley, a director at Lustre Lodge on the Central Coast, took home 3-in-1 package Powerplay (Power) – in foal to Savabeel and with a Justify filly at foot – from Jen Campin Bloodstock as well as Middlebrook Valley Lodge’s proven producer Crystal Rock (Fastnet Rock), the dam of G3 winner Big Parade, in foal to Star Turn.
Both mares realised $230,000, taking the number of mares sold on the Inglis Digital platform for $200,000 or more to 49.
The two top-level broodmares helped the November (Early) sale gross $2,754,450 at a fantastic clearance rate of 87%.
Colley was first alerted to both Powerplay and Crystal Rock by Lustre Lodge manager Paige Belsham.
“Paige said we should buy both of them and obviously with Covid it was impossible to get to them, especially Powerplay in New Zealand but Dean Hawthorne was pivotal in getting us the information we needed and videos etc of her, plus his advice, and we then decided we wanted both,’’ Colley said.
“With Powerplay, I was especially impressed with the Justify filly, she was a large part of the reason I bought her, not only because she’s a nice filly but it shows the mare can throw a lovely type which is always satisfying.
“Plus Savabeel is a stallion I’ve always liked so the fact she was in foal to him was another big plus.’’
On Crystal Rock (pictured), Colley added: “I’ve always been a fan of Big Parade (pictured) and I know people close to the horse believe he can go onto bigger and better things next year, races like the TJ Smith in the autumn and even a chance to get into The Everest in the spring.
“Once she foals down the Star Turn next year I’d like to put Crystal Rock back to Deep Field to get a full sibling to Big Parade and with a bit of luck he’s a Group 1 winner by then and the future looks good.
“We just want to keep improving the quality of mares we have at Lustre Lodge. We bought Sweet Deal, who will have her farewell from the track in The Hunter on Saturday, and a couple of other beautiful mares at the Chairman’s Sale earlier this year so we’re just chipping away and hopefully in years to come we’ll see the rewards.’’
Crystal Rock’s seller Verna Metcalfe of Middlebrook Valley Lodge was delighted with the result.
“[Inglis Senior Bloodstock Manager] Will Stott approached me about potentially selling the mare and after a good chat about it we decided it was the right time and this result absolutely proves that it was the correct decision,’’ Metcalfe said.
“I’m absolutely rapt, I’m a big believer in putting sensible reserves on horses but I priced her to what I thought she was worth because I was more than happy to keep her if she didn’t realise that amount but I’m over the moon that the market thought even more highly of her.
“I find Inglis Digital an excellent service, the team market the horses so well when you sell with them and everybody knows about it and I’ve had some great results using the platform and sure I’ll have many more in the future.’’
For Campin, the sale of the 3-in-1 package was the first of two she will offer in consecutive Inglis Digital auctions.
“In the next sale I’ve got a mare with an Astern filly at foot and in foal to Time Test who has been fully booked for months so I’m already excited about that being offered in a couple of weeks,’’ Campin said.
“Powerplay was a great result too. She’s such a lovely looking broodmare and the Justify filly, everybody loved her at the farm and being in foal to Savabeel is a real rarity for buyers to be able to access a package like that so it’s nice to get rewarded well for offering it to the market.
“I really am stoked with the result, we’ve bought a lot of mares through Inglis Digital the past couple of years and now we’ve sold a top lot and we’re very satisfied.
“[Inglis Senior Bloodstock Consultant] Brett [Gilding] was extremely good with his communication, which is essential in this industry. I love dealing with Inglis, everybody knew this mare and foal package was for sale, it was marketed by everybody.’’
To enquire about a passed in lot from today’s Digital Sale, visit inglisdigital.com.
Entries are now open for the November (Late) Online Auction, which will run from November 19-24.
Entries remain open until next Wednesday, November 17.
To enter, CLICK HERE.