Dual G1 winner Shout The Bar – “the Kim Kardashian of the racing world’’ – sold for a record $2.7m on a spectacular night of theatre at The Chairman’s Sale at Riverside this evening.
On a special night where five mares realised more than $1m, both buyers and vendors were in awe of the results, leading to reactions such as “it’s a fairytale’’, “the strongest sale I’ve ever been to’’, “it’s the best of the best’’ and “what an amazing night’’.
The night was headed by dual G1 winner Shout The Bar, offered by Glenesk Thoroughbreds, who sold to Coolmore’s Tom Magnier for $2.7m, a record price for The Chairman’s Sale.
She was well supported by Sia - offered by Segenhoe and selling to Hilldene Farm and James Bester for $1.6m – Ellicazoom ($1.45m to Sheamus Mills and Longwood Thoroughbred Farm from the Kitchwin Hills draft), Quantum Mechanic which sold to Chambers Bloodstock from Sledmere Stud for $1.2m and Daysee Doom, also offered by Sledmere and selling to Widden Stud and David Redvers for $1.1m.
Sale-topper Shout The Bar will race on in the Coolmore colours throughout the upcoming Brisbane Winter Carnival before a date with the farm’s newest young stallion Home Affairs, himself an Easter Sale graduate.
“We’re delighted to get her, she’s a standout mare,’’ Magnier said.
“We want to buy the best mares for Home Affairs. There’s an old saying, ‘you need to breed to the best to get the best’ and that’s what we do.
“I think it’s been a fantastic night. Everybody’s here and I know it’s got a huge international following the Chairman’s Sale, a lot of people around the world are watching this sale, I know of a lot of people in Europe and America and places like that who are watching this sale.
“This sale is a great idea, credit to Inglis’, they’ve got it going from strength to strength.’’
Brett Howard, who was involved in the selection and purchase of Shout The Bar (pictured) as a yearling, was stunned by tonight’s result.
“It is what you dream of,’’ Howard said.
“I was hopeful she’d make at least $2.5 million and I was hopeful she’d end up having the record price for a Chairman’s Sale because she’s the nicest mare we’ve ever brought to the sales. Her owners deserve to get that sort of price for her.
“Look around the room and you see all the major players here, and that’s what you want at a horse sale and you want them all bidding on your horses. There’s been quite a few horses make seven figures, the clearance rate’s been healthy, you’ve got Coolmore and Yoshida, they’re two of the biggest breeders in the world bidding on mares in Australia so if you can attract people of that ilk, well you’re doing something right.”
Shout The Bar’s part-owners Frank and Christine Cook were similarly blown away by tonight’s result.
“We own a third of her and there were a lot of 5% owners here tonight in the room, it’s life changing for them. To have something sell for that, they can go and put a deposit on a house with their share,’’ Frank Cook said.
“She’s been such a wonderful mare to us. To watch her around here the past few days, everyone has said she’s just a queen, the way she stands there, she just poses, she’s the Kim Kardashian of the racing world. She’s just perfection.’’
An emotional Christine Cook added: “Things like this don’t happen to us. It’s a fairytale.’’
Tonight’s second-top lot, Sia, realised $1.6m, a price Segenhoe’s Peter O’Brien struggled to get his head around.
“She’s sold through the roof,’’ an ecstatic O’Brien said.
“This has been the strongest sale I’ve ever been to, whether it be yearlings or weanlings or mares. Everybody is here, I think most horses are making 30%-40% more than what their perceived value was. It’s just sensational.
“You better have 200 mares in the catalogue next year because I’ll have 100 of them so you better build some more stables!’’
For Hilldene’s Nick Wakim, he too was shocked that he and James Bester had to go as high as $1.6m to secure the mare, who was offered in foal to Snitzel.
“I thought she’d sell for $1.25m. We zeroed in on her so it’s a bit over what we thought we’d pay but we thought it’s such an incredible family and so difficult to get into it so we just had to go further,’’ Wakim said.
“This sale has been very good to us. We bought Aloisia here a couple of years ago, we sold Meuse here last year and now we’ve bought this mare. We have a small band of broodmares but we try to get the best quality families and she’s certainly that.
“I do like the concept of this sale. You’re not looking at 500 mares, I’m a big supporter of it, I love the sale and I’ll be back next year.’’
The third-top lot was Ellicazoom, offered in foal to I Am Invincible by Kitchwin Hills.
Kitchwin’s Mick Malone was “rapt’’ with the result.
“What an amazing night. These are the results you dream about,’’ Malone said.
“I’m very relieved and rapt to get that result. $1.45m is well above where I thought she could land.
“I just had this good feeling about her making really good money and she’s absolutely done that, beyond that for sure. She made what she should make but it’s a super market and we’re rapt.
“This sale, it’s terrific. It’s got a great feel to it. Everyone’s here, they’re active, they’re happy, they’re bidding, it’s a beautiful thing. It’s a great market and I’m loving it.’’
Co-buyer Michael Christian of Longwood Thoroughbred Farm hoped Ellicazoom would return to I Am Invincible later this year once she foals down.
“We won’t try and reinvent the wheel. I’ll be speaking to Harry Mitchell very shortly to get her back into I Am Invincible,’’ Christian said.
“I think Chairman’s sets a really good standard. The first year I came to the Chairman’s Sale a few people dressed up and got into the spirit of it. Tonight, if you haven’t dressed up you’re probably in the minority and feeling a bit insecure, I reckon.
“It’s a great atmosphere and it’s something a bit different. The Inglis guys have been great to deal with and James Price has been a great help to me, so it’s a great few days.’’
Tonight’s Chairman’s Sale ended with a record gross ($32,905,000) and median ($350,000) at a world-leading average of $470,071.
Inglis Bloodstock chief executive Sebastian Hutch described the sale as “extraordinary’’.
“What a night! We were very pleased with the catalogue and inspections were strong, but the results have been really fantastic and I am very pleased for all the owners and vendors who were good enough to support us," Hutch said.
“To see a mare like Shout The Bar realise $2.7m is such a fabulous result. We said in the lead-up to this sale that she is the best looking broodmare that will be offered at public auction this year and Coolmore and a number of other buyers obviously agreed because she was phenomenally popular all week and then tonight in the ring.
“The depth of competition was incredible and it’s very satisfying to see so many people happy here tonight and realise results far beyond their wildest expectations.
“The feedback we have already received from both buyers and vendors has been incredibly positive and we’re already excited about the challenge of building another exceptionally strong catalogue for the 2023 Chairman’s Sale.’’
The Inglis Breeding Stock Sales Series continues on Sunday at Riverside with the Australian Broodmare Sale.
A strong catalogue of 189 has been finalised for the auction, which remains a hugely significant breeding stock sale in the context of the Australasian Bloodstock Industry, with dams of G1 winners such as Tofane, Shelby Sixtysix, Montefilia, Private Eye, Stay Inside, Funstar, Youngstar etc have been sourced at the sale in recent years for as little as $1000, $8000, $13,000, $23,000 etc.
Sunday’s catalogue features mares in foal to some of Australasia’s most desirable stallions including Russian Revolution, So You Think, Capitalist, Pierro, Deep Field, Toronado, Street Boss, Maurice, Spirit Of Boom, Shalaa and many others, as well as first pregnancies for a host of exciting new stallions like Anders, Bivouac, Doubtland, Farnan, Graff, Hanseatic, King’s Legacy, Lucky Vega, North Pacific, Ole Kirk, Prague, Tagaloa etc.
Broodmare parades continue tomorrow ahead of the sale, which begins 10am Sunday.
To view the catalogue, CLICK HERE.
