There were tears then cheers as the hammer fell on lot 249 on Day 2 of the Inglis Classic Sale when Jilly Henderson's Noogee Park sold the day's top lot.
On a day where the clearance rate matured to just shy of 80%, it was Noogee's Star Witness x Defrock colt that soared to overall sale-topper when Yulong's Yuesheng Zhang paid $400,000 for him.
"This means so much to us, it's been tough for a lot of people with the drought, we all have mortgages to pay but a result like this really makes everything worthwhile,'' Henderson said.
"We knew he was a cracking foal and we rolled him over and decided to sell him as a yearling and it definitely paid off for us. It proved that we were right to keep him.
"He's a very cruisy colt, he eats well, he holds himself well and he just knuckled down like the professional he is. He didn't put a foot wrong.''
Henderson, who offered the yearling in conjunction with Kate Nivison's Etak Thoroughbreds, was excited to see the colt head to Yulong.
"Yulong are awesome supporters of the Australian industry and Sam Fairgray and Mr Zhang are such great judges of a yearling so we're thrilled to see him head there.''
Mr Zhang wasn't expecting such a fierce bidding duel to secure the colt.
"We had to pay more than we thought and more than we wanted but sometimes that's what you need to do to get the right horse,'' Mr Zhang said.
"We had to have him. He's top quality and we are always after top quality.''
The Day 2 second-top lot was Vinery Stud's Stratum x Dayeala grey colt, lot 242 which Domeland bought for $280,000.
Vinery's Adam White described the yearling as "a beautiful colt and a great mover''.
"His colour was actually a big help because a lot of the syndicators were on him,'' White said.
"The trainers really liked him, too, so we knew we were in a good position because he had been out a lot and he had handled it really well."
To view today's Inglis TV story on Lomar Park, Newhaven Park and Widden Stud – the only three vendors at Classic 2019 who were at the original Summer Sale 50 years ago -CLICK HERE.
To view the Day 2 Facebook Live end-of-day wrap,CLICK HERE.
Inglis Managing Director Mark Webster was pleased to see the sale statistics begin to rebound but urged the buying bench to remain active on the final two days of Book 1.
"I said after Saturday night I wanted to see the clearance rate improve and I'm pleased to see that has been the case today,'' Webster said.
"It's fantastic to see that vendors and buyers have reached an equilibrium and the sale has some good momentum.
"That said, there is still a long way to go and we still have a lot of horses to sell, I encourage buyers to take advantage of the current value in the market.''
Lots 351-580 have been catalogued for Day 3 of the sale, which begins at 10am Monday at Riverside Stables.
To view the catalogue,CLICK HERE.
Day 3 will again be broadcast live on the Inglis website and Facebook page, plus Online Bidding and Make An Offer services will again be available.
To enquire on a Passed In lot, contact Matt Scown on 0481 989 661
To view all statistics from the Classic Sale to date,CLICK HERE.
STATISTICS
Lots sold:251
Clearance Rate:78%
Average Price:$78,406
Median Price:$58,000
Top Price:$400,000
Gross:$19,680,000
