Record Trade at Inglis Easter Day One

Media Release - Wednesday April 10

The best yearling James Harron has ever seen became the fifth-most expensive yearling ever sold in Australia on a record-breaking Day 1 of the Australian Easter Yearling Sale.

This Snitzel colt from Ichihara made $2.8 million Lot 49, a Snitzel x Ichihara colt offered by George Altomonte's Corumbene Stud, was knocked down to Harron for $2.8m, making him the most expensive Snitzel progeny ever sold and the best result Corumbene has achieved since it started selling horses 48 years ago.

In a spectacular day of trade at Riverside Stables:

*The gross of $61,790,500 was a record for any single day of a southern hemisphere yearling sale, further enhancing Inglis Easter as the No.1 sale to sell a yearling

*163 horses sold at an average of $379,083 and increasing clearance rate of 81%

*11 yearlings sold for $1m or more to eight unique buyers, while 37 sold for $500,000 or more

*Lot 73 (Brazen Beau x Just Discreet) offered by Mill Park Stud became the first million-dollar yearling for the Darley sire (which also topped both the Classic Yearling Sale and Premier Yearling Sale), selling to Orbis Bloodstock for $1,150,000

*Torryburn Stud, Mill Park Stud and Sledmere Stud also achieved a record individual result for vendors to sell a $1m+ yearling, while Segenhoe Stud equalled their best individual result.

Harron was in awe of the record colt, describing him as a "very special horse''.

"He was very busy here the past week, I was making him busy to an extent but how he handled himself was quite rare,'' Harron said of the youngster, which will be trained at Randwick by Peter and Paul Snowden.

"I want to keep seeing them, see how they're handling it, their temperament but he never had his head out of his feed bin, he never got upset, he just put his head down and marched every time and focused. Seeing that focus from a colt is extremely important.

"Obviously the end game for us is to produce stallions and produce horses we can send our clients' mares to and he's exactly that.''

Corumbene's George Altomonte heaped praise on his staff for the record result.

"I've been doing this a long time and when you get a result like this, the staff at the farm are so excited. They feel it, once you get something that tops the sale or might do so, it makes them all feel pretty proud and I'm happy about that,'' Altomonte said.

"I thought he'd make between $1m and $2m because of the enquiries I'd had, the right people had been in contact in the lead up so I knew he'd sell well.

"It's always hard up at that end of the market picking what it's going to make. If you get two people that really want something, anything can happen.''

The day's second-top lot was a stunning Fastnet Rock x Legally Bay colt (lot 88), which Aquis Farm purchased from Segenhoe Stud (on behalf of clients Chris and Jane Barham) for $2,300,000.

The colt – a full brother to dual hemisphere G1 winner Merchant Navy – was popular with prospective buyers all week at Riverside, but Aquis knew he was the colt they needed to take home with them.

"I'd seen the horse a couple of times at the farm, seen him through the prep and obviously I've seen a fair few Fastnet Rocks in my time at Coolmore, he was the pick of the horses here and the pick of the horses I'd seen all year,'' Aquis' Shane McGrath said.

"Tony and Justin Fung have been here all week and they loved the horse too thankfully. You saw when that horse walked into the ring that all the big players were on him, it was just a question as to where it stopped really.''

Ciaron Maher, who also trained Merchant Navy, will train the colt.

"He was a standout colt from the day he was born. You bring him to a sale like this, we knew he'd sell well but we didn't envisage he would make those numbers,'' Segenhoe's Peter O'Brien said.

"A lot of credit needs to go to Inglis for getting all these people here. Everyone is here and for a vendor, that's so important.

"This horse, he has a temperament like his brother, he's just bombproof and has a great action, a beautiful mover. He was called M2 from the day he was born, Chris and Jane are staying in him for a bit, I'm staying in him for a bit, Ciaron's training him so we're off to Ascot again!''

Inglis Managing Director Mark Webster was thrilled with the day's trade.

"It's been an outstanding day of trade, a great start to a refined Easter Sale format that was aimed at providing buyers with a more select offering. My team has worked extraordinarily hard to attract a diverse and deep buying bench and this effort is paying off,'' Webster said.

"To end Day 1 with an increasing clearance rate of 81% is a strong start and something that I'm confident will continue to climb overnight and into tomorrow's action.

"The job is only half done. There have been some great results for vendors and breeders today, too many to single out, and I'm looking forward to another big day tomorrow where we can ideally see more great results on the board.''

Lot 102 (Dundeel x Lunaspur), a colt from Arrowfield Stud, will be offered tomorrow after lot 300.

To view our Inglis TV story on seven-time Olympian and part-time horse trainer Sir Mark Todd,CLICK HERE.

To view our Facebook Live end of day review,CLICK HERE.

Lots 226-450 have been catalogued for the second and final day of the Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale, which begins tomorrow at 11am at Riverside Stables.

To view the catalogue,CLICK HERE.

Day 2 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 make an offer on any Passed In lot from today, contact Matt Scown on 0481 989 661.

2019 AUSTRALIAN EASTER YEARLING SALE DAY 1 STATISTICS

Lots sold:163

Clearance Rate:81%

Average Price:$379,083

Median Price:$280,000

Top Price:$2,800,000

Gross:$61,790,500

TOP LOTS$2,800,000 – Snitzel x Ichihara colt (lot 49)Vendor: Corumbene Stud. Buyer: James Harron Bloodstock

$2,300,000 – Fastnet Rock x Legally Bay colt (lot 88)Vendor: Segenhoe Stud. Buyer: Aquis Farm