'It’s certainly the strongest group of weanlings on paper that we’ve put together for sale' - Inglis unveil Weanling Sale catalogue

Cover image courtesy of Inglis

On Sunday, Inglis unveiled the catalogue for the 2024 Inglis Australian Weanling Sale, featuring 448 weanlings slated for auction over two days at the Riverside complex on Monday, May 6 and Tuesday, May 7.

The Inglis Australian Weanling Sale will run alongside the 2024 Inglis Chairman’s Sale on Thursday, May 9 and the 2024 Inglis Australian Broodmare Sale on Friday, May 10.

Among the highlighted weanlings is Lot 129, the sole offering sired by Yulong’s Champion Sire, Written Tycoon, the sire of Saturday's G1 Golden Slipper winner, Lady Of Camelot. Additionally, the catalogue includes progeny from New Zealand’s leading sire, Proisir, Australia’s current top sire, I Am Invincible, and the four-time Champion Sire, Snitzel.

Ahead of the 2024 Inglis Australian Weanling Sale catalogue release The Thoroughbred Report caught up with Inglis’ CEO - Bloodstock and Sales Sebastian Hutch, “The 2024 Inglis Australian Weanling Sale is not a select sale. Inglis very much relies on the discretion of vendors to make appropriate decisions around the horses they put into the sale.

“However, certainly in terms of the profile of vendor, the stallions represented and the pedigree pages of lots catalogued it’s certainly the strongest group of weanlings on paper that we’ve put together for sale in my time at Inglis.

“I think that’s just the natural progression to this sale. The Inglis Australian Weanling Sale has been a very good sale for a number of years. We’ve had tremendous support from vendors that’s helped build the profile of the sale.

“It’s attracted new vendors and vendors that perhaps hadn’t played a big part in weanling sales previously, and it just feels like a sale with genuine momentum in terms of the quality of horse that’s going to be accessible to buyers, whether they’re end users or traders.

“We’re also proud of the sales progression for the vendors that have supported the sale. They’ve got better results, better patronage and a bigger buying bench. It’s very much a self-fulfilling prophecy.”

Graduates of the Inglis Australian Weanling Sale have been firing on all cylinders on the track. Recently, the likes of the G1 Blue Diamond S. victress Hayasugi (Royal Meeting {Ire}) and the outstanding filly, Kimochi (Brave Smash {Jpn}), who will return to Riverside as an entry in the 2024 Inglis Chairman's Sale.

They are joined by brilliant juvenile Straight Charge (Written By), a victor of the G2 Silver Slipper S. and sixth-placed in Saturday’s G1 Golden Slipper. The Listed winner Brudenell (Russian Revolution) and the Group 3 winner Master Fay (Deep Field) are other recent graduates.

“There are loads of successful graduates as examples. Straight Charge is a great one. He was a beautiful weanling purchased for $160,000 and went onto sell for $270,000 as a yearling.

“Kimochi is a great example, and that story will come full circle at the Inglis Chairman’s Sale. We have had tremendous results at that sale from graduates across all the Inglis Sales.

“Hayasugi, is of course another example. There are plenty but as ever, we rely on the patronage of vendors with nice horses. Hopefully the quality of horses for the weanling sale stacks up in terms of physique relative to how they do in terms of profile and pedigree.

“There’ll be lots of nice horses to buy in early May.”

Here's some points of interest regarding sires represented in the 2024 Inglis Weanling Sale Catalogue:

1. New boys on the block

Excitingly, the 2024 Inglis Australian Weanling Sale will give prospective buyers the first opportunity to view an array of weanlings by the new crop of first-season sires in Australia.

Leading the charge is Wild Ruler from Newgate Farm, a winner of the G1 Moir S. The son of Snitzel is the most represented first-season sire in the sale with 23 lots catalogued.

Additionally, Newgate Farm introduces weanlings by its G1 Golden Slipper hero, Stay Inside, a son of Extreme Choice, with nine lots in the sale, and Tiger Of Malay, a Group 2-winning son of Extreme Choice, with 11 representatives.

Rounding out the Newgate Farm quartet is the speedy Profiteer, a son of the G1 Golden Slipper victor Capitalist. Profiteer has 12 entries in the 2024 Inglis Australian Weanling Sale.

Gallery: First-season stallions standing at Newgate represented by progeny in the Inglis Australian Weanling Sale

Coolmore Stud brings three first-season sires to the table. Acrobat, a winner of the Inglis Nursery on debut, boasts 13 lots in the catalogue. Following him is the five-time Group 1 victor St Mark’s Basilica (Fr), a son of Siyouni (Fr), with seven offerings.

Arguably, the most exciting aspect from the Coolmore trio, will be first look at weanlings by Home Affairs, a son of the Champion Sire I Am Invincible. Home Affairs claimed the G1 Coolmore Stud S. in superb fashion and followed that Flemington straight romp with another exhilarating performance at the track when he held the Champion Sprinter, Nature Strip (Nicconi), at bay to win the G1 Lightning S.

Home Affairs has six lots catalogued in the 2024 Inglis Australian Weanling Sale. Among the six Home Affairs representatives is Lot 358, a colt offered by Coolmore Stud. Lot 358 is from Ciarlet, a sister to dual Group 1-winning and Group 1-producing sire Zoustar.

Gallery: First-season stallions standing at Coolmore represented by progeny in the Inglis Australian Weanling Sale

Coolmore also presents Lot 443, a colt, from the Group 2-placed Mineshaft (USA) mare His Glory (USA), who is from the family of the North American Champion 2-Year-Old Colt Classic Empire (USA).

The sale also marks the debut of Darley’s distinguished duo - Pinatubo (Ire) and Palace Pier (GB). Pinatubo, a Shamardal (USA) stallion, won three Group 1s and was an undefeated 2-year-old achieving a Timeform rating of 134 — higher than Frankel (GB) at the same age — features three lots.

Meanwhile, Palace Pier, a five-time Group 1 winner by Kingman (GB), has two lots on offer.

Gallery: First-season stallions standing at Darley represented by progeny in the Inglis Australian Weanling Sale

Hutch is excited for the 2024 Inglis Australian Weanling Sale to be the launch pad for some of Australia’s freshman sires.

“Showcasing the freshman sires is one of the particularly exciting features of the weanling sale season. It’s only ever a very small sample section of the progeny of those stallions and it very rarely is a definitive guide as to the quality of those stallions.

“But if you see good weanlings by a stallion at the sale, the likelihood is they’re going to be horses that are going to get good yearlings. Inglis has a tremendous connection to Home Affairs and Stay Inside.

Table: First Season Sire representation catalogued

“Home Affairs was an Inglis Australian Easter Yearling graduate, while Stay Inside was purchased in utero through the Inglis Chairman’s Sale.

“Of course, there are other highlights such as Pinatubo, who has outstanding credentials. While St Mark’s Basilica is an accomplished racehorse that has come to these shores. He is also a beautiful animal to go with it. Wild Ruler was a fantastic racehorse and has plenty of representation.

“Overall, it looks to a very strong group of freshman sires and Inglis is excited to have progeny on offer from all those stallions listed."

2. Progeny of International stars on offer

Complementing a robust group of domestic and shuttle sires represented in the 2024 Inglis Australian Weanling Sale are the international superstars Frankel and the former shuttle sire Night Of Thunder (Ire).

Juddmonte Farms’ Champion Sire and runner Frankel has a sole offering in the catalogue - Lot 173, a colt offered by Coolmore Stud. Lot 173 is the first foal from the Camelot (GB) mare Russian Camilla (Ire).

Russian Camilla won once as a 2-year-old and boasts an Australian connection, being a full sister to the dual Group 1 winner Russian Camelot (Ire), who stands at Widden Stud, Victoria and had his first-yearlings represented at the 2024 sales.

Also, with a sole offering (Lot 128) is Darley’s Night Of Thunder, the son of Dubawi (Ire) shuttled briefly to Australia, leaving 74 foals but one big impression once his progeny hit the track. Night Of Thunder is the sire of 41 stakes winners, including the multiple Group 1 winner Highfield Princess (Fr) and the G1 Queensland Derby victor Kukeracha (NZ).

Lot 128, a filly offered by Twin Hills Stud, is the fourth foal from the Invincible Spirit (Ire) mare Parlance (Ire).

Parlance’s third dam, Zenda (GB) (Zamindar {USA}), won the G1 Poule d’Essai des Pouliches (French 1000 Guineas) and at stud has produced Europe’s 2014 Horse of the Year, Kingman (GB).

3. Strong domestic line-up

As expected, alongside an exciting array of first, second and third-season sires, the 2024 Inglis Australian Weanling Sale has a strong group of established sires represented.

Three lots represent Yarraman Park’s leading sire, I Am Invincible, while Arrowfield’s Snitzel has one lot (Lot 185) catalogued, as does Yulong’s Written Tycoon and Eureka Stud’s prolific winner-getter Spirit Of Boom (Lot 321).

Newgate Farm’s Golden Slipper victor, Capitalist, with 17 lots, leads the established sires with the most catalogued. He is followed by Yarraman Park’s Hellbent (15 lots), Coolmore Stud’s So You Think (NZ) (14 lots) and Capitalist’s barn-mate, Russian Revolution (13 lots).

Gallery: Some of the established stallions who are well-represented in the Inglis Australian Weanling Sale

Tied with Russian Revolution on 13 lots is Coolmore Stud’s Wootton Bassett (GB). Technically, Wootton Bassett is a first-season sire in the Southern Hemisphere with his first Australasian-conceived progeny to race in the 2024/25 season.

However, in the Northern Hemisphere, Wootton Bassett is responsible for 40 stakes winners, of which his French-bred son Protagonist (Fr) has been successful in Australia, winning the G3 Sky High S.

Other established Australian sires with representation include Arrowfield’s Dundeel (NZ) (six lots) and Maurice (Jpn) (three lots). While Swettenham Stud’s Toronado (Ire) (four lots) and Coolmore Stud’s Pierro with six lots.

4. Rock rarity

Adding a sense of intrigue to the 2024 Inglis Australian Weanling Sale is the presence of three lots by Coolmore Stud’s Fastnet Rock.

The Champion son of Danehill (USA) has sired 135 individual stakes winners, and his influence has been on show recently as of Saturday. Fastnet Rock’s European Group 1-winning daughter, Via Sistina (Ire), showed her class when claiming the G1 Ranvet S. over 2000 metres at Rosehill. At the same time, Fastnet Rock’s daughter, Miss Debutante, became a Group 1-producing dam when her daughter, Lady Of Camelot (Written Tycoon), coasted away with the G1 Golden Slipper and Veight (Grunt {NZ}) from Fastnet Rock's daughter Neena Rock took out the G1 George Ryder S.

Buyers will have three opportunities to secure a colt by Fastnet Rock, who has not only succeeded with his daughters, but eight of his sons at stud have produced Group 1 winners of their own.

It is not an overly common occurrence for the progeny of Fastnet Rock to be offered at a weanling sale. In 2023, he had two lots listed, of which one was withdrawn and the other sold for $215,000.

In 2022 Fastnet Rock had no representation, and 2021 saw two weanlings catalogued, achieving an aggregate of $850,000 and a top price of $600,000.

5. Emerging lights

Currently, Leneva Park’s Royal Meeting (Ire) sits atop the Australian Leading First Season Sires’ table, mainly due to the deeds of his outstanding daughter, Hayasugi, a victress of the G1 Blue Diamond S.

Hayasugi is a graduate of the 2022 Inglis Australian Weanling. Fairhill Farm offered the filly, who was purchased by James Bester Bloodstock, Rathosheen Bloodstock, and C Mok for $47,500.

In 2022, Hayasugi was one of seven lots by Royal Meeting in the catalogue; that representation narrowed to two lots in 2023, while in 2024, Murrulla Stud will offer the sole lot by the sire - Lot 266, a colt.

Sitting second on the table is Yulong’s Alabama Express, which also has a sole representative in Lot 122, a filly offered by Rathmore Lodge. Another Yulong-based third-season sire, Pierata, whose son Coleman went close to Golden Slipper glory on Saturday, has four lots in the sale.

The most represented sire within the top 10 of the Australian Leading First Season Sires’ table is the ninth-placed Exceedance, who stands at Vinery Stud. The G1 Coolmore Stud S. winning son of Exceed And Excel has 10 lots.

He is followed by the fourth-placed Tassort, from Newgate Farm, with nine lots. Meanwhile, the other top 10 placed sires are Zousain, which has seven lots; Cosmic Force, who has seven lots; and Brutal (NZ), with six lots.

Coolmore Stud’s Yes Yes Yes, which is placed 11th on the table, has nine lots catalogued in the 2024 Inglis Australian Weanling Yearling Sale.

6. Slipper hero proves popular

Kia Ora Stud’s G1 Golden Slipper victor Farnan has proven popular. The son of Not A Single Doubt achieved a top price of $1.2 million with a colt offered at the 2023 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale.

Farnan is the most represented first-season sire in this year’s 2024 Inglis Australian Weanling Sale, with eight catalogued. At the 2023 Inglis Australian Weanling Sale, Farnan was also represented by eight, of which three sold at an aggregate of $460,000.

Anders is followed by Coolmore Stud’s King Legacy with seven lots catalogued, while Darley’s Bivouac has six weanlings alongside Twin Hills Stud’s Peltzer.

Widden Stud’s Anders and Rosemont Stud’s Hanseatic are tied on five lots. Kia Ora Stud’s Prague has four, as does Yulong Stud’s Tagaloa. Vinery Stud’s Ole Kirk will be represented by three lots at the 2024 Inglis Australian Weanling Sale.