The breakdown of sire numbers for 2023 Inglis Premier is an interesting exercise as it reveals a sale that has something that the others do not.
Insatiable demand for tried European horses and even yearlings from the Northern Hemisphere sales is in part driven by the fact the majority of our leading Australian sires are by and large distance limited at the elite level.
This isn’t a bad thing, but it is a fact that needs to be recognized.
While the likes of Europe’s most expensive sires such as Dubawi, Frankel, Sea the Stars, Siyouni, Kingman, Lope de Vega and Wootton Bassett all produce stock that can run a strong 1600m and often a little or a lot further, the same can’t be said for most of their Aussie equivalents.
The result is our major yearling sales are top heavy with horses that are genetically not bred to run much past 1400m, which is fine if you’re thinking Golden Slipper and Everest.
It’s not so good if your aspirations lie with Cups, Guineas races, Classics and even the $10million Golden Eagle, which has been run four times and won three of those times by Kiwi-breds.
Inglis Premier is a little different with the top four sires most represented – Toronado (IRE), So You Think (NZ), Dundeel (NZ) and Shamus Award – all being genuinely broad spectrum sires with no hard distance limit.
The most represented first season sires are Victorian based Blue Point (IRE), the Royal Ascot sprint king, and Alabama Express, a Group I winning Redoute’s Choice son from the family of Everest winner Giga Kick.
