A “fairytale’’, a “collectors’ item’’ and a “pinhook of a lifetime’’ captured an emotional day at Riverside as the top three lots on Day 2 of Inglis Classic all told their own remarkable stories.
The day’s headline act came as the second-last lot of the day, a Yes Yes Yes x Limerock colt from the Coolmore draft which sold to Brae Sokolski’s Yes Bloodstock for $450,000.
The colt was bred by Debbie and Paul Kepitis and their daughters Alinta, Lara and Talia and he was the first horse they had ever offered for sale with their Woppitt Bloodstock brand.
“Fairytales don’t happen but it’s been a bit of a fairytale to get such a lovely colt, and to have it all fall into place and to have a farm like Coolmore look after him and get him here in the condition they did, we couldn’t be happier,’’ Debbie Kepitis said.
“We had him as a $150,000 colt and he was on the market then and we let the market decide. And look what they decided – it’s a fairytale story. He was so hard to part with but we did what we said we would do and to see our little brand on the side of him, it just feels such an achievement.’’
In an ironic twist, Sokolski was the underbidder on the dam, Limerock, who he too was trying to purchase to send to Yes Yes Yes, who he raced with Chris Waller and won an Everest with.
“So given all the synergy, there was only one trainer who could possibly be given this horse and that’s Chris [Waller],’’ Sokolski confirmed.
“He’s just a beautiful, graceful animal. We thought he was the best colt in the sale and obviously I make all my business and racing decisions very pragmatically but yes, of course, there’s that emotional connection to the stallion too.
“[Sokolski’s bloodstock manager] Matt [Scown] loved the colt, we’ve looked at every Yes Yes Yes yearling that’s been offered this year and we thought he was a clear standout of all those we’d seen thus far.’’
The day’s second-top lot was an Extreme Choice x Lady No More filly, which Bon Ho of Legend Racing – who bought Classique Legend out of the same sale six years ago for a similar price - purchased for $420,000.
The filly, who will be trained by Lloyd Kennewell, was offered by Greg and Jo Griffin’s Lime Country, on behalf of Myrrh Australia and Matty Upton.
“I love the Classic Sale because a lot of good horses come out of the sale and you don’t have to pay as big a price as you do at some of the other sales, and they win all of the big races,’’ Mr Ho said.
“This filly came highly recommended to me by Lloyd Kennewell, which is why he will train her. I have one other Extreme Choice filly and I think she might be very good so I wanted another one and this one was perfect, she was the only Extreme Choice filly in the sale and I wanted her.’’
Lime Country’s Jo Griffin was blown away by the result.
“The guys who bred her did so off a $10,000 service fee so this is truly amazing,’’ Griffin said.
“She’s such a progressive filly, I’m so happy for Mr Ho. I looked at the stats and there’s only six more Extreme Choice fillies available for the rest of the season so she’s absolutely a collectors’ item.’’
The third-top lot of Day 2 was the “pinhook of a lifetime’’, the So You Think x Light Express filly that Julie Brown of Queensland farm JJJ Thoroughbreds sold to Duncan Ramage for $350,000.
Brown purchased the filly at last year’s Inglis Great Southern Weanling Sale for just $40,000 and couldn’t contain her emotions when the gavel came down at $350,000 earlier this evening.
“Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine this. I was hoping for $100,000, so this is just unbelievable,’’ a stunned Brown said of the filly, who was her sole offering in the Classic Sale.
“The filly has been a dream, she’s been the perfect angel for me all week, she’s been parading non-stop since we got here, been super popular, but she’s been so good.
“When I looked at her in Melbourne as a weanling I loved her and now she’s turned into a pinhook of a lifetime.’’
Duncan Ramage added: “I’m still here for one of the last lots so yes, there was a keenness to stay here to get this filly.
“This filly is very athletic, the stallion throws Group 1 winners that are colts or fillies from 1400m to a mile and a half, the filly is out of a Fastnet Rock mare, it just all made sense. She’s just such an athlete.
“As for the price, we were running on fumes at that point but she’s worth it.’’
At the end of Day 2, the sale average sits at $107,369 with a clearance rate of 82% and gross of $45,632,000.
Inglis Bloodstock CEO Sebastian Hutch was delighted to see so many strong results today.
“As expected, there were some fantastic results today with a broad cross section of buyers involved through the day,’’ Hutch said.
“There’s another 130 lots of Book 1 to go tomorrow and with plenty of nice horses amongst them, before we get into the Highway session which again will provide buyers with abundant opportunities to find a nice horse.
“I think there’s plenty of trainers here who are buoyed by our Xtra Maiden announcement of the $100,000 bonuses last week and I expect them to be especially active tomorrow.’’
To enquire on a passed in lot from the opening two days of the sale, contact Harry Bailey on 0420 997 417.
Lots 561-830 have been catalogued for Day 3 of the sale, which begins at 10am tomorrow at Riverside Stables.
The first 130 lots conclude Book 1 before the Highway Session begins at lot 691.
To view the catalogue, CLICK HERE.
Day 3 action will again be broadcast live on the Inglis website and Facebook Page via our Sale Day Live coverage, with the Preview Show beginning at 9.30am.
STATISTICS (last year in brackets)
Lots sold: 425 (439)
Clearance Rate: 82% (89%)
Average Price: $107,369 ($126,444)
Median Price: $80,000 ($100,000)
Top Price: $550,000 ($825,000)
Gross: $45,632,000 ($55,509,000)
