The impact of the recent success in Hong Kong of horses sourced on Inglis Digital was in evidence today, with the top lot and the third top lot bought by Hong Kong-based owners.
A son of Snitzel and dual G1-winning mare Reponse, top lot Secure was purchased by Hong Kong owner C Y Wong for $500,000 and is set to join the stable of trainer Manfred Man.
A winner at Canterbury and Warwick Farm this campaign, before running a credible second at Randwick on Saturday, Secure, who raced for an ownership group including TFI and Kia Ora, was offered having been fully vetted for Hong Kong.
“Secure has a very good pedigree and his full siblings include G1 Golden Slipper winner Estijaab,” Wong said.
“He has got a Hong Kong Rating of 70, which can fulfill the requirements of my replacement permit.
“I expect that Secure will be more mature next season and according to his recent form, I am quite sure that he can perform well in Hong Kong,” Wong said.
C Y Wong has enjoyed success with Inglis Digital purchases previously, notably Self Improvement (Deep Field), a $105,000 acquisition in January 2023 who has since won or placed 10 times in Hong Kong for prizemoney earnings equivalent to A$1,000,000.
“Nicky Wong at Inglis has been very helpful during the whole process, I’ve found Inglis Digital easy for overseas buyers and I will look for more good horses here,” Wong said.
The third-top lot was unraced 2YO colt Chandler, a son of I Am Invincible and G2 winner Miss Fabulass, who was secured by another Hong Kong-based buyer in So Bloodstock for $305,000.
TFI had an interest in a number of offerings through today’s sale, including Secure and Chandler, and their operations Racing and Bloodstock Manager Sally Williams was pleased with the outcome of the sale.
“We have long been advocates for the merit of Inglis Digital,” said Williams.
“The standard of service is fantastic – you genuinely feel like the whole team at Inglis is working with you to help to achieve the best price for your horses.
“And the reach of the platform is just incredible. A number of our offerings today were purchased by Hong Kong-based buyers and the volume of enquiry for those suitable horses was nothing short of incredible.
“Evidently, there is absolute confidence in the market, domestically and internationally, in buying through Inglis Digital and as a vendor, that helps to reinforce the view that it is the optimum way to trade stock,” Williams added.
The second-top lot of the sale was Hell Hound (Hellbent), a half sister to G2 Blue Diamond Prelude winner Letzbeglam, offered by Vinery Stud in foal to Exceedance and bought by Cambridge Stud for $310,000.
“Phenomenal,” said Vinery Stud’s Harry Roach.
“The interest in her all week was significant and just judging from the amount of phone calls and people coming to the farm to see her, we felt she had a lot of momentum and it all correlated to her selling very well.
“We offered her on behalf of Brookdale Racing’s David Lucas, a very good client of the farm who raced Exceedance with us so that was a nice touch.
“We have a good relationship with Cambridge Stud who bought Letzbeglam (Snitzel) from us as a yearling and they have a really progressive filly by Exceedance in Dance to the Boom,” Roach said.
It was these factors and an impending match with their G1-winning stallion Sword of State (Snitzel), that attracted the Cambridge Stud team to Hell Hound.
“She was a good 2YO herself, a city-winning 2YO and we followed her racing career obviously being a half to Letzbeglam,” Cambridge Stud’s Cameron Ring said.
“We had Mike Fleming from Bhima inspect Hell Hound on our behalf and when he gave her the tick and said she’s a 10/10 physical, we knew we would have to work hard to get her.
“We’ve had Stakes success with progeny of Exceedance and another component to why we bought her is we obviously stand Snitzel’s G1-winning son Sword of State, a cross that has worked so well with this family.
“It’s a family Brendan and Jo Lindsay really want to invest in”,” Ring said.
The June (Late) Sale grossed $5,155,100.
In total 12 lots realised $100,000 or more, with Extra Olives ($240,000), Searchin’ Roc’s ($140,000) Sam the Rocket ($120,000), Ikasara ($120,000) and Ringhals ($120,000) joining the aforementioned.
“Some of the results today were just incredible,” said Inglis Digital Business Manager Nick Melmeth.
“I am particularly delighted with the engagement by Hong Kong buyers in the catalogue as I see it being a real growth area for trade – for both vendors and buyers.
“Our International Business Development Manager Nicky Wong told me this morning that he fielded 17 enquiries for Secure from international buyers yesterday alone, which is extraordinary.
“The bloodstock world is becoming a progressively smaller place and Inglis Digital is demonstrating itself time and time again to be the optimum platform to facilitate that trade,” he said.
The appeal of the Inglis Digital July (Early) Online Sale has been boosted by the news that it will include an unreserved reduction of racing stock offered by racing and breeding powerhouse Godolphin.
The July (Early) Sale will also see the official launch of the new and improved Inglis Digital website.
Key features of the upgraded site include:
·Simplified sign in process with personalised login and password details
· Enhanced Mobile and Tablet user experience
· Improved bidding functionality
· Better vendor entry management system
“We have taken what we have learned over the past eight years and created a custom-built system, to enhance the user experience,” Melmeth said.
“Our team has worked tirelessly to deliver what we believe is the most user-friendly system possible, and we’re excited to evolve what is already the world’s leading online Thoroughbred auction platform.
“I encourage all users to familiarise themselves with the new site once it goes live next week,” Melmeth added.
Entries close for the July (Early) Online Sale at 12pm (AEST) on Wednesday, July 9.
The sale will run from July 11-16.
