An additional $6,920,000 changed hands in an abbreviated third day of the main session at Inglis Premier to put an exclamation mark on the most successful yearling sale conducted in Victoria.
More than $76 million was grossed from the 545 lots offered, which was almost $12 million more than what was a record sale last year, when the main session contained a similar number of horses.
“The sale was up 26 percent last year and that’s an extraordinary jump because we’re talking about a sale with significant turnover,” Inglis’s chief executive of bloodstock Sebastian Hutch said.
“The growth that has been achieved here is a massive number again. It’s a great compliment to the support we’ve had from vendors, the confidence that buyers have in the market that we create here and the horses that vendors offer here.
“The important thing for us is, the success of this sale has been built on the success of graduates and the quality of stock fundamentally.
“We feel like there were really nice horses here and hopefully those horses can go on and win good races.”
An hour after the hammer fell on the last lot in the main session, with further dealing on passed-in lots expected, the overall sale figure was $76,055,000.
Last year’s sale, which offered just 14 fewer horses, grossed $64,210,000.
This year’s average of $159,632 was up on last year’s then-record $139,284, while 2022 produced a median of $140,000 compared with last year’s $105,000 with a clearance rate of 87 percent.
The sale’s standout performer was the son of I Am Invincible and Fine Bubbles, who sold to Coolmore’s Tom Magnier for $950,000.
Widden, which sold the sale-topper in its first draft prepared out of its new Victorian base, was the leading vendor by aggregate with $5,322,500, while Gilgai’s $317,500 average was the best by any seller.
Lindsay Park bought more horses than anyone with 12, while Ciaron Maher Racing spent more money than other buyer with its 11 purchases costing a total of $2,040,000.
