Inglis ups stakes to $8m for race series

A $2 million race for two-year-olds at Warwick Farm is part of a revamped Inglis race series to be worth $8 million.

The $2 million Inglis Millennium will be run for the first time in February 2019 along with the $1 million Inglis Sprint for three-year-olds.

Inglis and the Australian Turf Club have combined to formulate the race day on the second Saturday of February each year from 2018 to coincide with the opening night of the Classic Yearling Sale at Riverside Stables.

Next year’s Inglis Race Day on February 10 will feature the $250,000 Inglis Classic (2YOs, 1200m) and $250,000 Inglis Sprint (3YOs, 1100m) with the Group Two Breeders Classic and Group Three Eskimo Prince Stakes also on the program.

All yearlings bought through an Inglis sale ring in 2018 will be eligible for the Inglis Millennium and the new races at the Warwick Farm meeting from 2019, should owners pay up for the race series when they sign for yearlings.

Inglis managing director Mark Webster said the decision to put more money into the Inglis Race Series was to provide a direct boost to supporting clients.

“The Inglis Millennium will provide our clients with another great lead-up option into the Blue Diamond and Golden Slipper, just as the Inglis Nursery has proven in recent years with She Will Reign, Extreme Choice and Mossfun winning the Nursery on the way to Diamond or Slipper glory,” Webster said.

“The ATC has been a great support in getting behind this new concept and we look forward to seeing more champions of the turf come through an Inglis sale ring and go on to win the Inglis Millennium to kick-start their careers both on and off the race track.”

The $8 million race series also includes a $3 million Inglis Triple Crown bonus.

To complete the first leg of the Triple Crown, a horse must with either or both the 2018 $500,000 Inglis Banner (2YO, 1000m) at Moonee Valley in October 2018; or the $500,000 Inglis Nursery (2YO, 1000m) at Randwick in December 2018.

The second leg is the $2 million Inglis Millennium at Warwick Farm in February 2019 and the third is the 2019 $1 million ATC Inglis Sires’ Produce Stakes in April.