Following the sale of the AU$10 million Winx (Aus) filly and his announcement to step back from full-time duties at the end of the year, Jonathan D'Arcy, Inglis's general manager of bloodstock operations, spoke with TTR AusNZ.

   A few days after Jonathan D'Arcy, Inglis's general manager of bloodstock operations and auctioneer, made headlines for knocking down the Pierro (Aus) x Winx filly for a staggering AU$10 million to Woppitt Bloodstock, he took the time to sit down with The Thoroughbred Report for a Q&A session.

   While there was news of D'Arcy's retirement, he was quick to clarify that he would only be stepping back from his full-time role at Inglis. However, he plans to remain involved as part of the bloodstock inspection team and will continue his duties as an auctioneer.

D'Arcy told TTR AusNZ, “I'm stepping back from a full-time position, but I'll certainly still be around. I will be playing a role in inspecting yearlings with the team in August and September and I'll be in the auction box for as long as they [Inglis] want to keep me.”

Keely: Jonathan, could you provide readers with some insight into how your career in the breeding and racing industry began?

D'Arcy: Certainly, I am going back a long time, probably before you were born, but I grew up in Brisbane and I was always interested in the thoroughbred industry.

During my school holidays, I'd go and work on a stud farm or I'd go down to Eagle Farm Racecourse and help out a couple of trainers down there.

My mum was a tipster on the radio and had a column in the paper tipping horses, so there was always an interest there and after finishing school I worked for a couple of properties and then to the Agricultural College in Victoria, and as part of that course I ended up doing some experience with Inglis in 1986.

After that work experience I was fortunate enough that John and Reg Inglis offered me a position in the pedigree team. At that stage we wrote pedigrees, they weren't generated by computers, so we wrote all of them.

At that stage I certainly wasn't thinking I was going to become an auctioneer. I just enjoyed being around the horses and loved the pedigree side of the business. I was learning a lot, as you do working for a company like Inglis.

A couple of years later Reg Inglis asked me and Vin Cox if we'd like to have a go at auctioning. We both took up the offer, I kept going with it and Vin decided he'd go down more of a sales path where he became a successful bloodstock agent before embarking on his very successful management career.

I stayed with auctioneering because I enjoyed it so much. I've been lucky enough to see the world as a company representative and it's been a very enjoyable career to this date.

Keely: How do you ready yourself for an auction? Do you plan out your approach in advance, or do you prefer to improvise and go with the flow?

D'Arcy: Every auction is different, and obviously a sale like the Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale there's a lot more work that goes into having a think about how you can promote these horses you're selling. Most auctions we take 90 seconds to 2 1/2 minutes to sell a horse.

So, there's not an awful lot you can say, you just make sure you're up to date with the pedigree and what the stallion's latest racetrack results are. We get all the information on the successful nicks and crosses, but all the buying bench is so well versed in all this information.

They don't really want to hear a lot about pedigrees–it's all in the catalogue and so they really want an efficient auctioneering service that can get the horses bought and sold in a good time.

I think we're actually selling a bit faster these days just to get through the large number of lots that we've got on our selling days.

But overall, I don't think we want to bore people with extra statistics or pedigree information. You just got to be up to date with anything that might help or make a difference when the final bids are called for.

Keely: Throughout your extensive and successful career, who have been some of your influences and sources of inspiration?

D'Arcy: I've been fortunate to be around a lot of successful people in this industry. Early days, I was learning from the auctioneers that were present at the company. So, that was Reg Inglis, John Inglis and Jamie Inglis.

Down the track we took over Dalgety Bloodstock in Victoria, and that meant that we had the services of Peter Heageny. Peter was certainly someone who I learned a lot of auctioneering skills from. We also worked with Simon Vivian.

I spent a lot of time listening to other auctioneers and I was lucky enough to follow Damien Cooley, who's a very successful real estate auctioneer. I followed him around for several months just learning how he sold houses. I was lucky enough to do a real estate auction for his company.

An inspiration has been Neville Begg. I am very fortunate to have developed a strong friendship with Neville. Obviously, he's been a successful trainer in Australia for many years. When he went to Hong Kong, I was lucky to stay with Neville and his wife on several occasions. Neville remained a very close friend and someone I learned a lot about horses from.

I've spent time with many successful bloodstock agents like Kieran Moore and John Foote. There's too many to name. You learn from everyone you're around, and it's an industry that you keep learning. You're still learning to this very day and that's what makes it interesting. It's an industry where a lot of people get involved and a lot of people do share their knowledge with you.

I think that's great for young people coming up through the business that you can learn from all these different people that we've got within the industry.

Keely: What is your favourite aspect of your role?

D'Arcy: At Inglis, we have a great bloodstock team. We've got about 10 people in the bloodstock team, so we talk to each other a lot. We have meetings almost weekly where we talk about some of the things we need to do, whether it's for a digital sale or whether it's recruiting buyers to certain sales. Sometimes it's about what we need to do to attract yearlings or attract mares for the Chairman's Sale.

So, there's always something different happening throughout the year. The most enjoyable part to me is the auctioneering. I love it because I think we can make a difference to the returns for our clients, and I love the theatre of it. I love the fact every sale is different.

When you're calling bids at a million dollars and seeing the emotion on both purchasers' and vendors' faces, that's a great kick. It's great to play a very small part in a successful sale. Because the breeders have spent up to 18 months, two years, breeding the mare to get the foal and then foal to a Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale or a Inglis HTBA Sale or Classic or Premier–to get the result for them that they dream of that's very important for not only myself but all the people in the company.

Keely: Apart from the Winx filly, could you share some of your other career highlights?

D'Arcy: I was lucky enough to sell a mare called Samantha Miss (Aus). She was put through as a racing and breeding prospect as a 4-year-old mare. She'd won the VRC Oaks and was probably one of the highest profile race mares to be sold that year.

Samantha Miss sold for AU$3.85 million – that was a great thrill. I was also fortunate enough to sell Makybe Diva (GB)'s Galileo (Ire) colt at the Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale when it was held at Newmarket many years ago.

Once again, that was not dissimilar to what we saw play out this week, there was a lot of mainstream media attention there. Makybe Diva having won the Melbourne Cup on three occasions and a Cox Plate. There was a lot of international interest, the colt made AU$1.7 million.

That was exciting but some of the biggest thrills you get are selling horses for AU$100,000 when the client thought it was worth AU$40,000 or selling a horse for AU$80,000 when they thought they were struggling to get AU$20,000.

That gives you as much thrill as selling the high-priced horses. Sometimes a result like that keeps that breeder in the game. It means they can breed the mare again the following year. So, I think it's very important, and it's not a cliché but every horse we offer is important. We would like to think that we're giving every horse the same opportunity to maximise its sale price through our auctioneering team.

Keely: Could you share some of your funniest or most cherished memories from your career?

D'Arcy: I can remember when I was a bit younger and I was actually taking bids in the Newmarket ring, which many people will remember had quite a lot of residential housing around it and a school and hospital across the road.

I can't recall if it was a Inglis Classic Sale or an Easter Sale but my wife and I lived across the road and we had a young beagle puppy called Jackson. Anyway, I had my back to the auctioneer and was looking at the clients under the tree taking bids and there was a commotion and I turned around and here was this beagle puppy racing straight towards me! It was quite a hilarious moment.

I'm sure there would be a lot of other funny moments around the sales. You get people who are surprised at what their horses are making, absolutely gobsmacked and wonderful things like that. We sold a colt for a vendor from New Zealand one day, who thought the horse was going to make AU$400,000- AU$500,000 and they ended up making well over that mark, selling for AU$1.5 million.

So, that was a bit of fun. You share a lot of jokes and camaraderie with the clients. Many of the people who attend the sales have been attending them for a very long time, you can always have a laugh with them about certain things that happen in the sale ring.

Keely: What positive changes or innovations have you observed in the industry, and are there any aspects you'd like to see improved or altered?

D'Arcy: I suppose the innovations are the way computers are used these days. The statistics are up to date and you can get the ratings that are put out after every meeting. I think that's certainly a tool that many people use now when they're buying horses or if they're trading horses to Hong Kong, those ratings are something that have become very

Prior to the introduction of computers – analytics, statistics, ratings was very much a personal opinion but now it's solid data behind why horses are bought and sold. One of the biggest changes with the selling of bloodstock/livestock has been the introduction of digital sales.

We've been lucky at Inglis to play a role in that. We're turning over AU$90 to AU$95 million a year in digital sales. But that's made it a very liquid market so you don't have to wait three or four months to sell a horse or even prior to this it wasn't really possible to sell a five or 10 per cent share in a horse.

Now you've got a sale every two weeks. So, it's almost like the stock market, like a trading floor of a stock market and I think that has changed the way people look at trading bloodstock.

We have horses that one year they're sold as a yearling for AU$400,000 and they have a couple of starts and the syndicate might decide that they're not exactly going to make a stallion, so they're traded for say AU$200,000. That horse might win a couple of races for that owner and then maybe nine months later they're traded again for AU$90,000 because they need to continue their racing in an easier jurisdiction.

Some of these horses have been traded three, four, five times in their lives and at each time it's important for the owners to be able to conduct that trading. I think the fact we've developed a trading platform that assists everyone.

The second part, I think the industry is now much more focused on welfare and the importance of displaying to the world that we care about these horses, not only during their racing careers but their post racing careers.

While there's still more that can be done and needs to be done, I think everyone is now thinking in the right direction. There isn't just financial support but also having a think about how we look after these horses once they are retired. So, I feel that was something that was very much required and it's been a rocky road to get to that point.

Keely: Is there a particular stallion that holds a special place in your heart over the years?

D'Arcy: I was fortunate enough to be around when Danehill was really in full stride. I can remember looking at his fist crop and they sold okay but when they started racing it was quickly understood that he was a breed shaper stallion. Danehill was getting colts and fillies, his sons were going off to stud and were successful – the likes of Danzero (Aus), Flying Spur (Aus), Redoute's Choice (Aus), Fastnet Rock (Aus).

The fact that we were able to sell Danehills for something like 12 years, the incredible popularity of the stallion and the success they had. Many of them were sold through our Easter Yearling Sale, it was just a great time to be involved.

I remember Danehills regularly making a million dollars, two million and he never had any sex bias. It's a rare thing to see in a stallion – the term is a breed shaper and I've only seen a couple of breed shaper stallions in my lifetime. Danehill was probably the greatest one and to have the opportunity to his progeny for an extended period of time was certainly a great highlight of mine.

Keely: Do you consider the sale of the Pierro x Winx filly to be the pinnacle of your career?

D'Arcy: I suppose a lot of people will because it got all the publicity, and it was certainly probably the most highly anticipated moment of my career.

I just hoped everything would play out well. I was pleased that there was competition, I would have loved to have had a few other people to jump in. However, I know people were trying to have a bid at AU$3 million, AU$4 million and AU$5 million. People have spoken to me afterwards saying we tried to get in but it was just too fast.

I was just delighted to be able to play a very, very small role in what was a great story. The marketing team here and the way buyers were recruited did a massive job.

I think the whole story captured the imagination of the Australian public and the thoroughbred industry around the world – that was great.

As an auctioneer we sell a lot of horses every year but it's been very enjoyable being part of this sale and it's very fresh in my mind. It's an easy one to remember because there's just been so much written about it and a lot of video content.

It was just a thrill to be involved and I'm pleased that it played out well for everyone. Fingers crossed the filly can go on and continue the legacy that Winx has laid down.

Keely: Has the reality of selling a yearling filly for AU$10 million fully set in for you?

D'Arcy: I practised selling her for about a month before the sale, not every day, but if I was driving for half-n-hour or every couple of days and in my mind she never made AU$10 million. When practising I'd be taking bids of AU$200,000 or AU$250,000 but to be taking bids of a million and a million and a half, that wasn't something I considered was ever a possibility of occurring.

I don't think any auctioneer in the world would have imagined they'd be calling bids of that magnitude in such quick succession as how it played out. Personally, I really didn't think she would be making that sort of money. When you think about it the highest-priced yearling ever sold was a colt at US$13 million and it was a long, long time ago.

The Australian record for a filly was AU$2.6 million, and I thought she'd be making somewhere around AU$5 million because of the interest. At AU$10 million, it is still sinking in for a lot of us. Just a magic moment to be involved in and a horse's worth is determined by what two people are willing to pay.

Debbie Kepitis had a part ownership of the filly, but she had to pay an awful lot of money to buy out her partners. It was a unique opportunity to buy the daughter of arguably the greatest racehorse we've ever seen in this country.

Keely: What would you name the Pierro x Winx filly?

D'Arcy: I quite like a name called An A Nod. Three words, a wink and a nod. Sort of something like that. There's an old saying, a nod and a wink. So, that's why I think An A Nod. But I'm sure smarter people than I will come up with a very suitable name for her.

The post ‘In My Mind, She Never Made AU$10 Million’: Jonathan D’Arcy And A Lifetime Of Sales appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Buyers will be afforded a once-in-a-blue-moon opportunity to secure a daughter of Australia's most decorated racemare after it was announced on Sunday that the owners of Winx (Aus) (Street Cry {Ire}) have opted to sell her first foal at the 2024 Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale.

The daughter of Pierro (Lonhro {Aus}) will be offered by Coolmore, the farm on which Winx herself was raised, on behalf of her owners Peter and Patty Tighe, Woppitt Bloodstock, Elizabeth Treweeke and Rick Treweeke on Day 2 of the Inglis Easter sale, which is to be held at Inglis' Riverside Stables complex on Sunday, Apr. 7 and Monday, Apr. 8 in 2024.

In what Inglis CEO Sebastian Hutch believes is a huge coup not only for the auction house, but the bloodstock industry in general, Inglis will set about attracting a buying bench befitting of the queen of Australian racing, and Hutch can hardly contain his excitement at the prospect of selling such a rare collector's item.

“It's as excited as I've been in my time at Inglis and I can't imagine too many times in my bloodstock life that I'd be more excited,” he said. “It's a fantastic opportunity for our business, but generally speaking it's just going to be fantastic for the Australian thoroughbred.

“There is tremendous respect for the Australian thoroughbred internationally and you only have to look at the exploits of the horses that have travelled overseas in the past 20 years to see the significant impression they are capable of making, whether it's as racehorses, stallions or mares.

“This is a horse that we can promote to the world and have the world embrace a filly of this quality.”

Winx, who officially turned 12 by her birthdate on Thursday, hasn't had the easiest of starts to life as a broodmare, losing her first foal by Champion Sire I Am Invincible and missing to Arrowfield Stud stalwart Snitzel last year.

Difficult decision

Winx | Inglis

There are few people more closely associated with Winx than her co-owner Debbie Kepitis, who has enjoyed a huge amount of success as a breeder under both the Ingham Racing and Woppitt Bloodstock banners.

With Winx's first living foal being by Pierro, a Golden Slipper-winning son of the Ingham-bred and raced champion Lonhro, the filly represented a real family affair for Kepitis, who revealed to TTR AusNZ the thought process behind the ownership group's decision to sell the regally-bred yearling.

“It's never easy to come to a decision to sell any of your progeny when you breed them and this decision was not made lightly,” she said. “You ultimately breed what you like to race, so it's always an emotional and difficult decision.

“We had an amazing time with Winx and it would be so easy to have just kept this filly in the ownership group and race her on, but when we had such a beautiful specimen, it just seemed the right thing to let her go and let another group of people enjoy the fun we had.

“Winx has put her heart and soul into this wonderful foal and she deserves to have this amazing product shown to everybody.”

The decision to sell Winx's Pierro filly was in no way affected by Time Of My Life's impressive debut win at Geelong last week according to Kepitis, who reiterated that the prospect of selling the prized offering had been mooted amongst the ownership group for some time.

She is not yet sure what her overriding emotion will be when the time comes for Winx's Pierro filly to enter the sales ring, but Kepitis and her fellow owners are confident that the Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale is the right place to showcase such a rare commodity.

“It hasn't been a quick decision and we've been discussing this as an ownership group for a long time, but we are 100 per cent all behind this decision,” she said.

“This is not a simple process. We had to look at every scenario to make sure we were totally comfortable with all the factors. We also had to look at where we should showcase her and that was a challenging decision that we had to go through as well.

“We have two amazing bloodstock companies in Australia. Winx was bought at Magic Millions, so people would say naturally she should go there, but as we all discussed, when you're showing a product of that amazing mare you want them at their absolute best.

“You also want them to be able to cope with it. This is going to be a big hoopla sale, so she has to have the maturity to cope with being on show. It's like when you take a really good racehorse to the races for the first time, the good trainers make sure that their product is going to showcase well, and that's what we as an ownership group believe we needed to do.

“We kept discussing it and this looked like the best way forward with this beautiful little filly. It'll be heart in the mouth stuff.”

One thing's for certain, the eyes of the bloodstock world will descend on Riverside Stables come April 8 as a new chapter in Winx's wonderful story is written.

The post Winx’s First Foal To Be Offered At Inglis Easter appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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   Foxwedge (Aus) is the horse who got the ball rolling for Harron Down Under. He sourced the high-class sprinter-turned-stallion as a yearling and, from there, refined the art of making stallions on a commercial level through colt partnerships.

   It's a little under 10 years ago when Harron secured the backing of a team of investors who purchase 10 to 15 yearlings every year with a view to blooding them into stallion prospects through success on the racetrack. 'TDN Rising Star' and subsequent G1 Golden Slipper hero Capitalist (Aus) and King's Legacy (Aus) are graduates of this hugely successful system.

   Portfolio management and filly partnerships are also listed among the services he manages under the banner of James Harron Bloodstock and, as one of the slot holders in The Everest, he has won the race with Redzel (Aus) in 2017 and again this year with Giga Kick (Aus).

   Harron also manages a number broodmare bands, including Morningside Stud, who he purchased a mare on behalf of at Fasig-Tipton last week. He then sat down with Brian Sheerin at Keeneland to discuss his career in bloodstock and the benefits that come with being based in Australia for this week's Q&A.

Brian Sheerin: Tell us a bit about your background.

James Harron: I've worked with horses most of my life. I spent my school holidays down in Coolmore in Tipperary, rode out for a few different National Hunt trainers and eventually I went to Enniskillen College. From there, I went to Paul Shanahan and then went to Australia for a three-month stint doing the yearling sales for Coolmore at Inglis. After that, I went to Gai Waterhouse for a week's work experience and that turned into a year. That was the start of me in Australia as I just fell in love with the place.

I also spent some time with Coolmore Australia and in a sales role with Hubie de Burgh. We travelled to a lot of different countries, including extensively in Australia, so that allowed me to pick up a really good client in the Batemans who allowed me to buy them some yearlings. We struck it off with a good colt in Foxwedge and one of their foundation mares in Satin Shoes (Aus) (Flying Spur {Aus}. That really gave me a launching pad so I went out on my own. I'm coming up on 11 years trading on my own but it feels like 40 years!

BS: What are the main advantages to trading in Australia?

JH: It's a very exciting marketplace but it was very different 10 years ago or 12 years ago. There is a huge level of interest among the general public and racing is a part of their culture. I just felt that it was very much an untapped market and agents weren't really a big thing when I came here whereas in Europe there were so many. In Australia, the trainers were buying all of their own horses or else their owners were, so the opportunity looked good. I just enjoy the atmosphere in Australia and the way that they do business. They are very amenable to giving a young person a start. It's part of their psyche, they want to give young people an opportunity. It has come together well and we have evolved as a business in terms of where we are focussing on. One of the biggest things that I am proud of is that we have pretty much got the exact same clients with us now as we did in the beginning. That means a lot. On top of that, our key staff Anna Ryan and Stephen Heath, have been with us from the start.

BS: You are recognised as one of the best judges of a yearling in the business. How did you get to where you are now?

JH: I was fortunate to be around the right people and was always listening and learning. Where things really clicked into place for me was when I was working with Gai Waterhouse. She had an agent, George Smith, who has had an incredible record over the years. He was fantastic to learn from. We would go around doing all of the pre inspections for Gai and he would write all of his notes by hand. I would then type up all of his notes into the computer system so that we had it all set up for Gai. We would sit there in the evenings having a few beers and he'd ask me, 'what's my rating on this or that,' and it really sunk in. He was amazing with his time and that was the time when things started coming together for me and dots began to get connected. You never stop learning and listening from the trainers to get feedback on all of the horses and try to refine it. The minute you think you are getting better at this job, you have a bad year–that's the game.

BS: It's one thing to have practical knowledge and another to make the shrewd business moves, which you have clearly done. Who was it that influenced you on that side of things?

JH: I have always enjoyed the business side of things. I have some great people around me, including clients of the agency, who are great people to learn from and I am able to bounce different things off them. Without singling too many people out, but John Camilleri has been a fantastic friend and mentor. It's a matter of identifying where you want to be in this industry and acknowledging what your strengths are within it. Most importantly, you need to know what people want out of your business and that was the biggest thing we wanted to identify. We tried to make it sensible for people to race horses and to give them an opportunity not to be just paying out bills but to put some form of a structure in place so that people could race horses in a somewhat commercially viable way.

BS: And what are the services that you provide and how have you developed your business in Australia?

JH: From an early stage, we wanted to work with the trainers and manage the horses on behalf of the owners throughout the whole process. We identified who we believed to be the best breakers, pre-trainers, spelling farms and we also have our own vet, Johnny Walker, who does all of our own inspections on a fortnightly basis and reports back to us as an independent. We are managing a tiny percentage of the horses a trainer would have in their stable so we can give it that little bit more attention and focus. We also work on the programming and have a form expert, Mark Shean, who works closely with us and he helps us with our placement in New South Wales. We have Deane Lester in Victoria as well. They are integral parts of the team. We just try our best to dot the is and cross the ts and get as much good data together [as possible]. The people who we work with, they really welcome the feedback and we work together to make plans and it's enjoyable. The owners are part of the whole process and fully understand where they are going. Plans don't always work out but it's nice to have some system in place.

BS: But when it does work out, especially when you make stallions like Capitalist and King's Legacy, that must give you huge pleasure.

JH: We were fortunate to have Foxwedge (Aus) early on. He won the G1 William Reid S. and was by Fastnet Rock (Aus). He became a high profile commodity and was sold to Henry Field and stood at Newgate Farm. That was their first ever stallion. From there, we bought more colts and found Australian Guineas winner Wandjina (Aus). I always had the idea of putting together a group of people to pool their resources together and try to buy more horses and give ourselves more opportunity to produce these colts to go to stud. What was really astonishing to me was how competitive it is to buy these stallions.

We felt like we wanted to be selling into that market more and more. A lot of our people are breeders so the idea would be to pick up a number of colts to race and try and get them to a high level. Then you can sell down equity to stud farms and also keep equity so they are a part of that process. Within that partnership group, Capitalist came along and it has been a wonderful story. They have continued to support him and he is a success on the track and in the sales ring. That's really the model.

We try to pick up between 10 and 15 colts per year and then produce a stallion prospect. The ones who aren't getting to that level can be traded to Hong Kong, which we have done every year and that has become quite helpful. We've had some nice horses go to race there. We have a very healthy domestic market with provincial and country racing and the ones who don't make stallions or don't have high enough ratings to be sold to Hong Kong can go on and have fruitful careers in Australia. It's pretty much about having a system that can identify the big horse who can make the step up.

BS: Physically, what are the main things you are looking for in a yearling?

JH: The big question we try to ask ourselves before we bid on a horse is, if he is successful on the track, would we want to send our best mares to that horse. That sounds a bit obvious but you need to know if he is by the right sire, has he got the right physique or is he from a good enough family. Sometimes you can become sidetracked by a really nice type who isn't by the right sire or doesn't have a good family and it's important to have a product that, if it is successful, we can fully get behind. You can see that by the stallions we have produced, the owners really get behind them and they get commercial books. King's Legacy for example, he covered the highest number of any first-season sire in his first year at stud. From a physical point of view, we are very much looking for a precocious type of horse. We look for one who can run as a 2-year-old and do everything that makes an Australian sire in terms of precocity, strength and robustness.

BS: Would you attribute Foxwedge for launching your career?

JH: He really got it going for me and came at a pivotal point, for sure. We used that as a springboard and there have been other pivotal moments along the way but he certainly was the first. Getting Capitalist in the first year of the colt partnership was also very important. They all mean something but those two were pivotal.

BS: And is there a particular moment that means the most to you? Was it a race or perhaps a particular deal that stands out?

JH: I was probably at a stage in life when I could really appreciate how significant Capitalist was when he came along. Winning a Golden Slipper, I mean it's the race you dream about and it's all you think about when you are looking at yearlings. When I'm looking at horses at the sales, I try to envisage a horse walking around the paddock ahead of the Golden Slipper.

BS: It must be quite rewarding to be seeing him do so well as a stallion.

JH: It is and all the owners follow his progeny no matter where they are running. It doesn't matter how big or small the race is, they are always cheering them home. We look forward to seeing the progeny of horses we have been attached to and try to pick some of them up and try to get them to the same level of their sires. It's a great part of the journey. It's a long and slow burn but, once it starts rolling, it's fantastic.

BS: And what are you doing here in Keeneland this week?

JH: We haven't been over here in Keeneland for a long time and only picked up a few here and there over the past few years through various different agents. The opportunity arose to come over this year and we've picked up a few mares. We got two mares at Fasig-Tipton; one will have a foal here and the other is empty. After that, they will travel to England and be covered by Frankel (GB) before coming home to Australia. We have broodmare partnerships, which is what the mare we bought in foal is for, and that consists of a handful of people from our colt syndicates as well. They can use their equity and play around with it that way. The other filly was bought on behalf of Morningside Stud. They have a beautiful band of broodmares.

BS: Do you see yourself doing more business internationally?

JH: To be honest, our big focus is Australia and we want it to remain that way. We are fortunate to have good relationships with different people around the world who we can work through and combine with if we need to. I do love the American broodmares for Australia and I think this is potentially going to be a sale that I will keep coming back to. It will be more sporadic than it being planned attending sales internationally. It will be more for when the opportunity arises. We have an amazing industry in Australia and it's a very exciting place to be.

BS: What makes Australia such a vibrant place to be based and what could we take out of the industry over there with a view towards European racing?

JH: There is a real mainstream interest in racing in Australia and it permeates through to every level. From the pubs with the TAB machines where they have the racing on, people have grown up with that and their parents or family members have taken a part-share in a horse. The culture is there. The fundamentals have been put in place with the rebate and gambling wagers coming back into prize-money. The administrators are very passionate and push hard. They have made some incredible additions to the racing calendar, most notably The Everest. The amount of people who told me that this year's Everest was their best day on a racetrack, I couldn't believe it. I was talking to some owners who have had 20 Group 1 winners but they said that The Everest was one of the most meaningful days that they have had racing. From the minute you walked in, the atmosphere and the amount of young people there, everything just came together. What that has done is brought in a new and younger demographic. They view The Everest as a cool new race and you just bump into every type, the butcher or the hairdresser, and all they want to talk about is The Everest.

BS: Is it just the prize-money that has captured the imagination for the race or is it the trading and the slots that goes with it?

JH: I think it's multi-faceted. The prize-money has pricked everybody's ears. That is probably the most significant part because I am not sure if many people under the age of 35 would understand exactly how the slots for the race works. I have to say, the media did a great job and they were calling you about it every day to see what was happening. There was just this share of information which goes on for 10 months and that helps to promote it.

BS: Especially when you leave it late.

JH: Yeah, I know! For different people with different interests, there are many attractions to the race and it's multi-faceted. People in the industry love the dealing side of the race while the young people love the day itself. There is no other day like it. It was just unbelievable.

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Harron tweeted, “Delighted to secure [a] beautiful Frankel mare Ludisia for Morningside in foal to Kingman at Inglis from Twin Hills Stud and Juddmonte Farms. An absolute queen from an outstanding family of 2-year-olds, including current Godolphin star and last year's European Champion 2-year-old Native Trail.”

Team Lucky Vega acquired the other two Juddmonte mares, paying A$400,000 for Lucid Dreamer (GB) (Dansili {GB}) (lot 47) and A$260,000 for lot 31, Escapement (GB) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}). Both are carrying to fellow Juddmonte luminary Frankel and were also offered by Olly Tait's Twin Hills. The former is out of a half-sister to G1 St Leger victor Logician (GB) (Frankel {GB}) and two other black-type winners, while the latter is related to Group 1 winner's Timepiece (GB) (Zamindar) and Passage of Time (GB) (Dansili {GB}), with the last named the dam of exciting young stallion Time Test (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}).

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Juddmonte will offer a trio of mares, two in foal to Frankel (GB) and the other in foal to Kingman (GB), at the Inglis Chairman's Sale on May 6.

Consigned by Olly Tait's Twin Hills Stud, the Invincible Spirit (Ire) mare Escapement (GB), a half-sister to Group 1 winners Timepiece (GB) (Zamindar) and Passage Of Time (GB) (Dansili {GB}), the latter the dam of breakout stallion Time Test (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}), is carrying to Frankel, as is Lucid Dreamer (GB) (Dansili {GB}). Lucid Dreamer is closely related to G1 St Leger winner Logician (GB) (Frankel {GB}). The third mare is Ludisia (GB) (Frankel {GB}), who is a full-sister to Group 3 heroine Fair Eva (GB) (Frankel {GB}) and is a half-sister to the dam of the 2021 European Champion 2-Year-Old Native Trail (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}). She is in foal to Kingman.

Frankel boasts sparkling strike rates of 30% black-type performers to runners and a 13% group winners to runners in Australia. His Converge (GB) won the G1 Randwick Guineas, joining fellow Southern Hemisphere Group 1 winners for his sire in Hungry Heart (Aus) and Mirage Dancer (GB).

“The development of the Inglis Chairman's Sale over the past few years has been noteworthy, making it an obvious choice for Juddmonte to showcase a select group of mares from some of our most established families,” Juddmonte's UK Stud Director Simon Mockridge said. “The mares to be consigned under Olly Tait's Twin Hills banner represent a unique opportunity for the Australian market to appraise and invest into deep Juddmonte pedigrees honed over generations and carrying to two elite international sires.

“Over the years, Juddmonte families have enjoyed great success in Australia/New Zealand through the likes of Group 1 winners Makybe Diva, Mr Baritone, Leicester, Kings Will Dream, Royal Performer and Queen Supreme and these results have been further buoyed by the emergence of Frankel and Kingman as sires of significant importance to the market.”

“We are naturally delighted to be presenting these mares at the Inglis Chairman's Sale on behalf of Juddmonte,” said Tait. “The mares represent some of Juddmonte's finest families, that have been carefully developed over decades and they would be worthy of a place in any broodmare band in the world.”

“This is a significant coup for the Chairman's Sale and an unprecedented opportunity for Australasian breeders,” said Inglis Senior Bloodstock Consultant and European Representative, Harry Bailey.

“The Juddmonte breeding operation is arguably the best in the world, so to have the opportunity to offer for sale mares they have specifically identified and managed with the Australian market in mind is a real honour.

“The catalogue is coming together beautifully and with entries closing soon, I encourage anyone with a mare that they think suitable, to contact a member of our Bloodstock Team to discuss arrangements.”

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Northern Farm, who bought Youngstar for AUS$1.4 million (US$909,437) at last year's Inglis Chairman's Sale, was one of eight different bidders over the $1-million mark for the G1-winning daughter of Adelaide.

In realizing AUS$2.7 million, Funstar also becomes the highest priced mare to be sold 'under the hammer' at public auction in 2021.

“I am so thrilled that we were able to purchase a beautiful mare,” Yoshida said.

“We have her (half) sister Youngstar and also have mares related to the granddam User Friendly.

“We are looking forward to seeing their progenies winning in Japan.”

Funstar's managing owner Olly Koolman – who discovered the filly at the 2018 Easter Yearling Sale where he purchased her for AUS$80,000 (US$62,096)  – was lost for superlatives at the result.

“I'm absolutely stunned. It's hard to fathom just how much of an amazing result this is,'' Koolman said.

“She was a fabulous race filly and mare and we had a lot of fun with her but never in our wildest dreams did we expect she would sell for $2.7 million in any sale, let alone a digital sale.

“I cannot speak highly enough of the Inglis Digital team, they worked their absolute butts off to promote this mare to buyers around the world and as an ownership group, I can't speak highly enough of the Inglis team and what they have done to create a scenario where we get to reap the rewards of this result.

“We've been glued to our computers since mid-afternoon, we opened a bottle of champagne at AUS$1.3 million to celebrate, so it's incredible to be sitting here now with her having made AUS$2.7 million.

“We wish Northern Farm all the best with her, we thank all the underbidders and we can't wait to sit back and see her progeny running in years to come.''

“We are beyond excited by tonight's result, especially the Funstar sale,” Inglis Digital Manager Nick Melmeth said.

“It's not only a significant milestone for Inglis Digital but for the bloodstock industry worldwide.

“To have Inglis Digital break a world record, to have Northern Farm pay $2.7 million for Funstar without even seeing her, just demonstrates the unbelievable confidence in our platform.

“But there is immense satisfaction from the whole Inglis team about many of the results, aside from the high-profile top lots.

“For example, Missed The Alarm (Rip Van Winkle) made more than 10 times her reserve and stallion Native Soldier (Sepoy) sold to Wermer Stud in Denmark.

“That just shows the reach of Inglis Digital. From modest results to world records in just four years of operation.”

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TDN: Shalaa has got off to an excellent start in his first season with runners. Can you tell us why you think his progeny are suited to Australia?

JM: Yes, Shalaa has got off to a good start here. He was a champion 2-year-old racehorse in Europe, he's good-looking and from a sireline that was beginning to work in Australia. I must say, his progeny all seem endowed with his quality and athletic demeanour. From the start, trainer feedback has been good.

TDN: After Shalaa's first year, what kind of support did he receive in his subsequent three books, and what types of mares do you think are best suited to him? How have his yearlings been received this year off the back of his early results?

JM: We have been serving approximately 150 mares each year with him and demand at the sales for his progeny has remained strong. It is a bit early to say what kind of mares will work for him, however, he seems to tidy up the progeny of most mares.

TDN: Arrowfield has 49 to sell at Easter-tell us a bit about the draft as a whole.

JM: We have what I believe is a well-balanced, high-standard draft of yearlings for Easter, including a number of yearlings by Japanese stallions and a group of exquisite yearlings by our champion sire, Snitzel. The response from those who have inspected the draft on the farm over the last 10 days has been positive, and there is a strong recognition of our record as a source of top performers and prospective stallions.

TDN: When most other sales markets have been happy to consolidate during the global pandemic, the Australian yearling market has been vibrant this year, setting records at the major sales thus far. Why do you think Australians have been so keen to invest in Thoroughbreds?

JM: Australia has seen a buoyant market in most asset classes during the COVID-19 crisis: real estate, the stock market, boats, Thoroughbreds etc. I think it's a combination of factors which has caused this. The massive injection of funds into the economy by the Australian Government and our very low interest rates have been contributors. Our natural isolation and effective response to the virus compared to most other countries has made us a bit of a haven.

Then there has been the psychological effect of all the scientific and government warnings about the drastic potential of COVID, which led to people believing they were staring death in the face on a major scale when in fact we have been able to control the disease very well. I think this has caused people to reassess their lives and begin to “live for the moment,” unleashing significant discretionary expenditure on horses, boats, cars–if that was their hobby–or on upgrading their homes, etc.

TDN: Australia's prizemoney has also done well during the pandemic; minimum prizemoney levels were quickly restored and Racing NSW recently announced a $20-million prizemoney injection. Why has Australian prizemoney been able to flourish and grow during this time?

JM: There are two reasons: racing was about the only sport or entertainment that continued relatively unabated during the pandemic and so it enjoyed a big rise in wagering turnover; that has underpinned the sport's revenue base. In NSW, [we underwent] negotiations with the state government six or seven years ago that led us to be placed on the same footing as the Victorian racing industry as far as state wagering taxes were concerned. This tax alleviation was conceded to Racing NSW and was to be introduced on a five-year graduated basis. I believe we are now enjoying the full benefit of this.

The racing industry in Australia is most fortunate to be supported by the best fundamentals for racehorse owners in all the open racing economies. Australian racing is working its way back into being a mainstream sport here again.

TDN: This year's yearling sales mark the end of an era with the last crop of Redoute's Choice going through the ring. Can you describe how important he has been to Arrowfield and to the Australian industry?

JM: Redoute's Choice's multiple champion sire titles certainly underpinned the Arrowfield operations over a number of years and the massive revenue generated by his progeny by way of yearling sales and prizemoney benefitted the industry as a whole.

TDN: Likewise, Danehill and his descendants, with Redoute's Choice at the forefront, have shaped the modern Australian breed.

JM: Yes, it's true that Danehill and his most influential son have shaped the breed in Australia. Danehill, Redoute's Choice and their sons have, in fact, won 20 of the last 25 Australian champion sire titles–quite an achievement. There was more evidence of their dominance just last weekend when each of the 15 starters in the G1 Golden Slipper had at least one line of Danehill blood in their pedigree.

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Hutch's experience prior to his trip down under involved stints with John Oxx and Neil Drysdale before spending a summer under the tutelage of Richard Henry which ultimately forged the way for Hutch becoming an integral member of the Coolmore Australia team.

“It was a fantastic place to work,” said Hutch upon reflection of his 10 years spent with the operation. “I was there at a time when Encosta De Lago (Aus) was champion stallion and I was able to be part of Fastnet Rock (Aus) becoming a champion stallion too. There were a lot of good horses bred on the farm at that time as well. The likes of Winx (Aus), and Vancouver (Aus) are two good examples. It's hard not to learn in that kind of environment.”

In 2018, Hutch's time working for the company came to an end as he left to take up his current role with the powerhouse sales company Inglis.

“There was an opportunity to come to Inglis in a bloodstock orientated role,” said Hutch. “I hadn't really given any consideration to it in a proactive sense but when the opportunity arose, it seems to me I would have been very naive not to consider it.”

On the appeal of working for Inglis Hutch said, “It's a company with tremendous history, a fantastic reputation, not just domestically but internationally. A lot of what I discussed with people prior to coming to Inglis, in terms of any particular role, was very stimulating. I was going to be joining a team that was very knowledgeable, very competent and effectively they were more people that I could learn from. Also, there was going to be the opportunity for me to contribute in a constructive manner as well.”

Although it cannot have been an easy decision to leave Coolmore, Hutch has not looked back citing, “I was at a stage in my career where there was an opportunity for me to make a change and I haven't regretted it. I'm really enjoying my time here.”

Of course Hutch is not the first to leave the Emerald Isle for a 'short stint' in another country and then extend their trip to the point of never leaving.

When asked why Australia proves to be such a popular country for expatriates Hutch said, “I think there are probably a lot of factors involved in that. I think a massive thing is that the racing spectacle is year round here. If you're passionate about racing there's not really a month of the year where the racing isn't engaging. The participants in the sport are really, really accessible in this part of the world too. Whether it's the top trainers, the jockeys, owners, breeders, for a young person looking to immerse themselves in the industry, it would seem to be a really easy thing to do as those kind of people are really forthcoming with their time.”

Aside from those influences the Australian industry appears to go from strength to strength and in the 13 years that Hutch has been there he credits the “narrative of racing” and the increase in prizemoney each year as the driving forces to the successful model in place.

Of course with the increase in prize money and race initiatives such as The Everest combined with the successful ownership model of syndication the bloodstock industry continues to thrive. The forthcoming renewal of the Inglis Easter Yearling Sale boosts some 42 siblings to Group 1 winners and has progeny by prominent stallions from both hemispheres represented, including the last crop by the deceased Japanese stalwart Deep Impact (Jpn). Aside from that, the sale also offers yearlings that were bred by the late Sheikh Hamdan's Shadwell Stud who announced in February that they were disbanding their operation in that part of the world. Those yearlings will be offered by Yarraman Park Stud.

“It's just a fact traditionally that each and every year the best yearlings Australian breeders have to offer end up at Easter, certainly a greater percentage of them anyway,” said Hutch. “The catalogue looks really strong this year. I've been up and down to various farms over the last few weeks just trying to check in with certain drafts and the standard would appear to be tremendously high.

“Certainly the feedback from buyers who have been doing farm inspections in advance of the sale has been hugely positive. It's hard not to be excited about the sale. Obviously it comes with huge responsibility when you're selling people's best yearlings but it's very exciting and we're very much on track for a good sale.”

Although Australia has been hit with catastrophic weather in the last two weeks, leading to the postponement of the Golden Slipper, pre-sale inspections have continued to take place. Over the years those yearlings who have lit up the Inglis bid board have gone on to dominant at the top level on the racecourse with graduates including multiple Group 1 winners The Autumn Sun (Aus), Loving Gaby (Aus), Merchant Navy (Aus) and Russian Revolution (Aus) to name a few. For any bloodstock enthusiast, Inglis Easter provides a stimulating exhibition and Hutch has every reason to be looking forward to this year's sale.

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