Cover image courtesy of Inglis

The Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale is upon us, and the cream of the Australasian foal crop have congregated at the Riverside Stables complex in Sydney ahead of the kick-off of trade on Sunday. A total of 421 lots have been catalogued across two days of selling, split into 234 colts and 187 fillies, from some of the finest families in the studbook.

Yearlings will be offered by 48 individual vendors, with Arrowfield Stud presenting the largest draft, having catalogued 42 lots in the book. This is a much more select draft than they brought to last year’s sale, where the number of yearlings catalogued by the Hunter Valley nursery was 62. Coolmore Stud have the second largest draft at 39, which is the same number that they entered in last year’s sale, followed by Sledmere Stud, whose draft swells to 24 from last year’s 15 offerings.

Table: Top five vendors by size of draft before withdrawals in the 2025 Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale

“Statistically, Inglis Easter is the sale most likely to produce (for) buyers a top class racehorse and that’s what everybody is looking for,” Inglis Bloodstock CEO Sebastian Hutch said ahead of the sale.

“The Easter Yearling Sale is the sale most likely to produce a Group 1 winner, more likely to produce a 2-year-old Group winner, and has comfortably the best stakes winners to runners ratio than any of the Southern Hemisphere yearling sales.”

A sale that has always garnered an international buying bench, the 2024 edition of the sale saw buyers from seven racing jurisdictions outside of Australia, including New Zealand, Hong Kong, the United States, and Japan. An 82 per cent share of the catalogue was sold to Australian buyers across all states and territories in the country aside from the ACT.

Best of the best

The 2025 edition of the Easter sale has been hailed already as a particularly select version of the sale, living up to its “best of the best” tagline, and that is evidenced in the number of yearlings that have made the cut. The 421 catalogued this year is 79 less than last year; a significant decrease of 15.8 per cent in catalogue size. The smallest catalogue from the previous five editions was in 2023, where 36 more yearlings than this year were accepted into the sale.

Table: Aggregate, average, and clearance rates over the last five editions of the Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale

This has little correlation with clearance rates, which have remained above 80 per cent for the last four sales. Pandemic restrictions and economic uncertainty had a profound effect on the sale in 2020, but trade returned the year after in fine form, with the aggregate for the 2021 sale almost doubling that of the year before (please note that the data here does not include the Inglis Australian Easter Sale Round 2 that was held in July 2020).

Top lots have always had a profound effect on the average; the sale of Winx’s (Street Cry {Ire}) filly by Pierro last year is no doubt a large contributing factor to the average price per lot rising above $400,000. Her sale was also a large contributor to the sale's aggregate, accounting for approximately 6.6 per cent of the total. Subtracting her total from last year's sale leaves a difference of just over $2.5 million between the 2024 and 2023 sale aggregates.

Otherwise, the average has largely remained above $350,000, with a peak of 26 yearlings selling for $1 million or more in 2023 and the sale of $3 million colt Kandinsky Abstract (Zoustar) in 2022 contributing to a higher average, despite there being six less $1 million yearlings than the year after.

Chart: Number of million dollar yearlings in the last five editions of the Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale

Champion sires to the fore

A refined 61 sires are represented in the catalogue, with four-time Champion Sire Snitzel leading the way by representation. He has 45 offspring in the catalogue, accounting for 39.8 per cent of his 2023 foal crop and a massive 10.7 per cent of the whole Easter book.

Table: Top 10 sires by number of offspring in the catalogue in the 2025 Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale, service fees inc GST

Amongst his most exciting lots is Lot 76 from the draft of Arrowfield Stud, a full brother to G1 Coolmore Stud Stakes winner Switzerland, who is destined to join the Coolmore Stud roster at the conclusion of his career. Kia Ora Stud will offer Lot 396, a full sister to Newgate Farm’s young sire Wild Ruler, who has his own first entrants into the Easter catalogue this year.

Closing on him is Widden Stud’s Zoustar with 36 entries into the catalogue, accounting for 29.5 per cent of his foal crop, which is the last of his progeny to be conceived at a stud fee under $200,000.

Widden are proud to present Lot 198 from Zoustar’s 2023 crop, a full brother to freshly minted Group 1 winner Schwarz, who captured the G1 William Reid Stakes in March en route to taking his place on the Rosemont Stud roster. Milburn Creek offer another of his enticing sons in Lot 363, the first foal from the G3 Gimcrack Stakes and G2 Light Fingers Stakes winner Every Rose (Choisir).

After Snitzel, the sire within the top 10 by number of offspring catalogued to have the largest percentage of his crop in the Easter catalogue is Extreme Choice, who has 31.7 per cent of his foal crop heading to the ring this weekend. With his incredible statistics - his Group 1 winners to runners strike rate of 4.27 per cent is currently the best in the world - it is no surprise that his stock are highly sought after.

Ridgmont’s draft includes Lot 325 out of multiple Group winner Chintz (NZ) (Savabeel), making this yearling a three-quarter-brother to G2 Wakefield Challenge Stakes winner Not An Option (Not A Single Doubt).

There is a distinct international flair to the Easter catalogue; just outside of the top 10 sires by number catalogued is influential British sire Frankel (GB) with 12 yearlings, conceived off of a £200,000 ($410,000) service fee. His progeny are joined by one lot each for Siyouni (Fr), Justify (USA), and Camelot (GB), as well as two lots for rapidly rising American sire Gun Runner (USA). Former shuttler Too Darn Hot (GB) is represented by 18 of his progeny, just one more than Coolmore’s premier shuttle stallion Wootton Bassett (GB).

High performing stallions lead by average

The order of last year's top 10 leading sires by average (three or more lots sold) is likely to see a shuffle in this year's edition of the sale. A prominent feature last year, Justify did not shuttle in 2022 so only has limited offerings in Australia this sales season. Given the exploits of his offspring over the last two racing seasons, his single offering in 2025 is likely to attract a lot of attention.

Table: Top 10 sires by average (three or more progeny sold) at the 2024 Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale, excluding the presence of Pierro x Winx '22

This is the first of Extreme Choice’s crops to be conceived off of a $275,000 (inc GST) service fee, significantly raising the quality of mare he would have served - and, having added the G1 Melbourne Cup and G1 Blue Diamond Stakes to his record this season, he is likely to be in high demand again, particularly his colts. Of his six $1 million yearlings, five were sold in 2024 (two at Easter) and all are colts.

Snitzel, I Am Invincible, and Zoustar all continue to be popular, with all three being heavily represented across Group 1 races nationwide; so far this season, Snitzel clinched his third G1 Golden Slipper Stakes winner and I Am Invincible received his first juvenile Group 1 winner on Saturday with Vinrock in the G1 Sires’ Produce Stakes.

Note that Pierro has been excluded from this tabulation as $10 million of his $11.6 million is attributable to the one lot.

Final opportunities

Lastly, there are several eras that conclude at this year’s Easter sale. The final crop of Champion Hong Kong Sire Deep Field featured just six foals, one of which has since deceased, and the final two will be offered this weekend. Yulong offer a filly, Lot 38, that is the second foal of Group 3-winning Macroura (Snitzel), a three-quarter-sister to dual Group 1 winner Sunshine In Paris (Invader).

Gallery: Yearlings from the last crops of sires Deep Field and Fastnet Rock that will be offered at the 2025 Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale, images courtesy of Inglis

There are also two yearlings from the last confirmed crop of Coolmore stalwart Fastnet Rock. While he did cover a small number of mares in 2023, all are recorded as having visited another stallion after him, which effectively makes his 11 foals born in 2023 his last crop. Willow Park Stud will offer one of his colts, Lot 5, that is a full brother to multiple Group winner Formality.

Spotlight on first season sires

Nine first season sires have representatives from their first crops in the Inglis Easter catalogue, with Coolmore’s Home Affairs leading the way by numbers, having 28 lots in the book. He is the most expensive service fee on the first season sires’ list at $33,000 more than Stay Inside, who is the second most represented as well as the second largest service fee among this group.

Table: First season sires by number of offspring catalogued in the 2025 Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale, service fees inc GST except for Noverre (NZ)

Home Affairs was one of three graduates in this cohort from an Inglis Easter sale; a $875,000 graduate of the 2020 sale, he was purchased from Torryburn Stud by Tom Magnier. He was withdrawn from the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale to be sold here instead, and he dually rewarded Magnier’s investment with victories in the G2 Silver Slipper Stakes, the G1 Coolmore Stud Stakes, and the G1 Lightning Stakes.

Amongst his offspring is Lot 405 out of Hips Don’t Lie (NZ) (Stravinsky {USA}), making that yearling a half-sister to fellow first season sire Acrobat, who has two offspring in the sale. Acrobat passed in here in 2020 and was retained by his breeder, Coolmore.

The G1 Moir Stakes-winning Wild Ruler, who has two in the catalogue, was also a graduate of this sale; he was a $525,000 purchase from Kia Ora Stud for China Horse Club, Newgate Bloodstock, and Winstar in 2019. Willow Park Stud present Lot 185 from his first crop of foals, a half-brother to Group 1 performer Stretan Angel (Harry Angel {Ire}).

Representatives and influences through the catalogue

In an extraordinary breadth of opportunity, 228 yearlings in the catalogue are either the progeny of stakes-winning mares or siblings to stakes winners, accounting for 54.2 per cent of the yearlings accepted into the sale before withdrawals. Of this number, 39 are the progeny of Group 1-winning mares, a further 32 are out of Group 2 winners, and 43 are the foals of Group 3 winners.

Chart: Number of yearlings catalogued by dam's best racetrack performance, where SW stands for stakes winner

There are 36 yearlings that are siblings to a total of 38 Group 1 winners, who have amassed 58 Group 1 wins between them, including half or full relations to Lady Shenandoah (Snitzel), Stronger, Ozzmosis, Artorius, Super Seth, Autumn Angel (The Autumn Sun), and Sunshine In Paris.

Between this elite group, they have won seven G1 Oaks races, seven juvenile Group 1 races, four G1 Surround Stakes, five G1 Guineas races, three G1 Robert Sangster Stakes, a G1 Queen Of The Turf Stakes, a G1 Golden Rose Stakes, and a G1 Hong Kong Centenary Sprint Cup - to name but a few.

The continual influence of the great mare Dancing Show (USA) (Nijinsky {Can}) is still prevalent through the Easter catalogue, but a more recent presence that can be felt strongly is that of the late Redoute’s Choice. He has 61 lots by his sire sons, and a further 30 by his grandsons. He also appears as the damsire 15 times, and a further 17 times as the second damsire - and this does not count all the other places he appears in pedigrees.

“Year after year, (Inglis Easter) is the ‘best of the best’ – the best breeders showcasing their best yearlings at the best venue in the world to offer horses,” Hutch said.