Cover image courtesy of Inglis
At A Glance
The 2025 Inglis HTBA Yearling Sale saw 299 lots catalogued, an increase on 2024’s 224 lots and similar to the 300 catalogued in 2023. The current clearance rate stands at 80 per cent, with 198 yearlings sold. In comparison, the 2024 sale saw 162 lots sold at a clearance rate of 80 per cent.
The 2025 Inglis HTBA Yearling Sale grossed a total of $4,451,800, well up on 2024’s gross of $3,034,500, and returning to the result of the 2023 edition which saw a total gross of $4,500,500, a reflection on the number of horses on offer for each of those years.
The average currently sits at $22,484, with a median of $15,500, compared to last year’s average of $18,731 and median of $10,000.
The top price of $140,000 was similar to last year’s recorded top price of $150,000. Cape Schnack Stud purchased the sale topping filly by Wootton Bassett (GB) from Alma Vale Thoroughbreds.
Glenbeigh Farm, based in Scone, was the leading vendor by gross with ten yearlings sold for $447,000. They recorded an average of $44,700, twice the sale average. Segenhoe Stud led by average selling all four of their draft at an average of $55,750.
Castelvecchio capitalised on his strong 3-year-old crop, being the leading sire by gross with four yearlings sold for a total of $219,000 at an average of $54,750. Wootton Bassett (GB) topped the sire’s chart by average with two yearlings sold for an average of $82,500, including the sale topping filly.
Tal Nolen was the top spender at the 2025 Inglis HTBA Yearling Sale, purchasing five yearlings for a total of $214,000. Rich River Meats Pty Ltd were the leading buyer by average, purchasing two yearlings for an average of $100,000.
Wootton Bassett filly tops off stellar first sale season for Alma Vale
Popular Coolmore Stud shuttler Wootton Bassett (GB) supplied the sale-topping yearling at the Inglis HTBA sale; Lot 127, a filly out of Lonhro mare Zezolla was knocked down to Tony Ottobre’s Cape Schank Stud for $140,000. The filly was offered by Alma Vale Thoroughbreds on behalf of Yarraman Park, as part of Alma Vale’s first HTBA Sale draft under their own banner.
“She came over from Yarraman Park in great condition and she’s thrived with us,” said Stud Manager Oscar Englebrecht. Englebrecht was ringside with General Manager Verna Metcalfe to witness the sale.
“She prepped up really well,” Metcalfe shared. “She’s a good walking filly and has just been a professional. Every time she has come out, she has paraded beautifully and stood up well. She’s a real athlete.
“She was very popular - surprisingly enough, we didn’t get a lot of x-ray hits, but people loved her. When you’re buying fillies like her, you just buy them.”
“When you’re buying fillies like her (Lot 127), you just buy them.” - Verna Metcalfe
The team were delighted for the filly to find a home with Ottobre, who was on site to bid in person; Ottobre also secured a D’Argento filly from Bowness Stud for $20,000.
The Wootton Bassett filly descends from three-time Group 2 winner and blue hen Tennessee Vain (Whiskey Road {USA}), making her a close relation to G2 Light Fingers Stakes winner Trezevant (Flying Spur). Metcalfe shared that Ottobre only came to view Alma Vale’s filly once - but once was clearly enough to cement his desire to take her home.
Lot 127 - Wootton Bassett (GB) x Zezolla (filly) | Image courtesy of Inglis
“(After the sale) I went and thanked him very much for buying her,” she said. “And he thanked us for presenting her in such good condition.”
Metcalfe and Englebrecht were pleased with the reception of Alma Vale’s first standalone sale drafts this season, and praised the team back on farm for the work put into each preparation.
“It’s so good to get off to a really good start,” Metcalfe said. “And great for our staff too, they put a lot into it. The team at the farm work really hard. We’ve been away to a few sales, and there’s always got to be people at home, so it just makes it easy when you can trust them.”
“There’s always got to be people at home, so it just makes it easy when you can trust them.” - Verna Metcalfe
“It's hard to top any sale, all the credit goes to all the team back at home on the farm,” Englebrecht said.
Alma Vale Team with Lot 127 | Image courtesy of Inglis
Alma Vale finished seventh by aggregate, selling 11 yearlings for a gross of $250,500; their other offerings attracted the interest of Lloyd Kennewell Racing, Group 1 Bloodstock, and Kariba Racing, who took home a Microphone filly out of winning Pierro mare Blazing Babe.
Snitzel filly breeze-up bound for Baystone Farm
Baystone Farm’s Dean Harvey came to the HTBA sale for one horse only, and he wasn’t walking away without Lot 254, a Snitzel filly out of Wicked Style (USA) mare La Haraka. Harvey flew up to Sydney in the week to view her, securing her for $120,000 - making her the third top lot at the sale - from the draft of Segenhoe Stud on Sunday afternoon.
“There were a few others, but she was the main reason that I came up (to the sale),” Harvey said. “She’s a sharp, 2-year-old type. She’s a three-quarter-sister in blood to Snitzerland, so she’ll profile well down the track for breeding.”
“She (Lot 254) was the main reason that I came up (to the sale).” - Dean Harvey
The filly was originally bound for the Inglis Melbourne Premier Sale, but suffered a small setback that left her out of the draft - something that Harvey considers “fortunate”, given the ever-growing profile of Snitzel fillies.
Lot 254 - Snitzel x La Haraka (filly) | Image courtesy of Inglis
Harvey revealed that the filly’s destination was the Inglis Ready2Race Sale later this year, where Baystone Farm hopes to replicate their success from last year, selling a Written Tycoon filly out of dual Group 1 winner Soriano (NZ) (Savabeel) for $1 million to Yulong.
“We’ve got four fillies in our draft this year,” he said. “We have two Zoustars and a So You Think, and now this filly. So for the way the stallion is going, I think she was really good value for the market.
“It’s a good pedigree that keeps on evolving, so I think she will have plenty of appeal when we offer her in early November.”
Dean Harvey | Image courtesy of Inglis
Their million dollar graduate has been named Signature Scent, and Harvey is excited to see her take the races. Her 10.50s breeze was the eighth fastest in the 2024 Ready2Race sale.
“She’s got lots of talent,” he said. “Ciaron Maher has her. She hasn’t started yet, but she shouldn’t be far off, I imagine, and I look forward to seeing her on the track.”
Pleasing year on year growth across sale metrics
While earlier sales in the season suffered somewhat from the economic downturn and tentative buying behaviour on behalf of syndicators and trainers alike, the Inglis HTBA Sale seems, at first blush, to have come out on top.
At the close of sale on Sunday, the clearance sat at 80.5 per cent - up from last year’s figures at the close of sale - and both the average and medium prices have risen to $22,484 and $15,500 respectively at the time of writing. In fact, these are both the best two figures since 2022.
The sale-topping Lot 127, selling for $140,000, is on a par with last year’s top lot being $150,000 - overall, the 2025 sale produced more $100,000 lots (four) than the 2024 sale.
Graeme Gathercole, trading under Rich River Meats Exports, snapped up the second highest priced yearling; Lot 253, a St Mark’s Basilica colt out of Kristy Lee (Encosta De Lago), a six-time winning daughter of multiple Group winner Shania Dane (Danehill {USA}), from the draft of Bowness Stud. Blake Ryan secured Lot 120, a Zousain colt out of a half-sister to 12-time winner Indian Thunder (Manhattan Rain), for $100,000 from Carramar Park.
Lot 253 - St Mark's Basilica (Fr) x Kristy Lee (colt) | Image courtesy of Inglis
Inglis Bloodstock CEO Sebastian Hutch was pleased with the sale’s outcome, particularly given market trends.
“I think it's no secret that in this part of the market has been particularly challenging this year and in recent years,” he said. “It certainly appears to have been a trend that supply was exceeding demand in terms of the profile of stock that tends to be a feature of this sale.
“So to have gotten to a point in the day where we're clearing 81 per cent, the median has jumped 6 points year on year, and the average is up in what was expected to be a very challenging market, it’s very positive from our end. We feel like we've probably done a good job with it the last few days.”
“It’s very positive from our end. We feel like we've probably done a good job with it the last few days.” - Sebastian Hutch
Having a larger catalogue than 2024 obviously brought the expectation of growth across the sale’s metrics, but so far the sale has exceeded expectations.
Sebastian Hutch | Image courtesy of Inglis
“I don't think anybody, even the more optimistic (among us), would have expected the average and the median to grow in the manner that they have. People thought (that) likely those figures would taper off with the larger catalogue. To grow the clearance and have the average and the median grow is fantastic. So from our end, it's pleasing, and there are a number of vendors that enjoyed some really excellent results too.”
“I don't think anybody, even the more optimistic (among us), would have expected the average and the median to grow in the manner that they have.”- Sebastian Hutch
Even with such positive results, Hutch is pragmatic. With the yearling sale season drawing to a close, he predicts there may be a ripple of change through Australasia’s smaller producers later this year.
“None of us are ignorant to the fact that, for breeders participating in a sale like this, the cost of production is exceeding returns, and that's obviously a concern,” Hutch said. “So I think people are pleased that we facilitate healthy market for the trade of stock, while at the same time, there will be a number of people who will reevaluate their strategy in advance of the breeding season.”
Top nine lots in the Inglis HTBA Sale
| 127 | B. or Br. | Filly | Wootton Bassett (GB) | Zezolla | Cape Schank Stud | Alma Vale Thoroughbreds, Scone | $ 140,000 |
| 253 | B. | Colt | St Mark's Basilica (FR) | Kristy Lee | Rich River Meat Exports Pty Ltd | Bowness Stud, Young | $ 130,000 |
| 254 | B. | Filly | Snitzel | La Haraka | Baystone Farm | Segenhoe Stud, Scone | $ 120,000 |
| 120 | B. | Colt | Zousain | Whisper Babe | Blake Ryan Racing Pty Ltd | Carramar Park, Grose Wold | $ 100,000 |
| 170 | B. | Colt | Castelvecchio | Cash First | Paul Willets Bloodstock Consultancy / Richard Otto | Kingstar Farm, Denman | $ 95,000 |
| 29 | B. | Colt | Stay Inside | Prosecution | Tal Nolen | Blue Gum Farm, Euroa, Vic | $ 85,000 |
| 17 | B. or Br. | Colt | Ole Kirk | Peace Force | Prima Park / Bevan Smith Bloodstock | Vinery Stud, Scone | $ 80,000 |
| 122 | B. | Filly | So You Think (NZ) | Wonderbabe | GD Hickman Racing Stables | Kingstar Farm, Denman | $ 80,000 |
| 192 | Br. | Filly | Farnan | Daring | Border Bloodstock Pty Ltd | Stonehouse Thoroughbreds, Eddington, Vic | $ 80,000 |
Top 10 vendors by aggregate
| Glenbeigh Farm, Scone | 11 | 1 | 10 | $ 447,000 | $ 44,700 | |
| Bowness Stud, Young | 21 | 1 | 1 | 19 | $ 424,500 | $ 22,342 |
| Kingstar Farm, Denman | 16 | 1 | 2 | 13 | $ 418,000 | $ 32,154 |
| Vinery Stud, Scone | 16 | 3 | 2 | 11 | $ 395,000 | $ 35,909 |
| Riversdale, Scone | 16 | 3 | 2 | 11 | $ 268,500 | $ 24,409 |
| Blue Gum Farm, Euroa, Vic | 17 | 4 | 1 | 12 | $ 268,000 | $ 22,333 |
| Alma Vale Thoroughbreds, Scone | 13 | 1 | 1 | 11 | $ 250,500 | $ 22,773 |
| Segenhoe Stud, Scone | 4 | 4 | $ 223,000 | $ 55,750 | ||
| Widden Stud, Widden Valley | 13 | 1 | 2 | 10 | $ 175,000 | $ 17,500 |
| Fernrigg Farm, Denman | 14 | 2 | 1 | 11 | $ 140,000 | $ 12,727 |
Top 10 vendors by average (2 or more sold)
| Segenhoe Stud, Scone | 4 | 4 | $ 223,000 | $ 55,750 | ||
| Glenbeigh Farm, Scone | 11 | 1 | 10 | $ 447,000 | $ 44,700 | |
| Stonehouse Thoroughbreds, Eddington, Vic | 3 | 3 | $ 120,000 | $ 40,000 | ||
| Vinery Stud, Scone | 16 | 3 | 2 | 11 | $ 395,000 | $ 35,909 |
| Kingstar Farm, Denman | 16 | 1 | 2 | 13 | $ 418,000 | $ 32,154 |
| Cavallo Park Stud, Hawkesbury | 12 | 5 | 3 | 4 | $ 114,000 | $ 28,500 |
| Riversdale, Scone | 16 | 3 | 2 | 11 | $ 268,500 | $ 24,409 |
| Rheinwood Pastoral Co, Mittagong | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | $ 48,000 | $ 24,000 |
| Alma Vale Thoroughbreds, Scone | 13 | 1 | 1 | 11 | $ 250,500 | $ 22,773 |
| Braebrook Thoroughbreds, Scone | 3 | 1 | 2 | $ 45,000 | $ 22,500 |
Top 10 buyers by aggregate
| Glenbeigh Farm, Scone | 11 | 1 | 10 | $ 447,000 | $ 44,700 | |
| Bowness Stud, Young | 21 | 1 | 1 | 19 | $ 424,500 | $ 22,342 |
| Kingstar Farm, Denman | 16 | 1 | 2 | 13 | $ 418,000 | $ 32,154 |
| Vinery Stud, Scone | 16 | 3 | 2 | 11 | $ 395,000 | $ 35,909 |
| Riversdale, Scone | 16 | 3 | 2 | 11 | $ 268,500 | $ 24,409 |
| Blue Gum Farm, Euroa, Vic | 17 | 4 | 1 | 12 | $ 268,000 | $ 22,333 |
| Alma Vale Thoroughbreds, Scone | 13 | 1 | 1 | 11 | $ 250,500 | $ 22,773 |
| Segenhoe Stud, Scone | 4 | 4 | $ 223,000 | $ 55,750 | ||
| Widden Stud, Widden Valley | 13 | 1 | 2 | 10 | $ 175,000 | $ 17,500 |
| Fernrigg Farm, Denman | 14 | 2 | 1 | 11 | $ 140,000 | $ 12,727 |
Top 10 buyers by average (2 or more bought)
| Segenhoe Stud, Scone | 4 | 4 | $ 223,000 | $ 55,750 | ||
| Glenbeigh Farm, Scone | 11 | 1 | 10 | $ 447,000 | $ 44,700 | |
| Stonehouse Thoroughbreds, Eddington, Vic | 3 | 3 | $ 120,000 | $ 40,000 | ||
| Vinery Stud, Scone | 16 | 3 | 2 | 11 | $ 395,000 | $ 35,909 |
| Kingstar Farm, Denman | 16 | 1 | 2 | 13 | $ 418,000 | $ 32,154 |
| Cavallo Park Stud, Hawkesbury | 12 | 5 | 3 | 4 | $ 114,000 | $ 28,500 |
| Riversdale, Scone | 16 | 3 | 2 | 11 | $ 268,500 | $ 24,409 |
| Rheinwood Pastoral Co, Mittagong | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | $ 48,000 | $ 24,000 |
| Alma Vale Thoroughbreds, Scone | 13 | 1 | 1 | 11 | $ 250,500 | $ 22,773 |
| Braebrook Thoroughbreds, Scone | 3 | 1 | 2 | $ 45,000 | $ 22,500 |
Top 10 sires by aggregate
| Castelvecchio | 6 | 2 | 4 | $ 219,000 | $ 54,750 | |
| So You Think (NZ) | 5 | 1 | 4 | $ 210,000 | $ 52,500 | |
| Yes Yes Yes | 9 | 1 | 1 | 7 | $ 199,500 | $ 28,500 |
| D'Argento | 15 | 2 | 1 | 12 | $ 184,000 | $ 15,333 |
| All Too Hard | 6 | 2 | 4 | $ 175,000 | $ 43,750 | |
| Wootton Bassett (GB) | 2 | 2 | $ 165,000 | $ 82,500 | ||
| Zousain | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | $ 160,000 | $ 53,333 |
| St Mark's Basilica (FR) | 2 | 2 | $ 150,000 | $ 75,000 | ||
| Hellbent | 4 | 2 | 2 | $ 140,000 | $ 70,000 | |
| Farnan | 4 | 4 | $ 134,500 | $ 33,625 |
Top 10 sires by average (2 or more sold)
| Wootton Bassett (GB) | 2 | 2 | $ 165,000 | $ 82,500 | ||
| St Mark's Basilica (FR) | 2 | 2 | $ 150,000 | $ 75,000 | ||
| Hellbent | 4 | 2 | 2 | $ 140,000 | $ 70,000 | |
| Ole Kirk | 4 | 2 | 2 | $ 115,000 | $ 57,500 | |
| Castelvecchio | 6 | 2 | 4 | $ 219,000 | $ 54,750 | |
| Zousain | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | $ 160,000 | $ 53,333 |
| So You Think (NZ) | 5 | 1 | 4 | $ 210,000 | $ 52,500 | |
| All Too Hard | 6 | 2 | 4 | $ 175,000 | $ 43,750 | |
| Dundeel (NZ) | 2 | 2 | $ 80,000 | $ 40,000 | ||
| Farnan | 4 | 4 | $ 134,500 | $ 33,625 |
