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Record-breaking sale concludes

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Inglis Digial April (Late) sale grosses $10,721,799

Awakening. Picture: Inglis Digital.

The Inglis Digital April (Late) online auction concluded on Wednesday evening and grossed a record-breaking $10,721,799.

The 80-strong Arrowfield broodmare reduction totalled $6,555,650 at an average of $81,945 with all lots sold. The most expensive of these was Snitzel (Redoute's Choice) mare Awakening who was bought by Yulong for $415,000.

The mare, a sister to Group winning juvenile Williamsburg out of Group 1 winner Fenway (High Chaparral), was offered in foal to Maurice (Screen Hero) and Yulong Stud's Sam Fairgray said she will suit their resident stallion Written Tycoon (Iglesia).

"Physically she and the other mares we purchased will all suit Written Tycoon really well so it's exciting to get them,'' Fairgray said.

"Awakening is out of a Group 1 winner and a sister to a Group 3 winner and Group 1 placegetter, in foal to Maurice who is one of the most exciting up-and-coming stallions out there.

"She's from the Joie Denise family which is a great family to get into. She's by Snitzel out of a High Chaparral mare, out of a Zabeel mare, out of a Danehill mare, you can't go wrong with those sire lines.

"We're really pleased to get Awakening and we'll be up at the Chairman's Sale next week to see if we can get some more high quality mares to take back to Yulong and support our stallions.''

Four lots were purchased under the Chatsworth Farm banner for a total spend of $975,000 and included Colour Me (Snitzel) who cost $355,000.

The second top lot and another offering from Arrowfield was Bring Me The Maid (Sebring) who realised $395,000. A dual Group 2 winner, Bring Me The Maid was offered in foal to The Autumn Sun (Redoute's Choice) and was secured by Cunningham Thoroughbreds and Clarke Bloodstock.

"Jim [Clarke] and I are always on the hunt for quality, sharp mares with that Australian commercial appeal and Bring Me The Maid, as a Golden Slipper placegetter and multiple Group 2 winner certainly fits that mould,'' Mitch Cunningham said.

"The Autumn Sun is a bonus, we've bid and missed on a few of his yearlings this year so to have her carrying a foal of his is great for us and this package is exactly what we're after.

"As for the future, I think she's bang on for Wild Ruler. We've seen success with Russian Revolution and we think Wild Ruler profiles very similar as a pre-Christmas winner and a Group 1 winner.

Arrowfield's John Messara, who admitted to being apprehensive ahead of the sale, was delighted with today's results.

"I couldn't be happier, really, we're very happy, these are great overall results,'' Messara said.

"It was a very good afternoon, we all sat together in a room in the office, the bloodstock team and Paul and I and watched it all unfold, it was most enthralling and as expected, most of the action occurred in the final half hour or hour.

"Given it was a first for a major stud to offer such a big reduction of high-quality broodmares online and we didn't know how it would work out, sure we were apprehensive. We were hoping to get reasonable results but in the end, overall, we're really pleased.

"[Selling with Inglis Digital], it's a very efficient way of selling and quite cost effective too. We also accommodated the many buyers who wanted to inspect the mares on the farm, we had a huge number of inspections and we welcomed those and we also provided a lot of information online for the buyers, as did the Inglis team, so overall we can't ask for much more.''


Hudson Conway reduction topped by Pondus

PONDUS winning the Regal Power at Flemington in Australia. Picture: Racing Photos


The 11-strong Hudson Conway reduction recorded an aggregate of $1,245,510 and was topped by stakes winner winner Pondus (Sea The Moon) who sold to Michelle Payne for $390,000.

"The clients I bought him for, they're people who want to have a bit of fun and would love to target some Country Cups like Geelong, Ballarat, Bendigo etc and then see where the horse ends up after that,'' Payne said.

"The price certainly pushed us a bit and we weren't sure just how far we'd have to go but we were quite keen to get him.

"The clients have got some young horses with me but wanted something up and running and ready to race. We've been trying for a while to purchase the right one but hadn't found it and thought Pondus was perfect for everyone.

"I love buying off Inglis Digital, I mean it's heart-in-mouth stuff when it keeps extending with every bid toward the end but it's fun, it's easy and it's a great way to move horses on or to fill your stable on a regular basis.''

In total 7 lots realised $300,000 or more in the April (Late) Sale and 26 sold for $100,000 or more. The overall gross of $10,721,799 eclipsed the previous record of Inglis Digital, set in June last year when $6,295,250 was achieved.