The Autumn Sun may have missed the last breeding season through injury but it hasn't stopped him having his second sale topper, with one of his sons fetching the highest price at an Inglis Classic Yearling Sale that exceeded most expectations.
Underscoring Inglis' efforts to ensure a strong international bench amid fears the sagging Australian economy would impact local buyers, Hong Kong agent Willie Leung paid AU$520,000 (US$326,893, AU$1=US$0.63) Feb. 11 for Lot 707, a colt by The Autumn Sun from the draft of young Hunter Valley farm Valiant Stud.
The strapping dark colt, from the dual-winning Talimena—closely related to Denman and a half sister to his fellow group 1-winner Kiamichi—became the second-highest lot sold by Valiant in its seven-year history.
Their highest remains this colt's full sister, the co-third-top lot at Classic in the boom year of 2022, at AU$550,000. She's now the exciting Tulsi, a dual winner who's been group 1-placed at 2 and 3 in New Zealand.
Tuesday's The Autumn Sun colt left Monday's AU$440,000 son of another Arrowfield Stud stallion, Dundeel, in second place. A Dundeel filly also shared third rank with the two Wootton Bassett colts who sold Feb. 9-10 at AU$400,000.
The final day was relatively quiet for high-priced yearlings, with the second-highest mark AU$360,000 paid for two lots, including a son of Snitzel from Arrowfield's draft, bought by Chris Waller and bloodstock agent Guy Mulcaster. The colt is out of Re Edit, a stakes-placed mare from the same family as champion New Zealand 3-year-old Monaco Consul and dual group 1 winner Military Plume.
The leading sire by averages at the sale, with three or more lots sold, was Widden Stud's Zoustar, whose three sellers averaged AU$283,333.
I Am Invincible ranked second, with three lots selling at an average of AU$253,333, ahead of Too Darn Hot, with three at AU$213,333, and Written Tycoon with four at AU$212,500.
Along with the top lot, The Autumn Sun headed the aggregate table, with 19 yearlings realizing AU$2.56 million, averaging AU$135,000.
Overall, the sale performed better than the worst fears of many vendors who were expecting a tough three days based on hard times at the lower end of the market at the Magic Millions Gold Coast and Karaka sales.
Soon after Tuesday's close of bidding, the average was AU$94,257 (US$59,254), up from AU$93,658 last year, with the median the same at AU$70,000 (US$44,005). A total of 574 horses sold for AU$54,103,500 (US$34,011,624)
However, this came from 574 lots sold compared with 591, with the clearance rate dropping from 84% to 79%, and with 154 lots passed in compared with 113 last year.
Still, a more than satisfied Inglis CEO of bloodstock sales Sebastian Hutch said the sale fared well above expectations.
"If you had said to me on Sunday morning that the sale would transpire the way it has, I'd have been delighted," Hutch said. "It feels like it's been healthy trade and I think the challenges in the market are fairly obvious for all to see."
