Australian sale sets records

Part one of Australia's Inglis premier yearling auction ended Tuesday with sale records for top price, average, and median.

The three-day auction produced its sale topper at the final session Tuesday when Darley Australia representative Ollie Tait paid $750,000 Australian, or about $700,199, for an Exceed and Excel colt out of Gentle Call. Darley Stud, owned by Sheikh Mohammed al-Maktoum, stands Exceed and Excel. Gentle Call is a New Zealand Group 3 winner and a daughter of Classic Fame.

Peter Liston's Three Bridges Thoroughbreds sold the Exceed and Excel colt. The sale topper's price beat the previous record of $600,000 Australian.

Part one's three sessions sold 439 yearlings for an average of about $78,751. The median was about $60,683. In the local currency, the $84,353 Australian average and $65,000 Australian median both were records.

Part two of the premier yearling sale was to take place Thursday in Melbourne.