Black Caviar half-brother sells for $984,000 at Inglis Australian Easter yearling sale

A half-brother to four-time Group 1 winner Black Caviar brought about $984,000 on Wednesday to top Day 2 of the Inglis Australian Easter yearling sale.

Trainer John Hawkes outbid Black Caviar’s trainer, Peter Moody, to purchase the bay Casino Prince colt. The price in the auction currency was $1,025,000 Australian and is the sale’s highest price so far. The Australian Easter yearling sale was to conclude Thursday. Hawkes told reporters he was bidding for bloodstock adviser Rick Connolly, who selects horses for Patinack farm owner and Australian mining magnate Nathan Tinkler.

Wednesday’s second session looked much like Tuesday’s opening day, with average and median rising again and gross falling on a smaller catalog.

The Wednesday session sold 118 horses, compared to 142 last year, for about $26,990,400; aggregate was down 6 percent. The average price, about $228,732, was up 13 percent from last year’s figure, and the $182,400 median was 27 percent higher than in 2010. Buybacks also were higher at 27 percent, compared to 20 percent last season.