Inglis Melbourne yearling sale produces solid trade on day two

Trade picked up on Monday at the Inglis Melbourne premier yearling sale at the Oaklands complex in Victoria, which featured the inaugural “Blue Riband” session and closed with an increase in average price through the first two days of activity.

Inglis reported 238 hips sold totaling $19,563,000 ($19,250,662 Australian) through Monday, marking a 10 percent decline compared with the first two days of the 2012 sale, when 278 hips sold for about $21,748,600. That drop essentially mirrors a 14 percent catalog reduction from 2012 to 2013 at this point in the sale.

The cumulative average price of $82,200 rose 5 percent, while median remained level at $66,000. The buy-back rate through two days is up slightly, from 23 percent in 2012 to 25 percent.

The inaugural Blue Riband session, held on Monday along with two general sessions, posted an impressively low buy-back rate of just 15 percent, along with an average of $118,450. The session featured yearlings with stamina-influenced pedigrees.

“It was great to see so much competition on yearlings bred to excel over middle and staying distances, with buyers from Victoria, New South Wales, South Africa, and Singapore purchasing from this new concept,” Inglis managing director Mark Webster said.

A Fastnet Rock colt topped Monday’s trade at about $457,300 ($450,000 Australian) and is the highest price through the first two days of the Melbourne sale. Australian Bloodstock/McKeever Bloodstock signed the ticket on the bay colt from the consignment of Esker Lodge. He is the first foal out of the multiple group stakes-winning Stravinsky mare Bird of Fire.

Four other yearlings also topped the $300,000 Australian mark on Monday.

The Melbourne sale concludes its three-day first session on Tuesday starting at 10:30 a.m. local time. The sale's second and final session will be conducted Wednesday.

For online results, click here.