Inglis hoping for modest business rise at Easter Sale

Vendors were largely optimistic on the eve of the three-day Inglis Australian

Easter Yearling Sale, which kicks off Tuesday with a catalog featuring an

exceptionally strong line-up of fillies. Coolmore's Peter O'Brien summed up the

prevailing sentiment when he predicted the middle-market would be strong, and

that while colts would typically dominate the top end, the demand for quality

members of the fairer sex would be positive.

"A lot of breeders seem to be stepping back into the market looking at

fillies, which is very encouraging," O'Brien said.

Bolstered by solid racetrack results, the Sydney-based sale company's smaller

sales have posted results beyond expectations this year, with the Sydney Classic

Sale recording a 23.7 percent increase in average, and the Melbourne Premier I

and II Sales, respectively, finishing with a 19.9 percent and 44.7 percent

increase. But Inglis does not anticipate that Easter will notch similar gains,

with Inglis director Jonathan D'Arcy stating that a 5 percent gain across the

board on 2009 would be a pleasing result.

"For Easter to grow in average and gross, we need to be selling lots of

million-dollar-plus horses, and that probably won't happen this year," D'Arcy

acknowledged. "We hope to see a 5 percent increase in average, but the most

important thing for us is to sell the horses, and we are looking for a clearance

rate of over 75 percent." 

The 2009 Easter Sale was topped by a A$1.8-million son of Encosta de Lago

purchased by syndicate manager Dean Watt. Last year, amid global uncertainty and

the absence of a handful of top-end buyers, Easter finished with an average of

A$241,371. While that figure shrank from the A$303,352 achieved the previous

year, it was more than sufficient for many vendors who remember all too well how

the market plummeted in 1989. D'Arcy believes that while the million-dollar

fireworks that characterized this sale two years ago may not be in full flight,

the mid-market will be strong with local trainers continuing to hold their own

against international purchasers.

"The strength of the sales this year has been a strong local market in the

A$150,000 to A$500,000 bracket, and we expect that will be the case here,"

D'Arcy said. "We have got good international representation here -- we have a

greater number than ever before from Singapore trainers, as we have done a lot

of work there in the past 12 months; Hong Kong is well-represented with trainers

and agents present; and the normal European buyers are here and happy with what

they have seen.

"We have outstanding fillies at this sale -- we are fortunate that many of

the top-class individuals are fillies. People are looking for nice fillies, and

I think we have got them."

Lots 1-200 will be sold Tuesday. Lots 201-400 are on deck for Wednesday and

Lots 401-500 are scheduled for Thursday, ahead of Session II with Lots 501-614.

For catalogs, visit inglis.com.au.