NEWS: Brazen Beau challenged for top spot at Inglis Premier sale

Competition gets hot at the top, but star Darley stallion remains the stallion of the hour.
Lot 388: Colt by Kermadec x Lonhro

Admirers of Darley’s boom stallion Brazen Beau took a breath on Day 2 of the Inglis Premier Yearling sale in Melbourne – but only a small one.

Having provided the top lot of the sale on Sunday with his $800,000 colt from Up In Lights, Brazen Beau’s best result on Monday was $575,000 for his colt from the Group-winning Rubiton mare Innovation Girl.

The figure was the second-highest price during a session in which the second-crop Darley stallion also achieved the third best result of the day.

It was also a session in which Brazen Beau had to share the limelight with his fellow Darley stallions Kermadec and Exceed And Excel.

For Kermadec, Lot 388, the colt from the Lonhro mare Promenades made $520,000, easily surpassing the previous highest price paid for one of his first-crop yearlings.

Offered by Gilgai Stud, the birthplace of Black Caviar, the colt went to the bid of Hong Kong buyer Upper Bloodstock.

The regally bred colt is closely related to a host of outstanding racehorses and sires, including the champion racehorse and stallion Redoute’s Choice, Manhattan Rain, Al Maher, Platinum Scissors, Sliding Cube and Hurricane Sky.

Lot 227: Colt by Brazen Beau x Innovation Girl

Exceed And Excel, put his name into the sort of position he’s become used to during his 14 seasons at stud when his filly from the Stakes-winning Street Cry mare Pittsburgh Flyer sold for $380,000.

Consigned by Blue Gum Farm, the filly is a granddaughter of the champion South African filly Warning Zone.

While Brazen Beau had competition, he more than made his mark.

His colt from Innovation Girl, a winner of 10 races, including four as a two-year-old and another member of the Blue Gum draft, went to Melbourne trainer Ciaron Maher who said the yearling “selected himself”.

“There’s a lot of speed there, and a lot of quality,” Maher said.

Lot 364: Colt by Brazen Beau x Original Choice

The next best Brazen Beau for the session was Lot 364, a three-quarter brother to the Innovation Girl colt, who made $450,000 to the bid of agent Mark Pilkington.

Another local trainer, Mick Price went to $380,000 for Lot 269, a colt By Brazen Beau from the Savabeel mare Li’l Mis Hayley.

After two of the three Book One sessions, Brazen Beau remains the sire of the highest-priced yearling of the sale, with his 14 to sell averaging $290,000, placing him in third place behind Golden Horn whose only entry for the sale sold for $425,000, and I Am Invincible whose three to sell so far have averaged $360,000.

Book One of the Premier Sale continues on Tuesday 5 March with five more Brazen Beau yearlings to go under the hammer.

Lot 370: Colt by Golden Horn x Paper Round