Sepoy and Shooting To Win strongly supported at Melbourne Premier Yearling Sale

A standout daughter of champion sprinter Sepoy has fetched the top price of A$400,000 for a Darley-sired yearling at the Inglis Premier Yearling sale that concluded in Melbourne on Wednesday.
Australia’s first World Champion three-year-old sprinter and Australia’s highest-rated juvenile for 35 years; Sepoy.

The filly, Lot 265 (pictured below), from the winning Danehill Dancer mare Beauty World is a half-sister to eight individual winners, four of them at Stakes level including the West Australian Lite’n In My Veins and the Sydney winner Hi World. The filly was the fourth highest priced yearling at the sale.

Consigned by Victoria’s Blue Gum Farm the filly was purchased by Belmont Bloodstock on behalf of Milburn Creek's John Muir. 

Lot 265: Sepoy x Beauty World filly

 At a strong sale for first season sires, Darley’s Shooting To Win also achieved his best results to date, finishing second on the first season table, his six lots to sell realizing A$900,000 with a top price of A$250,000 being paid for a colt from the Fastnet Rock mare Alcatraz.

The colt offered as Lot 232 (pictured below) and consigned by Two Bays farm in Victoria, is from the family of the outstanding racehorse and producer Twiglet, the mother of Fairy King Prawn, a G1 winner in Hong Kong and Japan.

Brazen Beau, who provided the top-priced lot at the recent Inglis Classic Sale, proved popular again with 17 of his yearlings selling for an average of A$114,000, with a top price of A$210,000.

Lot 232: Shooting To Win x Alcatraz colt

On the buying side, Godolphin continued its return to the Australian sale ring offering a sale-topping A$500,000 for a filly Fastnet Rock from Lady Melksham.

Godolphin’s top lot of Day 3 was their second purchase of the sale and 16th yearling they have bought in 2018.

Racing and bloodstock manager Jason Walsh said the filly exemplified what the Godolphin team was aiming to secure in 2018.

"What can I say, she's a quality filly by a champion sire out of a group winning mare," Walsh said.

"One of the things we are trying to source this year is a bit of diversity and top-class racing prospects that will ultimately join our broodmare band and we thought this filly is capable of doing both those things."

Walsh said the September foal shapes in physique as a sprinter, in the mould of her dam.

"She's sharp, very strong, a great attitude and off Rushton Park who are great supporters of ours," Walsh said.

"We are pleased to be supporting breeder's who have supported us.

"We're delighted to have secured her, that's our 16th yearling purchase this year so far - we got a lovely Shooting To Win yesterday and have been underbidder on a few here as we head into Easter." 

Book 1 of the Inglis Premier Yearling Sale ended with a sale average of A$118,333, median of A$100,000, gross of A$49,936,500 and a clearance rate of 83%. 

For a full list of results on the Darley-sired progeny catalogued at Inglis Premier, click here.