Offspring of Coolmore's Fastnet Rock and Darley's Exceed And Excel headlined the two-day Inglis Australian weanling and broodmare sale, which concluded June 25 in Sydney with a robust clearance rate of 89%.
Edinburgh Park's Ian Smith went to Aust$240,000 ($221,680 in U.S. funds) June 24 to secure the highest price at a select weanling session—a Fastnet Rock colt out of Promptness, an unraced Kentucky-bred mare by Eddington .
Offered by Erinvale Thoroughbreds, the bay colt is the first foal out of Promptness, Claiborne Farm-bred half sister to five U.S. stakes winners: grade III winners Watch, War Thief, and Prime Meridian as well as Remind and Stop Watch, both graded stakes-placed. Promptness was bought by Erinvale's John Kenneally for $30,000 from Claiborne Farm, agent, at the 2010 Keeneland November breeding stock sale.
Fastnet Rock, who stands at Coolmore, is currently Australia's second-leading sire.
Inglis reported sales on 135 of 153 weanlings offered at the select session for total receipts Aust$2,969,090 ($2,742,451), an average price of Aust$21,993 ($20,314).
Darley shuttler Exceed And Excel sits atop the Australian sires' list and was responsible for the top-selling broodmare at a select session June 25. His group II-placed daughter Sunday Rose sold for Aust$180,000 ($166,388) to Belmont Bloodstock.
The 7-year-old mare, a three-time winner, was offered in foal to Holy Roman Emperor in the consignment of her breeder, legendary trainer Bart Cummings' Princes Farm. She has one foal—a High Chaparral filly born in 2012 and will be bred to Sebring during the upcoming Southern Hemisphere season.
Sunday Rose is a half sister to Moonboat and Divine Moon, both group-placed, and is from the family of Guelph, who recently swept Australia's juvneile Triple Crown, and champion Sepoy, a young stallion for Darley.
Seventy-nine broodmares sold at the select session for Aust$1,780,800 ($1,645,947), an average of Aust$22,542 ($20,834).
"I'm delighted with the results achieved over the past two days of selling in Sydney,” Inglis' managing director Mark Webster said. “Despite the appalling weather, we've had plenty of competition from buyers in the ring and online, and this is reflected in the outstanding clearance rate of 89% for both our weanling and bloodstock sessions with more than Aust$6 million ($5.5 million) traded."