Inglis Classic Yearling Sale set to go ahead on February 12-14, 2023

Scheduled for February 12-14, the sale contains 830 catalogued lots, including 140 listed for the following Highway Session.

The sale has an excellent reputation for winners at reasonable prices and can count Shelby Sixtysix, Mazu and Icebath as the sale's most recent group one winning graduates.

Other Classic Yearling Sale graduates to have won group one races include Golden Slipper winner She Will Reign, Melbourne Cup winner Vow And Declare, In Her Time, Shadow Hero; also emerging young stallion Hellbent and first season sire Castelvecchio.

While another, Classique Legend won Sydney's 2020 The Everest and took his earnings to more than $9 million.

Since 2018, of 13 group one winners to emerge from the Classic Sale - nine could have been bought for $100,000 or less, while in the same period, 16 graduates from this auction have won connections $1 million or more prizemoney in Australia.

It should be recalled that numerous graduates have experienced race success in their first year of racing, including stakes winners (not already mentioned above) Sejardan, Yankee Rose, Frolic, Fiesta, Mildred, and young Newgate Farm stallion Cosmic Force.

Read more: Skirt The Law wins The Star Magic Millions Two-Year-Old Classic in impressive style

Variety is also a sale feature with progeny by 109 different sires.

All yearlings offered at an Inglis yearling sale are eligible for inclusion in the $7.55 million Inglis Race Series, including the $1 million Inglis Pink Bonus Series and $2 million Inglis Millennium, the latter a juvenile feature race to be held at Randwick on February 12.

A likely starter for the Inglis Millennium is Arkansaw Kid, trained by brothers Ben and DJ Hayes (sons of David Hayes) at Lindsay Park Racing in South Australia.

The first crop colt by shuttler Harry Angel and a $190,000 2022 Classic Yearling Sale graduate impressively won the feature Inglis Banner at Moonee Valley in October 2022.

Sledmere Stud will offer a full-sister to Arkansaw Kid (now an earner of more than $300,000) at the 2023 Classic Sale.

Other youngsters vying for a place in the rich Inglis Millennium include Star Turn filly Saltaire and colt Disneck - a first crop juvenile winner by Widden Stud stallion Trapeze Artist.

News of the death of prominent sire Snippetson in Western Australia last month has just about spelt the end of the Silly Season sire line in Australia via its outstanding imported son Lunchtime. A GB-bred import, Lunchtime became a major influence at Widden Stud in the 1980s and early 1990s.

After winning two stakes in Sydney, including the STC Eskimo Stakes-LR in race record time, Snippetson retired to Widden Stud in 2006, where he found stud success with gallopers, including group winners Fast Clip and Vergara, My Poppette, and Snippets Land.

In about 2015, Snippetson was relocated to Scenic Lodge just north of Perth, WA, where he continued his stud duties and quickly found success. This included champion WA juvenile Tinsnip (won WA Sires' Produce Stakes-G3).

Next came Gemma Son (who won the WA Magic Millions Two-Year-Old Classic) and Sniparoochy, who became Snippetson's 15th stakes winner when taking the WATC Jungle Mist Classic in December 2022.

Announced by Scenic Lodge that the horse broke a hind leg in a paddock accident at age 21, Snippetson proved a prolific sire with an enviable 66 per cent winners to runners via his 500 plus victors.

Born amongst the second last crop of foals by Snippets, Snippetson is represented with 11 yearlings listed at next month's Magic Millions Perth Yearling Sale. Formerly known as Durham Lodge, Scenic Lodge will offer the catalogue's first Snippetson - a colt from the immediate family of the Scenic Lodge home-bred champion Scenic Blast, the 2009 Australian Horse Of The Year.

Another outstanding Snippets sire son is Australian-bred Pins - now a dual champion sire in New Zealand. Winner of the inaugural Magic Millions Two-Year-Old event at the Gold Coast in 1987, Snippets began his stud career at Arrowfield Stud, and finished with more than 650 winners, 56 stakes winners for earnings of more than $67 million.