The wisdom of Steve Brem will provide an inspirational touch for a group of owners hoping the beloved bloodstock industry figure’s philosophy on buying yearlings pays off in the Inglis Millennium.
Brem lost a fight with cancer in 2018 but not before spending a life rich in everything that racing has to offer.
Always affable and eloquent, Brem worked as a journalist, an administrator and a breeding industry consultant in Australia and New Zealand.
He lived and breathed racing. His knowledge of pedigrees was deeper than most and he was a constant presence at yearling sales across Australasia.
Unbeaten Open Secret will provide a reminder of Brem’s influence when she contests the $2 million Inglis Millennium at Randwick on Saturday.
The filly, a member of Group 1-winning two-year-old King’s Legacy’s first crop, is raced by a group of friends that include CJ Stone.
“I remember Steve used to tell me that a reasonably priced horse can do good things,” Stone said.
“He said if you put in the hard work you’ll get there. Steve’s a bit of legend.
“We haven’t got millions of dollars to spend so it’s a matter of trying to find your way through them and find a bit of quality.
“And then hopefully the trainer can do the rest.”
It was Brem who introduced Stone and her fellow owners to bloodstock agent Craig Rounsefell and the alliance came close to winning the 2017 Inglis Classic, as the Millennium was then known, when Sweet Deal was runner-up.
Sweet Deal cost $67,500 and went on to win 11 races and more than $1.6 million under the watch of trainer John Thompson before making $850,000 when sold as a broodmare.
Stone kept her share in Sweet Deal and was rewarded when the mare’s Written Tycoon colt fetched $475,000 at the recent Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale.
But it is the thrill of racing that Stone says is impossible to beat.
“We’re into the whole breeding thing now which is a whole new adventure but I think I like racing better,” she said.
“Breeding seems much harder and expensive and you’ve got to wait a lot longer."
Frolic unleashes a brilliant turn of foot to win the $250,000 Inglis Classic at #Randwick for @MFreedmanRacing! pic.twitter.com/4oCZkBvJpz
— SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) February 13, 2017
On the eve of the Inglis Classic Sale in Sydney, it is appropriate that this year’s Millennium is dominated by horses sold from the 2024 auction.
While all yearlings presented at an Inglis sale are eligible to run in the Millennium, the race has turned out to be an aspirational one for Classic graduates.
Open Secret, the first lot sold 12 months ago, is one of 15 Millennium acceptors to emerge from the sale.
Staff Writer
The most expensive of the alumni is the Super Seth colt Sanctified, purchased for $260,000 while Pierro filly Sheeza Diva is the cheapest at $15,000.
Opportunities on an affordable scale make the Classic Sale a viable option for owners such as Stone and her crew, who picked up Open Secret for $150,000.
“The Classic Sale has been good to us. There’s a core group of us who have been in horses together for about 15 years now,” she said.
“We just got together and tried to buy ourselves a reasonably priced nice horse which proved quite challenging to start off with.
“To some extent it’s a bit of a numbers game as well as finding the right trainers and the right people that you like working with.”
💥 Winner 💥 2YO filly OPEN SECRET (King’s Legacy) opens the card with a superb debut performance in the hands of @ZacLloydx for @JTRacingRwik at Randwick 💪 She was a $150k @inglis_sales Classic Yearling Sale purchase from @Middlebrookstud. Congrats to all connections! pic.twitter.com/bHqgu3RMGo
— Boomer Bloodstock (@CraigRounsefell) January 25, 2025
Irrespective of how well the Thompson-trained Open Secret runs from a wide barrier in the Millennium, Stone will be at Inglis’ Riverside complex from Sunday.
She will be tagging along with Thompson and seeking Rounsefell’s counsel on the possibles and the probables from an initial entry list of more than 800.
“I think it was actually Gai Waterhouse who told me once you can never have too many two-year-olds,” Stone said.
“I have a feeling you can have too many, but yes, ever the saleswoman is Gai.
“But we try to be involved in a couple of yearlings every year because that way you can have a reasonable portfolio that you can turn over.
“The sale is sort of home territory for us and it has always been slightly more affordable sale.
“Racing horses tends to be our hobby and we’ve been fortunate the good ones have paid for the not-so-good ones.”
“The sale is sort of home territory for us and it has always been slightly more affordable sale." - CJ Stone
Of the three Millennium acceptors to graduate from last year’s Australian Easter Yearling Sale, most interest will focus on Price Tag.
A daughter of Zoustar, Price Tag cost owner Jonathan Munz $600,000 and although yet to win in three starts she is well on her way to providing value on that investment with two stakes placings in Melbourne.
