Prominent breeder Robert Crabtree anointed Newgate stallion Stay Inside as an influential sire-in-waiting after he spent a record-breaking figure at the Inglis Australian Weanling Sale.
Crabtree had to pay $650,000 for Lot 120 to keep an association with a Stay Inside filly out of Sheidel, a Group 1-winning Holy Roman Emperor mare he raced out of the all-conquering Lindsay Park stable.
It exceeded the previous sale record of $625,000 paid for a Capitalist colt - a half-brother to Group 1 winner Captivant - in 2023 and a More Than Ready x Milanova filly that went under the hammer in 2008.
The filly is among a draft of weanlings consigned by Noorilim Park as part of a deal with Crabtree after the breeder of unbeaten champion Black Caviar’s dam Helsinge sold his Dorrington Park property near Nagambie in Victoria’s Goulburn Valley.
Crabtree announced in February he was selling at Riverside in a joint venture with Noorilim but he confessed he couldn’t let the filly slip through his grasp despite having to pay more than he expected to secure outright ownership.
“Because I've sold the farm we’re dispersing all of our stock as weanlings,” Crabtree said.
“But then you've got to stand back and say to yourself, ‘OK, independently as a buyer, do I want her?’ Well, not that I wanted her, I couldn't let go of her.
“All the mares were pooled with Noorilim and another stud to sell their progeny as weanlings.
“So it means I don't have ongoing costs, because I've sold the farm, moved on, but now I simply race horses.”
Sheidel won 15 races and none were more important than the 2017 Group 1 Oakleigh Plate when she defeated Faatinah and Extreme Choice on the same day the Crabtree-owned Catchy won the Blue Diamond Stakes.
Crabtree purchased Sheidel after the mare made a name for herself in Western Australia with 11 wins under trainer David Harrison.
“When you've got a horse that you think is priceless almost, you've got to back your judgment,” Crabtree said.
Crabtree said his decision was also influenced by an opinion that Stay Inside, co-incidentally a son of Extreme Choice, had the makings of a serious stallion.
“I do think Stay Inside, potentially, is one of the best stallions we've seen,” Crabtree said.
“He won the Golden Slipper, but everybody at this stage - not everybody - lots of people at this stage, are not really quantifying the Extreme Choice factor in him.
“I think he'll be anything.”
Only Sheidel’s second living foal, the filly represented a reward for Crabtree’s perseverance and provided another reason why he was reluctant to part with her.
“The other thing is probably the mare is pretty hard to breed too. She lost a couple because she is a small mare,” Crabtree said.
Crabtree, who made the winning bid through Damon Gabbedy’s of Belmont Bloodstock, expects to have about 20 racehorses in work through various stables.
A filly by The Autumn Sun from the family of multiple Group 1-placed Savabeel mare Dowager Queen emerged as the second-highest priced lot on the opening day.
Sold from the Rheinwood Pastoral draft, she fetched $280,000 as Lot 187 with Equine Growth Fund Pty Ltd the successful bidder.
Bloodstock agent Suman Hedge teamed up with Trilogy Racing and struck late in the session to secure Lot 230, a filly by Too Darn Hot, the outstanding Darley sire who will return to Australia this season at a service fee of $275,000 (incl GST).
The filly, from the family of Magic Millions winner Karuta Queen, is the seventh foal from the stakes-winning Artie Schiller mare Vain Queen.
Vain Queen was purchased via Inglis Digital in July and Monday’s result was one to saviour for Ross Hatton from South Australian nursery Rathmore Lodge.
Lot 203, a gorgeous Too Darn Hot x Vain Queen filly, is secured by @TrilogyRacing1 and @shbloodstock for $250k! Congrats @rosshatton1983. #AusWeanlingSale pic.twitter.com/WfHMsrRIGF
— Inglis (@inglis_sales) May 5, 2025
Hatton paid $130,000 for the mare with the filly foaled at Woodside Park in Victoria before arriving at Rathmore after Christmas.
“She looks like she'll be pretty fast,” Hatton said. “And, look, she was really well-liked all the way along. Loads of people, I would imagine, were on her.
“I got a good group of owners involved … even my parents have got a small two-and-a-half per cent (share).
“It's great to be able to do it along with them. There's no point in popping a cork in a champagne bottle by yourself at night.”
The day 1 average ended on $53,838 and median $30,000, down from day one last year when it was $60,139 and $34,500. In total $9,37 million was traded across 174 lots at a 70 per cent clearance rate.
The second and final day of the sale at Riverside on Tuesday has a further 273 lots catalogued.
