The similarities between a Dundeel colt and Group 1 winner Super Seth went beyond their sire and were too hard to ignore, well-known bloodstock agent Dean Hawthorne says.
The New Zealander, the long-time agent for prominent Victorian owner and breeder Jonathan Munz, bought Caulfield Guineas winner Super Seth for the GSA Bloodstock proprietor in 2018 and he’s hoping history repeats after paying an Inglis Classic-high $440,000 for another colt by Dundeel on Monday.
He is the top-priced yearling to sell at the Sydney sale across the first two days, with four Lots selling for $400,000 or more so far, including a filly by the same Arrowfield stallion who sold late in the second session to Melburnian Adam Brandwood and Mornington trainer Matt Laurie.
A colt by Wootton Bassett, bought by Japan’s Koji Oka, also sold for $400,000 during the second session while on day one another colt by the Coolmore shuttler fetched the same price on Sunday.
Upon sighting the Arrowfield-consigned son of Dundeel, who is the second foal out of a three-quarter sister to last year’s Australian Oaks winner Autumn Angel, Hawthorne rang Munz to extol the virtues of Super Seth Mark II.
“He reminded me a bit of Super Seth and I bought Seth here at the same complex from the same draft .I saw him earlier in the week and I rang the boss and said I’ve found another one; whether he is remains to be seen but I just loved him,” Hawthorne said.
Tim Rowe
“The sons of Dundeel are really doing it at stud so we’ve been focusing on them waiting for the right ones to come along.”
Comparing the pair physically, Hawthorne said: “He is balanced, he had the same balance as Super Seth, who also had that great balance.
“He has the same sort of head, same sort of markings, not identical but very similar, and he moved well.
“I sneaked out the back and watched him in the parade ring and he just got on with the job, which is what you like to see in a colt, so we were not going home without him.”
Japanese racing enthusiast Koji Oka - the owner of 2023 Golden Eagle winner Obamburumai - also made the most of his trip to the Classic Sale on Monday.
Oka, who attended last year’s Inglis Easter sale, was the underbidder on a $400,000 colt by Wootton Bassett on Sunday, but he made amends on the second day by paying the same amount for the Ridgmont Stud-offered colt out of Group 3 winner Monegal.
Oka's acquisition, the first foal from Monegal, will head to Japan to race.
Hong Kong agent, Magus Equine’s Willie Leung, was also active at the top end of the market on Monday, going to $380,000 for a first crop son of Darley shuttler Pinatubo.
Bred and sold by HP Thoroughbreds, the colt provided a big return on investment as the fourth foal out of five-time winner Parraay who is destined to race in Hong Kong.
“He is a half-brother to Dancing Code who has won really well in Hong Kong,” Leung said.
“He looks very athletic and a strong type who looks precocious. I always like to try first-season sires, and this was the one I really wanted to secure this year.”
Lot 455 (Dundeel x Mother’s Mercy) sells for a whopping $440k! What an incredible watch! Lot 455 is from the @ArrowfieldStud draft, purchased by Dean Hawthorne Bloodstock!
— Inglis (@inglis_sales) February 10, 2025
Congratulations! #InglisClassic pic.twitter.com/aUpyhcUoHJ
Turnover after two days was $36.228 million, down on the $38.5 million after the corresponding session last year, but Inglis Bloodstock CEO Sebastian Hutch said if he was presented with this level of trade before the sale he would have taken them.
“I suppose my instinctive feeling was through the day that the sale felt slightly stronger, purely from the point of view of clearance, it just felt a bit easier,” Hutch said.
“(That’s because) the marrying of vendor and buyer expectations together was slightly easier. I think that's backed up by the clearance rate.
“The clearance rate was slightly better today and we've sold a number of horses from day one to get the clearance to 79 per cent.”
The third and final session starts at 10am (AEDT) on Tuesday.
Inglis Classic statistics - day one and two
Catalogued 540 (540)
Offered 483 (479)
Sold 372 (396)
Clearance 77% (83%)
Aggregate $36,228,000 ($38,546,000)
Average $97,387 ($97,338)
Median $80,000 ($80,000)
Top Lot $440,000 ($600,000)
*2024 in brackets
