Rowe On Monday – Inglis finds right size for breeze-up sale, a Magic path emerges, Hutch to stay hands-on and Arrowfield’s treble to remember

Inglis has been hellbent on growing its share of the Australasian two-year-old breeze-up market and last week broke through $30 million for the first time at its Ready2Race Sale.

This year Inglis catalogued 321 horses, up 97 on the 2025 sale, and its aggregate climbed more than $10 million year-on-year.

Despite the company’s success, Inglis Bloodstock chief executive Sebastian Hutch played down suggestions that the auction house could facilitate the selling of too many more horses, necessitating it being extended to two days at Riverside Stables in Sydney.

“My instinctive thought is that’s not where I’d want to go with it,” Hutch told this column.

“But again, we’ll have to plot it. It would be practically the most challenging sale to run in terms of the volume of things that need to be done. 

“Growing the sale to 400 or growing the sale to two days is not, at this stage, the direction I’m looking to head.

“I wouldn’t be looking to head that way, but again, it’ll be subject to vendor feedback.”

For context, New Zealand Bloodstock has catalogued 460 lots for its two-day Ready to Run Sale at Karaka next month.

Kestrel Thoroughbreds’ Bruce Slade, who helped select an equal sales-topping $600,000 colt by Anamoe last week, believes the Australasian two-year-old market continues to evolve.

He expects that evolution will develop rapidly over the next five years.

“What I’ve loved seeing from a sales perspective is horses that were struggling to find sales as a yearling on pedigree, but on type the breeders had conviction in them, they’ve landed here, they’ve breezed well, and they’re selling really well,” Slade said. 

“They’re selling for a lot more than they’d make as yearlings and I think that’s great.

“If you can have conviction in a product and have a viable outlet like this where you can show their wares, give the buyer more information to pay a bit more, it’s a really positive thing for the market and for the breeder.”

There remains a push in some quarters for horses offered at the Australian sales to all breeze-up on the same track on the same day.

Breeze-up times, some industry figures said, remains one of the biggest factors in shaping the top-end of the market.

Hutch, however, wasn’t as convinced that time is the be-all and end-all as some other participants believe.

“I think there’s some discrepancy in opinion around that, certainly around the times,” he said.

“I think physique and profile are big drivers of that. The reality is that height and weight are significant factors for people in their consideration.”

“Certainly for international buyers, they want to see a horse of a good size and a good weight. 

“They perceive it to be suitably robust to deal with racing in international jurisdictions, and I get that.”

Horses catalogued for the NZB Ready to Run Sale breezed-up at Te Rapa last Monday and Tuesday.

All hope is not lost on the Gold Coast

For all the talk of Inglis’ success, it’s never as simple as the gross and averages suggest.

If the numbers of the Magic Millions Horses in Training Sale were the only metrics used to compare the Gold Coast offering and the Inglis Ready2Race Sale it would be easy to draw conclusions about the success or otherwise of the two breeze-up sales.

Magic Millions $6.32 million, whereas Inglis turned over almost $31 million.

But agent Merrick Staunton, who is not one to shy away from an opinion, was pleasantly surprised by the trade on the Gold Coast.

“The Magic Millions looked like they were going to struggle, and it actually went pretty well for a small catalogue,” Staunton told us.

And that’s a key point: how does Magic Millions increase its numbers and the quality of horses on offer?

Tal Nolen enjoyed a highly successful Gold Coast sale as did Kenmore Lodge, so it’s likely they will continue to support Magic Millions and perhaps others will elect to split their drafts between the two Australian companies despite the logistical challenges of the auctions taking place four days apart.

With that in mind, we wouldn’t be bold enough to write off Magic Millions’ place in the two-year-old market just yet. 

Hands-on Hutch to remain so

Sebastian Hutch will assume the title of Inglis managing director on January 4, replacing the long-serving Mark Webster, and the question remains: will his current role as bloodstock chief executive be filled?

Hutch didn’t say directly but it’s unlikely his role will be filled directly with the expatriate Irishman sure to maintain a hands-on role within the bloodstock team alongside his extra responsibilities within Inglis’ other businesses.

When asked last week whether someone would step up or be recruited into his current role, he said that Inglis was “always looking for suitable people to add to the group”. 

“We have a very, very competent, talented, determined group of people across bloodstock and marketing and people don’t always get to meet the people involved in finance or IT or administration who really make the wheels turn,” Hutch said.

“But we’re always looking at people to add to the group and maybe we’ll come across somebody who’s suitable to add to the group. But, if we didn’t, I wouldn’t be nonplussed about it.

“I think we have a fantastic team of people and they’re more than capable of driving the business further, trying to do better.”

Magic Millions’ National developing into a Classic form race

Marffiano’s first-up Group 3 Blue Sapphire Stakes victory at Caulfield on Saturday added to the depth of the Magic Millions National 2YO Classic, which has emerged as one of the best juvenile form races from last season.

The Laurel Oak Bloodstock-owned Marffiano is the fourth subsequent winner to emerge from the $1 million Gold Coast race, run in May.

The Next Episode and Natural Fling, who ran one-two at the Gold Coast, both won first-up in the new season as did Marffiano at the weekend for Lindsay Park.

The Tony Gollan-trained Final Crusade, who ran seventh in the Magic Millions race, also resumed with a win at Eagle Farm in September.

The sale-restricted race, reserved to paid-up graduates of Magic Millions sales, was recently granted Listed status by the Asian Racing Federation from 2027. 

While the new-season form won’t count towards the official rating of last season’s National Classic when it comes to the grading from a black-type perspective, it’s hard to ignore the race’s place on the calendar and the springboard it provided for the new season three-year-olds.

It’s also worth noting that Coolmore’s Home Affairs sired the Blue Sapphire quinella, with his son Barracks finishing second.

Snitzel colt The Next Episode ($2.80) heads Coolmore Stud Stakes markets while Natural Fling ($8) is also in single figures for the $2 million race at Flemington on October 31.

Marffiano, who wasn’t in markets when searching on Monday morning, is also expected to line up at Flemington.

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐍𝐄𝐗𝐓 𝐄𝐏𝐈𝐒𝐎𝐃𝐄 🇦🇺 🏆

What a performance from The Next Episode to bolt up in the $1m Magic Millions National 2YO Classic at Aquis Park Gold Coast.

After missing the break, he showed a blistering turn of foot to scorch past his rivals! pic.twitter.com/tio55IjYPW

— Rebel Racing (@RebelRacingLtd) May 22, 2026

Another Saturday to remember for Arrowfield

Arrowfield has enjoyed more good days on the track than most but Saturday’s success deserves mentioning.

As expected, Autumn Glow carried the black and yellow silks to victory in the King Charles III Stakes, taking her record to 14 wins from 15 starts. 

Four races earlier at Randwick, homebred mare Chains Of Love, an I Am Invincible daughter of 2015 Thousand Guineas winner Stay With Me, won the $2 million Kosciuszko in the same renowned colours.

Stakes races would seem the likely aim for the granddaughter of Miss Finland, a bona fide champion who was also raced by Arrowfield.

The success didn’t end there for Arrowfield’s John Messara and partners with Kosaji winning the Listed Hill Smith Stakes in Adelaide.

The colt by Maurice, who is on a Victoria Derby path, is out of another Arrowfield-owned mare in Teaspoon who won the 2017 Group 3 Widden Stakes.

Morphettville Race 3 | Kosaji

Kosaji proves too for a gallant Churchill Rose in the Listed Hill Smith Stakes 💪

Noel Callow scores his second Stakes winner of the season on @pstokesracing's colt

📺 Ch. 78/68, Foxtel 529, Kayo or via our app
REPLAYS: https://t.co/HEhdpozFmy pic.twitter.com/F0YQhiGjlp

— Racing.com (@Racing) October 17, 2026