Colt by boom overseas stallion tops first day of Classic 2025

Damon Gabbedy and McEvoy Mitchell Racing teamed up to exert a strong influence on the opening day of the 2025 Inglis Classic Yearling Sale.

The successful combination ended Day 1 with the two highest-priced lots of the sale – a colt by Wootton Bassett who sold for $400,000 and an I Am Invincible filly who sold for $360,000.

The Willow Park Stud colt is out of So You Think mare Elegant Air, a half-sister to Group 1 winner Go Indy Go, and the filly, who was offered by Yarraman Park Stud, is from the Starcraft mare Choose.

McEvoy, who has a great history at Classic with Group 1 winners Veight and Coco Sun among purchases in recent years, could not have been happier with their headline lots.

"The colt, I mean wow," he said.

"What a stallion Wootton Bassett is and what a colt this guy is. I knew he'd be hard to get but he's such a quality horse out of a good family that is happening.

"He looks tough to me and that will take him a long way.

"And the 'Vinnie' filly, you look at these horses all the way through the week and sometimes even before you get to the sales grounds and she just kept growing on me, kept getting better.

"I just went and took a video of her again post-sale for a prospective client and her attitude - right at this late stage and the week she's been through - was so magnificent. She's got class.''

McEvoy's filly sold for $10,000 more than a colt by Star Turn out of Cocoexcel, who was the highest-priced lot that is Hong Kong-bound while Portland Sky had a good result with a colt out of Cailini selling to Kurrinda Bloodstock and Nathan Doyle for $320,000.

The first day of trade at Classic saw $17,691,500 change hands – just over $1 million down on last year – while lots sold at an average of $99,952 with a $80,000 median and 73 percent clearance rate.

The latter figure was down 10 percent on last year, when Day 1 also had an $80,000 median with an average of $94,929.

Inglis Bloodstock chief executive Sebastian Hutch was pleased with how the sale started.

"It has been a very satisfactory day, if you told me at the start of the week that we would end Day 1 with an average and median either above or the same as last year – given what we've seen at other sales this year so far in 2025 – I would certainly have taken that,'' Hutch said.

2025 CLASSIC DAY 1 STATS (2024 stats in brackets)

Sold: 177 (197)

Clearance: 73% (83%)

Average: $99,952 ($94,929)

Median: $80,000 ($80,000)

Gross: $17,691,500 ($18,701,000)