South Australian trainer Aaron Bain will target next year’s Adelaide carnival with today’s Inglis Digital December Sale-topper Dual Pressure (Denman), which he purchased for $220,000.
Bain and Ned Taylor are the sole trainers at Angaston Park (formerly Lindsay Park) and are hoping to develop the former Mathew Ellerton-trained 4YO into their own carnival star in 2025.
“He’ll be transported straight here and go straight to the races where he should appreciate a bit of a class drop, then we’ll tip him out and get him ready for the carnival here in May,’’ Bain said of Dual Pressure.
“He’s got very good form for here, 2nd to Isthmus and 3rd to Pisanello recently, both times beaten less than a length so he should really fit in ideally over here.
“You’ve got to pay for a horse like this and I sure did that, I went 10% over what I wanted to but I was happy to do that to get a horse of his quality into the stable.’’
Today’s second-top lot was the 4YO Barber (Exceed And Excel), which sold to Jason Micallef of Monarch Racing Syndications for $215,000.
Offered by Godolphin, Barber will be transferred to Richard Litt’s Warwick Farm stables for the next phase of his racing career.
Micallef is hoping to continue a successful streak with his Inglis Digital purchases off Godolphin.
“I bought Bacchanalia earlier this year and he almost won the Ramornie for us and there was Destination too who I bought and he’s been a really good Canterbury Friday night/Sydney Saturday type of horse,’’ Micallef said.
“Barber has so much upside, it’s very rare you get a 4YO come up for sale that’s already won $1m in earnings and I’m convinced he’ll train on, I mean he won during the Melbourne carnival two starts ago.
“I’ve been using Inglis Digital for years now, I love it. The first horse I ever bought off the platform Mr Marathon Man went on to win a Canberra Cup so I’ve been coming back ever since.
“It’s informative, if you need to speak to anyone they’re all fantastic, the whole process is seamless and easy for us.
“Here’s hoping Barber is our next success story. There’s still shares available in him so if anybody is interested, give me a call.’’
Barber was one of 14 Godolphin horses to sell – to 14 different ownership groups - in the December Online Sale, for a combined gross of $627,000.
“Once again, this sale has shown just how well quality racehorses perform on the [Inglis Digital] online platform, with Barber bringing in $215,000 and Blue Illusion selling for $130,000 – both very pleasing results,’’ Godolphin’s Jason Walsh said.
“We believe the diverse range of buyers is testament to the excellent work the Inglis Digital team has done in marketing the platform and connecting with the right buyers for our racehorses.
“We wish their new owners all the best.’’
Nine lots sold for $100,000 or more in today’s sale, taking the number of six-figure lots sold on Inglis Digital in 2025 to 124.
Another significant result today was a 5% share in Craig realising $80,000.
The Craig share was purchased by Jack Pakis, who has enjoyed an extraordinary fortnight thanks to Inglis Digital.
Pakis purchased a 5% share in Light Infantry Man in the November (Late) Sale – 10 days later Light Infantry Man won the G1 Railway Stakes in Perth at his first start since Pakis bought in.
“How bloody good is it. Buy a horse on Inglis Digital on a Wednesday, win a Group 1 a week later, I even flew to Perth and was the only owner there and had such a fun day,’’ Pakis said.
“I’ve been buying off Inglis for 40 years and Inglis Digital in more recent years is such an easy platform to use, you just need a phone or a computer and push a button and you buy a horse, even I can do it so it can’t be that hard.
“You can buy these horses or shares in these proven horses and you know exactly what you’re getting into. I love it.’’
In total the December Online Sale grossed $3,461,400, taking the 2024 calendar year gross for Inglis Digital to $82,084,125.
While today’s was the final outright Inglis Digital auction for the year, the Tattersalls/Inglis Digital collaborative ‘Southern Hemisphere Session’ sale presents buyers with more rare opportunities this week.
The sale, which is being hosted on the Tattersalls Online home page and closes at 9pm AEDT tomorrow (Thursday Dec 12), features eight mares in foal on Southern Hemisphere time to exciting young stallion Too Darn Hot.
Too Darn Hot is the sire of Champion 2YO Broadsiding in his first Australian crop and is no longer shuttling to Australia.
To view the catalogue, arrange credit or participate in the auction CLICK HERE.
All bidders are required to register with Tattersalls in advance of bidding. For assistance, please contact a member of the Inglis Bloodstock Team or Katherine Sheridan at Tattersalls.
The first Inglis Digital sale of 2025 will be the January Online Sale, which will run from January 17-22.
Entries for that sale close on January 15. To enter a horse for the Inglis Digital January Online Sale – the only online sale on the platform in January – CLICK HERE.
