The first foal from one of Australia's all-time great race mares, 25-time group 1 winner Winx, will be offered at the 2024 Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale, ensuring the world Thoroughbred industry's focus is squarely on Sydney next April.
The connections of the four-time Cox Plate (G1) heroine have made the shock decision to offer Winx's daughter by Pierro at the 2024 Riverside Stables sale, renowned for attracting a significant number of Australasia's best-bred yearlings each year.
Arguably the best of three generational mares to dominate Australian racing this century, alongside the undefeated Black Caviar and three-time Melbourne Cup (G1) champion Makybe Diva, Winx won 33 races straight, captivating not only the sport's hardened fans but the wider public, both domestically and internationally, such was her sustained racecourse aura across five seasons.
The enormity of having a filly out of Winx go to public auction was not lost on Inglis Bloodstock chief executive Sebastian Hutch who suggested her appearance could also attract new local and international buyers to the Australian market and put another spotlight on the strength of the local industry.
"You look at the history of bloodstock sales around the world and the progeny of these extraordinary race mares coming on the market is very rare, particularly daughters," Hutch told ANZ Bloodstock News Sept. 17.
"There's colts out of these top mares that go on the market, but for fillies, it's very, very rare, so it is very exciting."
He added: "I think the biggest compliment to this filly is that she's got global appeal. It is hard not to imagine any major investor in bloodstock around the world who isn't going to see the merits of this filly and we have the mandate to make sure the filly gets as much exposure as we can possibly generate.
"She is a very impressive model and whether it's the United States, the Middle East, Europe or Japan, any jurisdiction you can think of, there's going to be multiple parties interested in a filly like her."
Winx's only foal so far will be offered by breeders Peter and Patty Tighe, Woppitt Bloodstock, and Elizabeth Treweeke and Rick Treweeke on Day 2 of the April 7-8 Inglis Easter sale in Sydney next year through the draft of Coolmore, where Winx was born and now resides and where the filly has been raised.
Woppitt Bloodstock's Debbie Kepitis admitted that the decision to sell Winx's first live foal had been difficult to reach, but it is one the connections are aligned on despite "emotions running very high".
"It would have been easy for us all to just keep racing the progeny and continue on. It is a lot harder to think about parting with something so special, but we just felt it would be the right thing to do," Kepitis told ANZ Bloodstock News.
"Winx showcased Australian racing on Australian shores but if a filly of hers was bought by an overseas ownership group and raced overseas, I believe she would compete amazingly on the international stage if she was handled correctly."
Peter Tighe, whose blue Magic Bloodstock silks became synonymous as a result of Winx's racecourse feats, said: "Winx has given us all unexplainable joy and it was agreed by the ownership group that by offering this filly for sale, we make available the opportunity for someone else to manage the next racing chapter of what has been a great story."
Importantly, Hutch believes the headline filly will stand up physically to scrutiny from bloodstock agents, potential owners, trainers, and interested parties when she parades at the Easter sale.
"I have been fortunate enough to see her a few times in her life and I can confidently say, independent of her parents, I think she'd be regarded as a top-class filly from a physical standpoint, anyway," Hutch said.
The catalog for the Inglis Easter sale, which is conducted in the week of The Championships at Royal Randwick in April, will be confirmed early next year.
