Too Darn Hot Colt Tops Final Day of Inglis Easter Sale

An AU$2.2 million (US$1,508,287, AU$1=US$0.69) colt by star shuttler Too Darn Hot (GB), bought partly by the stallion's co-owners, Andrew Lloyd-Webber's Watership Down Stud, topped the second session of a mixed bag of an Inglis Easter Yearling Sale, which closed at Riverside March 30. The colt, who is out of the group 2-winning and group 1-placed Enbihaar, was bought from Widden Stud's draft by Watership Down in union with trainers Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott, along with agent Johnny McKeever. They edged out Ciaron Maher's bloodstock manager Will Bourne in a tense bidding duel. But his purchase amid a booming list of 26 seven-figure lots—two off the sale's 2008 record—couldn't disguise the fact that Inglis was left frustrated over an auction that couldn't fulfill its potential. Inglis Bloodstock CEO Sebastian Hutch's pre-sale fears that Easter 2026 would be impinged by uncertainty created by the war in Iran appeared to be vindicated in more than one area. While the average was a sale record of AU$464,108 (US$318,076), a decreased year-on-year gross figure and a clearance rate of 76%—down from 86% in 2025—left Inglis lamenting over what might have been. After withdrawals, the sale offered 28 more horses than last year—415 to 387—but sold 18 fewer yearlings, at 314 to 332. This led to a drop in the gross figure, which on Monday night stood at AU$145,730,000 (US$99,876,056) compared to $150,035,000 at the same stage last year. Inglis had assembled a catalog, backed up by the type of yearlings that met the eye, hailed by many as the finest gathered for Easter, the Southern Hemisphere's most important yearling sale, and the one justifiably marketed as "the best of the best." However, as evidence of a two-paced sale emerged—the top end robust and the bottom half particularly sticky—a high rate of lots passed in prevailed as many breeders, plagued by high production costs, took their horses home. A total of 472 lots were cataloged, with ultimately 415 offered, and 100 were passed in. In 2025, 421 were cataloged, 386 offered, and just 47 passed in. Hutch praised the work of his team, but couldn't hide his frustration. "We were very aware of the challenges (of) the war in the Middle East … the knock-on effect of that to the market and the approach of buyers—and in many respects that has been a big factor here," Hutch told reporters at the close of trading. "There are lots of little things we'll look at. I think the primary thing we'd like to have improved is the clearance. We talk about the two things being important: the clearance and the gross. If you have good clearance, that helps drive the gross. "Clearance is off where we would like it to be, and hence the gross is off where we'd like it to be. That'll improve tonight and into tomorrow, but the market forces or market sentiment has ultimately hindered the sale from getting to where it probably should have got to." Some analysts highlighted the larger number of fillies at the sale in pondering its flatter results. In 2025, 187 fillies were catalogued against 234 colts. This time around, there were 245 fillies and 227 colts. Some wondered whether breeders were more inclined to take home their fillies due to their breeding potential, although of the 100 passed in lots, only 48 were female and 52 male. "Given the profile of a lot of those fillies," Hutch said, "there was a certain percentage of fillies that didn't sell that vendors weren't inclined to sell unless they hit a certain number. "That's entirely understandable with fillies. It's hard to buy mares, it's hard to develop pedigrees, so if they weren't getting the right money for a filly, they were happy to keep it. It's not always the case with a colt." In robust news at the top end, after eight seven-figure lots were sold on Sunday, 18 were moved on Monday, headed by the AU$2.2 million Lot 288, and two that fetched AU$2 million. As was widely anticipated, the sale was a veritable coronation parade for Newgate Farm's siring sensation Extreme Choice (AUS), through 10 lots offered from the stallion's first crop conceived following his ascension to the service fee stratosphere, at AU$275,000. From nine sold, he emerged with five of the 10 highest-priced lots. After topping day one through his AU$3 million colt bought from Lime Country Thoroughbreds by Coolmore's Tom Magnier, on Monday, his highlight was his AU$2 million colt, the second foal of American mare Giza Goddess (Cairo Prince), bought by Yulong from Newgate's draft. Extreme Choice was the sale's leading sire by averages, at AU$1.56 million—more than double second-best Too Darn Hot, at AU$752,000. Newgate's superstar ranked fourth by aggregate (AU$14.1 million), with his nine sellers dwarfed by the three above him. The late Snitzel topped that chart with 32 yearlings sold for AU$19.2 million. I Am Invincible (AUS) had 30 moved for AU$18.4 million. And Zoustar (AUS) had 26 sold for AU$17.7 million. Only two of Extreme Choice's nine sellers fell short of seven figures, and they fetched AU$900,000 and AU$800,000. He also ensured Newgate finished as the sale's leading vendor by average, with 18 sold at AU$868,000, ahead of Widden Stud's AU$759,000. Newgate finished third by its aggregate of AU$15.6 million behind Arrowfield (45 sold for AU$19.1 million) and Widden (22 for AU$16.7 million). The leading buyer was Dean Hawthorne Bloodstock, purchasing for GSA Racing's Jonathan Munz. The pair bought 15 lots for AU$8.8 million to top the chart ahead of Newgate's seven for AU$5.7 million. Alongside the runaway success of Too Darn Hot, who covered 110 mares at a fee of AU$275,000 at the Australian farm of co-owners Darley last spring, the Lloyd-Webbers also clearly like putting back into the industry here. On Monday, Madeline, or Baroness Lloyd-Webber, bidding over the phone via Watership Down's Simon Marsh, who was on site, secured Lot 288, the Too Darn Hot—Enbihaar colt, bred by Victoria's HMB Trust. "I'm absolutely delighted," Marsh said. "The first time I saw him, I said to Johnny, 'We're going to have to have this horse'." Too Darn Hot was held back from shuttling in 2024 before Watership Down, and Darley moved to capitalize on his early success by returning him south last year. Marsh said, "the intention is to bring him back" to Australia this spring. In a highly competitive sale in which they'd been under-bidders on more than one expensive lot, Yulong were ecstatic to secure its Extreme Choice—Giza Goddess colt (Lot 327) for AU$2 million. "He ticked every box when we saw him. He was moving well, and we believe he could be a very good racing horse in the future," said general manager Jun Zhang. That AU$2 million figure was matched by Lot 451, Arrowfield's brother to Coolmore Stud Stakes (G1) hero and present-day sire at that farm, Switzerland (AUS). The fourth foal of Canadian mare Ms Bad Behavior (Blame) was knocked down to Coolmore and major buyer James Harron, a partnership not too often seen, but one conceived in this case by Harron. "He's an awesome horse, and obviously the mare's done a fantastic job," Harron said. "You're always delighted to get a horse of that calibre, and it's great to team up with Coolmore. "I had a chat to the (Coolmore) guys and said, 'Why don't we get together instead of taking each other on?' It made a lot of sense. We've been friends for a long time, I used to work there, we've got a great relationship, and hopefully we have some luck with this horse."