The rareness of stock by Extreme Choice, an enticing blend of grandfathers and an imposing physical form, inspired Star Thoroughbreds and Vin Cox to land a surgical strike and secure the top lot on a fair first day at the Inglis Classic Yearling Sale in Sydney, Australia Feb. 8.
While a torrid bidding duel had played out, Denise Martin's Star and Cox succeeded with a single bid—AU$425,000 (US$298,095, AU$1=US$0.70)—to emerge with the filly (Lot 233), offered by the home of subfertile sensation Extreme Choice, Newgate Farm, in partnership with Gooree.
The chestnut is the fourth foal out of Nais Ko, who is a daughter of the surging broodmare sire Exceed And Excel. The mare is a winning half sister to group 1 victor Your Song, whose page also includes Europe's Horse of the Year of 2001, Fantastic Light.
One of just 44 live foals for the 2024 crop for Extreme Choice, the filly ranked as the top lot ahead of the AU$400,000 colt by Hellbent bought from Riverstone Lodge by BK Racing's Benny Vassallo, who'll be sent to renowned 2-year-old trainer Gary Portelli.
Day one of the sale yielded a mixed bag of results.
The clearance rate of 80% eclipsed the 73% figure at the close of Day 1 last year, but the average was down 3.7% at AU$96,167(US$67,452). The median also dropped 6.25% to AU$75,000 (US$52,605).
With 198 lots sold compared to 177 for 2025, the gross stood at AU$19,041,000 (US$13,355,357), a 7.6% increase on the corresponding session 12 months ago.
Inglis Bloodstock CEO Sebastian Hutch was optimistic the auction could still clearly outstrip last year's as trading continues, including on passed-in lots, but conceded selling had been tough for vendors in the sub-AU$100,000 market.
"I'm pleased with the day," he said. "The metrics read well, the clearance is up significantly on the equivalent stage of last year. The gross is up. The median is back a little bit, but that's consistent with the clearance being up.
"So it was pleasing to see the sale start very well. There were some good results early, it was very strong through the middle of the day.
"But I don't think there's any disguising that in the sub-100 grand bracket, it feels very much like a buyer's market."
Ten yearlings sold for AU$230,000 or more—identical to the completed figure for Day 1 last year.
Top of the hill was Lot 233, one of three yearlings by Extreme Choice cataloged at the sale, who was swooped upon in dashing style by Martin and bloodstock agent Cox. Like all Star horses—including one of the sire's six group 1 winners in another female, Espiona—the filly will be trained by Chris Waller.
"It was just the one bid," Cox said. "You judge the market as you will. We figured she'd be somewhere in the AU$400,000 to AU$500,000 range and were hoping there wasn't going to be anyone north of that."
Newgate stud manager Jim Carey was delighted with the outcome.
"It's a fantastic result, and she was a lovely filly. We've always had success here at Classic in the past, and she's a sharp, mature filly, and we just thought it would be a good sale for her, and it turned out that way,'' said Carey, whose farm will offer a colt by Extreme Choice as Lot 621 Feb 9.
"I think we've run out of things to say about the stallion. It's common knowledge the amount of inquiries we're getting about him from all around the world, from some of the biggest breeders in the world. It's a testament to the stallion and how good he is—he's a freak."
