Nimalee Sells For $3.6m AT Inglis Chairman’s
A Chairman’s Sale described as “staggering’’, “incredible’’ and “the crème de la crème’’ tonight concluded with superstar mares Nimalee and Montefilia both selling for north of $3m.
Amid dramatic theatre in the Riverside auditorium, Coolmore and Colm Santry Bloodstock won a memorable bidding duel to buy the Glenesk Thoroughbreds-offered Nimalee for a sale-high $3.6m.
Nimalee’s $3.6m price tag was the sale topper and an incredibly emotional result for Glenesk’s Brett Howard, who purchased the mare as a yearling filly through his Randwick Bloodstock company from the Inglis Premier Yearling Sale.
“It’s a staggering result. I’m doing a Chris Waller now,’’ an emotional Howard said as he couldn’t hold back tears following the sale.
“Inglis has really lifted their game the past few years, you look around this room tonight, they’ve created a great atmosphere, they’ve been able to get these elite mares and when you get the elite mares, they get the elite buyers as well.
“I said to [major owner] Lester [Durney] that I think this [Chairman’s Sale] is the right sale for her and that’s proved to be the case. It’s just phenomenal’’.
Nimalee’s owners were joined by her trainer Matthew Smith and friends in a gallery suite at Riverside for the sale and couldn’t believe the result.
“It’s incredible, above expectations, for sure. It is a trainer’s dream to have a horse like her and then to see her make that sort of money, it’s outstanding,’’ Smith said.
“It is a surprise the price went so high. She was right up there in the top three mares in the sale, but to make that sort of money, it’s beyond our expectations. It’s unbelievable.
“Lester and Margaret [Durney] and Brett Howard were keen to bring her to this sale, they bought her through Inglis’s and they thought it was the right sale for her and they were 100 per cent right.’’
Santry, who was joined by MV Magnier among others in a gallery suite of their own when they purchased Nimalee , was equally as stunned by the outcome.
“It’s been very tense! We probably didn’t think we’d have to dig as deep for her as we did, but the really good ones like her you have to stump up for,’’ Santry said.
“The Magniers like to buy the best mares, we valued her and we thought she was the best physical in the sale.
“We can breed her to a lot of stallions on our doorstep, we’ve got Wootton Bassett, Justify and what a fabulous mating she’ll make for Shinzo in time.
“We can really utilise her and what we’re really hoping for is to breed a stallion out of her and she was probably the best mare in the sale to possibly achieve that.’’
Complete HERE to view Glenesk Thoroughbreds complete results.
Copy: Breednet, Images: Inglis
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