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Inglis’ Managing Director, Mark Webster has every reason to be pleased this year. His team accomplished Everest first when they renewed their partnership with Gytrash for the 2021 Everest, their social media announcement ‘Guess Who’s Back?’ went viral and their sales broke countless records.
In an exclusive phone interview from his office at Riverside Stables, an excited Webster speaks with Everest Diaries about their choice of runner for their Everest slot, Inglis’ broken records and names his industry favourites. He also shares some unforgettable racing memories.
Q: Inglis’ announcement of your renewed Everest partnership with Gytrash for the Everest was a really fun video and it went viral. What was Inglis’ sentiment behind it?
A: One of the key things about The Everest is that it’s about innovation. It’s a completely new race and it’s quite bold in that sense. It’s innovation at its best and although it has a big purse, it's not just about the A$15 million. It's about the excitement around Australian-bred sprinters. So just like The Everest, we wanted to put out something bold and innovative, trying to reach new and vast audiences. Furthermore, today The Everest is seen as the grand finale of what we produce here in Australia, which is top quality sprinting horses. While the Melbourne Cup has become a race with leading internationals competing against each other, The Everest is very different. And we at Inglis, like that. We want to support a race that is ‘our’ grand finale. So we didn’t want to just put out a boring announcement. No one's going to enjoy that!
Q: What were your deciding factors when you chose Gytrash as your Everest contender?
A: During his career, Gytrash has placed in the top three 22 out of his 24 starts and he’s raced at the highest level for a lot of that. He was always a very reliable choice from our perspective. We like the horse, we like the ownership group, and we like the fairytale story of his purchase, being just a $40,000 buy from our Premier Yearling Sale in Melbourne. We truly believe that for this horse, the (Everest) story is not yet over, that there is unfinished business there. He has one more chapter to write and we want to write that story with him.
Q: According to you, what is the most exciting thing about Everest 2021?
A: As I said earlier, this is a grand finale for Australian sprinters. I'm looking forward to reuniting with Gytrash’s trainer Gordon Richards and his wife Jacqui and the horse’s 40 owners and celebrating with them during Everest Week.
Q: How has the Inglis Ready2Race Sale around Everest week done year-on-year? Has it proved to be the success you anticipated?
A: Ready2Race Sales are a fairly new concept, in the Southern Hemisphere at least. None the less last year, with very few international buyers and despite all the Covid-enforced restrictions, our sale turned over A$11.6 million. So we are very happy with it and how it is progressing. I think the sale works well with The Everest. The key to a 2YO Sale is the quality of vendors and their ability to educate young horses. And our team has done a great job over the last five to six years trying to find the right vendors to prepare the horses. We have had to be very disciplined and we have said ‘no’ when we felt the vendor would not represent the company well.
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Q: Records have really toppled at Inglis this year. What were Inglis’ highlights and overall results for the broodmare and weanling sales season as well as the yearling sales season earlier?
A: It has been a very good year, the industry in Australia is the envy of the world. We had record Classic and Premier Sales, the second-best ever Easter Sale, record weanling sales and exceptionally strong broodmare sales. With our primary broodmare sale, our approach is a little different. We have a boutique Chairman’s Sale, and we had an overall turnover of A$28 million for that sale with an average of $532,000 at a 91% clearance rate. The sale is a black-tie event with entertainment before and afterwards. With some of our sales, we are trying to provide a special experience. We don't want people to feel like they're going to work every day, we want them to enjoy themselves.
Q: Whom do you believe to be a value sire for the upcoming breeding season? Why?
A: I think Flying Artie – and Inglis graduate himself - is an excellent choice for A$33,000. His first crop has done exceptionally well. His son Artorius won the Gr.1 Blue Diamond Stakes and another of his sons Giannis was placed in the Gr.1 JJ Atkins.
Q: Is there a stallion that you consider to be under the radar? Why?
A: I believe Coolmore’s Merchant Navy is an excellent value sire. Himself an Inglis Easter graduate, Merchant Navy’s first crop has been auctioned here (in Australia) and they sold reasonably well but not as well as I’d anticipated. Given his race history and pedigree, I feel he has every chance of being a great stallion, so I definitely think he’s under the radar.
Q: Which stallion, ever, do you think was the best type? And what did you feel when you heard of Galileo’s passing?
A: There are so many that you can choose from but I'm going to pick a more recent one because I was there when he was sold as a yearling, the Autumn Sun, standing at Arrowfield Stud. He is a very good-looking stallion. He is very versatile, as he can sprint and run. He brings together the best of European female families and Australian sire-power to create a champion. His sire, Redoute's Choice was Australia's supersire, the inheritor of Danehill's crown. While his HH Aga Khan Stud mare, Azmiynawas by the great European sire Galileo and a half-sister to European Champion, four-time Gr.1 winner & leading sire Azamour. So, the Autumn Sun is a great segway from Galileo and a wonderful cross between Redoute's Choice and Galileo. Galileo was a great stallion. It was very sad to lose him, but he's left a great legacy.
Q: In 2021, which first season sire do you believe is most exciting?
A: I believe Capitalistwas the most exciting first season sire. He’s had more winners than any others. He sired Profiteer, who was an explosive winner of the A$2 Million Inglis Millennium by over 5 lengths. And in the ring, every Capitalist offering, whether it was a weanling or yearling, has sold incredibly well.
Q: What was your favourite weanling, yearling and/or mare sale this year? Why?
A: At the Australian Weanling Sale we had in May, Lot 88 was a colt by Hellbentout of a mare called Family Crest (NZ, Tyreel Stud draft). He sold for A$250,000 and I just think he was an incredible type of weanling. He was a really magnificent horse. I am looking forward to seeing him back at the yearling sales next year. In terms of favourite yearling, it’s a Capitalist, believe it or not, a colt out of a mare called Bonnie Mac (NZ, Yarraman Park Stud draft) that was bought by Hickman Racing for A$1,050,000. He is a half-brother to Exceedance that we had sold at Easter previously. He is an incredible type and I would be shocked if he is not out winning an early 2YO race. In terms of favourite mare sold this year, it must be Celebrity Queen. She made A$2.5 million at the Chairman’s Sale and she is just a beautiful, big, strong and very tall mare. And obviously, a special mention to Funstar as well, part-owned by Arthur Inglis, who sold for a world record $2.7m online through the Inglis Digital platform in July.
Q: What advice would you give to someone trying to make their way into the horse industry?
A: My advice is don’t be shy. Don't be shy in approaching people or companies within the industry if you want to get involved. Even if it's for work experience, voluntary learning or coming in at a ground-level position and working your way upwards. You know, too many young people shy away from speaking to a prominent trainer or manager. My only advice is don’t be shy. If you're genuinely interested in the sales industry then you should be motivated enough to find a way to reach me by being persistent. Generally, they will get a fair hearing and if they are good enough, they could get the job that they were after.
Q: Where are you from and what is your earliest racing memory?
A: My father was an enthusiastic punter, so I’ve developed my fondness for the industry from there. Another memory I have is of watching the Melbourne Cup on the television. As a child, on Melbourne Cup Day the teacher would stop the class when the Melbourne Cup was on. We would all gather around the television for years and years. Eventually, however, I went into the military. At the time horses were a hobby. After a time, I realized I could actually make a living with the horse industry and made the move.
Q: Which is your favourite racehorse and racecourse of all time? Why?
A: I really enjoyed the Ascot racecourse during Royal Ascot. At the time we could have a picnic in the car park before and after the races. Eventually, it became a tradition with Inglis putting on a picnic there. It started with 50 people and then one year when Black Caviar was running it grew to 800. And then the Royal Ascot management came and shut us down, unfortunately.
Q: If you weren’t in this industry what would you do?
A: I would have been a full-time cowboy.
Q: What are you currently reading?
A: I don’t enjoy fiction. I love reading about history. So, whenever I get a chance, I read books of historical accounts and try to learn from that.