Five Questions With An Inglis Auctioneer

September 17, 2021

The Inglis 2Year Old Trials are an exciting event on the calendar. It’s where we see the 2 year old’s trial for the first time in their career. A great opportunity to see who the young spring stars will be. Ahead of the Inglis 2YO Trials on Monday, 20 September, we caught up with Inglis Auctioneer Chris ‘Rusty’ Russell.

1. What does your job as an Inglis Auctioneer entail?

To put it simply, to get as much money as I can for the vendor in the 2 minutes that their horse is in the ring!  But we do a lot of prep work in the lead up to the actual sale which includes research on the pedigree (any recent updates or similar crosses that have worked previously that could be a good selling point) and also inspecting the actual horse and discussing with the vendor the best reserve, who may buy etc.

2. What is your favourite thing about your job?

Definitely the actual ‘selling’ of the horse at the auction.  We see a lot of these horses up to 3 or 4 times through their lives before they get to the sales complex and we do a lot of work with the vendors in the lead up to the actual sale day.  It definitely gets the adrenaline pumping when the room is humming, a sale is going well and you are achieving great results for the clients.

3. What do people or what should people look for (in a horse) at the Inglis sales?

Good strength, particularly in the hindquarter, a nice loose walk and a good temperament.

4. What is your most memorable auction?

Probably selling the last ever horse at an Easter Sale at the old complex at Newmarket (Randwick) before we moved to our new home at Riverside (Warwick Farm) the following year.  Either that or selling an I Am Invincible colt for clients and good friends Ian and Linda Duckworth of Fairview Park Stud at Richmond for $1.05 million.  He was the half-brother to the Golden Slipper winner Mossfun, who they also bred, and it was their first (but hopefully not last!) million dollar lot.

5. And rather importantly what is the most expensive horse you’ve ever auctioned off?

The most expensive horse that I’ve sold was a mare by the name of Celebrity Queen who made $2.5 million to the bid of Tom Magnier of Coolmore Stud at The Chairman’s Sale this year.  The Chairman’s Sale is a boutique select sale for breeding stock that we hold at Riverside and is turning into being quite the event and a ‘must attend’.  We as auctioneers, and the bid spotters, all wear black-tie and it turns into a bit of a party after the 90-100 lots have been sold…it was a casino themed night this year!

Bonus question: If you were a racehorse what would you be called?

I’m not very tall which in the bloodstock world would be described as ‘lacks scope’ so let’s run with that.  As long as I wasn’t a gelding I’d answer to anything!

Catch the Inglis 2YO Barrier trials from 8:45am on Sky Racing. Click here to view the fields.